Gau-Odernheim
General information: First Jewish presence: late 13th century; peak Jewish population: 106 in 1880; Jewish population in 1933: 37
Summary:
Although Jews were annihilated in Gau-Odernheim during
the Black Death pogroms of 1348/48, a Jewish presence
was subsequently re-established there. Records tell us that
the community grew during the 17th century, and that the
modern community, to which the Jews of Koengernheim
were affiliated, peaked at 106 in 1880.
Gau-Odernheim was home to a prayer hall in the
19th century, presumably used until the establishment, in
1868, of a synagogue on Mainzer Strasse. Although we do
not know when Gau-Ordenheim’s first Jewish cemetery
was consecrated, records do tell us that the community
established a new one in 1848 (the old burial grounds were
sold in 1919). Local Jews also maintained a mikveh and a
school for religious studies, the latter of which was presided
over by a teacher who performed the duties of chazzan and
shochet.
In 1933, 37 Jews lived in Gau-Odernheim (three more
Jews moved to the village after the Nazis came to power); six
Jewish children received religious instruction. The cemetery
was desecrated in 1935.
Damaged on Pogrom Night, the synagogue building was
later used as a camp for girls from local farming families.
Records from 1940 indicate that the town authorities
invested a lot of money in renovating the former synagogue
and converting it into an apartment block.
Twenty-seven Gau-Odernheim Jews managed to flee
Nazi Germany; the rest relocated within the country. By
the summer of 1939, no Jews remained in the village. At least
24 Gau-Odernheim Jews perished in the Shoah.
All traces of the former synagogue were removed during the
renovation process. The Jewish cemetery was desecrated in 1954.
Author / Sources: Bronagh Bowerman
Sources: AJ, EJL, PK-HNF, SG-RPS, SIA
Sources: AJ, EJL, PK-HNF, SG-RPS, SIA
Located in: rhineland-palatinate