BISCHHEIM

BISCHHEIM, French town in the department of the Bas-Rhin. Jews settled there after their expulsion from colmar in 1512. H. Cerfberr , one of the general syndics of Alsace Jewry in the second half of the 18th century, lived in Bischheim, as did his brother-in-law, david sinzheim . Cerfberr set up a foundation on behalf of the community with a capital of 175,000 livres for charitable activities and education. There were 473 Jews living in Bischheim in 1784. The wooden synagogue, built in 1781, was replaced by a new one in 1838. It was sacked during the German occupation in World War II, destroyed in 1944, and rebuilt in 1959. The Jewish community in 1968 had 360 members. It has a mikveh which belonged to David Sinzheim. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: M. Ginsburger, Histoire de la communauté israélite de Bischheim au Saum (1937); E. Scheid, Histoire des Juifs d'Alsace (1887), 102, 175, 249; R. Berg, La persécution raciale (1947), 181; Z. Szajkowski, Analytical Franco-Jewish Gazetteer (1966), 45, 249. (Roger Berg)