The history of the

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

is one of the oldest in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. It was first attested to in 1165 by

Benjamin of Tudela Benjamin of Tudela ( he, בִּנְיָמִין מִטּוּדֶלָה, ; ar, بنيامين التطيلي ''Binyamin al-Tutayli'';‎ Tudela, Kingdom of Navarre, 1130 Castile, 1173) was a medieval Jewish traveler who visited Europe, Asia, an ...

, who wrote about a "large number of learned men" in " Astransbourg"; and it is assumed that it dates back to around the year

1000 1000 or thousand may refer to: * 1000 (number), a natural number * AD 1000, a leap year in the Julian calendar * 1000 BC, a year of the Before Christ era * 1000 metres, a middle-distance running event * 1000°, a German electronic dance music magazi ...

. Although Jewish life in Alsace was often disrupted by outbreaks of

pogroms A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russian ...

, at least during the Middle Ages, and reined in by harsh restrictions on business and movement, it has had a continuous existence ever since it was first recorded. At its peak, in 1870, the Jewish community of Alsace numbered 35,000 people.

Language and origins

The language traditionally spoken by the Jews of Alsace was

Judeo-Alsatian Yiddish dialects are variants of the Yiddish language and are divided according to the region in Europe where each developed its distinctiveness. Linguistically, Yiddish is divided in distinct Eastern and Western dialects. While the Western diale ...

(), originally a mixture of

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. High ...

, Old Alsatian,

Medieval Hebrew Medieval Hebrew was a literary and liturgical language that existed between the 4th and 19th century. It was not commonly used as a spoken language, but mainly in written form by rabbis, scholars and poets. Medieval Hebrew had many features tha ...

and

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

, and largely indistinguishable from

Western Yiddish Yiddish dialects are variants of the Yiddish language and are divided according to the region in Europe where each developed its distinctiveness. Linguistically, Yiddish is divided in distinct Eastern and Western dialects. While the Western diale ...

. From the 12th century onwards, due among other things to the influence of the nearby

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...

school, French linguistic elements were incorporated as well; and from the 18th century onwards, due to immigration, some

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

elements were blended into Yédisch-Daïtsch too.

Medieval antisemitism and massacre of 1349

Several disparaging representations of Jews in medieval Alsatian art, usually showing them with the characteristic three-pointed hat, have survived and can still be seen ''in situ'', notably on the tympanum of the Romanesque ''Église Saints-Pierre-et-Paul'' in

Sigolsheim Sigolsheim (; Alsatian: ''Sìjelse'') is a former commune in the Haut-Rhin department in north-eastern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune Kaysersberg Vignoble. Children previously attended school in the École élém ...

, on the roof of the ''Église Saints-Pierre-et-Paul'' in Rosheim and the ''Église Saint-Léger'' in Guebwiller (both Romanesque as well, and showing a seated Jew holding a

money purse A money bag (or money sack) is a bag normally used to hold and transport coins and banknotes, often closed with a drawstring.Strasbourg Cathedral and on the

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

'' Collégiale Saint-Martin'' in Colmar, which shows two different representations of a '' Judensau''. Other medieval representations have survived through copies of the

Hortus deliciarum __NOTOC__ The ''Hortus deliciarum'' (Latin for ''Garden of Delights'') was a medieval manuscript compiled by Herrad of Landsberg at the Hohenburg Abbey in Alsace, better known today as Mont Sainte-Odile. Description The ''Hortus deliciarum'' ...

and as architectural fragments in the Musée de l’Œuvre Notre-Dame. Stained glass windows in the

Niederhaslach Church The Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Parish church Saint John the Baptist (french: Église paroissiale Saint-Jean Baptiste), formerly Collegiate church Saint Florentius (''Collégiale Saint-Florent'') is the main church of the small city of Niederh ...

, frescoes in the ''Église Saint-Michel'' of

Weiterswiller Weiterswiller () is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Population See also * Communes of the Bas-Rhin department The following is a list of the 514 communes of the Bas-Rhin department of France. The c ...

and a tapestry in the '' Église Saints-Pierre-et-Paul'' of Neuwiller-lès-Saverne also show disparaging representations of Jews in traditional attire. In 1286, Rabbi

Meir of Rothenburg Meir ( he, מֵאִיר) is a Jewish male given name and an occasional surname. It means "one who shines". It is often Germanized as Maier, Mayer, Mayr, Meier, Meyer, Meijer, Italianized as Miagro, or Anglicized as Mayer, Meyer, or Myer.Alfred J. ...

