Urspringen

General information: First Jewish presence: 16th century; peak Jewish population: 213 in 1837 (20.7% of the total population); Jewish population in 1933: 78
Summary: Urspringen was home to a synagogue, located on the Judengasse (“Jews’ alley”), by 1702. The community established a new synagogue there in 1803 (it was renovated in 1860 and again in 1932) and a mikveh in 1826. Burials were conducted in Laudenbach. In 1918, the Jewish elementary school limited its curriculum to religious studies. The community’s teacher also performed the duties of shochet and chazzan: Simon Kissinger took up this post in 1878 and held it for more than 50 years. Twelve Jewish children studied religion in Urspringen in 1933. Several Jewish associations were active in the community that year. On Pogrom Night, the synagogue’s interior and Torah scrolls was destroyed. Jewish homes were vandalized and looted, even one in which a deceased Jewish woman lay awaiting burial. Nearly all Jewish males were arrested and imprisoned in Lohr, from where several were later deported to Dachau. After the pogrom, Urspringen’s remaining Jews moved into smaller houses; their homes, property, and the mikveh were confiscated. Six Urspringen Jews emigrated and 21 relocated within Germany. In April 1942, 42 local Jews were deported, via Wuerzburg, to Izbica. Later that year, the remaining four Jews were deported to the East. At least 74 Urspringen Jews perished in the Shoah. The synagogue, renovated during the years 1989 to 1991, now houses a memorial, a cultural center and a museum of regional Jewish history. The mikveh has also been restored.
Author / Sources: Heike Zaun Goshen
Sources: AH, AJ, EJL, PK BAV
www.marktheidenfeld.de
Located in: bavaria