History Of The Jews In Laupheim
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The history of the Jews in Laupheim began in the first half of the 18th century. Until the second half of the 19th century, the Jewish community in Laupheim, expanded continuously to become the largest of its kind in
Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...
. During this period, the Jewish community gradually assimilated to its Christian surroundings and its members prospered until the beginning of the
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
-period in 1933. With the deportation of the last remaining Jews in 1942, more than 200 years of Jewish history in Laupheim forcibly came to an end.


Prelude

At the beginning of the 18th century, Laupheim was a small market town in Upper Swabia and politically part of Further Austria. Jews were allowed to enter the town as
pedlars A peddler, in British English pedlar, also known as a chapman, packman, cheapjack, hawker, higler, huckster, (coster)monger, colporteur or solicitor, is a door-to-door and/or travelling vendor of good (economics), goods. In England, the term ...
but permanent residence was refused. Since the 15th century, Jews were not allowed to settle within the territories of the surrounding free imperial cities, nor in the
Duchy of Württemberg The Duchy of Württemberg (german: Herzogtum Württemberg) was a duchy located in the south-western part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was a member of the Holy Roman Empire from 1495 to 1806. The dukedom's long survival for over three centuries ...
. The settlement of Jews in the territories of Imperial Knights, however, was often welcomed. These rulers were often highly in debt due to the fragmentation of their territories, as was the case with Laupheim being separated into two independent states, Großlaupheim and Kleinlaupheim, as well as frequent wars. The income generated by
taxation A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal person, legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regiona ...
of the Jews helped to sustain the life-style of the nobility and also to stimulate the local economy. Hans Pankraz von Freyberg, the ruler of Laupheim between 1570 and 1582, explicitly forbade his subjects any contact with Jews and another early local law from 1622 threatened any inhabitant of Laupheim, who got involved with Jews with a fine of 25 fl. However, by then several Jewish communities had already been established in Upper Swabia. The local ruler of the nearby village of
Baltringen Baltringen is a once autonomous village in Baden-Württemberg in the region of Upper Swabia, situated approximately 17 km north of Biberach. Administratively, Baltringen is part of the municipality of Mietingen. Baltringen lies on the rive ...
allowed Jews to settle there in 1572. In the villages of Schwendi and Orsenhausen, the last of which still has a ''Judengasse'' ("Jews' Lane"), Jewish communities seem to have existed well before the 18th century. In Laupheim, the presence of Jewish traders on market days in the 17th century is documented. Yet, permanent Jewish presence in Laupheim was not permitted until the 18th century.


