Synagogue Birkenau (Odenwald)

The synagogue in Birkenau , a community in the Bergstrasse district in the south of Hesse ( Germany ), was built in 1858/59 and destroyed in 1938. The synagogue was on Obergasse.

history

The inauguration of the synagogue took place on October 18, 1859. The synagogue had 40 places for men and 20 in the women's gallery , which was accessible via an outside staircase. The synagogue was built in the neo-Romanesque style.

On November 9, 1938, the synagogue building was sold to the community of Birkenau, which wanted to set up their fire station in it. Nevertheless, the synagogue was destroyed by SA men on the night of November 10th . On the same day, the two chairmen of the Jewish community, Ferdinand and Emanuel Löb, were forced to sign an amended purchase agreement for the building, which stated: “A purchase price is not paid”. The ruins were demolished in the spring of 1940.

Commemoration

At the location of the former synagogue there is a small memorial stone with the inscription: "The synagogue built in 1859 and destroyed in 1938 stood here".

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  West side with entrance

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  Southern side view

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  Ground floor plan

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  Floor plan gallery

See also

• List of synagogues destroyed in the German Reich from 1933 to 1945

literature

• Klaus-Dieter Alicke: Lexicon of the Jewish communities in the German-speaking area. Volume 1: Aach - Groß-Bieberau. Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 2008, ISBN 978-3-579-08077-2 ( online edition ).
• Wolfgang Gebhard: History of the Birkenau Jews . Birkenauer Schrift Heft 4, Birkenau Municipality 1993. (not evaluated)

Web links

Commons : Synagoge Birkenau  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Synagogue Birkenau near Alemannia Judaica (with many photos)

Coordinates: 49 ° 33 '36.9 "  N , 8 ° 42' 21.7"  E