History of the Jews in Laupheim
Encyclopedia
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
. During this period, the Jewish community gradually assimilated to its Christian surroundings and its members prospered until the beginning of the Nazi
-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.
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 pedlar
s 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 settlement of Jews in the territories of Imperial Knight
s, 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 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 Jewish communities had already been established in Upper Swabia
. The local ruler of the nearby village of Baltringen
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.
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 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 as well as compensation for various services the local serf
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
n officials. 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
, liturgical
character. 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
. On the other hand, they were strictly forbidden to convert any Christians to Judaism
.
In the years after 1730, more Jewish families came to Laupheim from Fellheim
, Fischach
, 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 previously, 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 fiefs 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
), 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
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.
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
and the chazzan. These officials were not included in the number of Schutzjude
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, Fürth
or even as far as Prague
. 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
-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
.
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.
In 1806, both parts of Laupheim were annexed by the newly formed Kingdom of Württemberg
. As a consequence the Jews in Laupheim now fell under the jurisdiction
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
and the famine
s that followed the Napoleonic Wars
. 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 chose 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, 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 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
Kilian Steiner
, who had previously resided in Stuttgart.
The government's policy to encourage young Jews to learn one of the crafts they had previously 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
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 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
s, marriage license
s, and death certificate
s. 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 pedlar
s and hawkers, quite a few of whom were Jewish, visited the market in Laupheim, further contributing to its prosperity. Also, a great number of the founders of the local trade bank, an early form of the Credit Union
, 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
. 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.
, 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 the right to call itself a city.
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
, Munich
and Frankfurt
. Furthermore, between 1835 and 1870, no less than 176 Jewish inhabitants of Laupheim emigrated to the United States
, particularly after the failed revolution of 1848
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 upturn in Jewish fortunes was also shown in the fact that the community could afford to have a the synagogue completely rebuilt and refurbished. Already in 1845 there had been complaints that the synagogue was too small to accommodate the growing numbers of believers. The works 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 these kind of products 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
. Until the 1880s, trading in real estate
was in Jewish hands but this vanished completely after the establishing of the credit union. The local dealers in livestock
, however, were until after 1933 predominantly Jewish as well as the traders in liquor, 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
administration.
Around and in the vicinity of the market square, several retail shops
were established, specializing in selling textile products. The first department store
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 were also run by Jewish landlords. Less remarkable and yet important are the contributions made by local Jewish craftsmen. There were several baker
s and butcher
s, serving the Jewish as well as the Christian inhabitants of Laupheim. Also, a number of Jewish cobblers, furriers, clockmaker
s, 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.
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
or Sukkot
. 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
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.
-Torah
-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
in Esslingen
, in 1838.
Jewish society 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.
as Chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933 and the subsequent seizure of power by his party, the National Socialist German Workers Party
, 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 boycott of Jewish businesses, organised by Julius Streicher
, 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 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
of 1935, reduced the Jews in Germany to the status of second class citizens and prohibited the Jews to employ female Aryan
s 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
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 clang 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
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 where 16 of them had been released by February 1939.
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 and being accessory
to arson.
. 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 who remained 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
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. The second wave of deportation
s took place on 25 March 1942, when a number of Laupheim Jews where transported to the General Government
, Poland
. 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
. 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.
Of the 235 Jews registered in Laupheim in 1933, 126 managed to save their lives by fleeing Germany and emigrating to various foreign destinations.
Laupheim
Laupheim is a city in southern Germany in the state of Baden Württemberg. Laupheim was first mentioned in 778 and gained its city rights in 1869. One of the main trading routes, from Ulm to Ravensburg and then on towards Lake Constance ran through Laupheim...
expanded continuously to become the largest of its kind in Württemberg
Württemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
. During this period, the Jewish community gradually assimilated to its Christian surroundings and its members prospered until the beginning of the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
-period in 1933. With the deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
of the last remaining Jews in 1942, more than 200 years of Jewish history in Laupheim forcibly came to an end.
Prelude
Upper Swabia
Upper Swabia is a region in Germany in the federal states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. The name refers to the area between the Swabian Alb, Lake Constance and the Lech...
and politically part of Further Austria
Further Austria
Further Austria or Anterior Austria was the collective name for the old possessions of the House of Habsburg in the former Swabian stem duchy of south-western Germany, including territories in the Alsace region west of the Rhine and in Vorarlberg, after the focus of the Habsburgs had moved to the...
