Obermoschel

Summary: We do not know when Jews first settled in Obermoschel (Upper Moschel), but records do tell us that a Jewish cemetery was consecrated there in the mid-18th century. In 1841, the community inaugurated a synagogue on Synagogenstrasse (“synagogue street”). Later, in 1898, after the synagogue in nearby Odernheim burned down, Odernheim Jews were affiliated with the Obermoschel community. Children attended the local Jewish elementary school until it shut down in 1926, after which the community employed a teacher of religious studies who also performed the duties of chazzan and shochet. In 1933, by which point the Jews of Niedermoschel (Lower Moschel) had been affiliated with the Obermoschel community, 35 Jews lived in Obermoschel; three schoolchildren received religious instruction. The synagogue was destroyed on Pogrom Night. All Jews had left Obermoschel by September 1939, and we also know that at least eight local Jews perished in the Shoah. The town’s Jewish cemetery was desecrated during the Nazi period.

Author / Sources: Nurit Borut
Sources: AJ, EJL, FJW