, one of the leading Jewish figures of his day, was imprisoned by the German king in a fortress near

Ensisheim Ensisheim (; gsw-FR, Anze) is a Communes of France, commune in the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is also the birthplace of the composer Léon Boëllmann. The Germanic languages, Germanic et ...

. In 1349, Jews of Alsace were wrongfully accused of poisoning the wells with

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

. On February 14, Saint Valentine's day, several hundred Jews were massacred during the

Strasbourg pogrom The Strasbourg massacre occurred on February 14, 1349, when several hundred Jews were publicly burnt to death, and the rest of them expelled from the city as part of the Black Death persecutions. Starting in the spring of 1348, pogroms aga ...

. Jews were subsequently forbidden to settle in the town and were reminded every evening at 10 o'clock by a Cathedral bell and a municipal herald blowing the "Grüselhorn" to leave. Alsatian Jews then settled in the neighbouring villages and small towns, where many of them became cloth merchants ("Schmatteshendler") or cattle merchants ("Behemeshendler").

Early modern times

An important political figure for the Jews of Alsace and beyond was the long-serving " shtadlan"

Josel of Rosheim Josel of Rosheim (alternatively: Joselin, Joselmann, Yoselmann, german: Josel von Rosheim, he, יוסף בן גרשון מרוסהים ''Joseph ben Gershon mi-Rosheim'', or ''Joseph ben Gershon Loanz''; c. 1480 – March, 1554) was the great advoca ...

. In 1510 he was made the ''parnas u-manhig'' (sworn guide and leader) of the Jewish communities of Lower Alsace, before becoming the German Emperor's favourite interlocutor on Jewish matters and the most influential intercessor on the Jews' behalf.

French rule until 1871

With the annexation of Alsace to France in 1681, Catholicism was restored as the principal Christian current. However, the prohibition against Jews settling in Strasbourg, and the special taxes Jews were subjected to, were not lifted. In the 18th century,

Herz Cerfbeer of Medelsheim Herz Cerfbeer of Medelsheim (german: Herz Cerf Beer von Medelsheim, born yi, נַפְתָּלִי(־הערץ) בֶּן דּוֹב־בּער ''Naphtali Ben Dov-Beer'', 1730 – December 7, 1793) was a French Jewish philanthropist. He was a contrac ...

, the influential merchant and philanthropist, became the first Jew to be allowed to settle in the Alsatian capital again. The

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

then admitted Jews back into the town. By 1790, the Jewish population of Alsace was approximately 22,500, about 3% of the provincial population. Another 7500 Jews lived in neighboring Lorraine. Together they comprised three-fourths of the 40,000 Jews who lived in France at the time. The Jews were highly segregated, subject to long-standing anti-Jewish regulations. They maintained their own customs, language, and historic traditions within the tightly-knit ghettos; they adhered to Jewish law. Jews were barred from most cities and instead lived in hundreds of small hamlets and villages. They were also barred from most occupations, and concentrated in trade, services, and especially in moneylending. They financed about a third of the mortgages in Alsace. Leading philosophers of the French Enlightenment, such as

Denis Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie'' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a promine ...

and

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...

, ridiculed and condemned French Jews as misanthropic, rapacious, and culturally backward. In 1777, a local judge forged hundreds of receipts, which he gave to Catholic peasants, to "prove" they had repaid their debts to Jewish moneylenders. The Jews protested, and a Prussian official,

Christian Wilhelm von Dohm Christian Wilhelm von Dohm (; 11 December 1751 – 29 May 1820) was a German historian and political writer. Biography Dohm was born in Lemgo on 11 December 1751. The son of a Lutheran pastor at , he was a radical advocate for Jewish emancipatio ...

, wrote a highly influential pamphlet "On the Civic Improvement of the Jews" (1781), which advanced the cause of Jewish emancipation in both Germany and France. Religious tolerance grew during the

, with full emancipation given to Protestants in 1789, Sephardic Jews in 1790, and the Ashkenazi Jews of Alsace and Lorraine in 1791. When Napoleon created the " Grand Sanhedrin" in 1806, he appointed the Chief Rabbi of Strasbourg,

Joseph David Sinzheim Joseph David Sinzheim (1745 – November 11, 1812 in Paris) was the chief rabbi of Strasbourg. He was son of Rabbi Isaac Sinzheim of Treves, and brother-in-law of Herz Cerfbeer. Biography Sinzheim was the most learned and prominent member of t ...

