Lollar

Summary: The Jewish community of Lollar conducted services in Staufenberg until the 1840s, when, for unspecified reasons, the authorities closed the cemetery there; Lollar Jews accordingly consecrated their own cemetery northeast of the town. The community also maintained a synagogue and a school, the latter of which was presided over by a teacher who, at times, served as shochet and chazzan. The synagogue—it may have replaced a prayer room—was built in either 1848 or in 1895; located on Giessener Strasse, it measured 41 square meters and seated 30 worshipers. In 1933, 14 Jews still lived in Lollar (most of them emigrated from or relocated within Germany during the following years). Unable to gather a minyan, the community had discontinued services by that time. On Pogrom Night, SA men and members of the Hitler Youth destroyed the synagogue’s interior, soon after which the building was pulled down. Later, in September 1942, the town’s remaining four Jews were deported to concentration camps. At least four local Jews perished in the Shoah. As of this writing, a memorial has never been erected in Lollar.

Author / Sources: Heike Zaun Goshen
Sources: AH, AJ, EJL