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
Sources: AJ, EJL, SG-RPS
Located in: rhineland-palatinate