Mosbach

General information: First Jewish presence: 13th century; peak Jewish population: 229 in 1871; Jewish population in 1933: 134
Summary: The Jewish community of Mosbach built a synagogue and mikveh at Frohndbrunnengasse in the late 1700s. Communal institutions included a school (1830-1876) and a cemetery, and we also know that beginning in 1827, the community hosted a district rabbinate. Mosbach’s first honorary citizen was Rabbi Dr. Leopold Loewenstein (1843-1924). Loewenstein not only organized religious and charitable activities, but also wrote important works on Baden’s Jewish history. In 1933, Julius Grailshamer was district rabbi; a teacher/chazzan instructed 15 schoolchildren in religion. Later, on Pogrom Night (November 1938), Jewish homes and the two remaining Jewishowned stores were vandalized. The synagogue was set on fire, but not before the rioters had destroyed its interior and (this was done at the marketplace) burned the ritual objects and Torah scrolls. The cemetery was heavily damaged that night, and eight Jews were sent to Dachau. One hundred and ten Jews left Mosbach, two died there, and 16 were deported to Gurs on October 22, 1940. Two Jews, both of whom were married to Christians, survived the war in Mosbach. At least 38 local Jews perished in the Shoah. Garages were built on the synagogue site in the 1950s; a plaque was unveiled there in 1969. In 1986, memorial stones were unveiled at the synagogue site and at the cemetery.
Photo: Firefighters in front of the synagogue of Mosbach while it burned on the morning of November 10, 1938. Courtesy of: Town Archive of Mosbach.
Author / Sources: Heike Zaun Goshen
Sources: AH, AJ, EJL, HU, PK-BW
Located in: baden-wuerttemberg