Lichtenau
General information: First Jewish presence: 1631; peak Jewish population: 244 in 1871; Jewish population in 1933: 84
Summary: Although the Jews of Lichtenau were persecuted during the
anti-Jewish riots of 1848, the community peaked at 244
members in 1871.
Beginning in the 1730s, religious services were conducted
in a private residence. In Lichtenau, Jewish children attended
regular schools and studied religion at the teacher’s house
(built in 1808). In 1810, the community inaugurated a
synagogue on Schmiedstrasse (present-day Synagogenstrasse,
or “synagogue street”) with 50 seats for men and 36 for
women. After 1830, local Jews conducted burials at the
Freistatt cemetery. We also know that ritual bath houses
were built in Lichtenau in 1835 (in the school basement), in
1855 and in 1903 (behind the synagogue). In 1862, Lazarus
Lehmann was appointed teacher/chazzan, a post he held
for 65 years.
In 1933, 13 schoolchildren studied religion in Lichtenau;
a Jewish men’s and a Jewish women’s association were active in the town that year. On Pogrom Night, rioters plundered
the synagogue’s interior and destroyed ritual objects; local
Jewish men were sent to Dachau, where two were shot.
Twenty Lichtenau Jews emigrated, 26 relocated within
Germany, 10 died in Lichtenau, one committed suicide and
24 were deported to Gurs on October 22, 1940. At least 30
Lichtenau Jews perished in the Shoah.
The synagogue building was demolished in 1940; in
1986, a memorial stone was unveiled there.
Author / Sources: Heike Zaun Goshen
Sources: AH, AJ, PK BW
Sources: AH, AJ, PK BW
Located in: baden-wuerttemberg