Arheiligen

General information: First Jewish presence: 1225; peak Jewish population: 111 in 182; Jewish population in 1933: 24
Summary: It was not until the mid-16th century that Jews were permitted to settle in Arheiligen. The Jewish community was established in or around 1800.In 1847, after the synagogue at 14 Kleine Brueckenstrasse had been deemed unsafe, a new synagogue was opened in its place (renovated in 1903). The community maintained an elementary school—it was located inside the synagogue building—between 1800 and 1847, after which a teacher/ chazzan instructed Jewish children in religion. The Jews of Arheiligen employed a shochet, maintained a mikveh and, for a brief period in the early 19th century, ran a cemetery. As the cemetery was located near a site for cattle burial, the community eventually shut it down and began using the Jewish burial grounds in Gross-Gerau. After World War I, services were no longer conducted regularly in the synagogue. The building was sold in the spring of 1938. On Pogrom Night, Jewish homes and businesses were stormed and plundered. Dora Stern, wounded by a heavy stone thrown into her house, died in the hospital; Johanna Reinhardt jumped from a window when the Nazis broke into her house, after which she, too, died. Reinhardt’s father committed suicide a few weeks later. All Jews left Arheiligen, mostly for Darmstadt; two immigrated to Palestine. At least 10 Arheiligen Jews perished in the Shoah. The synagogue building was set on fire in 1944.
Author / Sources: Nurit Borut Sources: AH, AJ, EJL, PK-HNF
Located in: hesse