From the beginnings until the Jews' Act of 1828

In 1724, Abraham Kissendorfer from Illeraichheim petitioned the owner of Großlaupheim, Constantin Adolf von Welden, and the owner of Kleinlaupheim, Damian Carl von Welden, to allow three Jewish families, later extended to twenty, to settle in Laupheim. After some negotiation, an agreement was reached and permission for a permanent Jewish presence was granted so that four Jewish families entered Laupheim: Leopold Jakob, Josef Schlesinger and Leopold Weil from Buchau, and David Obernauer from Grundsheim. The first protection contract between them and the local authorities dates from 1730 which indicates that the final arrival of the four Jewish families occurred in that year. This contract was at first limited to 20 years. The first house for the newly arrived Jews was erected between 1730 and 1731. The Jews had to contribute to the costs of the house with 100 fl each. Various taxes, financial obligations and restrictions were imposed on the Jews: a special
death duty An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and property) of a person who has died. International tax law distinguishes between an es ...
as well as compensation for various services the local
serf Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...
s were obliged to perform and from which the Jews were exempt, had to be paid; an extra tax per capita was also imposed by
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n officials.G. Schenk (a), "Die Juden in Laupheim", p. 104 Furthermore, Jews had to wear special garment and hats and were allowed to trade in any goods except those that were considered to be of suspicious or dubious origin, such as wet cloth, unthreshed grain and untanned hide, as well as goods that had a particular
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
, liturgical character.L. Georg, ''Historische Bauten'', p. 57 Transactions of more than 4 fl had to be registered with the local authorities. The slaughter of animals according to Jewish rites and the selling of the meat itself were allowed. However, the tongue of each slaughtered cow as well as the innards of calves and sheep slaughtered according to Jewish rites had to be handed over to the authorities. Alternatively, 4 kr could be paid for each slaughtered animal. Jews were not allowed to buy and own property and to prevent any of their community from converting to
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
. On the other hand, they were strictly forbidden to convert any Christians to
Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
. In the years after 1730, more Jewish families came to Laupheim from
Fellheim Fellheim is a municipality in the district of Unterallgäu in Bavaria, Germany. The town has a municipal association with Boos, Bavaria Boos is a municipality in the district of Unterallgäu in Bavaria in Germany Germany,, officia ...
,
Fischach Fischach is a municipality in the district of Augsburg in Bavaria in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and ...
, Illeraichheim and other places, where Jews had already been allowed to settle, so that, when, in 1754, the protection contract, which had expired some time before, was renewed for another 30 years, the Jewish community in Laupheim had grown to 27 families. The contract was again renewed in 1784 and with each of these renewals a substantial fee of 800 fl had to be paid. The families arriving after 1750 had to have their houses built at their own expense. The area where those dwellings were built was allocated by the local rulers, who also kept the legal right to the properties. After 1784, these houses were held by the Jews as hereditary
fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...
s from the local rulers. A plot of uncultivated land to the north of the Jewish settlement in Laupheim was bought by the infant community shortly after their settlement to be used as a cemetery. Due to the rapid growth of the population the cemetery had to be expanded in 1784, 1856 and again 1877. Once the quorum of ten or more adult male Jews was reached, (
Minyan In Judaism, a ''minyan'' ( he, מניין \ מִנְיָן ''mīnyān'' , lit. (noun) ''count, number''; pl. ''mīnyānīm'' ) is the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. In more traditional streams of Jud ...
