Tiengen

Summary: The Jewish community of Tiengen established a cemetery on Feldbergstrasse in or around the year 1760. Religious services were conducted in prayer rooms until 1793, when a synagogue was dedicated on Fahrgasse (the cemetery was renovated in 1863 and again in 1929). The community maintained a mikveh, built in 1867, and a Jewish elementary school (1830-1876). After the school shut down, a private teacher instructed Jewish schoolchildren in religion; in Tiengen, teachers also served as cantors and ritual slaughterers. In 1933, Jewish associations, branches of nation-wide Jewish organizations and charity funds were active in Tiengen. On Pogrom Night, rioters destroyed the cemetery and the synagogue’s interior. Jewish homes and businesses were looted and vandalized. Five Jewish men and 14 women were arrested; the men were sent to Dachau, where two died. Sold in 1939, the synagogue was converted into a workshop. Thirty Jews emigrated, at least nine relocated within Germany and five, all women, were deported to Gurs on October 22, 1940. At least 23 Tiengen Jews perished in the Shoah. The cemetery (it had been converted into a sports field) was restored after the war: the site now contains a memorial plaque (unveiled in 1981) and monument (erected in 2002). In 1984, a memorial plaque was unveiled opposite the former synagogue site.

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