Aschaffenburg, Germany

In Jewish sources the town was known as Oshburg, Astenburg. Jews may have been present as early as the mid-12th century. An organized community with a synagogue existed in the mid-14th century. The community was nearly destroyed in the Armleder massacres (1336-39) and the Black Death persecutions 1348-49. Subsequently the Jews lived under the protection of the Archbishop of Mainz. In 1457, the Jews were forced to wear special clothes and confined to a Jewish quarter. New regulations in the late 17th century limited Jewish residence to 13 families but also enabled them to expand their trade to include old and new clothes in addition to cattle and horses and to build a synagogue (1696). In 1811 all restrictions on Jews were lifted. The community grew from 200 in 1837 to a peak of 670 in 1910 (total 29,892). In 1933 the Jewish population was 591, subsequently augmented by new arrivals. The community operated numerous charities and branches of the Zionist Organization and the Central Union (C.V.) In the Nazi period, the Jewish Cultural Association (Juedischer Kulturbund) became active, organizing lectures, performances, and foreign language courses. Anti-Jewish agitation was severe from the outset. Jewish clothing manufacturers and salesmen were boycotted and a number of Jewish businesses were "Aryanized." On “Kristallnacht” (9-10 Nov. 1938), 20-30 Jews were sent to the Dachau concentration camp, the synagogue was burned down, and Jewish stores were looted. In the 1933-41 period, 300 Jews emigrated. Another 121 left for other German cities. Of the Jews remaining in 1942, 128 were sent to Wuerzburg on 23 April and two days later deported to lzbica in the Lublin district of Poland; 42 were sent to Wuerzburg on 6 September and deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto on 10 September as was the last group of 16 on 22-23 September 1942.