Thalfang

General information: First Jewish presence: unknown; peak Jewish population: 113 in 1843 (21% of the total population); Jewish population in 1933: 37
Summary: The Jews of Thalfang and its nearby villages belonged to the community of Trier until 1920, when Thalfang was recognized as an independent Jewish community. Local Jews consecrated a cemetery in 1800 and a synagogue—it housed a schoolroom and a teacher’s apartment—in 1822 (renovated in 1867). Thirty-seven Jews lived in Thalfang in 1933. The Jews of Talling, Dhronecken, Berglicht and Deuselbach were affiliated with the Thalfang community. In 1938, 22 Jews still lived in Thalfang. On Pogrom Night, rioters smashed the synagogue’s windows, threw out the benches and ritual objects and, in a particularly crude show of contempt, hurled the curtains and candle holders onto a nearby manure heap. The Jews themselves were forced to take the sacred books to the marketplace and burn them there. Thalfang’s Jewish cemetery was also desecrated that night. Twelve Jews emigrated, 19 relocated within Germany and nine, Thalfang’s last, were deported to the Lodz ghetto in October 1942. At least 21 Thalfang Jews perished in the Shoah. Several gravestones removed during the Nazi period were returned to the cemetery in 1945. In 1950, the Jewish regional community sold the synagogue building to a neighbor, who had it torn down in 1956. A memorial stone has been unveiled at the cemetery.
Photo: The interior furnishings of the synagogue of Thalfang were thrown out its windows. Courtesy of: Town Archive of Thalfang.
Author / Sources: Esther Sarah Evans
Sources: AJ, EJL, SG-RPS