Obituary for Amnon Orbach, who passed away on August 18, 2024

Former ´Landsynagoge in Roth´ - memorial and place of encounter

Aerial view of the synagogue between half-timbered houses.

Drohnenaufnahme, © Julian Kriesche

The Arbeitskreis Landsynagoge Roth, a project circle dedicated to preserving the synagogue in the village of Roth near Marburg in Hesse, Germany, welcomes you to our website. We would like to introduce you to our goals and inform you about our projects and activities.

We provide guided tours of the memorial site, the synagogue in Roth, and of the Jewish Cemetery, as well as a variety of cultural activities. Join us in solemn remembrance of the displacement, persecution, and murder of our Jewish neighbors during the Nazi Regime. Perhaps you’ll find our work so interesting that you yourself would like to become a member of our group.

We would also like to introduce you to the history of the Jewish Community that shaped and influenced life in Roth over the centuries before being violently eradicated within less than ten years of Nazi reign. The physical witnesses of this lost culture: the synagogue, the place of the mikveh, the Jewish cemetery, are here for you to see and experience. We also include valuable information about the neighbouring village Fronhausen’s Jewish past and remaining artifacts on our website.

Yours truly,

The Managing Board of the Arbeitskreis Landsynagoge Roth

Mann mit Kippa am Rednerpult

Amnon Orbach at the Kabbalat Shabbat celebration in the Roth synagogue, 2018, Photo: Friedel Schultheis

A special person has passed away.

We mourn the loss of our dear friend and member, the Honorary Chairman of the Jewish Community of Marburg.

In memory of Amnon Orbach

who died at the age of 94 on August 18, 2024.

He has accompanied us from the very beginning, built the all-important bridge to living Judaism for us, always helped to organize our commemorations, participated in interfaith dialogue and enjoyed attending our events. He received our Jewish guests in the Marburg synagogue and also celebrated Kabbalat Shabbat with them in the Roth synagogue. But this list hardly does justice to the human dimension. We will always remember his open-mindedness, warm-heartedness and kindness with great gratitude. Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to his wife Hannelore and his family.