Synagogue (Gersheim)

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Former synagogue: gable and side

The former synagogue of Gersheim is located at Ludwigstrasse 8 in Gersheim . Today it is a residential building. The building, built in 1889/1890, has been a listed building since 2003.

history

Former synagogue: side view

Already in the middle of the 19th century there was a prayer room for the Jewish community in Gersheim. After the community had received the status of its own religious community in 1885, its own synagogue with a religious school was built in 1889/1890. The means necessary for the construction were raised by the community members. The inauguration took place on June 13 and 14, 1890. The use for church services was discontinued in 1908 due to the sharp decline in the number of parishioners. This led to the fact that the religious community was dissolved in 1917. At this point in time, no decision had yet been made about the further use of the synagogue. In 1919 a master mason took over the former synagogue. The purchase price was 1,800 marks. Since then it has been used as a residential building. In 1965, extensive renovation work was carried out on the building. Due to the structural changes (facade clad, windows and entrances partially modified, extension, etc.), almost nothing of the original appearance of the synagogue can be seen today. Only the arched shape of some of the windows has been preserved and can still be seen today. This conversion was possible because the building was only listed as a historical monument in 2003.

Jewish community Gersheim

The settlement of Jewish families from the 17th century onwards goes back to the permission of the Counts von der Leyen for the Blieskastel Oberamt (to which Gersheim belonged). These had issued numerous ordinances on the coexistence of Jews and Christians and, in contrast to other manors, granted the Jewish protective families privileges. Jews were allowed to purchase houses, stables, barns and gardens without being subject to any special downheaval. This meant it was secured property. In addition, they were allowed to slaughter 20 head of cattle annually. A so-called Judenschultheiß was also appointed to mediate disputes between the authorities and members of the Jewish community. Until the community received the congestion of its own religious community in 1885, the facilities of the Blieskastel religious community were used. The burials continued to take place in the Jewish cemetery in Blieskastel . In 1893 and 1894, they were looking for their own religion teacher, slaughterer, prayer leader and cantor and employed for a few years. A special feature is the fact that in 1834 20 members of the neighboring Jewish community of Bliesbruck were resident in Gersheim. As a result, the prayer leader von Bliesbruck received no salary from the French state. By 1900 the community had around 30 members. Then, as in the neighboring Blieskastel, a strong move began, which led to the fact that from 1908 no more services were held. In 1917 the community was dissolved. In 1935 there were still six inhabitants of Jewish faith in Gersheim.

In the period from 1920 to 1935, the Saar area was under the administration of the League of Nations due to the Treaty of Versailles . Since the government commission of the Saar area feared riots similar to those in the German Reich after Hitler came to power in 1933 , the police authorities issued a decree to protect Jewish citizens, their property and their facilities. After the referendum in 1935, the Saar area was annexed to the German Reich. The persecution of the Jewish population began here too.

The following members of the Jewish community born in Gersheim were murdered during the time of National Socialism :

Surname First name Time of death Age Place of death comment swell
Junk Charles July 16, 1942 44 Dachau concentration camp, Germany Yad Vashem (database, record no.7703671)
because Jules March 27, 1944 57 Auschwitz concentration camp, Poland Deportation from the transit camp Drancy (France) to Auschwitz A) Yad Vashem (database, record no.11652017)

B) Memorial book for the victims of the Nazi persecution of Jews in Germany

Löb Joseph May 1, 1941 58 Recebedou Detention Center, France Deportation from Belgium to the internment camp Saint Cyprien (France). October 22, 1940 Transfer to Recebedou internment camp (France) A) Yad Vashem (database, record no.3199660)

B) Memorial book for the victims of the Nazi persecution of Jews in Germany

Löb Simon November 10, 1938 64 Nurnberg, Germany Killed by members of the SA in the night of the Reichspogrom A) Yad Vashem (database, record no.11582291)

B) Memorial book for the victims of the Nazi persecution of Jews in Germany

Israel Marguerite April 13, 1944 47 Auschwitz concentration camp, Poland Deportation from the transit camp Drancy (France) to Auschwitz Memorial book for the victims of the Nazi persecution of Jews in Germany
  1. ↑ The name on the Stolperstein in Gersheim is Karl Wust. Charles is the French form of Karl. Karl Wust is listed as Charles Wust in the Yad Vashem database. It is not verifiable whether he got the name himself when he fled to France or whether he got it through the French. Authorities received.
  2. ↑ The name on the Stolperstein in Gersheim is Josef Löb. Josef Löb is listed as Joseph Löb both in the Yad Vashem database and in the online version of the memorial book for the victims of the Nazi persecution of Jews. The eponymous Hebrew word for Joseph and Joseph is jasaf. Both names are a common form. It cannot be verified whether he got the name himself when he fled or whether he received it from the French or Belgian authorities.

Stumbling blocks

On April 9, 2011, the artist Gunter Demnig laid two Stolpersteine in Gersheim in memory of the brothers Simon and Josef Löb in Hauptstraße 22 and one in Hauptstraße 40 in memory of Karl Wust.

  • Stumbling block Josef Löb

  • Stumbling block Simon Löb

  • Stumbling block Karl Wust

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sub-monument list Saarpfalz-Kreis (PDF) . On: www.saarland.de, accessed on September 22, 2018
  2. ↑ The Israelite: a central organ for Orthodox Judaism. Complete edition of issue 49 from September 23, 1890 (PDF download) - article on page 890 - at: sammlungen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de, accessed on September 22, 2018
  3. ↑ a b c From the history of the Jewish community in the German-speaking area - Blieskastel . From: www.jüdische-gemeinden.de, accessed on September 22, 2018
  4. ^ Jewish community of the Rhine Palatinate . From: www.jkgrp.de, accessed on September 22, 2018
  5. ↑ a b Gersheim (Saar-Pfalz-Kreis) Jewish history / synagogue On: www.alemannia-judaica.de, accessed on September 22, 2018
  6. ^ Cilli Kasper-Holtkotte: Jews on the move: On the social history of a minority in the Saar-Mosel area around 1800 (research on the history of the Jews: Dept. A, Abhandlungen; Vol. 3) . Verlag Hahnsche Buchhandlung Hannover, 1996, page 72, ISBN 3-7752-5612-1
  7. ↑ The Israelit: a central organ for orthodox Judaism, complete edition, issue 58 of July 20, 1893 (PDF download) - advert on page 1121 - at: sammlungen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de, accessed on September 22, 2018
  8. ↑ Der Israelit: a central organ for orthodox Judaism, complete edition, issue 61 of August 2, 1894 (PDF download) - advert on page 1142 - at: sammlungen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de, accessed on September 22, 2018
  9. ^ The religious life of the Jewish community in Lorraine and the Prussian Rhine Province in the 19th century. At: www.europa.clio-online.de, accessed on September 22, 2018
  10. ^ Directory of names of the online version of the memorial book for the victims of the Nazi persecution of Jews . From: www.bundesarchiv.de, accessed on September 22, 2018
  11. ↑ Yad Vashem - Central database of the names of the Holocaust victims . From: yvng.yadvashem.org, accessed September 22, 2018
  12. ^ "Stumbling blocks" in Gersheim are reminiscent of victims of the Nazi era . On: www.saarbruecker-zeitung.de, accessed on September 22, 2018