Jews lived in Rödelsee from the earliest times. In 1395, a Jewish scribe was born in Rödelsee who contributed to the richly illustrated "Pentateuch" (Greek term for the 5 books of Moses in the Old Testament).
The Rödelsee Jewish district cemetery was first mentioned in 1432. Until 1942, the burials of Jews from over 20 communities took place here. The size of the cemetery reached almost 5,000 graves. Around 2,100 gravestones are still visible today.
In Rödelsee there was a Judengasse and a poorhouse, as well as other houses where Jews lived. Today's Zehntgasse used to be the "Judengasse". In the 17th century, they had to pay protection money to the Lords of Crailsheim and others.
Among others, the great-grandfather of Henry Kissinger (former American Secretary of State and Nobel Peace Prize winner), Abraham Kissinger and his wife Fanny, also lived in Rödelsee. They were buried here in 1892 and 1899 respectively. The gravestones, unfortunately very weathered, still stand in the Jewish cemetery today. Their son David Kissinger was born in Rödelsee in 1860 and died in Stockholm in 1947.
In 1816, there were 112 Jewish citizens living in Rödelsee, which corresponded to 15.5% of the population. In 1900 there were still 46 people.
Jews were considered a Jewish community if they:
Had a synagogue - meant present
Had a teaching system - meant the future
Had a cemetery - meant the past
The synagogue was located next to the town hall and was consecrated in 1851. It had 67 seats (37 for men, 30 for women). It was renovated in 1927 thanks to a generous donation from Julius Klugmann. It was also destroyed during the Reichspogromnacht in 1938. Four Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) on the site commemorate the events and, among others, the last cemetery administrator Hermann Löwenstein (Alte Iphöfer Str. 8).
The Jewish school achieved great renown. In 1585, a one-eyed rabbi taught large numbers of pupils, with 70-80 students. They even came to Rödelsee from Worms and Frankfurt. An incident about his teaching methods has been preserved: The rabbi had a "fool's cap" made up and put it on those pupils who had failed their lessons. Every Thursday, the rabbi used to listen to the students in Hebrew. Those who did not pass had to put on the fool's cap. The remaining boys, however, ran after them from the rabbi's house to the Jewish school ...
Jews from Rödelsee played a part in the great rise of the wine trading town of Kitzingen. In 1864, the first Jewish wine merchant, Emil Hellermann, came to Ritterstraße from Rödelsee. In 1930, there were 107 wine merchants in Kitzingen, 69 of whom were Jewish and 38 Christian.
