Hergershausen

Summary: Hergershausen Jews were mainly traders of cattle, horse and poultry. The community maintained a synagogue and mikveh before 1869, but their dates of construction are not known. In 1869, however, a new synagogue (38 seats for men, 20 for women) was built at 2 Traenkgasse. The Jews of Hergershausen never consecrated a cemetery—the dead were buried in Sickenhofen—but were able to employ a teacher of religion who also served as chazzan and shochet. On Pogrom Night, the head of the one remaining Jewish family (four Jews) was sent to Buchenwald. SS and SA men vandalized the synagogue, destroyed its interior and burned Torah scrolls in a nearby field. By September 1939, the local fire brigade had demolished the synagogue, after which the few remaining Jews were presented with a bill for the demolition costs. Fourteen Jews emigrated (10 went to the United States) and 17 relocated within Germany. Hergershausen’s last Jewish family left the village in March 1939, after the father of the family was released from Buchenwald. At least 21 local Jews perished in the Shoah. A private residence was later built on the former synagogue site; a memorial plaque was unveiled there in October 2006.

Author / Sources: Heidemarie Wawrzyn Sources: AJ, DJGH, EJL, PK-HNF