Egelsbach

Summary: The Jews of Egelsbach were members of the Langen community until approximately 1840. The newly-founded Egelsbach community conducted services in a prayer room, established in a private residence in the 1840s, until 1850, when a synagogue was inaugurated in Egelsbach itself. In 1903, the community built a new synagogue, at 48 Rheinstrasse, with 73 seats for men and 42 for women; it, too, housed a mikveh, a school, and an apartment for a teacher. Beginning in 1905, however, teachers from outside Egelsbach instructed the community’s schoolchildren in religion. Egelsbach’s Jewish cemetery, located next to the general cemetery, had been consecrated in 1892. In 1933, a charitable organization and a branch of the Central Association of German Citizens of Jewish Faith were active in the community. The interior of the synagogue was destroyed on Pogrom Night; ritual objects and furniture were set on fire in a nearby sports field. Jewish homes were attacked that night, and Jews were assaulted. Thirteen Jews emigrated (10 went to the United States); others relocated within Germany. Two Jews, Egelsbach’s last, moved to Darmstadt in December 1938. At least 36 local Jews perished in the Shoah. In 1941, the town appropriated the synagogue, after which forced laborers and prisoners of war were housed there. The building was converted into a residence after the war; two memorial plaques—one is affixed to the building—have been unveiled in Egelsbach.

Author / Sources: Heike Zaun Goshen
Sources: AH, AJ, EJL, PK-HNF