Jewish community of Würzburg

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The Jewish community of Würzburg and Lower Franconia or the Israelite community of Würzburg has over 1000 members today. The history of the Jews in Würzburg begins in the Middle Ages . After several expulsions in the early modern period , a new community was founded in the 19th century. Immediately after the end of the Second World War, around 20 members of the pre-war community returned from the Theresienstadt concentration camp . They formed a new Jewish community , which grew significantly with immigrants from the former Soviet Union from 1991 onwards .

history

Middle Ages and early modern times

As a result of the persecution of Jews in the Rhineland in 1096, Jews from Mainz came to Würzburg. However, an exact date for the first foundation of a municipality cannot be determined. The first written mention of a community in Würzburg comes from February 11, 1147 in connection with a pogrom . During this time, the Jewish community of Würzburg maintained contacts across Europe and hosted internationally known rabbis , including Meir ben Baruch von Rothenburg . During the rint meat pogrom in 1298, 841 local Jews and around 100 refugees from rural areas were killed. Around 1336 citizens of Würzburg marched against the leader of the anti-Jewish Armleder uprising under " King Armleder ", who was captured and executed as a civil breaker.

In 1560, Bishop Friedrich von Wirsberg had the Jews expelled from Würzburg and other cities of the Würzburg bishopric . In 1575 the Jews were expelled from the entire bishopric by Bishop Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn . He had the Juliusspital built on the property of the confiscated Jewish cemetery on the Pleich . Towards the end of his reign, individual Jews were again admitted to Würzburg, but in 1643 they were finally expelled by Bishop Johann Philipp von Schönborn . This regulation was in place until the beginning of the 19th century.

From 1800 to 1918

In 1803, Moses Hirsch and his adult sons were granted the right to settle for the first time in 160 years. The Jewish edict of 1813 , which came into force in Würzburg in 1816, granted the Jews in Bavaria certain improvements in terms of career choice, trade and training. In 1818, the Würzburg banker Jakob Hirsch was the first Bavarian Jew to be raised to the nobility without converting to Christianity. One year later, the anti-Jewish Hep-Hep riots began in Würzburg. In 1828 there were seven private synagogues in Würzburg and the Jews there were asked to build a community synagogue for the first time. As a location for this, the larger part of what is now Domerschulstrasse 21, the “Hof zum Großes Fresser”, was purchased from the property of the seminary opposite . In 1836 the Bavarian government initiated the establishment of a new Jewish religious community, which achieved international renown under its Orthodox rabbi Seligmann Bär Bamberger , successor to Abraham Bing since 1840 . On September 10, 1841, the new Würzburg synagogue in Domerschulstrasse was inaugurated by Seligmann Bär Bamberger. At that time, the community was under the district rabbinate of Würzburg .

Since Jews were not allowed to join the Würzburger Harmonie-Gesellschaft , a social center of the upper class in the 1830s, Joel Jakob von Hirsch founded the Jewish Casina-Gesellschaft in 1836 as a counterpart to Harmonie .

By the end of the 19th century, the social situation of the Jews improved, through legal relief (abolition of the "matriculation paragraph" in Bavaria in 1861, equality of Jews and Christians with the constitution of the German Empire in 1871, abolition of the "special levy" in 1881) and through the establishment of the Israelite Teachers' Training Institute at the end of 1864 by Seligmann Bär Bamberger, on whose instigation the Israelite Educational and Teaching Institute was established in 1856 . Würzburg Jews have had their own kindergarten since the German Empire . Around 1880 the Jewish community reached its highest proportion of the Würzburg city population with around 4.5%. Although the increase continued up to the turn of the century - in 1900 there were 2567 Jews - the relative share decreased. In Dürerstrasse, after a building previously used as a hospital had been acquired, a Jewish hospital was built from private donations and inaugurated in 1885, and in 1891 a Jewish old people's home (the "benefactor's house", which accommodates 32 people) was attached to it. A Chewra Kadischa (burial brotherhood) was established in Würzburg in 1835 and ten years later a corresponding sisterhood.

