Billigheim

Summary: Jews arrived in Billigheim after the Thirty Years’ War; by 1722, 10 Jewish families lived in the village. The community enjoyed the protection of the Bishop of Mainz, who governed the area until 1806 and rejected requests to restrict Jewish rights. In 1804, local Jews built a synagogue with a classroom and living quarters for the teacher. The school was moved to another building in 1835, and operated until 1876, when all confessional schools in Baden were closed. The community maintained a mikveh, a women’s association, and a cemetery in Neudenau. On Pogrom Night, SA men destroyed the synagogue: The furnishings, windows and ritual items were smashed, and a grenade was thrown down the chimney. The SA did not set fire to the synagogue because a Christian tailor residing within it refused to leave the premises. Five local Jews emigrated before 1938; five relocated within Germany; seven fled after the pogrom; and three died in Billigheim. Ten Jews, Billigheim’s last, were deported to Gurs on October 22, 1940. At least 12 local Jews perished in the Shoah. The synagogue building was eventually transferred to the Jewish Restitution Successor Organization, which sold it in 1952. The building was demolished in 1990, 10 years after a memorial plaque had been unveiled at the municipal cemetery.

Author / Sources: Maren Cohen
Sources: AJ, EJL, PK-BW