Herrlisheim
Encyclopedia
Herrlisheim is a commune
in the Bas-Rhin
department in Alsace
in north-eastern France
.
and a short distance to the east of the A35 Autoroute
.
capital, and a Potato Festival is organised annually.
and some adjacent buildings were destroyed by a bombardment in the same year. The synagogue was again rebuilt in the 1950s, but after the war there were never more than a handful of Jews in the village and the synagogue was closed in 1969: it has been left in position, however, for its historical resonances.
Herrlisheim was the scene of intense fighting in January 1945 between the 553 Volksgrenadier
Division, 10th SS Division and elements of the 12th US Armored Division. The fighting began as part of Operation Nordwind; which was the last offensive by German troops on the Western front in the war and was focused on the recapture of Strasbourg
. The 553rd Volsgrenadier crossed the Rhine River and established a bridgehead around Gambsheim
on January 5th. Three days later, the 12th US Armored Division starts to attempt the reduction of the Bridgehead and attacked Herrlisheim directly on January 16th.
In the second day of fighting, elements of 10th SS Panzer joined in the defence and inflicted very heavy casualties; wiping out two battalions of American troops. The next day as 10th SS Panzer attempted to exploit its victory to the west of the town, it was their turn to take heavy losses as the US forces slowly retired. The badly battered town was finally liberated on January 31st as the Germans retired after the overall failure of their offensive.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin is a department of France. The name means "Lower Rhine". It is the more populous and densely populated of the two departments of the Alsace region, with 1,079,013 inhabitants in 2006.- History :...
department in Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
in north-eastern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Geography
Herrlisheim is positioned on the rich alluvial farmland to the west of the River Rhine, north of StrasbourgStrasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
and a short distance to the east of the A35 Autoroute
A35 autoroute
The A35 autoroute is a toll free highway in north eastern France. It is also known as the autoroute des cigognes and the Voie Rapide du Piémont des Vosges. It connects the German border in the Rhine valley with the Swiss frontier via Strasbourg...
.
Economy
The local economy is based on agriculture. The village promotes itself as the local potatoPotato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
capital, and a Potato Festival is organised annually.
Jewish community
There was a Jewish community in Herrlisheim throughout the eighteenth century: this by 1780 comprised fifteen recorded Jewish families. Probably the first synagogue n the village dated from 1805, but this was rebuilt in 1850. In 1936 there were around 80 Jewish inhabitants, but in 1940 any that remained were deported to the south of France and at least eleven of these were murdered. The synagogueSynagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
and some adjacent buildings were destroyed by a bombardment in the same year. The synagogue was again rebuilt in the 1950s, but after the war there were never more than a handful of Jews in the village and the synagogue was closed in 1969: it has been left in position, however, for its historical resonances.
Herrlisheim was the scene of intense fighting in January 1945 between the 553 Volksgrenadier
Volksgrenadier
Volksgrenadier was the name given to a type of German Army division formed in the Autumn of 1944 after the double loss of Army Group Center to the Soviets in Operation Bagration and the Fifth Panzer Army to the Allies in Normandy. The name itself was intended to build morale, appealing at once to...
Division, 10th SS Division and elements of the 12th US Armored Division. The fighting began as part of Operation Nordwind; which was the last offensive by German troops on the Western front in the war and was focused on the recapture of Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
. The 553rd Volsgrenadier crossed the Rhine River and established a bridgehead around Gambsheim
Gambsheim
Gambsheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.It is adjacent to a river crossing into Germany that is favoured by southbound autoroute traffic wishing to avoid traffic delays around Strasbourg...
on January 5th. Three days later, the 12th US Armored Division starts to attempt the reduction of the Bridgehead and attacked Herrlisheim directly on January 16th.
In the second day of fighting, elements of 10th SS Panzer joined in the defence and inflicted very heavy casualties; wiping out two battalions of American troops. The next day as 10th SS Panzer attempted to exploit its victory to the west of the town, it was their turn to take heavy losses as the US forces slowly retired. The badly battered town was finally liberated on January 31st as the Germans retired after the overall failure of their offensive.