Tauberbischofsheim

Summary: In or around the year 1720, the Jews of Tauberbischofsheim established a synagogue and mikveh at 9 Bachgasse. In 1879, the building was sold to a local Jew, but the community continued to use the prayer hall and mikveh. A Jewish school was opened in the 1830s; it was closed, as were all Baden’s confessional schools, in 1876, after which a teacher/chazzan instructed Jewish schoolchildren in religion. In 1933, the teacher had 12 pupils. Several Jewish associations and branches of nation-wide Jewish organizations were active in Tauberbischofsheim. The synagogue’s interior was destroyed on Pogrom Night. Furniture, Torah scrolls, holy books and ritual objects were burned in the marketplace; local priests, however, managed to save several Torah scrolls. Local Jewish men were sent to Dachau that night. In October 1939, Tauberbischofsheim’s remaining Jews were forcibly moved into the Jewish community center on Hauptstrasse. Forty-nine Tauberbischofsheim Jews emigrated. Twentyfive relocated in Germany and 22, the last, were deported to Gurs on October 22, 1942. At least 47 local Jews died in the Shoah. The synagogue—prisoners of war were housed there during the war years—was sold in 1950 and converted into a residence. In 1980, a memorial plaque was unveiled at the town hall in Tauberbischofsheim.

Author / Sources: Heike Zaun Goshen
Sources: AH, AJ, EJL, HU, PK BW