, as its first President. However, local antisemitism also increased, and Napoleon turned hostile in 1806, imposing a moratorium on repaying all debts owed to Jews. In 1808 Napoleon imposed tight limits on Jewish money-lending, capping interest rates at 5%. Napoleon's decrees collapsed after he fell from power, but an undercurrent of antisemitism remained. In the 1830–1870 era, urban middle-class Jews made enormous progress toward integration and acculturation, as antisemitism sharply declined. By 1831, the state began paying salaries to official rabbis, and in 1846 a special oath required for Jews in court was discontinued. Antisemitic riots occasionally occurred, especially during the Revolution of 1848. In 1854, Isaac Strauss became director of the orchestra of the ''bals de l'Opéra'' and then of the ''bals des Tuileries'', before the empress

Eugénie de Montijo ''Doña'' María Eugenia Ignacia Agustina de Palafox y Kirkpatrick, 19th Countess of Teba, 16th Marchioness of Ardales (5 May 1826 – 11 July 1920), known as Eugénie de Montijo (), was Empress of the French from her marriage to Emperor Napo ...

replaced him with Émile Waldteufel in 1867. During this era before 1870 many Jews converted to Christianity, including

David Paul Drach David Paul Drach (born Strasbourg, 6 March 1791; died at the end of January, 1868, Rome) was a Catholic convert from Judaism, and librarian of the College of Propaganda in Rome. Life Drach received his first instruction at the hands of his fathe ...

(1823), Francis Libermann (1826) and

Alphonse Ratisbonne Father Ratisbonne in 1865 Marie-Alphonse Ratisbonne, N.D.S., (1 May 1814, Strasbourg, Alsace, France – 6 May 1884, Ein Karem, Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem, Ottoman Empire) was a French Jew who converted to Christianity and became a Jesuit Cathol ...

(1842). After Alsace was incorporated into Germany in 1871 (until 1918) antisemitic violence diminished.

Dreyfus affair

While the

Dreyfus affair The Dreyfus affair (french: affaire Dreyfus, ) was a political scandal that divided the French Third Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. "L'Affaire", as it is known in French, has come to symbolise modern injustice in the Francop ...

(1894–1906) by and large played out in France, and Alsace was a part of Germany at the time, it had immediate repercussions for the Jews in Alsace.

Alfred Dreyfus Alfred Dreyfus ( , also , ; 9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French artillery officer of Jewish ancestry whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most polarizing political dramas in modern French history. ...

was by birth a citizen of

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; Alsatian language, Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning ''Mill (grinding), mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department, in the Grand Est Regions of France, region, eastern France, close to the France–Switzerl ...

and thus suspected by French conservatives of innate sympathy with the German enemy by virtue of his being Alsatian and Jewish, which put him under suspicion of being doubly disloyal. One of the alleged traitor's strongest advocates was fellow Mulhousian Auguste Scheurer-Kestner, a (non-Jewish) chemist, industrialist, politician and philanthropist. Another main player in the Affair, and advocate of Dreyfus' cause, was the Strasbourg-born army general Georges Picquart.

1940–1945

Strasbourg ancienne Synagogue quai Kléber 1898

In 1939, there were about 20,000 Jews living in Alsace and Lorraine. Immediately following the start of World War II on 3 September 1939, the French government started evacuating Jews from Alsace and Lorraine. About 14,000 Jews were evacuated to

Périgueux Périgueux (, ; oc, Peireguers or ) is a communes of France, commune in the Dordogne departments of France, department, in the administrative regions of France, administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Périgueux i ...

and

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

in southwest France, and far from the German border. About 5,000 more Jews fled to southern France after the German invasion and defeat of France in May 1940. Under the terms of the Armistice of 22 June 1940, Alsace became part of the German occupation zone. On 15 July 1940, most of the remaining Alsatian Jews (about 3,000) were evicted from their homes by the German authorities and deported to

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

. The Germans declared Alsace and Lorraine to be '' Judenrein'' (lit: cleansed of Jews). Unlike most of the German-occupied region of France, Alsace was effectively annexed by Germany by 1942, when Alsatians became German citizens by decree, and Alsace formally became part of the administrative unit (''Gau'') of Baden-Elsaß. During World War II, Germany established the Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp in Alsace. August Hirt became an institute director at the Nazi University of Strasbourg; he is notorious for his experiments with concentration camp prisoners and for his efforts to establish a

Jewish skull collection The Jewish skull collection was an attempt by the Nazis to create an anthropological display to showcase the alleged racial inferiority of the "Jewish race" and to emphasize the Jews' status as ''Untermenschen'' ("sub-humans"), in contrast to the G ...

