Uehlfeld

Summary: The Jewish community of Uehlfeld established a synagogue in 1696, a cemetery on Zeckenberg in 1732, a public elementary school in 1813 (it closed in 1924) and a new synagogue at 7 Raiffeisenstrasse in 1818. The synagogue burned down in 1888, after which, in 1889, the community inaugurated a new synagogue with a mikveh. From 1924 onwards, local Jews employed a teacher of religion who also performed the duties of chazzan and shochet. In 1933, four Jewish children studied religion in Uehlfeld; a women’s association and a chevra kadisha were active in Uehlfeld that year. On November 8, 1938, the Nazi leader in nearby Neustadt an der Aisch ordered Uehlfeld’s 15 remaining Jews to leave town within 24 hours and to sell their property within eight days. Two days later, on Pogrom Night, the homes of those Jews who were still there and the synagogue were destroyed (the latter was burned to the ground). All Uehlfeld Jews escaped that day, but the Jewish wife of a Christian resident returned two months later. Between 1933 and 1938, seven Uehlfeld Jews immigrated to the United States, 31 relocated within Germany and four died in Uehlfeld. At least 60 Uehlfeld Jews perished in the Shoah. After 1945, Germany’s Raiffeisenbank bought the former synagogue and converted it into a warehouse.

Author / Sources: Heidemarie Wawrzyn
Sources: AJ, DJGB, EJL, PK-BAV, SIA, SZJLB
ikg-bayern.de
www.uehlfeld.de