Adorf
General information: First Jewish presence: 1778; peak Jewish population: 45 in 1826; Jewish population in 1933: 20
Summary:
A Jewish presence was first recorded in Adorf in 1778. The earliest available record of a cemetery is dated 1809, and we also know that it was consecrated near Dansenberghalle, outside Adorf. In 1832, the community received permission to build a synagogue, which was inaugurated shortly afterwards. Although we know that Adorf was home to a Jewish school in 1872—established in rented quarters on Bergstrasse—the records do not tell us when it was built.
In September 1935, windows in Jewish homes were smashed. In 1936/37, 12 Jews relocated within Germany and one immigrated to Brazil; three passed away in Adorf. The synagogue was sold in 1937, and in 1938 the community was disbanded. Ritual objects from the synagogue were transferred to Kassel.
Despite this, on Pogrom Night, the synagogue’s interior was destroyed. The building was demolished in 1939.
Three Jews lived in Adorf in 1941: Two moved to Wrexen in November of that year; and one (possibly married to a Christian) remained in Adorf and died there in 1947. At least 14 local Jews perished in the Shoah.
At some point after 1960, a memorial plaque was unveiled at the former synagogue’s site. The cemetery, which was desecrated during the Nazi period, was desecrated again in 1981.
Nurit Borut
Sources: PK-HNF www.synagoge-voehl.de
Author / Sources: Nurit Borut; Sources: PK-HNF www.synagoge-voehl.de
Located in: hesse