Sprendlingen

Summary: Although Jews lived in Sprendlingen in the 17th century, all had left by 1695. A new Jewish presence was established there in the 18th century, developing, a century later, into one of the largest rural Jewish communities in the Rheinhessen area. Services were conducted in a prayer hall, established in a private residence, until 1825, when the community inaugurated a synagogue on St. Gertrudenstrasse (later renamed Synagogengasse, or “synagogue alley”); the house of worship was renovated in 1886. We also know that Sprendlingen’s Jewish cemetery was consecrated in or around 1880. As was the case in many other Jewish communities, the community’s teacher of religious studies also served as chazzan and shochet. In 1920, a window in the synagogue was smashed. Thirty-nine Jews lived in Sprendlingen in 1933; a charitable society was active in the community that year. Later, on Pogrom Night (November 1938), rioters heavily damaged the synagogue and ransacked Jewish homes, including that of a Jewish woman who was married to a Christian. Jewish men were locked in a cowshed, sprayed with water from a hose and, later, sent to a concentration camp. Sold to a carpenter, the synagogue building was eventually converted into a workshop. Sprendlingen’s remaining Jews were deported in 1940. At least 20 local Jews perished in the Shoah. In 1978, a memorial plaque was affixed to the former synagogue building; and in 2003/04, the building was renovated and converted into a cultural center.

Author / Sources: Nurit Borut
Sources: EJL, LJG, SG-RPS