Erlenbach
General information: First Jewish presence: 1760; peak Jewish population: 63 in 1863 (14% of the total population); Jewish population in 1933: 25
Summary:
Jews first settled in Erlenbach in 1760, after
which the Jewish population experienced modest
growth. Although we do not know when this small
community established its prayer hall (located
in a Jewish residence), mikveh and schoolroom,
records do tell us that a synagogue—which would,
generally speaking, have housed the schoolroom
and mikveh—was built in Erlenbach in 1842.
Burials were conducted in nearby Busenburg,
whose Jewish community shared the expense of
employing a teacher/chazzan/shochet. The majority
of local Jews earned a living through agriculture
and related commerce. According to records, four
Erlenbach Jews died during World War I.
The anti-Jewish boycott of 1933 triggered an
exodus from the district. Later, in October of 1938 (one month before Pogrom Night), local Nazis broke the
windows of the remaining Jewish homes and destroyed
the synagogue’s interior. The handful of Jews who did not
manage to escape after the outbreak of World War II were
deported to and perished in the camps.
The destroyed synagogue was torn down in 1948.
Author / Sources: Harold Slutzkin
Sources: EJL, LJG, SG-RPS
Sources: EJL, LJG, SG-RPS
Located in: rhineland-palatinate