Guided Tours in Roth for Adults
Guided tours of the synagogue and mikweh, jewish village life (Village Tour) and cemetery in Roth
Please contact the following people to request a tour:
Friedel Schultheis: telephone: +49 6426 1468
e-mail:
Laurence Bryant: telephone: +49 6426 5269
e-mail:
Guided Tours in Roth for Children
(with an option to discuss possible aspects to focus on with the tour guide)
Please contact the following people to request a tour:
Dr. Frances Schwarzenberger-Kesper: telephone: +49 6421 25010 or +49 178 9703982, e-mail:
Judith Oehler: telephone: +49 6426 1664
e-mail:
Guided Tours and Field Trips
with a historical, political, and/or religious focus for Schoolchildren
Please contact the following person to request a tour:
Dr. Annegret Wenz-Haubfleisch: telephone: +49 6421 3400051
e-mail:
Guided Tours in Fronhausen
or about Jewish (Village) Life in Fronhausen
Please contact the following person to request a tour:
Annemarie Schlag: telephone: +49 6426 7454
e-mail:
Project-oriented Field Trips for Secondary Schools
The synagogue in Roth is an out-of-school, on-site classroom for students of the comprehensive school in Niederwalgern. In cooperation with the school we have developed an educational program that is now a standard part of their eighth grade curriculum. Fritjof Kaiser is in charge of this program.
Other schools interested in taking advantage of this program are more than welcome to contact us for more information and to get involved.
The students are encouraged to study the history, persecution, and extermination of the Jewish Communities in Roth and Fronhausen by examining a multifaceted collection of materials including interviews with contemporaries, letters, posters, photographs, and literature. Following a general introduction into the topic, the students work in small groups and then present their results to the rest of the class. We also take a look at other buildings in the village where Jews once lived. We conclude the field trip with a short moment of remembrance by the memorial star.
A Day Getting to Know the Synagogue for Elementary School Children
Every September we offer fourth grade children from the nearby elementary schools an opportunity to get to know the synagogue. This field trip provides a gentle introduction to the Jewish religion and Jewish rural life in the first half of the 20th century. The field trip is focused on one of the Jewish celebrations, such as the Feast of Tabernacles or the Sabbath. For example, the celebration of the Sabbath provides the children with a real-life experience of a religious ritual. Any child interested in this program is welcome to attend. The dates are listed each year in the event flyer (and on the website). Judith Oehler and Dr. Frances Schwarzenberger-Kesper organize this event and lead the program.
For more information please contact!
Judith Oehler: Telephone: +49 6426 1664 | e-mail:
Dr. Frances Schwarzenberger-Kesper: Telephone: +49 6421 25010 or +49 178 9703982 | e-mail:
Commemoration of the pogrom night
Every year on November 8th, the anniversary of the synagogue’s destruction, we hold a memorial service to reflect on the displacement, deportation, and murder of Jews from Roth, Fronhausen, and Lohra. The service takes place in the synagogue. Each year the service is dedicated to a specific person or event, or the service focuses on another specific topic.
The memorial star in the shape of a broken Star of David, created by Gabriele C. Schmitt for the opening of the synagogue, is of central importance for the commemoration. It bears the names of all those murdered in the villages of Roth, Fronhausen and Lohra. In this way, the people who do not have a grave are commemorated by name at the former centre of their community life.
Students from the comprehensive school in Niederwalgern are involved in this event, usually by reading the names of those murdered and by lighting candles for each of the victims, whose names are written on the memorial star.
Amnon Orbach, the head of the Jewish Community in Marburg, leads the ceremony with an El male Rahamim prayer for the victims of the Holocaust and with the Kaddish, a hymn of praises to God.
Amnon Orbach at a Memorial Event. Photo credits: Friedel Schultheis
Commemoration of deportations
Every five years we hold services at the train stations in Fronhausen and Niedwalgern to reflect on the deportations to Riga in 1941, and to Sobibor and Theresienstadt in 1942. Young people and representatives from both the village administration and the village churches are involved in these services.
 A circle dance. Photo credits: A. Wenz-Haubfleisch |
 Dance instructor Barbara Küpfer Photo credits: A. Wenz-Haubfleisch |
Meditative and Spirited Dances of Israel
On the last Saturday of every school vacation in Hesse, we offer the class “Meditative and Spirited Dances of Israel” in the synagogue. Dance instructor Barbara Küpfer from Vöhl shares a bit of everything from the light-footed, graceful Yemenite dances to choreographies of the psalms and the light-hearted Hasidic dances to the firey, powerful dabka. Come get to know a bit of Jewish culture through dance!
For more Information or to sign up please contact:
Friedel Schultheis
telephone: +49 6426 1468
email:
Lecture by A. Junge on Anti-Semitic exclusion and persecution in Rauischholzhausen during the Nazi era Photo credits: Friedel Schultheis
The “Roth Synagogue Dialogues” and the Series “Encounter” in Memory of Herbert Roth
The series “Roth Synagogue Dialogues” touches on both historical and current political topics, in particular the history of Judaism, the persecution of Jews in the Third Reich, and developments in Germany following World War II. The series also includes presentations on human rights violations, violence, and intolerance in other parts of the world. The memory of the Shoa (the Holocaust) demands that we actively promote democracy, tolerance, ethical behavior, and mutual respect regardless of differences in religion or creed. Through this series we hope to build awareness of this responsibility.
The “Encounters” series was made possible by a 2013 grant from the Roth family in the USA in honor of the 90th birthday of the Holocaust refugee, Herbert Roth. The money goes to support projects for five years designed to fight discrimination and prejudice. In 2015, for instance, the money was presented to the student exchange program between the Ricarda Huch School in Giessen and the Eldad High School in Netanya.
“Trialogue” about the role of women in the three religions with K. M. Hübsch, Prof. E. Franke, (moderator), Prof. U. Wagner-Rau and M. Bunk Photo credits: Friedel Schultheis
Every two years we hold what we call the “Trialogue of the Religions” in cooperation with Dr. Edith Franke, who is professor of Religious Studies at the Philipps University in Marburg. The forum looks at central aspects of life from the perspective of each religion. Some examples of topics we have discussed are raising children, death, women’s roles, life partnerships, and sexuality, just to name a few. Official representatives of the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths share their perspectives, followed by an open discussion with the audience led by Dr. Franke. With this program, we hope to promote inter-religious dialogue and mutual understanding.
Scenic reading with students from the University of Marburg from the book "Die Mädchen von Zimmer 28" [Theresienstadt] by H. Brenner-Wonschik Photo credits: Friedel Schultheis
Once a year we organize a reading in cooperation with the Reading Circle of the
Association for Christian-Jewish Cooperation in Marburg
(Gesellschaft für christlich-jüdische Zusammenarbeit.)
Together with Dr. Fabienne Quennet we host readings with the authors of Jewish literature or with authors of books that discuss Jewish themes. We hope to introduce our audience to a variety of Jewish authors and their biographies and perspectives, as well as generally bring attention to portrayals of Judaism in literature.