Bleicherode, Germany

Jews were living in Bleicherode in 1290. The community was spared the Black Death persecutions of 1348-49, but in 1593 all the Jews were expelled from the city. A new Jewish settlement started around 1700, numbering 177 individuals in 1746. The community maintained a cemetery (1728) and a synagogue (1872). The Jews played an important role in the weaving industry and several Jews were elected members of the city council. When the Nazis came to power in 1933, the community numbered about 100, but soon many, the affluent Jews in particular, moved away, following the extensive "Aryanization" of the larger Jewish businesses. Hans Beyth (1901-47), a native of Bleicherode, was among the main organizers of Youth Aliya from Germany. In 1937, 77 Jews (29 families) were still living in the town. On Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938), the synagogue was destroyed, the cemetery was desecrated, and Jewish stores were vandalized. By 1939, 18 families and nine individuals had emigrated. The remaining 11 Jewish families were deported to the east