Brodenbach
General information: First Jewish presence: unknown; peak Jewish population: 53 in 1895; Jewish population in 1933: 18
Summary:
Although it is likely that Jews lived in Brodenbach during the
Middle Ages, the existence of a permanent Jewish settlement
was first documented in 1808.
A private synagogue, established in a residence in the early 19th
century, became community property in 1851. The synagogue
building contained a prayer room (located on the upper floor)
with separate rooms for men and women; worshippers had to
make their way through the butcher’s shop below to gain access
to the synagogue. Burials were conducted in a cemetery jointly
owned by the Brodenbach and Oberfell Jewish communities.
Eighteen Jews lived in Brodenbach in 1933. The
community, however, numbered 24 members, as six Jews
from the surrounding towns and villages, one of which was
Oberfell, attended services in Brodenbach.
On Pogrom Night, SA men and local Nazis forced their
way into the butcher’s shop below the synagogue. Frustrated
to find the synagogue’s door locked, they smeared the
building with anti-Semitic graffiti. The next morning, a
mob armed with axes and clubs broke down the door and
destroyed the synagogue’s interior. A neighboring resident
managed to rescue the synagogue’s Torah scrolls and prayer
books, after which she handed them over to the Christian
minister of nearby Alken for safekeeping.
In April 1942, seventeen Jews, Brodenbach’s last, were
deported to the East. At least 12 local Jews perished in the Shoah.
The former synagogue building was demolished in either
1953 or 1960.
Author / Sources: Bronagh Bowerman
Sources: EJL, SG-RPS
Sources: EJL, SG-RPS
Located in: rhineland-palatinate