Brauneberg

First Jewish presence: 18th century; peak Jewish population: 1870-1880 (see below); Jewish population in 1933: 20 (see below)

Jewish life in what was then the village of Dusemond began in the 18th century (Dusemond changed its name to Brauneberg in 1925). A Jewish cemetery was consecrated in 1870. Religious services were conducted in a prayer hall until the second half of the 19th century, when the community established a synagogue at 145 Moselweinstrasse (previously 75 Hauptstrasse). In 1896, the Jews of Muelheim an der Mosel, Veldenz, Lieser and Wintrich were affiliated with the Brauneberg community. Brauneberg’s synagogue was desecrated in 1900. In 1933, 20 Jews lived in Brauneberg. The community, however, counted 62 members, for, as mentioned above, several neighboring Jewish communities were affiliated with Brauneberg. We also know that the community employed a shochet and a chazzan that year, and that two chevra kadisha organizations—one for men, the other for women—and a welfare association were active in Brauneberg. In 1937, local Jews joined the community of Neumager- Niederemmel, at which point religious services in Brauneberg’s synagogue probably ceased. On Pogrom Night, SA men broke into and wrecked the Brauneberg synagogue. Later, in October 1941, Brauneberg’s remaining Jews were deported. At least 14 Brauneberg Jews perished in the Shoah, as did 10 from Veldenz. After 1945, the old synagogue building was converted into a barn. Renovated in the 1990s (the façade was recreated in the synagogue’s original style), the building now serves as a café and restaurant. A plaque has been erected to commemorate Brauneberg’s Jewish community.

Bronagh Bowerman

Copyright: Pogrom Night 1938 - A Memorial to the Destroyed Synagogues of Germany/ Germansynagogues.com

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