Ottensoos

Summary: The Jewish community of Ottensoos conducted services in a prayer hall until 1686, when a synagogue was built in the village (renovated in 1844). In 1872, one year after the synagogue and adjacent school (built in 1869) burned down, a new synagogue was established at 5 Dorfplatz; the adjacent community center housed a schoolhouse, a teacher’s apartment and a mikveh. Until the early 1930s, the community employed a teacher who also performed the duties of chazzan and shochet. Local Jews buried their dead in Schnaittach. In 1933, a teacher from Schnaittach instructed the community’s children in religion. By 1936, the community could no longer gather a minyan. In March of that year the synagogue’s windows were broken. A Jewish man was arrested in September of 1938 and later deported to Buchenwald, where he eventually died. The synagogue’s interior was destroyed on Pogrom Night; the ritual objects were never found. Three Ottensoos Jews emigrated and 19 relocated within Germany. By May 1939, no Jews lived in the village. At least 17 Ottensoos Jews perished in the Shoah. The former synagogue building, schoolhouse and mikveh survived the pogrom and World War II. A plaque was unveiled in Ottensoos in 1988.

Author / Sources: Magret Liat Wolf
Sources: AJ, PK BAV
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