Loeb Mayer Stern

Story by Eran Elijahu During the time of the Weimar Republic, four of the Jews of Meerholz owned textile shops, and the rest were – cattle traders, butchers (2), a baker, and several pensioners. The grain merchant Leo Stern owned horse stables, the only truck in the region, and a private car driven by a driver. The horse merchant Ferdinand Stern was also among the wealthy people of the town. 55 local Jews lived in 18 houses, most of them on two streets.

The community of Meerholz had a synagogue and mikva (ritual bath), and conducted kosher slaughter. The plan to reopen the school in 1932 did not come to fruition because of the change of regime. At that time, four children studied religious studies from the teacher, cantor and shochet Leopold Strauss. The head of the community was the baker Leopold Perlsheim, and the head of the “Central Union” chapter in Meerholz was Leo Stern. The community belonged to the regional rabbinate of Hanau. Three families (13 souls ) from Niedermittlau, where the regional Jewish cemetery was located, were part of the community.