In the 1860s, three associations were set up to promote lay training in Jewish Orthodoxy. In 1862 the association Ez Chaim (“Tree of Life”) was founded, in 1863 Lekach Tow (“The good teaching”) and in 1869 Ohawei Emeth (“Friends of Truth”).

During the First World War , numerous Jews volunteered for military service.

The Esra Orthodox Wandering Association , the city's largest Jewish youth group, was founded in 1918.

Weimar Republic, National Socialism and Holocaust

In 1919 the proclamation of the Soviet republic in Bavaria in Würzburg went without bloodshed thanks to the Jewish SPD member Felix Freudenberger. Numerous members of the Jewish community took part in the suppression of the Soviet republic.

In March 1920, Siegmund Hanover, who had a doctorate and was also an Orthodox, was elected district rabbi from Hamburg. The synagogue on Domerschulstrasse was renovated in 1926 under his direction (supported by the lawyer Gerson Hass, who served as community leader from 1919 to 1939). He ran the rabbinate until 1939 when he emigrated to the USA. Magnus Weinberg served as his successor until he was deported to Theresienstadt concentration camp in 1942.

In the 1930s, the traditional neighboring communities of Heidingsfeld and Höchberg were united with the Würzburg community. As early as 1920, anti-Semitic mass organizations had emerged that openly called for violence against Jews. Jews were blamed for the lost World War, the November 1918 Revolution, and the economic crisis. Among other things, the Central Association of German Citizens of Jewish Faith in Germany , whose Würzburg branch was headed by the lawyer Karl Rosenthal, existed in Germany to ward off anti-Jewish acts of terrorism, report anti-Semitic propaganda and hold public discussions . The Jewish pharmacist Herbert Nussbaum became district chairman of the SPD-affiliated military association Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold .

From 1933 onwards, as in all of Germany, the exclusion of Jews began on a large scale in Würzburg. After the city of Würzburg forbade Jewish children from entering municipal gyms in 1934, the Israelite Teachers' Training Institute built a gym that was also accessible to elementary and vocational school students.

The Jews of Heidingsfeld , which was incorporated in 1930 , were accepted into the Würzburg community in 1937, and in 1938 the few still living in Höchberg .

In the November pogrom of 1938 , early in the morning of November 10th, Jewish shops and the interior of the synagogue in Domerschulstrasse were vandalized, killing four people, the Heidingsfeld synagogue from 1780 was destroyed by arson, the synagogue in Höchberg was destroyed by SA- Robbed men . After Karl Rosenthal's arrest (see above) in his house at Rotkreuzsteige 10 and his admission with 130 other Jewish men to the Buchenwald concentration camp , his wife Claire committed suicide. Alfred Katzmann, a textile goods dealer, also killed himself when the Nazi destruction troops broke into his apartment at 9 Bismarckstrasse. 300 Jewish men from Würzburg were sent to concentration camps.

After the November pogrom, Jewish children were banned from public schools, all Jewish organizations and associations were banned, and Jews were banned from attending theaters, cinemas and concerts. The possession of driving licenses and automobiles was forbidden , as was sitting on the benches in the Ringpark . From January 1, Jews were banned from running commercial and craft businesses. In the autumn of 1938, medical and legal activities were also largely banned.

From September 15, 1941, Jews had to wear the yellow star on their clothing for over six years, and from the beginning of 1942 no Jews were allowed to live in private homes.

In November 1941 the deportations of Jews from Würzburg and Lower Franconia began. In seven such actions, a total of 2063 people were abducted, of whom only a few survived. In June 1943, the Secret State Police declared Lower Franconia to be " Jew-free ".

Since 1945

The post-war community of Würzburg was initially formed from 21 surviving returnees from the Theresienstadt concentration camp and 38 displaced persons from various European countries. It grew to around 180 members by 1990. Since 1991 the number of members has risen to over 1,000, the majority of whom are so-called quota refugees from the former Soviet Union .