. Jews were allowed to enter the town as pedlar
Pedlar
Pedlar may refer to:* The British English form and original spelling of peddler-Places:* Pedlar Island, Ontario, Canada* Pedlar River, Virginia, USA* Pedlar Wildlife Management Area in Monongalia County, West Virginia-Given names and nicknames:...
s but permanent residence was refused. Since the 15th century, Jews were not allowed to settle within the territories of the surrounding free imperial cities
Free Imperial City
In the Holy Roman Empire, a free imperial city was a city formally ruled by the emperor only — as opposed to the majority of cities in the Empire, which were governed by one of the many princes of the Empire, such as dukes or prince-bishops...
, nor in the Duchy of Württemberg
History of Württemberg
Württemberg developed as a political entity in south-west Germany, with the core established around Stuttgart by Count Conrad . His descendants managed to expand Württemberg, surviving Germany's religious wars, changes in imperial policy, and invasions from France. The state had a basic...
. The settlement of Jews in the territories of Imperial Knight
Imperial Knight
The Free Imperial Knights, or the Knights of the Empire was an organisation of free nobles of the Holy Roman Empire, whose direct overlord was the Emperor, remnants of the medieval free nobility and the ministeriales...
s, 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 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 Jewish communities had already been established in Upper Swabia
Upper Swabia
Upper Swabia is a region in Germany in the federal states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. The name refers to the area between the Swabian Alb, Lake Constance and the Lech...
. The local ruler of the nearby village of Baltringen
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...
allowed Jews to settle there in 1572. In the villages of Schwendi
Schwendi
Schwendi is a municipality in the district Biberach, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located near Laupheim. The mayor is Mr. Karremann....
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
Bad Buchau
Bad Buchau is a small town in the district of Biberach, Baden-Württemberg, Germany with about 4,000 inhabitants. It is situated near the Federsee, which is separated from the town by a wide reed belt....
, and David Obernauer from Grundsheim
Grundsheim
Grundsheim is a town in the district of Alb-Donau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
. 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 as well as compensation for various services the local serf
SERF
A spin exchange relaxation-free magnetometer is a type of magnetometer developed at Princeton University in the early 2000s. SERF magnetometers measure magnetic fields by using lasers to detect the interaction between alkali metal atoms in a vapor and the magnetic field.The name for the technique...
s were obliged to perform and from which the Jews were exempt, had to be paid; an extra tax per capita
Poll tax
A poll tax is a tax of a portioned, fixed amount per individual in accordance with the census . When a corvée is commuted for cash payment, in effect it becomes a poll tax...
was also imposed by Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n officials. 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
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, liturgical
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
character. Transactions of more than 4 fl had to be registered with the local authorities. The slaughter of animals according to Jewish rites
Shechita
Shechita is the ritual slaughter of mammals and birds according to Jewish dietary laws...
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
Kreuzer
The Kreuzer, in English usually kreutzer, was a silver coin and unit of currency existing in the southern German states prior to the unification of Germany, and in Austria.-Early history:...
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
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. On the other hand, they were strictly forbidden to convert any Christians to Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
.
In the years after 1730, more Jewish families came to Laupheim from Fellheim
Fellheim
Fellheim is a municipality in the district of Unterallgäu in Bavaria, Germany....
, Fischach
Fischach
Fischach is a municipality in the district of Augsburg in Bavaria in Germany.-Geography:Fischach is situated in the "Naturpark Westliche Wälder" south of Augsburg...
, 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 previously, 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 fiefs 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
Minyan
A minyan in Judaism refers to the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. According to many non-Orthodox streams of Judaism adult females count in the minyan....
), 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
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
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.
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
Parnas
Parnas may refer to:*David Parnas, an early pioneer of software engineering who developed the concept of module design which is the foundation of object-oriented programming today*Jakub Karol Parnas, Polish biochemist...
, 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
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
and the chazzan. These officials were not included in the number of Schutzjude
Schutzjude
Schutzjude was a status for German Jews granted by the imperial, princely or royal courts.Within the Holy Roman Empire, except of some eastern territories gained to the Empire in the 11th and 12th c. , Jews usually had the status as Servi camerae regis...
