Lieblos
General information: First Jewish presence: mid-18th century; peak Jewish population: unknown; Jewish population in 1933: 7 families
Summary: The aforementioned population statistics include the Jewish
residents of Lieblos’ surrounding villages, small in number as
those Jews were by comparison. The Jews of Lieblos engaged
mainly in cattle and textile trading, and there was one Jewish
baker in the area. The community maintained a synagogue,
organized classes in religion, and ran an elementary school
(1870-1880) and a mikveh.
The synagogue building, built in a centuries-old rural
mansion with wood paneling, was evidently purchased by
one of the members when the congregation outgrew its
prayer hall in the mid-18th century. The interior was altered
to include eight benches for the men and a ladies’ gallery. At
least 25 congregants attended services in the early 1900s, but
by 1933 the community could assemble a minyan only on
the High Holidays. The Nazis’ boycott campaign drove even
more Jews out of the area, and the adjacent communities
had to conduct joint services according to a rotating system.
The synagogue was vandalized on Pogrom Night.
Although the ritual objects had been sent to Frankfurt, they,
too, were destroyed that night. The seven Jews who still lived
in Lieblos in 1938 managed to flee.
The synagogue building was eventually remodeled into a
residence with the women’s gallery as the upper floor.
Author / Sources: Harold Slutzkin
Sources: AJ, DJGH
Sources: AJ, DJGH
Located in: hesse