Muehringen
General information: First Jewish presence: 1570; peak Jewish population: 512 in 1846; Jewish population in 1933: 45
Summary: Muehringen was one of the main Jewish communities in
South-West Germany during the early 1700s. In 1728,
the community inaugurated a synagogue and appointed
a rabbi. Nathanael Weil, author of an important Talmudic
commentary, was associated with the Muehringen
community. In 1810, local Jews inaugurated a new
synagogue with a seating capacity of 500. Other communal
institutions included a school (1825-1914) and a cemetery,
the latter of which—it was the largest in Wuerttemberg—was
consecrated on Totenhau in the mid-16th century
In 1933, several Jewish associations, mainly charitable
ones, and a children’s sanatorium were operating in
Muehringen. On Pogrom Night, SA men destroyed the
synagogue’s interior and burned Torah scrolls and ritual
objects; windows in Jewish homes and businesses were
smashed, and several local Jews were sent to Dachau. The
community was disbanded in March 1939.
Sixteen local Jews emigrated, 16 died in Muehringen
and 11 (all of whom had previously been moved into one
house) were deported in 1942. At least 36 Muehringen Jews
perished in the Shoah. In 1943, the synagogue was rented out to the Mauser
armaments factory. Later damaged by artillery, the dilapidated
building was demolished in 1960. The site, now a parking lot
and a public garden, contains a memorial stone (unveiled in
1983). The cemetery houses a memorial monument.
Author / Sources: Heike Zaun Goshen
Sources: AH, AJ, EJL, HU, PK-BW
Sources: AH, AJ, EJL, HU, PK-BW
Located in: baden-wuerttemberg