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, Fürth
Fürth
The city of Fürth is located in northern Bavaria, Germany in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the two cities being only 7 km apart....
or even as far as Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. 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
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
-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
Eruv
An Eruv is a ritual enclosure around most Orthodox Jewish and Conservative Jewish homes or communities. In such communities, an Eruv is seen to enable the carrying of objects out of doors on the Jewish Sabbath that would otherwise be forbidden by Torah law...
.
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
History of Württemberg
Württemberg developed as a political entity in south-west Germany, with the core established around Stuttgart by Count Conrad . His descendants managed to expand Württemberg, surviving Germany's religious wars, changes in imperial policy, and invasions from France. The state had a basic...
. As a consequence the Jews in Laupheim now fell under the jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
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
Recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
and the famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
s that followed the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. 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 chose 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, 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 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
Business magnate
A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
Kilian Steiner
Kilian von Steiner
Kilian von Steiner was a German banker and industrialist.Born in Laupheim as the eighth child of Jewish merchant Viktor Steiner and his wife Sophie, Kilian Steiner spent his youth in the small Upper Swabian town...
, who had previously resided in Stuttgart.
The government's policy to encourage young Jews to learn one of the crafts they had previously 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
Family name
A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...
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 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
Birth certificate
A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a child. 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 ensuing registration of that birth...
s, marriage license
Marriage license
A marriage license is a document issued, either by a church or state authority, authorizing a couple to marry. The procedure for obtaining a license varies between countries and has changed over time...
s, and death certificate
Death certificate
The phrase death certificate can describe either a document issued by a medical practitioner certifying the deceased state of a person or popularly to a document issued by a person such as a registrar of vital statistics that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death as later...
s. 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
Ulm
Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...
and Biberach
Biberach an der Riß
Biberach is a town in the south of Germany. It is the capital of Biberach district, in the Upper Swabia region of the German state of Baden-Württemberg...
, it still managed to hold its own as many horse and cattle traders as well as pedlar
Pedlar
Pedlar may refer to:* The British English form and original spelling of peddler-Places:* Pedlar Island, Ontario, Canada* Pedlar River, Virginia, USA* Pedlar Wildlife Management Area in Monongalia County, West Virginia-Given names and nicknames:...
s and hawkers, quite a few of whom were Jewish, visited the market in Laupheim, further contributing to its prosperity. Also, a great number of the founders of the local trade bank, an early form of the Credit Union
Credit union
A credit union is a cooperative financial institution that is owned and controlled by its members and operated for the purpose of promoting thrift, providing credit at competitive rates, and providing other financial services to its members...
, 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 emancipation
Emancipation is a broad term used to describe various efforts to obtain political rights or equality, often for a specifically disenfranchised group, or more generally in discussion of such matters...
. 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 cityCity
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
, 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 the right to call itself a city.
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
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
and Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
. Furthermore, between 1835 and 1870, no less than 176 Jewish inhabitants of Laupheim emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, particularly after the failed revolution of 1848
Revolutions of 1848 in the German states
The Revolutions of 1848 in the German states, also called the March Revolution – part of the Revolutions of 1848 that broke out in many countries of Europe – were a series of loosely coordinated protests and rebellions in the states of the German Confederation, including the Austrian Empire...
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
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
.
The upturn in Jewish fortunes was also shown in the fact that the community could afford to have a the synagogue completely rebuilt and refurbished. Already in 1845 there had been complaints that the synagogue was too small to accommodate the growing numbers of believers. The works 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 these kind of products in southern Germany. A company for refinement of hair products was founded by the brothers Bergmann. This company still exists today, having been aryanised
Aryanization
Aryanization is a term coined during Nazism referring to the forced expulsion of so-called "non-Aryans", mainly Jews, from business life in Nazi Germany and the territories it controlled....
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
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Until the 1880s, trading in real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "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; an item of real property; buildings or...
was in Jewish hands but this vanished completely after the establishing of the credit union. The local dealers in livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
, however, were until after 1933 predominantly Jewish as well as the traders in liquor, 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
National Socialist German Workers Party
The National Socialist German Workers' Party , commonly known in English as the Nazi Party, was a political party in Germany between 1920 and 1945. Its predecessor, the German Workers' Party , existed from 1919 to 1920...
administration.