), the first Jews in Laupheim used a room on the first floor in the house of butcher Michael Laupheimer, located on the ''Judengasse'', for their religious services. However, the continuous, rapid growth of the Jewish community made it necessary to have a
synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
built. It was built as an L-shaped building next to the cemetery close to the spot where later on the Jewish mortuary was to be built.S. Kullen, "Spurensuche", p. 51 Unlike the unfree Christian population of both parts of Laupheim, the Jewish inhabitants had a considerable larger autonomy in administrating their own communal affairs. Around 1760, a Jewish community seems to have been officially established with the permission to elect two ''parnassim'', chairmen of the community, one for each part of the divided Laupheim, as the town had been separated into Großlaupheim and Kleinlaupheim since 1621. The ''parnassim'' were allowed to make independent decision concerning the internal affairs of the Jewish community. Other tasks included the appointment of the
rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
and the '' chazzan''. These officials were not included in the number of
Schutzjude ''Schutzjude'' (, "protected Jew") was a status for German Jews granted by the imperial, princely or royal courts. Within the Holy Roman Empire, except some eastern territories gained by the Empire in the 11th and 12th centuries (e.g. Brandenb ...
n ("Protected Jews") and were exempt from the annual protection fee the other Jewish inhabitants of Laupheim had to pay. The Jewish community as a whole had to pay the fees for the ''parnassim'' and it also had to provide for their accommodation. The ''parnassim'' and the rabbi had restricted legal authority over members of the community, being permitted to exact, up to a certain amount, financial penalties. In cases they were not allowed to decide, respected non-local rabbis were consulted and in very important legal disputes, the files were sent for consultation to the Jewish communities in
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
,
Fürth Fürth (; East Franconian: ; yi, פיורדא, Fiurda) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the t ...
or even as far as
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. In criminal cases and in disputes between Christians and Jews, the local ruler reserved the right to make a legal decision. The settlement of the Jews in Laupheim developed on the so-called ''Judenberg'' ("Jews’ mountain" or rather "Jews’ hill") with the ''Judengasse'' ("Jews’ Lane") at its centre, a
ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...
-like area, separated from the rest of the town, yet in close proximity to the market square. The ''Judenberg'' forms a regular square where the 8 oldest houses, arranged in 3 rows, are positioned parallel to one of the main streets leading away from the town centre. The local Jews were allowed to influence the planning and design of their houses from the end of the 18th century onwards. It is remarkable, even today, that all houses are approachable from the front as well as the back, and that even the front yards and front gardens are not fenced in. The reason for this lies in the fact that the ''Judengasse'' was meant to incorporate the whole Jewish settlement to form an ''
eruv An eruv (; he, עירוב, , also transliterated as eiruv or erub, plural: eruvin or eruvim) is a ritual halakhic enclosure made for the purpose of allowing activities which are normally prohibited on Shabbat (due to the prohibition of ''ho ...
''. After having received the houses as hereditary fiefs in 1784, Jews were allowed to buy their houses from 1812 onwards. In 1807, 41 families lived in 17 houses on the ''Judenberg''. In 1820, the number had risen to 59 families living in 34 houses. This growth in population made it necessary in 1822, to have an even bigger synagogue built. The new building was erected at a cost of 16.000 fl. However, due to errors made during the construction, the building had to be completely broken down less than 15 years later, to be replaced by a new building in 1836/1837. This new synagogue had a length of approximately 24 metres and was approximately 13 metres wide.


