Binningen
General information: First Jewish presence: 1757; peak Jewish population: 80 in 1817 (approximately 24% of the total population); Jewish population in 1933: 26
Summary:
Although we do not know when this community replaced
its 17th-century prayer room with the synagogue at
61 Hauptstrasse, records do tell us that the synagogue
was renovated in 1841. The nearby Jewish school
(63 Hauptstrasse) was closed down at the end of the 19th
century, after which the community employed a teacher of
religion who performed the duties of chazzan and shochet.
The Jews of Binningen also maintained a mikveh, a regional
cemetery, and communal institutions that also served the
Jews of nearby Brohl, Duenfus, Forst, Gamlen, Hambuch,
Kaifenheim, Moentenich, Moselkern, Mueden, Roes and
Wirfus.
On Pogrom Night, the interiors of both the synagogue
and the school were destroyed; Torah scrolls, ritual objects
and books were taken into the yard and burned. Jews
were assaulted, Jewish-owned homes and business were
ransacked and several Jewish men were arrested. Jakob
Haas was beaten so badly that he died of his wounds on
May 21, 1939.
At least 39 Jewish residents of Binningen, 11 from
Hambuch, two from Gamlen, and three from Duenfus,
Kaifenheim and Wirfus, respectively, perished in the Shoah.
Binningen’s cemetery was desecrated several times during
the Nazi period (and once after 1945). The synagogue
building was converted into a private residence, probably
in 1957. Katharina Wolter (née Kraemer), a Jewish writer,
has written several books about her life in Binningen.
Author / Sources: Esther Sarah Evans
Sources: AJ
www.mosella-judaica.de/Gemeinden/Spuren136.html
Sources: AJ
www.mosella-judaica.de/Gemeinden/Spuren136.html
Located in: rhineland-palatinate