Markoebel

Summary: The modern Jewish community of Markoebel began to grow in the early 19th century. Most local Jews were cattle dealers or merchants of textiles and agricultural products; later, some Jews opened retail shops in the area, maintaining mostly good relations with the Christian townsfolk. Markoebel Jews initially worshiped in a private house. By 1830, however, they had established a synagogue with a mikveh, classrooms and seats for 38 men and 18 women. The community employed teachers of religion who also functioned as cantors and, in most cases, as ritual slaughterers. As a result of the deteriorating economic climate, the town’s Jewish population diminished during the early 1900s, so that by 1924 only eight Jewish children were receiving religious instruction. The anti-Jewish boycott of 1933 encouraged those who could to flee Germany; others sought anonymity in larger German cities. On Pogrom Night, the synagogue was destroyed by SA men from nearby towns; private residences were vandalized, and Jewish homeowners were arrested and mistreated. All Jews had left the town by 1939, but at least 21 Markoebel Jews were deported to the death camps from other locations. The only relic of the former community is the cemetery, where approximately 50 tombstones are still intact.

Author / Sources: Harold Slutzkin
Sources: AJ, EJL