Marburg

Summary: The modern Jewish community of Marburg emerged in the 17th century. By 1900, most local Jews were peddlers, merchants or bankers; the town was also home to a Jewish-owned hotel and a restaurant. Marburg became the seat of the provincial rabbinate in 1823. In 1818, the community inaugurated a synagogue on Ritterstrasse, replacing an older prayer room. Later, in 1897, a larger synagogue was inaugurated on Universitaetsstrasse, offering 230 seats for men and 175 for women. Burials were conducted in a medieval cemetery (renovated in the mid-1800s) on present-day Alter Kirchhainer Weg. The community also maintained a charitable association, a women’s organization, an association of Jewish academics, a mikveh and a school, the last of which was, at times, presided over by two teachers—one who served as chazzan, and the other as assistant and shochet. The synagogue was burned down on Pogrom Night, after which the site was appropriated by the local university. We do not know how many Jews left Marburg after Pogrom Night, but records do tell us that 23 local Jews were deported to Riga in 1941, and that 54 were sent to Theresienstadt in 1942. Eighteen Jewish patients at the local mental institution were murdered. At least 95 Jews from Marburg perished in the Shoah. A new Jewish community developed in Marburg in the 1980s. The cemetery was re-consecrated, and the ruins of the medieval synagogue were unearthed in the 1990s. The former synagogue site—excavations commenced in 2008— was converted into a park and memorial.

Author / Sources: Heike Zaun Goshen
Sources: AH. AJ, EJL
www.jg-marburg.de