Burgpreppach

General information: First Jewish presence: 17th century; peak Jewish population: 198 in 1890; Jewish population in 1933: 78
Summary: The Jewish community of Burgpreppach, presumably founded during the Thirty Years’ War, established a district rabbinate and synagogue in 1681. Two more synagogues were founded in Burgpreppach, the oldest of which was built in 1764. The village was home to a Talmud Torah (1875), an elementary school, a mikveh, a cemetery (1708) and a yeshiva (1770s). The Talmud Torah produced more than 1,000 graduates over the years; in 1939, as a result of financial difficulties, it was converted into an elementary school. Two famous Burgpreppach rabbis were Yosef Breslau and Leopold Stein, the latter of whom became rabbi of Frankfurt am Main in 1844. Seventeen pupils attended the elementary school in 1933. In 1934, six Jews were arrested on blood libel charges connected to the nearby village of Manau. On Pogrom Night, the old synagogue, the school and the homes of rabbis and teachers were burned down. Other Jewish homes were vandalized. Twenty-three Burgpreppach Jews emigrated and 23 relocated within Germany. Burgpreppach’s last Jew left in February 1942. At least 54 local Jews perished in the Shoah. In 1989, a commemorative plaque was unveiled near the former synagogue site; it has since been moved to another location.
Author / Sources: Heike Zaun Goshen, Bronagh Bowerman
Sources: AJ, EJL, PK-BAV, SG-B
www.burgpreppach.de
Located in: bavaria