About the museum
The Laufersweiler Synagogue, built in 1911, evokes memories of the once thriving Jewish communities that existed in numerous villages and small towns throughout the Rhine-Hunsrück region. It is the only such building in the region whose external appearance remains largely intact. Today, it is part of an overall ensemble of remembrance that includes the Jewish Cemetery, the ‘Path of Remembrance‘ and the ‘Path of Jewish Poetry‘, as well as a commemoration site featuring artistic compositions.
The synagogue was damaged during the “Reichspogromnacht” [Night of Broken Glass] on the 10th of November 1938, but the building wasn’t totally destroyed because of its location in the tightly packed town centre. The village eventually purchased the property in the 1950s and undertook several structural modifications. This brought about the removal of the women's gallery and the apportioning of the lofty ritual sanctuary through a suspended ceiling. A laundry room and a freezer were installed on ground floor, while the upper floor was configured as a school and community meeting room.
The synagogue once again attracted public awareness at the beginning of the 1980s in conjunction with pending renovation work. Yet, only after the building was classified as a historical monument in 1985 was it possible to redesign the ground floor as a site of remembrance in 1989. From that time, the permanent exhibition „They were part of us“ serves to shed light on the development and the destruction of the Jewish community in Laufersweiler, as well as on rural Jewish life in general, while offering insight into individual personal fates. The exhibition includes photographs, documents and original artefacts of religious and personal significance, which have been donated by former Jewish residents of Laufersweiler or their relatives.
The „Forst-Mayer Centre for Study and Encounter related to Rural Jewish Life“ opened in 2014 and occupies the building’s upper floor. Its main focus on the work of remembrance is facilitated by historical and political studies, as well as the communication of religious knowledge. Thus, the former synagogue represents one of the most important sites for extracurricular learning in the entire Rhine-Hunsrück region.