Vacha
General information: First Jewish presence: 13th century; peak Jewish population: 121 in 1913; Jewish population in 1933: 71
Summary: Records suggest that Jews settled in Vacha in the early 13th
century. We also know that they were expelled from the town
during the Black Death pogroms of 1348/49.
Although a Jewish community was founded in Vacha in
1777, a synagogue and schoolroom had existed in the town,
at 22 Schulstrasse, before then; this synagogue was enlarged
in 1829. The Jewish cemetery on Voelkershaeuser Strasse
(1323-1939) was enlarged in 1778, in 1839 and again in
1882. A mikveh was installed at 11 Schulstrasse in or around
the year 1900.
In 1933, the community employed a teacher of religion
who also served as chazzan and shochet. A women’s organization
and a youth association were active in the town that year. The
cemetery was desecrated in 1929 and again in 1932.
On the morning after Pogrom Night, seven or eight men
destroyed the synagogue’s interior; the building was later shut
down by the municipality. Approximately 35 Jews emigrated
from the town; eight died in Vacha. After 1942, the town’s
remaining Jews were deported. At least 29 local Jews perished
in the Shoah.
In 1955, the synagogue building was torn down. The
site now accommodates an apartment building or a garage.
Author / Sources: Heidemarie Wawrzyn
Sources: AJ, DJKT, EJL, FJG
www.thueringen.info/
www.gewerbeverein-vacha.de/
Sources: AJ, DJKT, EJL, FJG
www.thueringen.info/
www.gewerbeverein-vacha.de/
Located in: thuringia