Urbach

Summary: According to records, two Jewish families lived in Urbach in 1767. The Urbach Jewish community, established in 1813 and with which the Jews of Raubach and Daufenbach were affiliated, belonged to the regional community of Neuwied in 1857. Later, the Jews of Urbach were affiliated with the Puderbach community. In 1823, local Jews conducted services in a 30-square meter prayer room; although we do not know if this was the same prayer room used in 1856, records do tell us that the room, located that year in a private residence, contained 48 seats. We also know that the community established a synagogue at some point during the years 1900 to 1914, and that burials were conducted in Dierdorf and, after 1898, in Puderbach. Urbach’s Jewish schoolchildren studied religion in Dierdorf. In 1933, approximately 26 Jews lived in Urbach. Although Urbach Jews were forcibly moved to Puderbach before November 1938, the synagogue was nevertheless set on fire on Pogrom Night. (Only its velvet curtains could be saved.) At least eight Urbach Jews perished in the Shoah. In March 1942, a native Urbach Jew was deported to Izbica from the Bendorf Syn institution for the mentally disabled. A bank was later built on the former synagogue site.

Author / Sources: Esther Sarah Evans
Sources: AJ, FJG, SG-RPS, YV
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