. Many Alsatian Jews who had been relocated to western regions of the country were ultimately arrested and deported. It is estimated that 2,605 Jews from Bas-Rhin and 1,100 from Haut-Rhin were murdered during

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

. Businessmen such as

Théophile Bader Théophile Bader (24 April 1864 – 16 March 1942), co-founder of Galeries Lafayette, was a French businessman and art collector whose family was persecuted during the Nazi occupation of France because of their Jewish heritage. Early life Théop ...

, founder of the

Galeries Lafayette The Galeries Lafayette () is an upmarket French department store chain, the biggest in Europe. Its flagship store is on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris but it now operates in a number of other locations in France and othe ...

;

Pierre Wertheimer Pierre Wertheimer (8 January 1888 – 24 April 1965) was a French businessman, who co-founded Chanel with Coco Chanel. Family business Wertheimer was born to a Jewish family,Bourjois Bourjois is a French cosmetics company owned by the American group Coty, Inc., Coty Inc. Bourjois creates Make up, make-up, fragrance and skincare products, which are sold in approximately 26,000 points of sales in more than 80 countries worldwid ...

and partner of Coco Chanel; and Albert Kahn, banker and philanthropist would have faced confiscation of their properties and/or deportation to a death camp if they had not managed to flee in time.

Jews in Alsace today

There were about 50,000 Jews in Alsace in 1970. After the

Algerian war The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

, beginning in 1962, Sephardic Jews arrived in Alsace from

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. In the year 2000, roughly 4,000 Jews in Strasbourg were Sephardic, making up a little over 25% of the total Jewish population. In the year 2001, roughly 25% of the 500 Jewish families of Mulhouse were Sephardic.

Presentation of Alsatian Jewish history and heritage

A presentation of the Alsatian Jews' history and culture through collections of artifacts and architectural elements can be found in the '' Musée Judéo-Alsacien'' of

Bouxwiller, Bas-Rhin Bouxwiller (; german: Buchsweiler, ; gsw, Buxwiller, label=Alemannic German, or ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department, Alsace, Grand Est, northeastern France. Likely meaning "Bucco's land", Bouxwiller is the capital of the Bouxwiller canto ...

, in the ''Musée du bain rituel juif'' (

Mikvah Mikveh or mikvah (, ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvoth'', ''mikvot'', or (Yiddish) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve ritual purity. Most forms of ritual impurity can be purifi ...

museum) of Bischheim, in the ''Musée alsacien'' and the ''Musée historique'' of Strasbourg, in the '' Musée historique'' of

Haguenau Haguenau (; Alsatian: or ; and historically in English: ''Hagenaw'') is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department of France, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is second in size in the Bas-Rhin only to Strasbourg, some to the south. To the ...

, in the ''Musée d'Arts et Traditions Populaires'' of

Marmoutier :''See Marmoutier Abbey (Tours) for the former abbey in Tours.'' Marmoutier (; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin département in Grand Est in north-eastern France. The origin of the place is the former Marmoutier Abbey, of which the abbey church st ...

, in the ''Musée du vieux Soultz'' of

Soultz-Haut-Rhin Soultz-Haut-Rhin (german: Sulz/Oberelsaß) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin ''département'' in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Soultziens'' (male) or ''Soultziennes'' (female). Geography The town of Soultz-Haut-Rhi ...

, in the ''Musée du pays de la Zorn'' of Hochfelden, in the ''Musée de l'image populaire'' of

Pfaffenhoffen Pfaffenhoffen (; ; Alsatian: ''Pfàffoffe'') is a former commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune Val-de-Moder.Colmar Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is ...

. In 1984, the site of a medieval mikvah was found in a group of houses in Strasbourg and was later added to the government list of historical monuments. The annual European Day of Jewish Culture was initiated in 1996 by the B'nai Brith of

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin (; Alsatian: ''Unterelsàss'', ' or '; traditional german: links=no, Niederrhein; en, Lower Rhine) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its low ...

together with the local Agency for Development of Tourism. It now takes place in 27 European countries including

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. The original aim of the day was to permit access to, and ultimately encourage restoration of, long-abandoned synagogues of architectural value such as those in

Wolfisheim Wolfisheim (; Alsatian dialect, Alsatian: ''Wolfze'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin Departments of France, department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Its synagogue, built in 1897, is a listed monument. Population ...