From 1828 to 1869

In 1806, both parts of Laupheim were annexed by the newly formed
Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which exist ...
. As a consequence the Jews in Laupheim now fell under the
jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Jur ...
of Württemberg. Initially, there were no changes in the legal status of Jews living within the kingdom. However, the Jews’ Act of 1828 meant a considerable improvement in the status of the Jews. The legal obligation of Jews living only in the areas allocated by the authorities was lifted. Jews now had the freedom to settle and live wherever they decided to. The effect of this law in Laupheim meant that very soon the Jewish population had houses built along the ''Kapellenstraße'' and the surrounding areas so that the street unofficially received the name of ''Judenstraße'' ("Jews' Street"). The fact that in a relative short period of time so many new buildings could be erected is an indication of the prosperity of the Jewish community, particularly regarding the
recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...
and the
famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...
s that followed the
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
. Another indication for this prosperity was the fact that, when a couple wanted to get married, it had to prove a certain amount of wealth before the permission to marry was granted by the local ruler, more Jewish inhabitants of Laupheim were able to get married than their Christian fellow-citizens. The act of 1828 also lifted any restrictions with regards to the prohibition of Jews to choose their professions. From now on, Jews were allowed to choose and work in any profession they wished. Furthermore, the prohibition of Jews to buy and own property was abolished. In the years following this decree, Jews from Laupheim bought several bankrupt agricultural businesses in the surrounding villages as well as within the town of Laupheim itself, split them into smaller entities and sold them off again, thereby making considerable profit. One example of this is the acquisition of Großlaupheim Castle with all its property by the family Steiner in 1843. In 1840,
Karl von Welden Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austria ...
, the last feudal lord of Laupheim, sold the castle to the state of Württemberg. He was bitterly disappointed with his subjects obstinate behaviour towards him as their former feudal lord (they had taken him to court for 300 different offences) and sold the castles to the Kingdom of Württemberg. Großlaupheim Castle with all accompanying lands was then acquired by the Jewish merchant Viktor Steiner whose family managed to hold on to the possession for five generations, even through the Nazi-period, until 1961. After Viktor Steiner's death in 1865, his son, Daniel Steiner, and his son-in-law, Salomon Klein, became heirs to the business. They, in turn, sold it on to Laupheim-born banker and
industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...
Kilian Steiner, who had resided in Stuttgart. The government's policy to encourage young Jews to learn one of the crafts they had been excluded from, only met with partial success. Even though more Jews became apprentices to craftsmen, they usually chose a profession which later enabled them to change it into a craft-related trade. A side effect of the act was that those Jews who had not used a surname as yet were forced to acquire
family name In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...
s. Few of the Laupheim Jews had had surnames. Those that had used them were the families of Einstein, Obernauer and Weil. Suddenly new families seemed to emerge even though they had been living in Laupheim for quite some time. There were several options: one, to Germanise the first name, which led, amongst others, to Levi, Löw, Löffler and Levinger, instead of Levi, or to Heumann instead of Hayum. A second option was to use the name of the place from where the family had once moved to Laupheim. This resulted in family names such as Nördlinger, Öttinger, Hofheimer and Thannhauser. Furthermore, not only surnames were suddenly Germanised but first names were adapted to the German speaking environment too. Hayum became, for example, Heinrich, Baruch was changed to Berthold or Bernhard, so that at the end of the 19th century, it was almost impossible to distinguish the Jewish citizens of Laupheim from their Christian fellow-citizens simply because of their names. The Jews' Act of 1828 forced the rabbis to keep
vital records Vital records are records of life events kept under governmental authority, including birth certificates, marriage licenses (or marriage certificates), separation agreements, divorce certificates or divorce party and death certificates. In some ...
of all members of their community, something Christian priests had been obliged to do so for a long time. Rabbis now had to keep records of all
birth certificate A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensuin ...
s,
marriage license A marriage license (or marriage licence in Commonwealth spelling) is a document issued, either by a religious organization or state authority, authorizing a couple to marry. The procedure for obtaining a license varies between jurisdiction ...
s, and death certificates. This turned the office of rabbi from being a purely spiritual leader into a semi-official function, the tasks of which also included administration for which he was accountable to the officials of the Kingdom of Württemberg. The economic equality granted to the Jews in 1828 caused an increase in building works in Laupheim which, in turn, caused an increase in the economic fortunes of the small market town. This is demonstrated by the fact that the number of building-related craftsmen doubled within ten years between 1845 and 1856. The weekly market, which had been discontinued at the beginning of the century, was reintroduced in 1842. Although it had to compete with the larger markets in Ulm and Biberach, it still managed to hold its own as many horse and cattle traders as well as
pedlars A peddler, in British English pedlar, also known as a chapman, packman, cheapjack, hawker, higler, huckster, (coster)monger, colporteur or solicitor, is a door-to-door and/or travelling vendor of good (economics), goods. In England, the term ...
and hawkers, quite a few of whom were Jewish, visited the market in Laupheim, further contributing to its prosperity.W. Kohl, ''Die Geschichte der Judengemeinde in Laupheim'', p. 48 Also, a great number of the founders of the local trade bank, an early form of the
Credit Union A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including depo ...
, in 1868, were Jewish entrepreneurs from Laupheim. Until 1933 they were to partake in its development in prominent positions. In 1864, Jews living in the Kingdom of Württemberg, were finally granted complete
political equality Political equality is the quality of a society whose voluntary members are of equal standing in terms of political power or influence. A founding principle of various forms of democracy, political egalitarianism was an idea which was supported by T ...
. This meant that after achieving economic emancipation, they were now citizens with the same rights and obligations as their Christian neighbours. Soon after this, in 1868, the first Jewish counsellors appeared on the town council, Samuel Lämmle being the first Jew elected to it.


