Bad Mergentheim, Germany

A few Jewish families were present in 1292; 16 Jews were murdered in the Rindfleisch massacres of 1298 and others in the Armleder massacres of 1336-39 and the Black Death persecutions of 1348-49. In 1495 the Teutonic Order assumed responsibility for the small Jewish community, which only began to develop during the Thirty Years War (1618-48). In the first half of the 19th century, when the town was attached to the Wurttemberg principality, tensions with the local population led to violent anti-Jewish outbursts in 1819 and 1848. Economic conditions improved with the discovery of mineral springs at mid-century. In 1900 it reached a peak population of 276 (around 6% of the total) and in 1933 numbered 196. On “Kristallnacht” (9-10 November 1938) the synagogue was desecrated, Jews were severely beaten, and Jewish stores looted. Emigration consequently accelerated and, in all, 123 Jews managed to leave Germany until 1941. None of the others survived the Holocaust, many ending their days in the Theresienstadt ghetto.