Nordheim vor der Rhoen

General information: First Jewish presence: 1736; peak Jewish population: 86 in 1890; Jewish population in 1933: 25
Summary: The Jewish community of Nordheim conducted services in the Gelbe Schloss (Yellow Castle) building on Alexander Hoesl Strasse until 1852, when a new synagogue was inaugurated at 4 Judengasse (“Jews’ alley”). Nordheim’s Jewish school was run in cooperation with the Jews of neighboring Oberelsbach; after the school closed down, the community hired a teacher (he also served as chazzan and shochet) to instruct children in Nordheim, Willmars and Oberelsbach. Although the community was able to maintain its own mikveh, burials were conducted in six were deported to Izbica and to Theresienstadt in 1942. The fate of seven Nordheim Jews remains unknown. The synagogue was later converted into an apartment building. A plaque has been affixed to the Gelbe Schloss building.
Author / Sources: Heidemarie Wawrzyn
Sources: AJ, DJGB, EJL, PK-BAV. SZJLB
Located in: bavaria