From 1869 to 1933

The Laupheim Jews contributed substantially to the effort to have Laupheim elevated to the status of
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
, by appealing repeatedly to the King of Württemberg to grant Laupheim this status from the early years of the 1860s onwards. Finally, in a charter of 1869, the King of Württemberg conferred on Laupheim
city rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...
. Ironically, the absolute number of Jewish inhabitants in Laupheim reached its zenith the very same year. In 1856, the number of Jewish inhabitants constituted more than a fifth of all inhabitants of Laupheim, even though the absolute number was less than in 1869. This is because the general population of Laupheim grew disproportionally. In 1869, 843 Jews were registered in Laupheim, accounting for approximately twelve percent of the total population. From this year onwards, the Jewish population dwindled. The reason for this lies in the fact that for many Jewish inhabitants, Laupheim did not offer enough opportunities to sustain a living. This process of migration had already started in the 1850s with many Laupheim Jews being attracted to the bigger cities, such as Ulm,
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
,
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
and
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
. Furthermore, between 1835 and 1870, no less than 176 Jewish inhabitants of Laupheim emigrated to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, particularly after the failed
revolution of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...
and its ensuing economic crisis, which was felt most harshly by those who were less affluent. Some did return but most stayed and became an integral part of the United States. This development gathered momentum in the 1870s with more and more Jewish inhabitants leaving Laupheim either to move abroad or to other centres within the newly founded
German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
. In 1871 the Emancipation Law was passed and applied to all of Germany. As equal citizens the Jews began to reap success in all walks of life. Over 60% of them belonged to the settled middle-class. The upturn in Jewish fortunes was also shown in the fact that the community could afford to have the synagogue completely rebuilt and refurbished. As early as 1845 there had been complaints that the synagogue was too small to accommodate the growing numbers of believers. The works for the new synagogue finished in May 1877. By adding two towers with domed roofs and wide, rounded windows, the building was given a renaissance-like appearance. During this period, several businesses were founded or expanded. A company producing wooden tools, founded by Josef Steiner and his four sons, became one of the leading distributors of products of this kind in southern Germany. A company for refinement of hair products was founded by the brothers Bergmann. This company still exists today, having been Aryanised after 1933, only to be given back to its rightful owners after 1945, and is now operating worldwide. A textile mill was established by Emmanuel Heumann, continued by his sons, in the town centre. The premises were later moved to the suburbs. The hop merchant Steiner also began in Laupheim to become one of the leading players in this market after expanding into the United States. The headquarters of this company are now in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Until the 1880s, trading in
real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...
was in Jewish hands but this vanished completely after the establishing of the credit union. The local dealers in
livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...
, however, were until after 1933 predominantly Jewish as well as the traders in
liquor Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or hard ...
, wine, oil, grain and timber. There were even a few private banks owned by Jews, which were successful enough to survive well into the 1930s but were forced to close down after 1933 following the immense pressure put on them by the
National Socialist Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
administration. Around and in the vicinity of the market square, several retail shops were established, specializing in selling textile products. The first
department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
in Laupheim was erected in 1906 by Jewish merchant Daniel David Einstein whose family had been residents of Laupheim since the second half of the 17th century. Until the late 1980s, it was still possible to see the by then faded name of the original owner above the entrance. A number of
public houses A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
were also run by Jewish landlords. Less remarkable and yet important are the contributions made by local Jewish craftsmen. There were several
baker A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ha ...
s and
butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesal ...
s, serving the Jewish as well as the Christian inhabitants of Laupheim. Also, a number of Jewish cobblers, furriers, clockmakers, tailors and wood turners had their shops near the market square. By the end of the 19th century Jews in Laupheim were completely integrated and assimilated into society, being part of all walks of life, a situation which would not change for more than 30 years. This assimilation is seen by the fact that many, more affluent Jews moved away from the confinement of the ''Judenberg''. Consequently, many of the Gründerzeit buildings still existing in Laupheim were erected by Jews.


