Synagogue (Rexingen)

The former synagogue, today a Protestant church

The synagogue in Rexingen , a district of Horb am Neckar in the Freudenstadt district ( Baden-Württemberg ), was built in 1836/38 and devastated during the November pogroms in 1938 . The former synagogue is located at Freudenstädter Straße 16.

history

The Jewish community of Rexingen built its first synagogue at the beginning of the 18th century. It was expanded in 1751/52 and was still too small half a century later due to the larger Jewish community . A synagogue building fund, in which donations were collected, formed the basis for financing the new synagogue. The foundation stone was laid on July 29, 1836, and on August 28, 1838, the new synagogue was inaugurated by district rabbi Moses Wassermann from Mühringen .

architecture

In 1875 Rabbi Michael Silberstein described the entire rabbinical district of Mühringen and the synagogue in Rexingen as follows:

“The synagogue in Rexingen, undoubtedly the most beautiful in the rabbinical district, is built on a terrace-like raised square, to which stone steps in two sections lead up. In front of the synagogue there is a beautiful colonnade, to which a few stone steps also lead. There are three sides of galleries for the women. Before the holy ark , which is located on the east side, opposite the entrance, is the pulpit to (the) as well as a few steps up to the Holy Ark, below the pulpit one sees a marbled stone which the cantor as a prie-dieu serves ... For the male synagogue users there are subsellia on the right and left, which are separated from one another by wide, probably too wide spaces. Despite these wide spaces, the synagogue can comfortably accommodate 500-600 people. On the walls, especially under the eastern wall, you can see some boards with the names of those who have immortalized themselves through foundations. In 1862 the ceiling of the synagogue was painted very tastefully, and the woodwork was freshly painted. "

- Rabbi Dr. Silberstein

time of the nationalsocialism

In 1934/35 the synagogue was extensively renovated and the columns , walls and women's galleries were painted white. The Almemor and the east wall above the Torah shrine were given a different color. Since many Rexingen Jews their emigration to Palestine (creation of Shavei Tzion prepared), one already celebrated in 1937 the 100th anniversary of the synagogue, a year early.

During the November pogrom in 1938 , the synagogue was demolished and set on fire by SA men, and the building burned down completely. The synagogue ruin was used as a warehouse for the Mauser arms factory (Oberndorf) during World War II . In June 1948, the NSDAP politician Philipp Baetzner was sentenced to 18 months in prison by the Rottweil regional court . According to the court's findings, Baetzner had given the order for the synagogue to be desecrated.

Todays use

The synagogue, which came into the possession of the political community after 1938, was converted in 1952 into the community center with a service room of the Protestant church. The town of Horb, which acquired the building in 1971 through the incorporation of Rexingen, could not or would not finance the necessary renovation. Likewise, the Protestant parish as tenant could not cope with this task.

Therefore, on the initiative of the then Vicar Albrecht Haizmann and with the support of the newly elected Lord Mayor Michael Theurer, the Association for the Promotion and Promotion of the Former Synagogue Rexingen was founded, which received the building rent-free from the city of Horb. In return, the association took on the task of ensuring the renovation and maintenance of the former synagogue.

literature

Klaus-Dieter Alicke: Lexicon of the Jewish communities in the German-speaking area. 3 volumes. Gütersloher Verlagshaus , Gütersloh 2008, ISBN 978-3-579-08035-2 .
Joachim Hahn and Jürgen Krüger: Synagogues in Baden-Württemberg . Volume 2: Joachim Hahn: Places and Facilities . Konrad Theiss Verlag , Stuttgart 2007, pp. 520-522, ISBN 978-3-8062-1843-5 ( Memorial book of the synagogues in Germany . Volume 4).