Herborn

Summary: Several impoverished Jewish families lived in Herborn during the early 1800s, but they were often unable to organize a minyan; accordingly, regular services had ceased by 1846. Beset by financial difficulties, the community was not able to hire a teacher until 1869, when the Jews of Bad Ems donated money for the establishment of a school in Herborn (closed in 1933). Until 1875, religious services were conducted in rented locations; and in 1882, with the help of donations, local Jews renovated the prayer room at Am Kornmarkt to include 36 seats for men and 24 for women. Herborn’s Jewish cemetery, which had been consecrated in the early 1800s, was enlarged in 1879 and used until 1936. The synagogue was vandalized during Pogrom Night, after which it was destroyed; Jewish men were sent to Sachsenhausen. Most Herborn Jews immigrated to the United States, Palestine, Africa or European countries; others relocated within Germany. Fourteen local Jews were deported in 1942; at least 22 perished in the death camps. The memorial on Gerichtskoppel (at the Jewish cemetery) commemorates local Jewish victims of the Shoah, as does a plaque affixed to the former synagogue building. Nine books in Hebrew and four Torah scrolls were saved from destruction and, in 1950, handed over to Jewish Restitution Successor Organization.

Author / Sources: Swetlana Frank
Sources: AJ, DJGH, EJL, FJG, LJG, SIA, SIH