Retailing
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
were established, specializing in selling textile products. The first department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
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 were also run by Jewish landlords. Less remarkable and yet important are the contributions made by local Jewish craftsmen. There were several baker
Baker
A baker is someone who bakes and sells bread, Cakes and similar foods may also be produced, as the traditional boundaries between what is produced by a baker as opposed to a pastry chef have blurred in recent decades...
s and butcher
Butcher
A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat or any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat, poultry, fish and shellfish for sale in retail or wholesale food establishments...
s, serving the Jewish as well as the Christian inhabitants of Laupheim. Also, a number of Jewish cobblers, furriers, clockmaker
Clockmaker
A clockmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs clocks. Since almost all clocks are now factory-made, most modern clockmakers only repair clocks. Modern clockmakers may be employed by jewellers, antique shops, and places devoted strictly to repairing clocks and watches...
s, tailors and wood turners
Woodturning
Woodturning is a form of woodworking that is used to create wooden objects on a lathe . Woodturning differs from most other forms of woodworking in that the wood is moving while a stationary tool is used to cut and shape it...
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
Gründerzeit
' refers to the economic phase in 19th century Germany and Austria before the great stock market crash of 1873. At this time in Central Europe the age of industrialisation was taking place, whose beginnings were found in the 1840s...
buildings still existing in Laupheim were erected by Jews.
The Jewish school
Cheder
A Cheder is a traditional elementary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language.-History:...
, received a contract of six months, usually terminating at either Pesach
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
or Sukkot
Sukkot
Sukkot is a Biblical holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei . It is one of the three biblically mandated festivals Shalosh regalim on which Hebrews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.The holiday lasts seven days...
. 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 Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
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 TalmudTalmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
-Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
-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
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
in Esslingen
Esslingen am Neckar
Esslingen am Neckar is a city in the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany, capital of the District of Esslingen as well as the largest city in the district....
, in 1838.
Jewish society 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 HitlerAdolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
as Chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933 and the subsequent seizure of power by his party, the National Socialist German Workers Party
National Socialist German Workers Party
The National Socialist German Workers' Party , commonly known in English as the Nazi Party, was a political party in Germany between 1920 and 1945. Its predecessor, the German Workers' Party , existed from 1919 to 1920...
, 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 boycott of Jewish businesses, organised by Julius Streicher
Julius Streicher
Julius Streicher was a prominent Nazi prior to World War II. He was the founder and publisher of Der Stürmer newspaper, which became a central element of the Nazi propaganda machine...
, also took place in Laupheim. Members of the local SA
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
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
Gleichschaltung
Gleichschaltung , meaning "coordination", "making the same", "bringing into line", is a Nazi term for the process by which the Nazi regime successively established a system of totalitarian control and tight coordination over all aspects of society. The historian Richard J...
, 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
Nuremberg Laws
The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 were antisemitic laws in Nazi Germany introduced at the annual Nuremberg Rally of the Nazi Party. After the takeover of power in 1933 by Hitler, Nazism became an official ideology incorporating scientific racism and antisemitism...
of 1935, reduced the Jews in Germany to the status of second class citizens and prohibited the Jews to employ female Aryan
Nazism and race
Nazism developed several theories concerning races. The Nazis claimed to scientifically measure a strict hierarchy of human race; at the top was the master race, the "Aryan race", narrowly defined by the Nazis as being identical with the Nordic race, followed by lesser races.At the bottom of this...
s 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
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
s were struck off the medical register. In September, the permission of Jewish members of the legal profession
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
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 clang 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.
Ernst vom Rath
Ernst Eduard vom Rath was a German diplomat, remembered for his assassination in Paris in 1938 by a Jewish youth, Herschel Grynszpan. The assassination triggered Kristallnacht, the "Night of Broken Glass"....
, Third Secretary of the German Embassy in Paris, by Herschel Grynszpan
Herschel Grynszpan
Herschel Feibel Grynszpan was a Polish Jew and political assassin. Grynszpan's assassination of the German diplomat Ernst vom Rath on November 7, 1938, after the deportation of his family, provided the excuse for the Nazi Kristallnacht, the antisemitic pogrom of November 9–10, 1938...
served as a pretext for a nationwide pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
against Jews throughout Germany and Austria on the night of 9–10 November 1938, colloquially known as Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
. 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
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
Dachau where 16 of them had been released by February 1939.
