Muellheim

Summary: The Jews of Muellheim established their first synagogue, at Hauptstrasse, in 1754; a larger synagogue was built in 1814, and yet another in 1852. The community opened a school for religious studies in 1790, a mikveh in 1799, an elementary school in 1828, a Beit Midrash (house of learning) in 1819 and a cemetery in 1850. In Muellheim, a rabbi was employed until 1876. In 1933, by which point the Jews of Badenweiler and Weil-am-Rhein had been affiliated with the community, several Jewish organizations were active in Muellheim. The teacher instructed eight schoolchildren that year. Later, in 1935, a local Jew was sent to a concentration camp for race defilement. On Pogrom Night, rioters broke into and vandalized the synagogue, the community center and Jewish properties; the synagogue interior was destroyed, and the cemetery was desecrated. Most local Jewish men were sent to Dachau. Fifty-one Jews emigrated, 17 died in Muellheim and the rest relocated within Germany. By October 22, 1940, the day on which Baden Jews were deported to Gurs, no Jews lived in Muellheim. One family was deported from Weil-am-Rhein, and another from Badenweiler. At least 14 Muellheim Jews perished in the Shoah. The synagogue was demolished in 1968. Plaques were unveiled at the site (in 1973) and at the cemetery (in 1987).

Author / Sources: Heike Zaun Goshen
Sources: AH, AJ, EJL, PK-BW