A eulogy delivered by R. Dr . Leo Munk (1851-1917) for a married couple who fell by "a murderer's hands". Marburg, city in Hesse, Germany. A document dated May 13, 1317 - the first to mention Jews in Marburg - indicates that they then had an organized community and a synagogue, and lived in a special quarter. The community was annihilated during the Black Death persecutions (1348/49), but Jews were living in the town once more by 1364. In the middle of the 15th century they were apparently expelled from Marburg; the synagogue was demolished in 1452 and the cemetery passed into non-Jewish hands. The Jewish population eventually returned, only to be driven out again by a decree of 1523. However, in 1532 Duke Philip abolished the decree and permitted the Jews to reside there for a six-year period. In subsequent years the number of Marburg Jews remained low: six families in 1744 and eight in 1776. Jews from outside the town were permitted to remain there only during the annual fairs. The number of Jews increased during the course of the 19th century, reaching 512 (2.5% of the total population) in 1905. From 1823 Marburg was the seat of the district community organization and later of the district rabbinate. The community maintained a synagogue (built in 1897), a school, a convalescent home, and a number of other institutions. Hermann Cohen, professor at the local university, founded the Marburg school of Neo-Kantianism. In 1933 there were about 325 Jews in Marburg. On Nov. 10, 1938, the synagogue was burned down. By May 17, 1939, only 143 Jews remained; ten survived the war, while the rest left or were deported in 1941–42.