Untererthal
General information: First Jewish presence: 1524; peak Jewish population: 68 in 1837 (8% of the total population); Jewish population in 1933: 20
Summary: Records from 1737 mention a synagogue in Untererthal;
located in the apartment of a Jewish resident named Nathan,
it was demolished that same year because the owner did not
have the necessary permits. At some point after 1805, local
Jews established a prayer hall (at 15 Judengasse, or “Jews
alley”), a Jewish school, and a mikveh, the last of which
was built near Burgmuehle. Burials were conducted in
Pfaffenhausen.
During the 19th century, the community employed a
series of instructors in religion who, in addition to teaching,
led prayer services and served as ritual slaughterers. In 1817,
Moses Weisenberger became the first chazzan of Untererthal.
In 1933, only 20 Jews still lived in Untererthal. As a result
of zealous local enforcement of the anti-Jewish boycott, most
of the town’s remaining Jews lived in poverty.
The synagogue was vandalized on Pogrom Night. Later,
in 1942, 12 local Jews were deported to Izbica and two to Theresienstadt. According to Yad Vashem, at least 25
Untererthal Jews were killed in the Shoah.
The synagogue building is still intact, but as of this
writing, a memorial plaque has never been erected there.
Author / Sources: Benjamin Rosendahl
Sources: AJ, EJL, SG-B1, YV
Sources: AJ, EJL, SG-B1, YV
Located in: bavaria