Groß-Zimmern

In Groß-Zimmern there was a Jewish community until 1938. Its origin goes back to the time of the 17th/18th century. For the first time in 1605 a Jewish inhabitant is mentioned in Groß-Zimmern. In the 18th century there was already an independent Jewish community: in 1770 there were already 19 Jewish families living in the village; in 1802 there were 13, in 1815 15 families.

The community experienced its heyday from the middle of the 18th to the middle of the 19th century. The highest number of Jewish inhabitants was reached in 1861 with 143 people (about 5% of the total population of 2,879 inhabitants). After that the number decreased due to emigration and emigration: in 1880 98 persons (3.4% of the total population of 2,890 inhabitants), in 1905: 97 (2.6% of 3,689), in 1910: 82 (2.2% of 3,743).

In terms of facilities, the Jewish community had a synagogue (see below), a religious school, and a ritual bath. The dead of the community were buried in the Jewish cemetery in Dieburg, partly also in the Jewish cemetery in Sickenhofen. A religious teacher was employed to take care of the religious duties of the community, who also worked as a prayer leader and shochet (see below for job advertisements). Teacher Meier Spier (born 1865 in Mansbach, perished 1943 in the ghetto Theresienstadt) was highly respected for several decades. He was active in the community from 1883 until 1938 - for more than 50 years - and was popular and respected also among the Christian population (see below the report on his 50th anniversary in October 1933, in which the Christian population also took an active part). The community belonged to the Orthodox Rabbinate Darmstadt II. 

About 1925 still 64 persons belonged to the Jewish community.

After 1933, part of the Jewish community members (1933: 71 persons, 1.5% of 4,780 inhabitants) emigrated.