Langendiebach

Summary: In 1747, the Langendiebach Jewish community established a synagogue—with 21 seats for men, 10 for women—in a private residence at 33, Wilhelmstrasse (present-day Friedrich-Ebert-Strasse). According to one report, the house accommodated a schoolroom and lodgings for the teacher, while the barn housed the synagogue. Other communal institutions included a mikveh (at 23 August-Bebel-Strasse) and a Jewish school, the latter of which was presided over by a teacher by the name of Katzenstein from 1860 until 1900. The community, an affiliate of Hanau, conducted burials in Rueckingen and Langenselbold. In 1933, 36 Jews lived in Langendiebach. A teacher/ shochet from Wachenbuchen instructed five schoolchildren in religion. Later on Pogrom Night, November 1938, SA troops damaged the synagogue and set its interior on fire; books and ritual items were burned on the street. Twenty-two local Jews managed to emigrate (they went mainly to South Africa, Canada, and the United States). Several died in Langendiebach, and by 1939 only 12 Jews lived in the town. In 1941/42, 11 local Jews were deported. At least 25 Langendiebach Jews perished in the Shoah. The synagogue building was torn down either in 1939 or in the 1950s. A shop was later erected there, and in 1961 a memorial plaque was unveiled at the site.

Author / Sources: Heidemarie Wawrzyn
Sources: AJ, DJGH, EJL, FJG, SIA, W-G
www.geschichte-erlensee.de/
www.lagis-hessen.de/