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 and being accessory
Accessory (legal term)
An accessory is a person who assists in the commission of a crime, but who does not actually participate in the commission of the crime as a joint principal...
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 AryanisedAryanization
Aryanization is a term coined during Nazism referring to the forced expulsion of so-called "non-Aryans", mainly Jews, from business life in Nazi Germany and the territories it controlled....
. 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 who remained 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
Retirement home
A retirement home is a multi-residence housing facility intended for senior citizens. Typically each person or couple in the home has an apartment-style room or suite of rooms. Additional facilities are provided within the building, including facilities for meals, gathering, recreation, and some...
, where living conditions were very crammed. Others were sent to live in the Wendelinsgrube, a designated settlement area in a gravel pit
Gravel pit
Gravel pit is the term for an open cast working for extraction of gravel. Gravel pits often lie in river valleys where the water table is high, so they may fill naturally with water to form ponds or lakes. Old, abandoned gravel pits are normally used either as nature reserves, or as amenity areas...
just outside the then built-up area
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
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
Shack
A shack is a type of small house, usually in a state of disrepair. The word may derive from the Nahuatl word xacalli or "adobe house" by way of Mexican Spanish xacal/jacal, which has the same meaning as "shack". It was a common usage among people of Mexican ancestry throughout the U.S...
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. The second wave of deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
s took place on 25 March 1942, when a number of Laupheim Jews where transported to the General Government
General Government
The General Government was an area of Second Republic of Poland under Nazi German rule during World War II; designated as a separate region of the Third Reich between 1939–1945...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. 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 concentration camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp was a Nazi German ghetto during World War II. It was established by the Gestapo in the fortress and garrison city of Terezín , located in what is now the Czech Republic.-History:The fortress of Terezín was constructed between the years 1780 and 1790 by the orders...
. 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.| Year | Jewish population | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 1730 | ca. 25 | 1.3% |
| 1754 | ca. 75 | 3.7% |
| 1784 | ca. 125 | 5.6% |
| 1808 | 278 | 8.6% |
| 1824 | 464 | 17.3% |
| 1831 | 548 | 18.2% |
| 1846 | 759 | 21.7% |
| 1856 | 796 | 22,6% |
| 1869 | 843 | 21.1% |
| 1886 | 570 | 12.6% |
| 1900 | 443 | 9.1% |
| 1910 | 348 | 6.4% |
| 1933 | 235 | 4.5% |
| 1943 | 0 | 0,0% |
Of the 235 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
| Year | Name | Details |
|---|---|---|
| c. 1745 - c.1760 | Jakob Bär (Beer) | from Fellheim Fellheim Fellheim is a municipality in the district of Unterallgäu in Bavaria, Germany.... near Memmingen Memmingen Memmingen is a town in the Bavarian administrative region of Swabia in Germany. It is the central economic, educational and administrative centre in the Danube-Iller region. To the west the town is flanked by the Iller, the river that marks the Baden-Württemberg border... |
| 1763–1804 | Maier Lämmle | details unknown |
| 1804–1824 | David Levi | from Schnaitheim, now part of the city of Heidenheim |
| 1824–1825 | Lehmann | substitute for one year before being called to Belfort Belfort Belfort is a commune in the Territoire de Belfort department in Franche-Comté in northeastern France and is the prefecture of the department. It is located on the Savoureuse, on the strategically important natural route between the Rhine and the Rhône – the Belfort Gap or Burgundian Gate .-... |
| 1825–1835 | Salomon Wassermann | (1780 in Oberdorf Bopfingen Bopfingen is a small city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the Ostalbkreis, between Aalen and Nördlingen. It consists of the city Bopfingen itself and its suburbs Aufhausen, Baldern, Flochberg, Kerkingen, Oberdorf, Schloßberg, Trochtelfingen, and Unterriffingen.Bopfingen is famous... - 1859 in Lauchheim Lauchheim Lauchheim is a town in the Ostalbkreis district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Jagst, 12 km northeast of Aalen.... ) previously rabbi in Ansbach Ansbach Ansbach, originally Onolzbach, is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is situated southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the Fränkische Rezat, a tributary of the Main river. As of 2004, its population was 40,723.Ansbach... , later rabbi in Bad Mergentheim Bad Mergentheim Bad Mergentheim is a town in the Main-Tauber district in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.-History:Mergentheim is mentioned in chronicles as early as 1058, as the residence of the family of the counts of Hohenlohe, who early in the 13th century assigned the greater part of their estates in... until 1855 |