The Jewish school

Traditionally, the education of the children of a Jewish family rested with the father. However, the absence of many fathers due to their frequently being away from home in their capacity as traders, made it necessary to employ travelling teachers who received food and accommodation in return for their services. These teachers, called '' chedarim'', received a contract of six months, usually terminating at either
Pesach Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or ...
or
Sukkot or ("Booths, Tabernacles") , observedby = Jews, Samaritans, a few Protestant denominations, Messianic Jews, Semitic Neopagans , type = Jewish, Samaritan , begins = 15th day of Tishrei , ends = 21st day of Tishre ...
. In 1808, the number of Jewish children amounted to 39 which indicates that many children were sent to either Christian schools or to Jewish schools outside Laupheim. The first Jewish school was founded only in 1823, when the Jewish community rented a ballroom in a public house to be used as a classroom and hired a teacher, Simon Tannenbaum from Mergentheim. He acted as head teacher until his retirement in 1860. As his assistant Abraham Sänger from Buttenhausen was taken on and worked as teacher until his death in 1856. His descendants run the public house ''Zum Ochsen'' until after 1933. In 1830, the Jewish community bought a house opposite the synagogue which was refurbished to house the rabbi's office and the school. This building functioned as school until 1868 when a new Jewish school was built in the vicinity of the ''Judenberg'' in the ''Radgasse''. This building was demolished in 1969. Due to the lack of Jewish teachers, for several years
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
teachers were asked to help out. In 1874, 162 Jewish pupils attended the Jewish school. In the following decades, the number of Jewish pupils would decrease continuously, so that, at the beginning of the 20th century, the Jewish school taught only 65 pupils. However, the Jewish school existed until well into the 1930s and was only closed in 1939.


Jewish societies

The first Jewish society (''Chewra Kadischah'') was founded in 1748 with the task of looking after the ill and taking care of funerals. This society was active for almost 200 years. In 1780, the
Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
-
Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
-Society was founded to assist the religious instruction of fellow Jews and to take care of young people. It was accompanied by a welfare society ''Nathan Basseser'', founded in 1804, the Jewish Women Society and the Jewish Orphan Fund, supporting the Jewish
orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...
in Esslingen, in 1838. Jewish societies sprang up not only for charitable but also for sociable purposes. A choral society, called ''Frohsinn'' (Cheerfulness), was founded in 1845 and went on to win many prizes at choir festivals. The reading society ''Konkordia'' (Concord) came into existence in 1846 on the initiative of the Laupheim-born rabbi-candidate Max Sänger.


