Zirndorf
General information: First Jewish presence: 1551; peak Jewish population: 105 in 1809; Jewish population in 1933: 64
Summary: During the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the Jewish
community of Zirndorf maintained a yeshiva in the house
of a wealthy local Jew. Zirndorf Jews prayed in a synagogue
on Kleinstrasse—established in 1685—until 1768, when
they inaugurated a new synagogue (renovated in 1909 and
again in 1929) whose ritual items included a Memorbuch
(memorial book) and a Torah scroll from 1757; the building
also housed a mikveh, a school and an apartment for a teacher
who served as shochet and chazzan. Burials took place in
Fuerth.
In 1933, a Jewish women’s association was active in
Zirndorf.
On Pogrom Night (November 9-10, 1938), the
synagogue’s interior and ritual objects were destroyed (the
memorial book survived). The following day, November
11, the remaining Jews were loaded onto a truck and driven
out of town. They returned, but were ordered to liquidate
their businesses and leave immediately. Zirndorf’s last Jews
departed in December 1938.
During the Nazi period, 14 Zirndorf Jews emigrated, 38
relocated within Germany and two died in Zirndorf. At least
16 local Jews perished in the Shoah.
The synagogue was appropriated by the municipality and
used as a Red Cross base. The building later accommodated a
junior high school and, in 1997, was converted into a luxury
residence to which two memorial plaques have been affixed.
Author / Sources: Heike Zaun Goshen
Sources: AH, AJ, EJL, PK-BAV
Sources: AH, AJ, EJL, PK-BAV
Located in: bavaria