Life of the jews in the everydays life

The religious and cultural center of the jewish community was the house of prayers in the Koblenzer Straße, which was called "Judenschule ( jewschool ) " in the speech of the citizens.You entered the little and insignificant house from the side of the Koblenzer Straße, went upstairs then and reached a choir from which you could look in the room lying underneath that. We can not say how that room was equiped, because there are no pictures existing of it. The only thing, which is handed down, is, that a big chandelier was hanging at the celing. Rabbi in the time of the Second World War was Moritz Schmitz.

The children of the jews went to the same school as the children of the catholics. Often there are stories told about the "Matzen" ( jewish baker's ware ), which the jewish children gave to the other pupils at the pasha feast. The first jews lived all in houses, which stood in the old town center, todays Balduin- and Turnstraße. Later they lived also outside the old town center , for example in the Hambucher Straße, "Im Höfchen" and in the direction to the railway-station, which is today called Bahnhofs Straße. In 1920 the jewish community Kaisersesch made an application for the establishment of an own graveyard. Up to that time the jews of Kaisersesch and the surounding villages Düngenheim, Hambuch, Masburg and Müllenbach buried their deceased on the jewish graveyard in Binningen, which was in the middle of the 19th century nearly the biggest jewish community in the district Cochem-Zell.

With the writing from the 25th of June 1920 the nearly 150 souls embracing jewish communities applied for the graveyard at the mayor's official residence in Kaisersesch. Therefor they bought a piece of land of a size of 9.74 ar for 2000 Marks from Paul Ollig on the " Zenterbach ". From them executing committee and the representative assembly this buy was sanctioned at the 14th and 15th of August 1920. Bernhard Siegler and Abraham Mayer signed the record of the conclusions.

People, who had fields near the graveyard, report, that during the time of the Nazis gravestones often had been knocked over. In the time of the american occupation several people had been interrogated in that affair, but the offender was not found out1. What the jewish tradesmen in and around Kaisersesch had to go through, shows an article from the "Nationalblatt Mayen-Koblenz" from the 17.9.1935, where under the title "Again four jewish filthy shops closed" had been reported about the closing of bakeries and butcheries. How the Nazis tried to take action against the friends of jews, shows a letter written by two employees of the administration of the office.

The letter should mock them and make them insecure, at which the latter part succeeded. The letter was as following:

30..April.1942

Dear friend !

You might have heard, that we have moved with bag and baggage today. We march towards the sun to the land of promises - Polen - where Jehova prepared a new home for us and where we will no longer be afflicted by the evil Nazis. I would have liked to take leave of you by myself, but I did not do that, because I did not want the Nazis to see that you had been my friend, they would persecute and insult you as jewfriends. I know that you are not a Nazi and that you do not want to become one of them. You sticked with us all the time without showing it to the public. Jehowa, the god of the jews, will reward you one day. First of all I would like to thank you on behalf of all my fellow people for the loyalty you hold to us in those hard days. We are all full of hope firm as a rock, that also for us the trumpets of Jericho will play onetime. Then we will march to Kaisersesch with our heads high and we will chase the evil Nazis to the devil. Then the day will come, on which we will repay the shown benefits. We will bring you post and dignity and you should rule with us over the goims (?). Then the yellow star, which was affixed to us by the evil Nazis and with which they wanted to mock us, will be the highest decoration in the state. From Zion's wise men I got the commission to award you this highest decoration today. It will take some time until it is awarded to you with a big celebration. Therefor take care of this letter and do not show it to the evil Nazis, so that they will not haunt you like they did us.

Sincerely Yours

Moritz Schmitz, Rabbi