Kehl Jewish community

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A Jewish community in Kehl , a town in the Ortenau district in Baden-Württemberg , existed from 1881 to 1938.

history

Since 1862, Jewish people were allowed to settle in Kehl. In the following decades, many Jews therefore migrated from the small towns to the city, especially from Bodersweier , Freistett , Lichtenau and Rheinbischofsheim . The municipality officially existed since the confirmation by the ministry on August 16, 1881. The first municipality leader was Lippmann Wertheimer.

Initially, the Jewish community set up a prayer room, and in 1889/90 a synagogue was built on the corner of Schulstrasse and Kasernenstrasse . In addition, the community had a religious school and since 1924 its own cemetery in Kehl . The employed teacher was also active as a prayer leader and schochet .

The following Jewish associations existed: An "Israelitischer Frauenverein" (founded in 1902 with the aim of providing support in cases of illness and for performing burial ceremonies, 1932 with 40 members) and the "Wandererfürsorgekasse" (founded in 1925 with the aim of supporting emigrants and returning people) . The community belonged to the district rabbinate Bühl .

The following are known of former trading, service and commercial operations that existed until after 1933: Sack and blanket factory OHG Karl Baum (Siegfriedstraße 8), bicycle shop Bensinger (Spießgasse), wool and white goods shop Gertrud Bensinger & Co. (Hauptstraße), cattle dealer Louis Bensinger II (Kinzigstrasse 48), leather and shoemaker's supplies Ludwig Bensinger (Rheinstrasse), fabrics and haberdashery Karoline and Rosa Blum (address unknown), horse dealership Heinrich Bodenheimer (Rheinstrasse 7), lighters and smoking articles Samuel Bodenheimer (address unknown), cattle dealer Emil Dreifuss (Address unknown), men's clothing store Julius Durlacher (Hauptstrasse 76), watch and jewelry store Bernhard Goldschmidt (Hauptstrasse 14), haberdashery Siegmund Gradwohl (Hauptstrasse), grain, animal feed and flour store Michael Kaufmann and Sons, part of Julius Dreifuss and Martin Kaufmann (Schulstraße 14), Vereinigte Lichtspiele GmbH, Managing Director Otto Rosenberg (address e unknown), specialist in internal diseases Dr. Karl Rosenthal (head physician at the Kehler Hospital, residential building Großherzog-Friedrich-Strasse / corner of Kinzigstrasse), textile trade Laja and Pinkas Schwarzkächel (main street / corner of Gewerbestrasse), used materials wholesaler Weil and Wertheimer, partners Simon Weil and Paul Wertheimer (Kasernenstrasse 19 / Im Hafen ), Grain and regional products store Eduard / Rosa Wertheimer (address unknown), Viehhandlung Jacob Wertheimer I (Schulstrasse 14), Viehhandlung Leopold Wertheimer (Schulstrasse 27), butcher Siegfried Wertheimer (Hauptstrasse / corner of Kasernenstrasse. (From: alemannia judaica)

Community development

year Parishioners
1864 18 people
1875 9 people
1880 95 people or 4.4% of the population
1890 141 people
1900 151 people or 2.1% of the population
1905 156 people or 1.9% of the population
1910 153 people
1925 113 people or 1.2% of the population
1933 109 people or 0.9% of the population

National Socialist Persecution

Some of the Jewish community members emigrated to Strasbourg , 15 to the USA , others to Argentina or Palestine . During the Poland action at the end of October 1938, a Polish-Jewish family was deported to Poland. As part of the so-called Wagner-Bürckel campaign, 22 Jewish residents were deported from Kehl to the Gurs camp on October 22, 1940 .

On the afternoon of November 10, 1938 , SS men and men from the Gestapo broke into the synagogue and mainly destroyed the ritual objects. (...) The Jewish men from Kehl and the surrounding villages were brought to the town hall, where they were mistreated by the Austrian SS and the Gestapo and forced to do unworthy acts. Among other things, they had to hit each other in the face or on the naked body with wet boards until they were covered in blood and their faces were completely swollen and could hardly see out of their eyes. They were then placed under the water pipe and taken to the Dachau concentration camp for deportation . (from: alemannia judaica)

After the November pogrom, the Jewish community had to forcibly sell the synagogue to the city, which had it demolished in 1939.

The memorial book of the Federal Archives lists 34 Jewish citizens born in Kehl who fell victim to the genocide of the National Socialist regime .

monument

Since 1983 there has been a plaque on the Protestant Peace Church to commemorate the fate of the Jewish community. In 1991 the city of Kehl had a memorial in the form of a stele erected on the square next to the former town hall to commemorate what happened during the pogrom night.

literature

  • Joachim Hahn and Jürgen Krüger: Synagogues in Baden-Württemberg . Volume 2: Joachim Hahn: Places and Facilities . Theiss, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1843-5 ( Memorial book of the synagogues in Germany . Volume 4).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Commemorative Book - Victims of the Persecution of Jews under the National Socialist Tyranny in Germany 1933 - 1945 . Retrieved January 22, 2010.