Markt Berolzheim

Summary: In the early 1700s, after a fire destroyed the Berolzheim synagogue, the Jews of Markt Berolzheim built a new house of worship at 15, Marktplatz. Although the community was able to maintain its own mikveh and school (the latter closed down in 1924), Jewish burials took place in Treuchtlingen. In 1933, 11 schoolchildren studied religion in Markt Berolzheim. Two welfare organizations (a chevra kadisha and a Chevra Gemilus Chassodim) and several charitable societies (including the Bernhard and Hanna Bermann Foundation for Brides) were active in Markt Berolzheim. In 1933, Nazis humiliated a local Jew in public; and in 1936, laborers attacked Jews at the train station. On Pogrom Night, SA troops and local residents set the synagogue on fire, destroyed Jewish homes and attacked Jews. Twenty-one Jews were arrested and imprisoned in Gunzenhausen; they were released, but none returned to Markt Berolzheim. The day after Pogrom Night, one of the village’s three remaining Jews was deported to Nuremberg; by December of 1938, the other two were living in Karlsruhe. Between 1934 and 1938, 23 Markt Berolzheim Jews emigrated and 18 relocated within Germany. At least 37 local Jews perished in the Shoah. A memorial was later unveiled at the synagogue site.

Author / Sources: Heidemarie Wawrzyn Sources: AJ, DJGB, EJL, PK-BAV, SIA, SZJLB