Bretzenheim
General information: First Jewish presence: 1517; peak Jewish population: 84 in 1861; Jewish population in 1933: 26
Summary:
Although we do not know how many Jews lived in
Bretzenheim in the 16th century, records do tell us that
they had established a synagogue by 1580. In 1742, the
community conducted services in a prayer hall, located
in a private residence, which was presumably used until
the establishment, in 1788, of a synagogue on the corner
of Wilhelmstrasse and Oberpforte (a mikveh was installed
there a few years later). The synagogue was destroyed in
the war of 1795, after which the congregation conducted
services in a private residence until the 1810s, when a new
house of worship was inaugurated on its predecessor’s site;
later, in 1912, the seating capacity was increased from 34
to over 50.
Beginning in 1883, the Jews of Bretzenheim maintained
their own cemetery; and in 1912, a new cemetery was
consecrated inside the municipal graveyard. We also know
that the community employed a teacher of religion—he
performed the duties of chazzan and shochet—until World
War I.
In 1933, one Jewish child received religious instruction.
On Pogrom Night, rioters vandalized the synagogue’s
interior and incinerated the Torah scrolls. In Finthen (an
affiliated community), Jewish homes and property were
heavily damaged. The synagogue was sold into private
ownership in 1939.
Five Jewish families from Bretzenheim emigrated (four
went to the United States). In March 1942, 17 local Jews
were deported to Poland. At least eight Bretzenheim Jews
perished in the Shoah.
The synagogue—it was heavily damaged during a wartime
aerial bombing—was demolished in 1946. A memorial
plaque has been erected in Bretzenheim.
Author / Sources: Heike Zaun Goshen
Sources: AJ, EJL, FJG, PK-HNF
Sources: AJ, EJL, FJG, PK-HNF
Located in: rhineland-palatinate