Hessdorf

General information: First Jewish presence: 1655; peak Jewish population: 198 in 1830 (38.4% of the total population); Jewish population in 1933: 48
Summary: In 1821 or 1828, the Hessdorf community dedicated a new synagogue at 48 Fussgasse (later 6 Fussgasse). The Jewish elementary school, founded in 1822, closed down in 1927, after which the community employed a teacher of religion who also performed the duties of chazzan and shochet. Local Jews maintained their own mikveh, but buried their dead in Laudenbach or Pfaffenhausen. In 1933, four Jewish schoolchildren studied religion in Hessdorf. That year, a branch of the Central Association of German Citizens of Jewish Faith was active in the town. By 1937, the community could no longer gather a minyan; accordingly, Sabbath services were conducted with the Jews of Adelsberg. On Pogrom Night, rioters destroyed the synagogue’s interior and windows. The Torah scrolls and ritual objects, which had been hidden in the teacher’s house, were found and burned in a bonfire. One Jewish man was deported to Dachau, where he died. Under Nazi rule, at least seven Hessdorf Jews emigrated; others relocated within Germany. Two were deported to Izbica (via Wuerzburg) in April 1942, and two were deported to Theresienstadt in September 1942. At least 30 Hessdorf Jews perished in the Shoah. The synagogue site—the building was demolished after the war—is now a garden. A commemorative plaque has been unveiled at the local fire station.
Author / Sources: Esther Sarah Evans
Sources: AJ, EJL, PK BAV
Located in: bavaria