In 1956, the remains of the old main synagogue in Domerschulstrasse were demolished and a sports field for the seminary was built in its place. On March 24, 1970, after three years of construction, the new synagogue in Würzburg was inaugurated by David Schuster , the director of the Israelite Religious Community, in the presence of the Catholic Bishop Stangl and largely financed by the city. As early as 1964, Lord Mayor Helmuth Zimmerer had managed that the city took over the financing and the developer.

From 1958 to 1996 David Schuster served as community chairman. His son Josef Schuster , who has also been chairman of the community since 1998, became President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany in 2014 . In 1962 the Society for Christian-Jewish Cooperation was founded in Würzburg . The property of the old main synagogue was bought back by the Israelite community in 1998. On October 23, 2006 the new Jewish Community and Cultural Center Shalom Europe was inaugurated after a five-year construction period.

literature

  • Herz Bamberger: History of the rabbis of the city and the district of Würzburg. Edited from his estate, supplemented and completed by his brother S. Bamberger . Schmersow in Kirchhain NL, Wandsbek 1905, ( digitized ).
  • Roland Flade: The Würzburg Jews from 1919 to the present. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. 4 volumes, Theiss, Stuttgart 2001–2007, Volume III / 1–2: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 529-545 and 1308.
  • Ursula Gehring-Münzel: The Würzburg Jews from 1803 to the end of the First World War. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. Volume III / 1–2: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. 2007, pp. 499-528 and 1306-1308.
  • Arno Herzig : Jewish History in Germany. From the beginning to the present (= Beck'sche series. 1196). Original edition, 2nd, revised and updated edition. CH Beck, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-406-47637-6 .
  • LG Würzburg. April 30, 1949. In: Justice and Nazi crimes . Collection of German convictions for Nazi homicidal crimes 1945–1966. Volume 4: Adelheid L. Rüter-Ehlermann, Christiaan F. Rüter : The criminal sentences passed from January 30, 1949 to June 3, 1949. University Press Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1970, pp. 467-514, no. 138a, ( Trial of 7 police officers for participating in the deportation of Jews from Lower Franconia to Riga, Trawniki, Izbica, Theresienstadt and Auschwitz in 6 'partial actions' : six acquittals, one defendant died during the trial).
  • Herbert Schultheis: Jews in Mainfranken 1933–1945. With special consideration of the deportations of Würzburg Jews (= Bad Neustädter contributions to the history and local history of Franconia. 1). Roetter, Bad Neustadt ad Saale 1980, ISBN 3-9800482-0-9 (also: Würzburg, University, dissertation, 1980).
  • Herbert Schultheis, Isaac E. Wahler: Pictures and files of the Gestapo Würzburg on the deportations of Jews 1941–1943 (= Bad Neustädter contributions to the history and local history of Franconia. 5). Rötter, Bad Neustadt ad Saale 1988, ISBN 3-9800482-7-6 (In German and English).
  • Reiner Strätz: Biographical Handbook of Würzburg Jews. 1900–1945 (= publications of the Würzburg City Archives. Vol. 4, 1–2). 2 volumes. Schöningh, Würzburg 1989, ISBN 3-87717-762-X .
  • Israel Schwierz: Stone evidence of Jewish life in Bavaria. A documentation. 2nd, revised edition. Bayerische Verlags-Anstalt, Bamberg 1992, ISBN 3-87052-398-0 .
  • Klaus Hesse: Deportation. The official documentation of Nazi terror in pictures , in: Gerhard Paul : The Century of Pictures. Picture atlas . Volume 1. 1900 to 1949 . Göttingen: V&R, 2009, pp. 598–605