Westhoffen Westhoffen (; german: Westhofen im Elsass; gsw-als, Westhofe) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. History From 1236 Westhofen was a fief of the Holy Roman Empire to the Lords of Lichtenberg, ...

, Pfaffenhoffen,

Struth Struth is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Bas-Rhin department The following is a list of the 514 communes of the Bas-Rhin department of France. The communes cooperate ...

Diemeringen Diemeringen () is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Bas-Rhin department The following is a list of the 514 communes of the Bas-Rhin department of France. The communes co ...

Ingwiller Ingwiller (; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. The commune lies within the North-Vosges natural park. History The first known mention of Ingwiller dates from the year 742 a.C. as ''Ingoniunilare' ...

and

Mackenheim Mackenheim () is a French commune located in the departments of France, department of Bas-Rhin and, since 1 January 2021, in the Grand Est region within the territory of the European Community of Alsace. This commune is located in the historica ...

Notable Jews born in Alsace

Liliane Ackermann Liliane Aimée Ackermann (''née'' Weil) (1938–2007) was a French microbiologist, Jewish Community pioneer, leader, writer, and lecturer. Early life and education Liliane Ackermann was born on September 3, 1938, in Strasbourg, France, the da ...

* Hans Bethe *

Gustave Bloch Gustave Bloch (21 July 1848 – 3 December 1923) was a French Jewish historian of ancient history. He was the father of historian Marc Bloch (1886–1944), who along with Lucien Febvre (1878–1956) was co-founder of the École des Annales. Biogra ...

Moses Bloom Moses Bloom (1833 – June 14, 1893) was an American politician, member of both houses of the Iowa General Assembly, and mayor of Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Various publications name him as the first Jewish mayor of a major American city. ...

Marcelle Cahn Marcelle Cahn (March 1, 1895 - September 20, 1981) was a French painter and one of the members of Abstraction-Création. She was born in a Jewish family of Strasbourg, Alsace David Léon Cahun David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

* Isaachar Bär ben Judah Carmoly *

Debré family The Debré family is a French family including several prominent politicians and physicians. The family's ancestor, rabbi Simon Debré, was born in Westhoffen, Alsace. His ancestors came from Harburg, Bavaria''Regards sur la culture judéo-alsacienn ...

* Louis Dreyfus family *

Javal family The Javal family originated in Alsace. They benefited from Napoleon I's policy of openness toward Jews, and in the 19th century experienced a remarkable ascent, with family members becoming prominent bankers, industrialists, physicians, public offi ...

Albert Kahn (banker) Albert Kahn (3 March 1860 – 14 November 1940) was a French banker and philanthropist, known for initiating '' The Archives of the Planet'', a vast photographical project. Spanning 22 years, it resulted in a collection of 72,000 colour ph ...

* Alphonse Kahn * Zadoc Kahn *

Maurice Kriegel-Valrimont Maurice Kriegel-Valrimont (14 May 1914 – 2 August 2006) was a militant communist who took part in the French Resistance during the Second World War, and a French politician. Along with General Leclerc and Henri Rol-Tanguy, he accepted the surr ...

Friedrich Wilhelm Levi Friedrich Wilhelm Daniel Levi (February 6, 1888 – January 1, 1966) was a German mathematician known for his work in abstract algebra, especially torsion-free abelian groups. He also worked in geometry, topology, set theory, and analysis. Early ...

Alphonse Lévy Alphonse may refer to: * Alphonse (given name) * Alphonse (surname) * Alphonse Atoll, one of two atolls in the Seychelles' Alphonse Group See also *Alphons *Alfonso (disambiguation) Alfonso (and variants Alphonso, Afonso, Alphons, and Alphonse) is ...

(1843-1918, born in

), painterAlphonse Lévy 1843-1918
* Maurice Lévy * Francis Libermann * Isidore Loeb * Marcel Marceau *

Sam Marx Samuel Marx (born Simon Marx; October 23, 1859 – May 10, 1933) was the father of American entertainment group (the) Marx Brothers, stars of vaudeville, Broadway and film, and the husband of Minnie Marx, who served as the group's manager. Lif ...

