Ingolstadt

Summary: Although the history of Jewish Ingolstadt can be traced back to the 13th century, it was not until 1861 that Jews received official permission to settle there. In 1876, a Jewish banker established a prayer room in his home (at 9 Milchstrasse) and hired a teacher and a shochet, in effect establishing the foundation of the modern community. Local Jews established a prayer hall and a teacher’s apartment in 1890 (at 8 Milchstrasse), a cemetery in 1891 and a twostory synagogue (at 23 Theresienstrasse) in 1907. Several Jewish associations and branches of nation-wide organizations were active in Ingolstadt in 1933. On Pogrom Night, November 1938, the synagogue’s windows, doors and furniture were destroyed; Torah scrolls, books, ritual objects and rugs were set on fire. Ingolstadt’s two remaining Jewish-owned businesses and the cemetery’s purification house were destroyed. During the Nazi period, 70 Ingolstadt Jews resettled elsewhere in Germany, 20 emigrated and ten died in Ingolstadt. The town’s remaining Jews left in early 1939, and we also know that at least 60 local Jews perished in the Shoah. In 1946, when Jewish refugees settled in Ingolstadt, the synagogue was reopened; and in 1952, by which point nearly all had left, the synagogue was once again shut down. A memorial plaque was later affixed to the building (now a private storehouse).

Author / Sources: Esther Sarah Evans
Sources: AJ, EJL, PK BAV