Seligenstadt

Summary: From the year 1293 onwards, local records refer the existence of a synagogue in Seligenstadt. The town’s early Jewish community maintained a mikveh, a prayer house on Steinheimerstrasse (established in 1650) and a Jewish cemetery south of the corner of Wuerzbergerstrasse and Einhardstrasse (established in 1714). Records from the year 1740 mention another synagogue; later, in 1872, a new synagogue was inaugurated on Frankfurter Strasse. By 1866, the community had established an elementary school, a school for Jewish studies and a new mikveh (on Kleine Rathausgasse). In 1933, a chevra kadisha, two welfare societies and a sisterhood were active in the community. The synagogue was burned down on Pogrom Night. Jews were assaulted; ten men were sent to Klosterhof and, later, to Buchenwald. By May 1939, only 70 Jews lived in Seligenstadt. In 1941, the remaining 45 Jews were moved into so-called “Jews’ houses”; on September 11, 1942, all 32 occupants were deported to Theresienstadt. At least 108 Seligenstadt Jews perished in the Shoah. The cemetery, which served as a meadow during the years 1942 to 1945, was ravaged by the Nazis; very few gravestones remain, but a monument was later erected there. A memorial stone was unveiled at the former synagogue site in 1965; in 2007/08, the site was partially restored.

Author / Sources: Esther Sarah Evans
Sources: AJ, LJG