Merxheim is located about thirty kilometres west of Bad Kreuznach. In 1999, the community dedicated a memorial stone to the former Jewish residents of the township who fell victim to the National Socialist regime.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Merxheim was home to a long-established Jewish community. The Jewish families made a living as cattle traders, merchants, butchers or money lenders. The community had a synagogue on the upper floor of a town house. In 1933, when the National Socialists seized power, the community comprised 26 members. From then on, the Jewish residents were increasingly excluded from the village community. During the »Kristallnacht« in November 1938, members and followers of the NSDAP destroyed the synagogue's prayer room and looted the apartments of Jewish families. Due to more and more frequent and brutal anti-Semitic attacks, all of the Jews eventually left their hometown. Many of them tried to rebuild their lives in the Netherlands or the United States. On January 31, 1939, the last Jewish family left Merxheim, heading for Chicago. However, not all of the Merxheim Jews were able to make it to a safe haven.
Eleven former Jewish residents of Merxheim perished in the Holocaust. They had fled to the Netherlands, where they were captured by the SS in 1942/1943. They were eventually deported to extermination camps in occupied Poland and murdered there. Two died in the Theresienstadt ghetto.
Only few traces of Jewish life remain in Merxheim. The Jewish cemetery is being cared for by the Merxheim village community. In 1999, a memorial stone was set up: engraved on a metal plate are the names, dates of birth and death as well as deportation destinations of the town's eleven murdered Jewish residents. The memorial stone was initiated by Werner Reidenbach who researched the history of the Jewish community and gathered information from the descendants of former Merxheim Jews. The Merxheim mayor administers the key to the Jewish cemetery.
- Name
- Gedenkstein am Jüdischen Friedhof Merxheim
- Phone
- +49 (0)6754 665
- Web
- http://www.merxheim.de
- bgm@merxheim.de