* Charles Netter *

Marie-Alphonse Ratisbonne image:Alphonse Ratisbonne 1865.jpg, Father Ratisbonne in 1865 Marie-Alphonse Ratisbonne, Congregation of Our Lady of Sion, N.D.S., (1 May 1814, Strasbourg, Alsace, France – 6 May 1884, Ein Karem, Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem, Ottoman Empire) was a ...

Camille Sée Camille Sée (10 March 1847 – 20 January 1919) was a French politician who was born in Colmar. As the pioneer of the 1880 French law which established Lycées for girls, he also created the École normale supérieure in Sèvres in 1881. He wa ...

Isaac Strauss Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...

(1806–1888), conductor and arts collector''Regards sur la culture judéo-alsacienne'' Éditions La Nuée bleue/DNA, Strasbourg, 2001, * Benjamin Ulmann *

Claude Vigée Claude Vigée (born Claude Strauss; 3 January 1921 – 2 October 2020) was a French poet who wrote in French and Alsatian. He described himself as a "Jew and an Alsatian, thus doubly Alsatian and doubly Jewish". Life Vigée was born in Bischwi ...

Pierre Villon Pierre Villon (27 August 1901 in Soultz-Haut-Rhin, Haut-Rhin – 6 November 1980 in Vallauris, Alpes-Maritimes) was a member of the French Communist Party and of the French Resistance during the war. With his true name of Roger Ginsburger, he w ...

Vivelin the Red Vivelin of StrasbourgHe was also known as “” (Latin), “” (French), or “” (German), which all means “Vivelin the Red”. (d. after 1347) was an Alsatian Jewish financier in the 14th century, presumably one of the richest persons within ...

* Émile Waldteufel *

Alexandre Weill Alexandre may refer to: * Alexandre (given name) * Alexandre (surname) * Alexandre (film) See also

* Alexander * Xano (disambiguation), a Portuguese hypocoristic of the name "Alexandre" {{Disambig ...

(1811–1899), writer *

Cora Wilburn Cora Wilburn (1824-1906) was a 19th-century American novelist, essayist, and poet. Her work was published in Spiritualist and Jewish publications. Wilburn's 1860 novel, ''Cosella Wayne: Or, Will and Destiny'' is considered to be the first novel to ...

Robert Wyler Robert Wyler (September 25, 1900 – January 17, 1971) was a Swiss-American film producer and associate producer. He was the older brother of film director William Wyler and a nephew of Universal Studios head Carl Laemmle. Wyler was born in M� ...

William Wyler William Wyler (; born Willi Wyler (); July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a Swiss-German-American film director and producer who won the Academy Award for Best Director three times, those being for ''Mrs. Miniver'' (1942), ''The Best Years of O ...

Gallery

File:Synagogue de Bouxwiller.JPG, Museum of Alsatian Judaism in former Synagogue (1842),

File:Synagogue de Haguenau.JPG, Synagogue of

(1820) File:Colmar, Synagogue.jpg, Synagogue of

Colmar Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is ...

(1839) File:Chevet de la synagogue de Mulhouse.JPG, Synagogue of

(1848) File:Synagogue de Bergheim.JPG, Synagogue of

Bergheim, Haut-Rhin Bergheim () is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is a completely fortified town and has a late-medieval church, as well as surviving towers and walls. The entire population was wiped out by two wars ...

(1863) File:Synagogue de Sélestat.JPG, Synagogue of

Sélestat Sélestat (; Alsatian: ''Schlettstàdt''; German: ''Schlettstadt'') is a commune in the Grand Est region of France. An administrative division (Subprefectures in France, sous-préfecture) of the Bas-Rhin Departments of France, department, the tow ...

(1890) File:Synagogue de Wolfisheim.JPG, Synagogue of

(1897) File:Synagogue de Saverne (Bas-Rhin).JPG, Synagogue of Saverne (1900) File:Synagogue de Wissembourg.JPG, Synagogue of Wissembourg (1960) File:Colmar Cathédrale Judensau.JPG, One of the two " Judensäue" in

File:Sigolsheim, romanesque capital with Jews heads.jpg, Romanesque capital in

showing Jews with characteristic hats on each lower corner File:Rosheim 08.JPG, "The Jew with a

money purse A money bag (or money sack) is a bag normally used to hold and transport coins and banknotes, often closed with a drawstring.Rosheim

References

External links

History of the Jewish community in Alsace and Lorraine"Alsace" (Jewish Encyclopedia
{{in lang, fr

Jewish people Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

Judaism in France Judaism in Germany Jewish French history Jewish German history

Antisemitism in Germany Antisemitism in France