Treuchtlingen

General information: First Jewish presence: unknown; peak Jewish population: 282 in 1837 (17.7% of the total population); Jewish population in 1933: 119
Summary: Jews were persecuted in Treuchtlingen during the Black Death pogroms of 1348/49. The community eventually recovered, and became one of the most important Jewish communities in Bavaria during the 17th and 18th centuries. The Jews of Treuchtlingen established a prayer hall in the mid-17th century, a synagogue on Uhlenstrasse in 1730, a cemetery in 1773, a new synagogue (built on the site of the older synagogue) in 1819, a Jewish school in 1877 and a new mikveh in 1884. A rabbinate, founded on an unspecified date, was based in Treuchtlingen until 1873; it was re-established in 1932. In 1933, Salomon Mannes was the community’s rabbi. Several Jewish associations and a branch of the Agudath Israel organization were active in Treuchtlingen that year. On Pogrom Night, SA men and local residents broke into 26 Jewish homes, abused the inhabitants and destroyed or looted their property, after which a Jewish physician committed suicide. The mikveh was set on fire, as were two Jewish-owned houses and the synagogue. Five Jews were imprisoned in Nuremberg. All Jews had left Treuchtlingen by 1939: 10 emigrated, 64 relocated within Germany and 27 left for unknown destinations. At least 59 Treuchtlingen Jews perished in the Shoah. The Jewish cemetery was rebuilt after 1945. A monument to the former Jewish community was unveiled in Treuchtlingen in 1990.
Author / Sources: Heidemarie Wawrzyn
Sources: AJ, DJGB, EJL, PK BAV, SIA, SZJLB
www.treuchtlingen.de
Located in: bavaria