Dierdorf
General information: First Jewish presence: 1683; peak Jewish population: 142 in 1885; Jewish population in 1933: unknown
Summary:
The earliest available record of a Jewish presence in Dierdorf,
dated 1683, refers to a Jewish family residing in the town.
Local Jews joined the regional Jewish community of
Neuwied in 1864, but later formed an independent Jewish
community.
The Jews of Dierdorf established the following communal
institutions: a cemetery, located on the edge of the Giershofen
district, in 1746; a Jewish school in 1825; a synagogue in
1829; and a new cemetery, at 48 Flurstueck, in 1846. The
Jewish school, rebuilt in 1910, was later closed down, as
community membership declined considerably during
the 20th century (84 Jews in 1925). Nevertheless, a new
synagogue was inaugurated in 1928.
On Pogrom Night, rioters destroyed the synagogue,
assaulted local Jews and plundered Jewish-owned homes
and businesses.
During the Nazi period, 21 Dierdorf Jews emigrated,
among them fourteen who settled in the United States. Those
Jews who remained in the town were eventually sent to the
camps, the last four in 1942. At least 36 local Jews perished
in the Shoah.
In 1989, the Jewish cemetery was recognized as a protected
monument. The cemetery has approximately 80 graves.
Author / Sources: Daniel Weiss
Sources: AJ, HU, EJL
www2.genealogy.net/vereine/ArGeWe/jiw/puderbach/puderbach. htm
Sources: AJ, HU, EJL
www2.genealogy.net/vereine/ArGeWe/jiw/puderbach/puderbach. htm
Located in: rhineland-palatinate