The city , known in medieval Hebrew by the name '' Varmayza '' or '' Vermaysa '' ( ורמיזא , ורמישא ) , was a centre of medieval Ashkenazic Judaism . The Jewish community was established there in the late 10th century , and Worms 's first synagogue was erected in 1034 . In 1096 , eight hundred Jews were murdered by crusaders and the local mob . The Jewish Cemetery in Worms , dating from the 11th century , is believed to be the oldest surviving '' in situ '' cemetery in Europe . The Rashi Synagogue , which dates from 1175 and was carefully reconstructed after its desecration on '' Kristallnacht '' , is the oldest in Germany . Prominent students , rabbis , and scholars of Worms include Shlomo Yitzhaki ( Rashi ) who studied with R. Yizhak Halevi , Elazar Rokeach , Maharil , and Yair Bacharach . At the rabbinical synod held at Worms at the turn of the 11th century , Rabbi Gershom ben Judah ( Rabbeinu Gershom ) explicitly prohibited polygamy for the first time . For hundreds of years , until '' Kristallnacht '' in 1938 , the Jewish Quarter of Worms was a centre of Jewish life . Worms today has only a very small Jewish population , and a recognizable Jewish community as such no longer exists . However , after renovations in the 1970s and 1980s , many of the buildings of the Quarter can be seen in a close-to-original state , preserved as an outdoor museum
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Worms, Germany