Jewish community of Oedheim

A Jewish community in Oedheim in the Heilbronn district in northern Baden-Württemberg has existed since the end of the 17th century. The highest membership of the Jewish community was around 108 people around 1853.

history

Jews were accepted into Oedheim by the Teutonic Order , owner of the village, and the Freiherren Capler , owner of the castle as a Württemberg fief, from the late 17th century onwards and were given the right to hold school and worship from 1705. The protective Jews accepted by the barons built houses for themselves on the property of the patron, as a result of which six Jewish households with 42 people lived in the forecourt of the palace in 1737, while the Teutonic Order only tolerated three protective families in the village. The number of Jewish families increased to a total of 18 families by 1780. After the transition to Württemberg in 1806 a total of 84 Jews were counted on site. In March 1848 there were riots against Jews. In 1853 the highest level was reached with 108 Jewish inhabitants, after which the community rapidly declined due to emigration and emigration. After the service had previously been held in various houses, the Jewish community built the Oedheim synagogue in 1864 .

National Socialist Persecution

In 1933, 16 Jews were still living in the area, eleven of whom were able to emigrate, while five people - Anna Mannheimer and four members of the Mergentheimer family - died after their deportation in 1942. During the November pogrom in 1938, the Oedheim Jewish cemetery was devastated by explosions by SA men. A Jewish family still living in the village was mistreated and their apartment was demolished.

The memorial book of the Federal Archives lists 13 Jewish citizens born in Oedheim who fell victim to the genocide of the National Socialist regime .

Common names

When all Jews in Württemberg had to adopt hereditary family names in 1828, the heads of the Oedheim Jews took the following names: Kaufmann (4), Rosenstein (4), Mergentheimer (3), Strauss (2), Adler (1), Fröhlich (1) , Gutmann (1), Herrmann (1), Mannheimer (1), Rothschild (1), Schulz (1), Seligmann (1), and Sterm (1).

Community development

year	Parishioners
1729	2 families (Capler)
1736	6 families (Capler)
1737	42 people (Capler)
1752	7 families (German order)
1780	9 families (German Order) / 9 families (Capler)
1806	41 people (German Order) / 43 people (Capler)
1818	95 people
1854	108 people
1869	63 people
1900	38 people
1933	16 people

literature

• Wolfram Angerbauer , Hans Georg Frank: Jewish communities in the district and city of Heilbronn. History, fates, documents . Heilbronn district, Heilbronn 1986 ( series of publications by the Heilbronn district . Volume 1), pp. 186–194.
• 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 , pp. 362–365 ( Memorial Book of Synagogues in Germany . Volume 4).

Individual evidence

1. ^ Commemorative Book - Victims of the Persecution of Jews under the National Socialist Tyranny in Germany 1933 - 1945 . Retrieved October 29, 2009.