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[1103] Former Synagogue

Description

The mentioned building, which remains structurally unchanged in its exterior facade to this day, located at Fischergasse 32, was the home of the second synagogue of the Israelite Community of Lohr from 1871 until its forced "Aryanization" in 1938/1939. The building even survived the Reichspogromnacht on November 9, 1938, without damage from the outside. It is therefore the most significant original architectural monument that commemorates the Jewish community. We know from an old resident of Lohr that in the rear of the building, even though covered by the previous owner, the ritual women's bath with immersion pool, known as the "Mikveh" (in colloquial terms: "Jordan"), must still exist. This representative Baroque building with a hipped roof (dated to 1732) reflects the high hopes that the Jewish newcomers placed in their community founding, which was the first documented in the history of Lohr. By the end of the 19th century, ninety Jewish individuals were registered, which was the absolute peak. Nonetheless, the community remained relatively small. The prayer hall on the upper floor was not particularly large, measuring only 50 square meters, and was therefore tightly packed.
During the Reichspogromnacht, the synagogue area was sealed by the police after being vandalized, in order to prevent arson in the densely populated Fischergasse. The sealing was never lifted until the forced sale in 1939. With that, the heart of the community stopped beating on the night of the Reichspogromnacht. Helene Rothschild was the last community member to leave for the USA in 1940, before the ban on emigration. The last elected religious board member, Simon Strauß, left Lohr in April 1939 and died in Bad Nauheim in 1940.