Niederhochstadt

General information: First Jewish presence: 1685; peak Jewish population: 221 in 1848; Jewish population in 1933: unknown (45 in 1932)
Summary: The earliest record of this community’s synagogue on Kirschstrasse is dated 1839, but it is likely that the house of worship was inaugurated in the 18th century; the building also housed a mikveh. Other Jewish institutions included an elementary school, opened in 1836, and a cemetery, the latter of which was consecrated next to the Christian burial grounds in 1856. Niederhochstadt’s Jewish elementary school was closed down in 1924, after which the community employed a teacher of religion for the benefit of the community’s schoolchildren. Zacharias Frank, the grandfather of Anne Frank, was born in Niederhochstadt in 1811; he eventually moved to Landau. Niederhochstadt was home to 45 Jewish residents in 1932. Two children received religious instruction, and the community was served by a chazzan and two charitable societies. Six years later, on Pogrom Night, the synagogue was destroyed. Nineteen Niederhochstadt Jews emigrated from and 12 relocated within Germany. The village’s last seven Jews were deported to the concentration camp in Gurs, France, on October 22, 1940. At least eight local Jews perished in the Shoah.
Author / Sources: Nurit Borut
Sources: AJ, EJL, FJW