Straubing with affiliated communities in Deggendorf, Landshut, Vilshofen, Plattling and Passau

Summary: Although Jews first lived in Straubing in the late 13th century, the town’s modern Jewish community, destroyed during the Nazi period, was established in the late 19th century. The Jews of nearby Deggendorf, Landshut, Vilshofen, Plattling, and Passau were affiliated with the Straubing community from the 19th century onwards. In Straubing, Jews established a prayer hall in 1897; a synagogue, on Wittelsbacher Strasse, in 1907; and a Jewish cemetery in 1923. The community’s Jewish schoolteachers also performed the duties of chazzan and shochet. In 1933, 115 Jews lived in Straubing, 45 in Landshut, 48 in Passau, 21 in Vilshofen, 15 in Deggendorf and 13 in Plattling. Thirteen Jewish schoolchildren studied religion in Straubing, and the community ran a chevra kadisha, a women’s association and a branch of the Keren Kayemet Jewish National Fund for Israel. In March of that year, Nazis murdered a local Jew. The Straubing synagogue’s interior was destroyed on Pogrom Night (November 1938), as were its Torah scrolls and ritual objects. All the town’s Jewish men and several of its Jewish women were arrested, after which some of the men were deported to Dachau. Several men from Vilshofen and Landshut were also deported to Dachau, and Jewish stores and homes were attacked there, too. During the Nazi period, 10 local Jews emigrated from Germany and 19 moved to other German cities. During the years 1942 to 1945, 21 Straubing Jews were deported to Piaski and six to Theresienstadt; eight Deggendorf Jews were deported to the East; from Landshut, 11 Jews were deported to Piaski and one to Theresienstadt; and one Passau Jew was deported to Poland. At least 62 Jews originally from Straubing, 10 from Deggendorf, 58 from Landshut, three from Plattling and two from Vilshofen perished in the Shoah. In 1946, Shoah survivors founded a new Jewish community in Straubing. The synagogue was renovated in 1988, and a new cemetery was established in 2002. A new community was also founded in Landshut. Several memorial plaques were unveiled in Straubing, and Plattling has a memorial stone.

Author / Sources: Heidemarie Wawrzyn
Sources: AJ, DJGB, EJL, SIA, SZJLB