Asslar

Summary: In 1824, the Jewish community of Asslar built a synagogue on Obergasse. Records indicate that the community employed a teacher of religion in the 19th century, and that he performed the duties of chazzan and shochet. Asslar was home to a mikveh and a Jewish cemetery, the latter of which was located south of the Christian cemetery, but the community also used the Jewish burial grounds in Hermannstein. We also know that in 1884, the Jews of Hermannstein were affiliated with the Asslar community. By 1922, services were no longer being held in the synagogue, and members of the Asslar community were mostly praying in nearby Wetzlar; by 1924, Asslar had become a sub-community (Filialgemeinde) of Wetzlar. In 1933, 20 Jews (three families) lived in Asslar. According to records, approximately ten Jews (two families) lived in Hermannstein that year. Although the Asslar synagogue was sold in 1936, it was nevertheless damaged on Pogrom Night. Most local Jews left the town before the outbreak of World War II; the Jews of Hermannstein immigrated to the United States and to South Africa. At least eight Jews originally from Asslar perished in the Shoah.

Author / Sources: Maren Cohen and Nurit Borut; Sources: AJ, EJL, PK-HNF