Seite4

General overview: The Jewish congregation of Huenfeld - Huenfeld was County seat - was traditionally small although Jews had been living there for a rather long period of time. It was as far back as 1342 that for the first time a Jew from Huenfeld by the name of Salman was mentioned. In 1831 the city was home to 10 Jewish households with a total of 38 individuals. By 1854 47 rather poor Jews lived in Huenfeld. ”90 souls” were reported to the Royal Government at Kassel in 1875, only 60 in 1905. At the start of the Nazi era there existed about 20 Jewish households, and by 1939 their numbers had dwindled to 12 individuals.

For a long period of time Huenfeld’s Jews did not have a Synagogue of their own, and worship services were conducted in private homes. In 1860 an application for building a Synagogue was filed, however, due to a lack of funds construction had to be postponed. Eventually, with the support of the King of Prussia, construction got under way. The sanctuary seated 56 people. In the night of the pogrom of November 09/10 1938 the Synagogue was set on fire and totally devoured by flames.

The Jewish community didn’t have a school of their own either, and Jewish students had to attend the ”Christian” schools in town, however, they had their own Jewish teacher for the subject religion.

As time went on in 1889 a Jewish teacher was in charge of a one-classroom independent elementary school attended by 28 students. As of 1902 the county administration reported 4 students, and in 1924 the last teacher, Liebmann Braunschweiger, retired. The school closed for good -disbanded-, and the Jewish students were assigned to the ”Christian” school.

At all times the joint cemetery for the Jews from the county of Huenfeld was at nearby Burghaun. There from 1690 up to 1937 the late Jews from Huenfeld found their last resting place.

The deportation of September 1942 marked the final destruction of Huenfeld’s Jewish congregation. 14 members of the congregation became victims of the Holocaust! Together with other victims from the county of Huenfeld memorial plaques at the Jewish cemetery in Burghaun and at the Huenfeld city hall commemorate their lives.