| 1835–1852 | Jakob Kauffmann | (1783 in Berlichingen - 1852 in Laupheim) previously rabbi in Weikersheim Weikersheim Weikersheim is a town in the Main-Tauber district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Tauber, 9 km east of Bad Mergentheim, Weikersheim is the location of the famous castle Schloss Weikersheim.... and Bad Buchau Bad Buchau Bad Buchau is a small town in the district of Biberach, Baden-Württemberg, Germany with about 4,000 inhabitants. It is situated near the Federsee, which is separated from the town by a wide reed belt.... |
| 1852–1876 | Dr Abraham Wälder | (1809 in Rexingen Horb am Neckar Horb am Neckar is a town in the southwest of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river, between Offenburg to the west and Tübingen to the east . It has around 25,000 inhabitants, of whom about 6,000 live in the main town of Horb, and the remainder in 18 associated... - 1876 in Laupheim) previously rabbi in Berlichingen |
| 1877–1892 | Dr Ludwig Kahn | (1845 in Baisingen Rottenburg am Neckar Rottenburg am Neckar is a medium-sized town in the administrative district of Tübingen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It rests about 50 km southwest of the provincial capital Stuttgart and about 12 km southwest of the district town Tübingen... - 1914 in Heidelberg Heidelberg -Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of... ) previously rabbi in Heilbronn Heilbronn Heilbronn is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is completely surrounded by Heilbronn County and with approximately 123.000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state.... |
| 1892–1894 | Dr Berthold Einstein | from Ulm, afterwards rabbi in Landau Landau Landau or Landau in der Pfalz is an autonomous city surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town , a long-standing cultural centre, and a market and shopping town, surrounded by vineyards and wine-growing villages of the... |
| 1895–1923 | Dr Leopold Treitel | (1845 in Breslau - 1931 in Laupheim) previously rabbi in Karlsruhe Karlsruhe The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states... ; Jewish scholar |
Prominent Jews from Laupheim
- Kilian von SteinerKilian von SteinerKilian von Steiner was a German banker and industrialist.Born in Laupheim as the eighth child of Jewish merchant Viktor Steiner and his wife Sophie, Kilian Steiner spent his youth in the small Upper Swabian town...
(9 October 1833 – 11 November 1903), banker. - Moritz HenleMoritz HenleMoritz Henle was a prominent German composer of liturgical music and cantor of the Jewish reform movement....
(7 August 1850 – 24 August 1925), cantorHazzanA hazzan or chazzan is a Jewish cantor, a musician trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer.There are many rules relating to how a cantor should lead services, but the idea of a cantor as a paid professional does not exist in classical rabbinic sources...
and composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
of Jewish reform movementReform JudaismReform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
. - Carl LaemmleCarl LaemmleCarl Laemmle , born in Laupheim, Württemberg, Germany, was a pioneer in American film making and a founder of one of the original major Hollywood movie studios - Universal...
(17 January 1867 – 24 September 1939), film producerFilm producerA film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, founder of Universal StudiosUniversal StudiosUniversal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
. - Friedrich AdlerFriedrich Adler (artist)Friedrich Adler, , was a German academic, artist and designer. He was especially renowned for his accomplishments in designing metalwork in the Art nouveau and Art deco styles; he was also the first designer to use bakelite....
(29 April 1878–1942), Jugendstil and Art DecoArt DecoArt deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
designer; perished in AuschwitzAuschwitz concentration campConcentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
. - Hertha Nathorff (5 June 1895 - 10 June 1993), pediatricianPediatricsPediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...
. - Gretel BergmannGretel BergmannGretel Bergmann, also known as Margaret Bergmann-Lambert is a German-born athlete who competed as a high jumper during the 1930s.-Biography:Bergmann was born in Laupheim, Germany, where she later began her career in athletics...
(born 12 April 1914), internationally renowned high jumper of the 1930s. - Siegfried EinsteinSiegfried EinsteinSiegfried Einstein 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 Württemberg. His father was the owner of the city's largest department store...
(30 November 1919 - 25 April 1983 in MannheimMannheimMannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
), authorAuthorAn author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and poetPoetA poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
.