Synagogue (Külsheim)

Monument in memory of the Jewish community in Külsheim on the remains of the wall of the former synagogue in Külsheim

The former synagogue in Külsheim in the Main-Tauber district was built around 1797 and was destroyed in 1938 during the Reichspogromnacht .

history

The Külsheim synagogue was built in 1797 and existed until the time of National Socialism. After the synagogue was destroyed in 1938, the building was sold in 1940 to a farmer who stored his straw in it. The institution of the community was in the former Judenschulgasse (today's Bergstrasse). The synagogue building burned down on August 23, 1943 after an electrician negligently laid a power line. A memorial stone was erected on the remnants of the wall in 2013 as a symbol of remembrance.

There are reports from a professor from Helle about the worship service in the Jewish prayer house in Külsheim, who attended the services in Külsheim several times between 1900 and 1930 and made notes in his diary. From his youth he reported that the Jewish men were in very festive clothing, which means that they visited the synagogue in frock coats and top hats. A few years later, the “good suit” took its place more and more. Gerhardt described the synagogue as a very traditional house of prayer, due to the Almemor standing in the middle and accessible via a few steps and the prayer desk to the right of the ark. Overall, she made an “old-fashioned” impression on him. For the service on the second New Year's Day in September 1907, Gerhardt noted that, according to the old tradition, all married worshipers visited the synagogue in “Sargenes” (corpse shirt). Most of the older men still wore beards. On that day there were white covers on the desks of all seats.

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 , pp. 266-268 ( Memorial book of the synagogues in Germany . Volume 4).
Elmar Weiss, Irmtraut Edelmann, Helmuth Lauf (authors): History of the well town of Külsheim. 2 volumes. City of Külsheim (ed.). Tauberbischofsheim, FN Druck 1992. Volume 2. With contributions by Pastor Gehrig, Herwig John, Günther Kuhn. Pp. 141–143 ( The Synagogue ).