Synagogue (Kuppenheim)

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The synagogues in Kuppenheim (Baden-Württemberg) were the places of worship for the local Jewish community. The last synagogue in Kuppenheim was set on fire during the Reichspogromnacht .

Jewish community in Kuppenheim

It is not possible to precisely determine when the first Jewish community in Kuppenheim came into being; possibly even before 1433. For 1683 ten Jewish families are recorded in Kuppenheim, for 1701 only three, for 1724 seven. In 1864 the number of Jewish residents of Kuppenheim peaked at 142. In 1933 51 Jewish citizens were still living in Kuppenheim; at least 13 were killed in the murder of Jews during the Third Reich .

Towards the end of the 16th century, when around ten Jewish families lived in Kuppenheim, there was probably a prayer room in a private building, but nothing has been recorded about it. A cemetery was probably laid out in the 17th century; it was first mentioned in 1694. It had had a cemetery hall since 1889, which was destroyed by arson on November 10, 1938.

Around the middle of the 18th century, when there were only a few Jewish residents living in Kuppenheim, they were forbidden by Obervogt Lassolye von Rastatt from uniting with the Rastatt Jews in common prayers. The church services in Kuppenheim were presumably led by parishioners; from 1803 the community had a cantor and religion teacher. The first holder of this office was Benedikt Moses Engel.

From 1827 the Kuppenheim Jewish community belonged to the rabbinical district of Bühl.

Synagogue buildings

Between 1755 and 1789, when the number of Jewish residents in Kuppenheim had increased again, the first synagogue was established. It was located at the end of Geitzengasse (today: Löwengasse) on property that had previously belonged to a Jew named Meyer and was built on with a stable. It is possible that no new synagogue was built, only this stable was rebuilt. The first synagogue was also given a ritual bath. In 1825 the Oberamt Rastatt determined that this synagogue looked more like a bad stable “than just a temple away from it”, and advised a new building.

A place next to the old synagogue was considered for this new building; However, the financing turned out to be difficult: of the estimated 2000 guilders building costs, only 300 to 400 guilders had already been saved. After all, the places in the future synagogue were auctioned off before construction began in order to collect the necessary money.

Professor Oehl, master builder from Rastatt, planned the new synagogue and suggested adding an extension with a teacher's apartment and ritual bath. The building was erected in the summer of 1826; it is not known exactly when it was inaugurated. In 1838 the former synagogue next door was demolished and replaced by a Jewish schoolhouse with a classroom, teacher's apartment and bathroom, which was in use until around 1910. In 1911 the synagogue and the Jewish schoolhouse were connected to the electrical power supply.

On the afternoon of November 10, 1938, the synagogue was set on fire by members of the SA and the NSDAP. The district leader Dieffenbacher and his deputy, Mayor Kalmbacher from Rastatt, and the SA standard leader Eberhard were involved. Before the action, the fire brigade was called in to protect the neighboring buildings from fire damage, but this did not succeed. Numerous onlookers turned up. The next day it was claimed in the Kuppenheimer Generalanzeiger that powder had been stored in the synagogue that had caught fire when a cigarette butt was carelessly thrown away. The building could not be saved.

A private person bought the ruined property from the Jewish community for 3,000 RM. The latter wanted to tear down the remains of the synagogue towards the end of 1938; the new owner left it there until 1945 because he apparently wanted to continue using it. After the property was confiscated in 1945, it came into the possession of the JRSO and was sold to a local transport company in 1950. At that time the ruins of the synagogue were torn down; only one door frame remained. The cantor's house remained standing, but was heavily rebuilt. The square in front of this house bears since 1999 the name Synagogenplatz and is designed as a memorial.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Joachim Hahn and Jürgen Krüger, Synagogues in Baden-Württemberg. Places and facilities , Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1843-5 , pp. 272-275
  2. ↑ Quoted from: Joachim Hahn and Jürgen Krüger, Synagogues in Baden-Württemberg. Places and facilities , Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1843-5 , p. 274.

Coordinates: 48 ° 49 ′ 42.4 "  N , 8 ° 15 ′ 17.1"  E