Sankt Goar

General information: First Jewish presence: 1383; peak Jewish population: 86 in 1807; Jewish population in 1933: unknown
Summary: According to records, Jews lived in Sankt Goar in 1383 and, albeit in small numbers, during the ensuing centuries. Jews were periodically expelled from the town in the Middle Ages, but a lasting community was founded there in the latter half of the 17th century (15 families by 1700). Although a number of Jews left Sankt Goar as a result of anti-Semitic disturbances, the community continued to grow, eventually becoming the headquarters of a rabbinate. By the 19th century, however, the Jewish community of Sankt Goar had lost its erstwhile significance. The community nevertheless established, in 1844, a small prayer hall on the upper floor of a residential house; forty years later, that prayer hall was replaced by a new structure. On November 10, 1938, the synagogue was plundered, its ritual objects desecrated and its Torah scrolls burned on the street. Of the 32 Jews who lived in Sankt Goar in 1932, all managed to either emigrate from or relocate within Germany before the outbreak of World War II (most emigrated). At least 16 Sankt Goar Jews perished in the Shoah.
Author / Sources: Fred Gottlieb
Sources: EJL, LJG, SG-RPS