Schleusingen
General information: First Jewish presence: 13th century; peak Jewish population: 94 in 1861; Jewish population in 1933: 31-33
Summary: Although we do not know when Jews first settled in
Schleusingen, records do tell us that they were persecuted
there in 1298 and in 1349.
The modern community, established in 1725, maintained
the following communal institutions: a synagogue at
2 Wachstrasse; a cemetery at Judengrund, or “Jews’ ground”
(1710-1937); and a school (established in 1725). In 1881,
five years after the synagogue was destroyed in a fire, local
Jews inaugurated a new house of worship.
In 1933, Schleusingen was home to 31-33 Jews; a teacher
from nearby Themar instructed three schoolchildren in
religion. The cemetery was desecrated soon after the
implementation of the anti-Jewish boycotts of 1933.
On Pogrom Night, SS men vandalized the synagogue,
destroyed its furniture and burned holy books and ritual
objects to the accompanying cheers of bystanders. Jewish
men aged 16 and 60 were arrested, taken to a local gym
and, later, deported to Buchenwald. Deportations from
Schleusingen were completed in 1942. At least 22 local Jews
perished in the Shoah.
The synagogue was converted into an apartment building
in 1950. A plaque (unveiled in 1988) and a stele (erected
in 2008) commemorate Schleusingen’s former Jewish
community. The synagogue has been declared a historical
monument.
Author / Sources: Heidemarie Wawrzyn
Sources: AJ, DJKT, EJL, FJG
www.schleusingen.de/
www.thueringen.de/
Sources: AJ, DJKT, EJL, FJG
www.schleusingen.de/
www.thueringen.de/
Located in: thuringia