From 1933 to 1938

After the appointment of
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
as
Chancellor of Germany The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,; often shortened to ''Bundeskanzler''/''Bundeskanzlerin'', / is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the Ge ...
on 30 January 1933 and the subsequent seizure of power by his party, the
National Socialist German Workers Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
, Jewish life in Laupheim began to change for the worse. During the previous decades, Jews had been influential and prominent members in all ways of life, not only in the economic life but also in the cultural sphere. Numerous non-Jews had been employed by Jewish-run businesses and by Jewish households. Jews had been participating in all spheres of public and commercial life. The local craftsmen had been able to rely on Jewish customers to sell their products to. Jews were members in several cultural, political and social societies. All these relations began to loosen or even abruptly break down after January 1933. On 1 April 1933, the nationwide Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses, organised by
Julius Streicher Julius Streicher (12 February 1885 – 16 October 1946) was a member of the Nazi Party, the ''Gauleiter'' (regional leader) of Franconia and a member of the '' Reichstag'', the national legislature. He was the founder and publisher of the virul ...
, also took place in Laupheim. Members of the local SA positioned themselves in front of Jewish shops in order to intimidate potential customers and prevent them from entering. The windows of one shop were smashed. In the year following the Nazis' rise to power, in the course of so-called ''
Gleichschaltung The Nazi term () or "coordination" was the process of Nazification by which Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party successively established a system of totalitarian control and coordination over all aspects of German society and societies occupied b ...
'', the Laupheim Jews were deprived of membership of all non-Jewish organisations, be it political or cultural. On 6 November 1935, a non-local party group leader of the NSDAP took photographs of customers entering a shoe shop, which happened to be owned by a Jew. This caused such a commotion that the police had to be called in to disperse the crowd, which was shouting abuse at entering customers by calling them ''Volksverräter '' (people's traitors) and ''Judenknecht'' (Jews' servant). The propaganda of the ruling party had its effects in that the turnover of Jewish businesses decreased dramatically; one shop's revenue declined even by 80 percent. Many customers went for their purchases to Ulm and Biberach instead. The
Nuremberg Laws The Nuremberg Laws (german: link=no, Nürnberger Gesetze, ) were antisemitic and racist laws that were enacted in Nazi Germany on 15 September 1935, at a special meeting of the Reichstag convened during the annual Nuremberg Rally of th ...
of 1935, reduced the Jews in Germany to the status of second class citizens and prohibited the Jews to employ female Aryans under the age of 45. On 8 April 1938, the Jewish cattle traders were allocated a separate part on the weekly cattle market and as of 1 January 1939 the licences for Jewish cattle trader were permanently revoked. From June onwards, all Jewish businesses had to be visibly marked. In July, Jewish
physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
s were struck off the medical register. In September, the permission of Jewish members of the legal profession to practice law was cancelled. There were further restrictions and harassment in the same year such as the adding of ''Sara'' and ''Israel'' respectively to non-Jewish first names, the confiscating and re-issuing of passports after a large ''J'' was added. However, many Jews clung to the businesses their ancestors had established and hoped that by keeping a low profile they could weather the storm. A record from July 1938, shows that there still existed 45 businesses run by Jews in Laupheim. The assassination of Ernst vom Rath, Third Secretary of the German Embassy in Paris, by Herschel Grynszpan served as a pretext for a nationwide
pogrom 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 Russia ...
against Jews throughout Germany and Austria on the night of 9–10 November 1938, colloquially known as Kristallnacht. In Laupheim, Jewish shops were vandalised and the synagogue was burnt to the ground. The fire-brigade was prevented by locals from extinguishing the fire. A number of Jewish inhabitants were arrested and transported to the town hall. From there, they were marched to the burning synagogue, escorted by members of the Nazi-party, where they had to listen to a diatribe by a SA-leader, after which they were forced to carry out physical exercises in front of the burning building during which several of them were physically assaulted and injured. Afterwards, some of them were released, whereas the more prominent Jews were transported to the concentration camp
Dachau , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...
. One, Sigmund Laupheimer, was beaten to death by SS guards during his confinement there. By February 1939 16 of the imprisoned men had been released.G. Schenk (b), "Die Juden in Laupheim", p. 300 The main perpetrators, were never brought to justice as they were either killed during the war or missing in action. 16 locals, however, were tried in 1948. All of them claimed that they were acting under orders. Four of them were acquitted whereas the twelve others were sentenced to prison terms ranging between two months and one year for
crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...
and being accessory to arson.


