Voelkersleier
General information: First Jewish presence: 17th century; peak Jewish presence: 105 in 1847; Jewish population in 1933: 33
Summary: In 1762, the Jews of Voelkersleier built a synagogue at
4 Frohnstrasse (the synagogue was renovated in 1927). The
community maintained a mikveh and a community center,
and, until the 1920s, employed a teacher of religion who
performed the duties of chazzan and shochet. Burials took
place in Altengronau or in Pfaffenhausen.
In 1933, six Jewish children studied religion in
Voelkersleier with a teacher from Hammelburg. After the
Passover of 1936, it became difficult for the community
to gather a minyan; accordingly, the Jews of Dittlofsroda
attended services in the Voelkersleier synagogue from March
1938 onwards.
On Pogrom Night (November 1938), rioters ransacked
Jewish homes and destroyed the synagogue’s interior, Torah
scroll and ritual objects. After the pogrom, the synagogue was
rented out to a private resident who converted it into a barn.
In February 1939, local police reported that Voelkersleier’s
Jewish community had ceased to exist.
Seventeen Voelkersleier Jews emigrated (14 went to the
United States) and nine relocated within Germany. Four
were deported to Izbica, via Wuerzburg, in April 1942; the
village’s remaining two Jews were moved to Wuerzburg
in June of that year, after which, in September, they were
deported to Theresienstadt. At least 19 Voelkersleier Jews
perished in the Shoah.
The former synagogue was demolished in the 1970s.
A memorial plaque was unveiled at the former Jewish
community center.
Author / Sources: Esther Sarah Evans
Sources: ADL, AJ, EJL, IAJGS, PK BAV
Sources: ADL, AJ, EJL, IAJGS, PK BAV
Located in: bavaria