Unteraltertheim

Summary: Unteraltertheim’s modern Jewish community’s first synagogue, probably built in the 18th century, burned down in 1838, after which, in 1841, a new house of worship— it housed a mikveh and a classroom—was inaugurated at 13 Brunnenstrasse. The Unteraltertheim community employed a teacher of religion who also performed the duties of chazzan and shochet; in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Unteraltertheim’s teacher also served the Jews of nearby Oberaltertheim. The community buried its dead in Wenkheim. In 1933, a teacher from Wenkheim instructed four Unteraltertheim schoolchildren. In Unteraltertheim, the riots of November 1938, took place on the 11th, two nights after Pogrom Night. Rioters in Unteraltertheim attacked Jewish homes, broke the machinery in a Jewish-owned bakery and destroyed the synagogue’s interior and contents (including two Torah scrolls). All Jewish men were arrested, and one was deported to Buchenwald. After the pogrom, the synagogue was sold, for one-third of its actual value, to the village authorities. Nine Unteraltertheim Jews emigrated and three relocated within Germany. In September 1939, the remaining Jews were forced to move into one house. One Jew was deported to Mauthausen, where he died in 1940, and 16 were deported to Izbica in April 1942. At least 37 local Jews perished in the Shoah. The former synagogue was later converted into a storage site.

Author / Sources: Nurit Borut Sources: AJ, EJL, PK BAV