City walk Diez

The German - Israelite Children's Home was built in 1893 and housed about 40 places for boys up to the age of 14 from needy Jewish families. The children went to Diez schools, in the house itself religious education was given. External Jewish children from Diez also took part in these classes. The education by the Jewish teachers was strict and conservative. On August 20, 1935, it was evicted by the National Socialists and the residents had to flee. In retrospect, a survivor from Israel reported: "One shouted: 'Who has to get out of Diez?' and the crowd shouted 'The Jews' ". The children's home was demolished in 1971 in favor  of an extension to the hospital. On the occasion of 85th anniversary of this forced eviction on August 20, 2020, Gunther Demnig laid a stumbling block on site with the following inscription:

"SCHLOSSBERG 23 - HERE STANDED THE 

German - ISRAELITIC CHILDHOOD DIEZ

ON AUGUST 20, 1935 TEMPORARILY CLEARED DURING AN ANTISEMITIC EXCERPT

MORE THAN 40 CHILDREN AND YOUTH AND THEIR TEACHERS WITH THEIR FAMILIES WERE

DISCRIMINATED - PROSECUTED - DEPORTED

Many OF THEM LATER MURDERED"

The cantor's house housed in the 18th century simultaneously the residence for the rabbi, the synagogue and the narrow classroom ("old Juddeschul"). Here was taught exclusively religious education. The Torah was read in the original Hebrew, therefore Hebrew was also learned here. School was compulsory for boys between the ages of 5 and 12. A small synagogue was also established in an annex at this time. Due to reconstruction work all traces have disappeared here.

The wealthy Jewish court factor Löb Heymann built a magnificent burgher house in the Baroque style in the old town of Diez at the beginning of the 18th century. Today it is a normal residential house. As a court factor he was responsible for the credits and financing of the Diez princely court. He delivered luxury goods to the castle and supplied the army with uniforms, for example. He had a wide network of family - and trade relations at his disposal.

In some of the houses on the market square, Jewish businessmen sold a wide variety of goods until 1938.
Last Adolf Meyer sold leather goods and the department store Josef Bodenheimer (corner Rosenstraße) textiles. Siegmund Schaumburger (corner Werkes) offered men's clothing.

The Meyer and Schaumburger families fled abroad after the Reichspogromnacht in November 1938. A witness later reported "that in the Schaumburger house furnishings were damaged and looted."

The Bodenheimer family moved to Wiesbaden as early as 1935. Josef and Lina Bodenheimer perished in the Łódź ghetto in 1942.

The Bremser Inn (now the Klein-Prag restaurant) had a movie theater in 1935, where Jewish families who had been expelled from their homes and the children in the home were housed for a night on a makeshift basis after the pogrom-like actions of August 20, 1935.

The landlady had interceded for them and provided rations. In retrospect, a survivor from Israel reported:
"Buns and tea were distributed, but many tried to fall asleep. It was already past midnight. More families arrived."

About the inauguration of the synagogue the "Allgemeine Zeitung des Judentums" (December 1863) wrote:  "The building combines the simple with the solid and the tasteful and is in all parts excellently executed." In addition to the three Nassau rabbis, the local Christian clergy and many Nassau officials were invited to the celebration. The architect was Carl Boos, who also designed the Protestant Market Church in Wiesbaden. After the National Socialist "seizure of power" in 1933 and the "Nuremberg Race Laws" in 1935, a large number of Jewish citizens left Diez, and the synagogue was rarely used. The "Reichspogromnacht" in 1938 took place in Diez in a similar manner as has been handed down from other cities. An organized SA squad tried to destroy the building, first by arson, later by blowing it up. The fire department was not allowed to extinguish the fire, but only stood by to prevent it from spreading to "Aryan" neighboring houses. Due to the massive construction, however, the actions caused quite little damage, which the National Socialists took advantage of insofar as they later used the building as a warehouse and workshop for the National Socialist Flying Corps. After 1945, the building was sold to a private entrepreneur (Ohl Straßenbau company) for demolition, which finally took place in 1951. Then in 2003 - 52 years later - the company suffered the same fate and was also demolished. The wasteland was then used as a parking lot for several years and was the subject of many discussions about the proper commemoration of the fled and murdered Diez Jews. In 2018, the foundations could be excavated and examined. It was even found. that the synagogue had a mikvah. Today, the entrance to the new Diez tunnel is here.