Walsdorf
General information: First Jewish presence: 16th century; peak Jewish population: 155 in 1811/12 (20.9% of the total population); Jewish population in 1933: 23
Summary: The Jewish community of Walsdorf established the following
communal institutions: a cemetery in the 16th century; a
synagogue in 1732 (renovated in 1862, in 1903 and again in
1930); and a mikveh and a community center, on Schafberg,
in 1802. In 1859, as the village’s Jewish population started
to dwindle, the community center was sold. Walsdorf’s Jews
were affiliated with the Trabelsdorf community in 1907.
Between the years 1826 to 1869, Walsdorf ’s Jewish
children attended the school in Kolmsdorf, after which the
community hired teachers from Trabelsdorf. In 1931, a
teacher from Bamberg instructed the village’s Jewish pupils
(those schoolteachers also performed the duties of cantor
and ritual slaughterer).
The cemetery was desecrated in 1933. On Pogrom Night,
the synagogue’s interior was destroyed; ritual objects and
books were set on fire.
Eleven Walsdorf Jews emigrated, four relocated within
Germany and one died in Walsdorf. Six Jews were deported
to Izbica in April 1942; the village’s last Jewish woman was
deported to Theresienstadt in September of that year, and
died on the way there. At least 17 Walsdorf Jews perished
in the Shoah.
The synagogue, sold in 1940, was then used for storage
purposes. Several memorial plaques have been unveiled in
Waldorf.
Author / Sources: Heike Zaun Goshen
Sources: AH, AJ, EJL, PK BAV
www.juden-in-bamberg.de
www.stegaurach.de
Sources: AH, AJ, EJL, PK BAV
www.juden-in-bamberg.de
www.stegaurach.de
Located in: bavaria