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Timeline
  2. ↑ Ursula Gehring-Münzel: The Würzburg Jews from 1803 to the end of the First World War. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. Volume III / 1–2: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. 2007, pp. 499–528 and 1306–1308, here: pp. 512–520 ( Kultusgemeinde, synagogue building and rabbinate ).
  3. ^ Sybille Grübel: Timeline of the history of the city from 1814-2006. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. Volume 3: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. Part 2. Theiss, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 1225-1247, here p. 1227.
  4. ↑ Ursula Gehring-Münzel: The Würzburg Jews from 1803 to the end of the First World War. 2007, p. 521 f.
  5. ↑ Ursula Gehring-Münzel: The Würzburg Jews from 1803 to the end of the First World War. 2007, p. 516 f. and 523.
  6. ^ Roland Flade: The Würzburg Jews from 1919 to the present. 2007, p. 532.
  7. ↑ Ursula Gehring-Münzel: The Würzburg Jews from 1803 to the end of the First World War. 2007, p. 519 f. and 524.
  8. ↑ Ursula Gehring-Münzel: The Würzburg Jews from 1803 to the end of the First World War. 2007, p. 519.
  9. ^ Roland Flade: The Würzburg Jews from 1919 to the present. 2007, p. 532.
  10. ^ Roland Flade: The Würzburg Jews from 1919 to the present. 2007, pp. 531 and 536.
  11. ^ Roland Flade: The Würzburg Jews from 1919 to the present. 2007, p. 531.
  12. ^ Sybille Grübel: Timeline of the history of the city from 1814-2006. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. Volume 3: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. Part 2. Theiss, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 1225-1247, here p. 1238.
  13. ^ Roland Flade: The Würzburg Jews from 1919 to the present. 2007, p. 533 f. ( Growing anti-Semitism ).
  14. ^ Roland Flade: The Würzburg Jews from 1919 to the present. 2007, pp. 534–536 ( 1933 to 1938: exclusion, self-help and flight ).
  15. ^ Roland Flade: The Würzburg Jews from 1919 to the present. 2007, p. 535.
  16. ↑ see also the history of Würzburg # time of National Socialism .
  17. ↑ Memorial sites for the victims of National Socialism. Volume 1: Ulrike Puvogel, Martin Stankowski : Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Schleswig-Holstein. 2nd, revised and expanded edition. Federal Agency for Political Education, Bonn 1995, ISBN 3-89331-208-0 , p. 147.
  18. ^ Sybille Grübel: Timeline of the history of the city from 1814-2006. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. Volume 3: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. Part 2. Theiss, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 1225-1247, here p. 1239.
  19. ↑ Stolpersteine ​​Würzburg: Claire Rosenthal .
  20. ↑ stumbling blocks Wüerzburg: Alfred Katzman .
  21. ^ Roland Flade: The Würzburg Jews from 1919 to the present. 2007, p. 538.
  22. ^ Roland Flade: The Würzburg Jews from 1919 to the present. 2007, p. 538 f.
  23. ^ Roland Flade: The Würzburg Jews from 1919 to the present. 2007, p. 539.
  24. ↑ See also the list of stumbling blocks in Würzburg .
  25. ↑ Klaus Witt City: church and state in the 20th century. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. 4 volumes, Volume I-III / 2, Theiss, Stuttgart 2001-2007; III / 1–2: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 453–478 and 1304 f., Here: pp. 470–475 ( renewal in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council - Bishop Josef Stangl ). P. 470 f.
  26. ^ Sybille Grübel: Timeline of the history of the city from 1814-2006. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. Volume 3: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. Part 2. Theiss, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 1225-1247, here p. 1244.
  27. ↑ Rolf-Ulrich Kunze : Würzburg 1945-2004. Reconstruction, modern city. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. 4 volumes, Volume I-III / 2 (I: From the beginnings to the outbreak of the Peasant War. 2001, ISBN 3-8062-1465-4 ; II: From the Peasant War 1525 to the transition to the Kingdom of Bavaria 1814. 2004, ISBN 3 -8062-1477-8 ; III / 1–2: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 ), Theiss, Stuttgart 2001–2007, Volume III (2007), Pp. 318–346 and 1292–1295, here: p. 341.
  28. ↑ Central Council of Jews receives new president . In: Zeit online , November 30, 2014. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  29. ↑ Rolf-Ulrich Kunze (2007), p. 341.
  30. ^ Sybille Grübel: Timeline of the history of the city from 1814-2006. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. Volume 3: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. Part 2. Theiss, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 1225-1247, here p. 1247.
  31. ↑ Traditionally open-minded. Würzburg - The community that welcomes Europe . In: Jüdische Allgemeine . Retrieved January 27, 2018.