Description

Neustadt ann der Weinstrasse Synagogue:  Neustadt ann der Weinstrasse, Germany: Built 1867. Destroyed  Kristallnacht November 9, 1938.

The synagogue was the center of Jewish life in Neustadt – a city that had had a Jewish presence since the 1300s. In the early morning of November 10, 1938 a drunken mob of 30 men set the shul on fire. The building and its interior were first massively vandalized, then its prayer books were placed in a stack, doused with gasoline, and set aflame.  (The Jewish Home for the Aged was also set aflame, with its residents still in it – 2 died in the conflagration.)

Shortly after, a parade was held in the town, with a float depicting the burning synagogue, and actors mockingly depicting Moses and the Jews. Families lined the streets to watch it go by.

(11 ¼ inches high x 6 1/2 inches wide x 2 ¼ deep)