The first evidence of a Jewish settlement in Schleusingen dates back to the year 1298, which ends abruptly in a pogrom by the so-called Rintfleisch gangs.
The second proof is linked to the years 1348/50, when Europe was afflicted by the plague and its cause was seen in the well poisoning by the Jews. Once again the murder and expulsion of the Schleusinger Jews took place.
From the beginning to the middle of the 16th century, various Jewish families can be traced, but they were expelled by the Henneberg rule after submissions and protests by the town councillors and clergymen of Schleusingen. Only with the permission of 10 Jewish families to move here in 1704 did a Jewish community develop which was able to live and work here almost undisturbed for two and a half centuries. It was this community that established the Jewish cemetery in the Pulvergrund in 1710.
Since the number of community members had grown to 85 in the 19th century, they were allowed to inaugurate their newly built synagogue on 26 October 1881.
The more than 230-year-old Jewish settlement of Schleusingen ends under National Socialism with the deportation of the last Jews in September 1942.
From today on, all pages are also available in English.
Weitersroda is a district of Hildburghausen. The free location of the graves of the Jewish cemetery was determined from a floor plan from 1857. The data were transferred from the Sütterlin writing and can now be presented in tabular form. As of today, a pdf-file is available on this website. Interested readers can view them here.
Today, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Reichspogromnacht, the new website "Juden-in-Schleusingen.de" was officially launched. Jewish life in Schleusingen can be traced back to the 13th century. Names and fates of the Jewish Schleusinger, their life stories and memories stand in the context of the German and Schleusinger history.
The site is continuously updated and expanded with new information, facts and stories.