Prof. Dr. Kurt Kliem at the Roth Synagogue, 2008, Photo: Friedel Schultheis
The Roth Landsynagoge Working Group mourns the loss of its longtime member
Herrn Landrat a.D. Prof. Dr. Kurt Kliem
who passed away in October 2026 at the age of 95.
Shortly after taking office in the mid-1980s, Kurt Kliem visited the synagogue in Roth, which at the time was privately owned and used as a grain storage facility. There, he recognized the uniqueness and value of this cultural monument for the region’s Jewish history, school education, and Holocaust remembrance. He tirelessly sought ways and means to preserve the building and made it possible for the synagogue to become the property of the district. With his exceptional foresight, he encouraged us in 1996 to found the Roth Country Synagogue Working Group. In 1998, the synagogue was opened to the public in the presence of many descendants of Roth’s Jewish community—with whom the working group had established contact—and countless other guests. By that time, Kurt Kliem had already retired and become an active member of the working group—a testament to how important commemorative, educational, and cultural work was to him. He enriched the association’s work in a lasting way with his profound knowledge, wise counsel, and inspiration.
We miss Kurt Kliem. We remember him with deep gratitude and will always honor his memory. Our thoughts are with his wife, Rosmarie, and his family.