The end of Jewish life in Laupheim

A few days after the pogrom of 9–10 November 1938, a decree for the expropriation of Jewish businesses was implemented. Following this, all Jewish businesses had to be Aryanised. In Laupheim this meant that some Jewish shops were bought by one or some of the former employees at a rate considerably lower than the current market price. However, most of these businesses did not manage to survive for long as they lacked sufficient capital and expertise to run an enterprise, especially since there was no possibility to export goods. As a result of the accelerated discrimination of Jews, emigration from Laupheim increased to 32 in 1939. In 1940, only 14 persons managed to escape the oppression and in 1941 a meagre 4 Jews from Laupheim managed to leave the country. Those remaining were, after having been driven out of business, systematically deprived of their other properties, evicted and allocated alternative accommodation. Some were moved into the former Rabbi's office building, now turned into a Jewish retirement home, where living conditions were very crammed. Others were sent to live in the ''Wendelinsgrube'', a designated settlement area in a gravel pit just outside the then built-up area of Laupheim, where since 1927 small houses had been erected to provide accommodation for the unemployed and homeless. By 1939 these houses consisted of wooden
shack A shack (or, in some areas, shanty) is a type of small shelter or dwelling, often primitive or rudimentary in design and construction. Unlike huts, shacks are constructed by hand using available materials; however, whereas huts are usually ru ...
s without running water or electricity. The former residents of the ''Wendelinsgrube'' moved into the forcibly abandoned Jewish properties. On 28 November 1941, the first transport of Laupheim Jews left, in the first instance to Stuttgart, and then onwards to
Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
. The second wave of deportations took place on 25 March 1942, when a number of Laupheim Jews were transported to the
General Government The General Government (german: Generalgouvernement, pl, Generalne Gubernatorstwo, uk, Генеральна губернія), also referred to as the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (german: Generalgouvernement für die be ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. The final deportation took place on 19 August 1942, when the remaining 43 Jews of Laupheim, amongst whom were all the remaining inhabitants of the ''Wendelinsgrube'', were transported to the east to the concentration camp
Theresienstadt Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the Schutzstaffel, SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (German occupation of Czechoslovakia, German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstad ...
. This date marks the end of more than 200 years of Jewish history in Laupheim since none of the emigrants or surviving deportees returned to live in Laupheim.


Development of the Jewish population in Laupheim

The table below shows the development of the Jewish population of Laupheim and also shows these numbers in relation to the total number of inhabitants of Laupheim. Of the 249 Jews registered in Laupheim in 1933, 126 managed to save their lives by fleeing Germany and emigrating to various foreign destinations.


Rabbis of the Laupheim Jewish community

A complete list of all the Laupheim rabbis does not exist. The first rabbi is mentioned in 1730 but there is a gap in the records until 1760. Following the retirement of Leopold Treitel, the Laupheim rabbinate ceased to exist on 1 April 1923.A. Hoffmann, ''Schnittmengen und Scheidelinien'', p. 12


Prominent Jews from Laupheim

*
Kilian von Steiner Kilian von Steiner (; 9 October 1833 – 25 September 1903) was a German banker and industrialist. Life and career Born in Laupheim as the eighth child of Jewish merchant Viktor Steiner and his wife Sophie, Kilian Steiner spent his youth in t ...
(9 October 1833 – 11 November 1903), banker. *
Moritz Henle Moritz Henle (7 August 1850 – 24 August 1925) was a prominent German composer of liturgical music and cantor of the Jewish reform movement. Henle was born in the Upper Swabian town of Laupheim at a time when Laupheim had the largest Jewi ...
(7 August 1850 – 24 August 1925), cantor and
composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...
of
Jewish 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 ...
reform movement A reform movement or reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary mo ...
. * Carl Laemmle (17 January 1867 – 24 September 1939),
film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...
, founder of
Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
. * Friedrich Adler (29 April 1878–1942), Jugendstil and
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
designer; murdered in
Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...
. * Hertha Nathorff (5 June 1895 – 10 June 1993),
pediatrician Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...
. * Gretel Bergmann (12 April 1914 – 25 July 2017), internationally renowned high jumper of the 1930s. *
Siegfried Einstein Siegfried Einstein (30 November 1919 – 25 April 1983) was a German- Jewish poet, novelist, essayist and journalist. Life The son of department store owner Max D. Einstein, Siegfried Einstein was born in the small city of Laupheim in Württemb ...
(30 November 1919 – 25 April 1983 in
Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
),
author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
and
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
.


See also

*
History of the Jews in Germany The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...


Notes


Further reading

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

{{Commons category, Judaism in Laupheim
Webpage of the Museum Of Christians and Jews (in German)


*Beit Hatfutsot, Museum of the Jewish People https://www.bh.org.il Laupheim Laupheim Laupheim Laupheim Jewish history Laupheim