SAARBRUECKEN

SAARBRUECKEN, city in Germany, capital of the Saar. Jews were probably present in the city in 1321 when Duke John I granted the city its charter and reserved jurisdiction over the Jews. It is certain, however, that there were Jews in the adjacent villages of St. Wendel, Sarrebourg, and Sarreguemines at the time. There are no further sources mentioning the presence of Jews until 1732 when a Judenordnung ("Jewry regulation") was issued for the Saarbruecken community by the Count of Usingen-Nassau. During the French occupation (1792–1813) equality was granted and a Saarbruecken arrondissement was established with a Jewish population of 71. The Saarbruecken community grew from 10 families in 1837 to 376 persons in 1885 and 1,103 in 1910. Between 1920 and 1935 the Saar region was administered by the league of Nations. The Saarbruecken community grew to 2,650, with another 1,700 Jews dispersed in 23 rural communities. At the time of the 1935 plebiscite on the future of the region, the Jews were accused of disloyalty and subjected to intensive harassment. Large numbers of Jews chose French and Belgian citizenship, and many emigrated with special "Nansen" passports. The Saarbruecken synagogue was burned down on Nov. 9/10,1938, and by the summer of 1939 only 175 Jews were left. The Jews of the Saar were deported, together with Baden Jewry, to gurs in 1940. After the war a new community was founded, which grew from 180 in 1945/6 to 224 in 1948 and 350 in January 1970. A new synagogue was built in 1951. The Jewish community numbered 700 in 1960; 236 in 1989; and 1,110 in 2004. The increase is due to the immigration of Jews from the former Soviet Union. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: FJW, 260–1; H. Steinthal, in: Nachrichtenblatt der Synagogen-Gemeinden des Saargebiets, 7 (1934); S. Ruelf, Stroeme im duerren Land (1964), 64–70, 85–107, 249–62; Germania Judaica, 2 (1968), 726; M. Salomon, in: Jewish Frontier, 23 (Jan. 1956), 26–29. ADD. BIBLIOGRAPHY: M. Mueller-Knoblauch, Der November-Pogrom 1938 in Saarbruecken. Zum Gedenken an die Opfer der antisemitischen Ausschreitungen vor 50 Jahren (1988); A. Marx, Die Geschichte der Juden im Saarland. Vom Ancien Régime bis zum Zweiten Weltkrieg (1992); C. Kasper-Holtkotte, Juden im Aufbruch. Zur Sozialgeschichte einer Minderheit im Saar-Mosel-Raum um 1800 (Forschungen zur Geschichte der Juden. Abteilung A Abhandlungen, vol. 3) (1996).WEBSITE: www.synagogengemeindesaar.de .