Crailsheim

Summary: Crailsheim’s early Jewish community was destroyed during the Black Death pogroms of 1348/49. Prayer rooms were established in private residences during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. The community built a synagogue in 1745, and we also know that in 1783, that synagogue was replaced with a new house of worship on Kuefergasse (present-day 5 Adam Weiss Strasse); the Kuefergasse synagogue was enlarged and redesigned in 1863. Local Jews maintained a mikveh (1834), a cemetery (1841) and a school (1835-1923). In 1933, 160 Jews lived in Crailsheim. The nearly defunct Jewish communities of Goldbach, Ingersheim and Unterdeufstetten were incorporated into the Crailsheim community. Jews were forbidden, in 1935, from using the local bathing facilities. The synagogue’s furniture and ritual objects were destroyed on Pogrom Night, but the synagogue itself, located in a densely inhabited area, was not burned down. Many Jews were arrested and sent to Dachau, where three died. Approximately 100 local Jews emigrated, 26 died in Crailsheim, one committed suicide and 29 were deported to the East in 1941/1942. At least 42 Crailsheim Jews perished in the Shoah. Memorial plaques were later unveiled at the former synagogue site and at the cemetery. In 1990, a commemorative stone was unveiled in Crailsheim.

Author / Sources: Hannah Porat
Sources: AJ, PK-BW, SG-BW