Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien
Encyclopedia
The Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien (IKG) (Vienna Israelite Community) is the body that represents Vienna
’s Jewish community. Today, the IKG has around 7000 members. Throughout history, it has represented almost all of Austria's Jews
, whose numbers are sufficient to form communities in only a few other cities in Austria.
, but for a long time, Vienna’s Jews were prevented from forming an organisation to represent themselves as a result of legal and social discrimination. This situation first began to change with Emperor Joseph II
’s 1782 Edict of Tolerance
.
The emancipation of Vienna’s Jewish population began in 1848. In a speech held on 3 April 1849, the young emperor Franz Joseph I
used the words “Israelite Community of Vienna” for the first time; three years later, a provisory constitution for the community was enacted and 1852 is therefore considered the year in which Vienna's Kultusgemeinde was founded. The community's offices were established in the Stadttempel
in the Seitenstettengasse.
Vienna's Jewish community had around 185,000 members at the time of Austria’s Anschluss
with the Third Reich in 1938. In that same year, the Nazis closed the IKG down. It was reopened in May 1938 as the “Vienna Jewish Community” with the task of acting as a buffer organisation between the Nazis and Vienna’s Jewish population. This body was also forced to organise the emigration and later the deportation of Vienna’s Jews for the Central Office for Jewish Emigration
. The title Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien has been in use again since 1945.
On 29 August 1981, a terrorist attack was made on the synagogue in the Seitenstettengasse using hand grenades and firearms. Two people died and another 21 were injured in the attack. The attack is attributed to the Palestinian extremist Abu Nidal Organisation. Since then, strict security has been in place at the entrance to the synagogue, while the Seitenstettengasse is guarded by the police.
and is thus one of the most important archives in German-speaking Europe. It contains meeting minutes, decrees, protocols, reports, letters, emigration and finance documents, lists of deportees, indexes, books, photographs, plans and posters which bear witness to the history of the IKG and its members. The oldest documents date from the 16th century. The archive has been in existence since 1816; it was increasingly professional from the middle of the 19th century.
The indexes and files that were produced between 1938 and 1945 were the basis for Nazi management of Jewish emigration and deportation. Today, these documents are a record of the fate of exiled and murdered Jews and are used to aid survivors’ claims for restitution and compensation.
In 1995 they uncovered evidence of the 1945 Deutsch Schützen massacre
, which led to prosecution in 2009.
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
’s Jewish community. Today, the IKG has around 7000 members. Throughout history, it has represented almost all of Austria's Jews
History of the Jews in Austria
The history of the Jews in Austria likely originates in an exodus of Jews from the Roman occupation of Israel. During the course of many centuries, the political status of the community rose and fell many times: during certain periods, the Jewish community prospered and enjoyed political equality,...
, whose numbers are sufficient to form communities in only a few other cities in Austria.
Organisation
The IKG provides its members with a range of services in social, religious and educational affairs. It publishes an official newspaper (Die Gemeinde) twice monthly. The Contact point for Jewish victims of National-Socialist persecution in and from Austria supports and advises affected individuals and their families with regard to reparations and compensation. The current president of the IKG is Ariel Muzicant, the Chief Rabbi is Paul Chaim Eisenberg.History
The history of Vienna’s Jewish population dates back to the time of the Roman EmpireRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, but for a long time, Vienna’s Jews were prevented from forming an organisation to represent themselves as a result of legal and social discrimination. This situation first began to change with Emperor Joseph II
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
’s 1782 Edict of Tolerance
1782 Edict of Tolerance
The 1782 Edict of Tolerance was a religious reform of Joseph II during the time he was emperor of the Habsburg Monarchy as part of his policy of Josephinism, a series of drastic reforms to remodel Austria in the form of the ideal Enlightened state. Joseph II's enlightened despotism included the...
.
The emancipation of Vienna’s Jewish population began in 1848. In a speech held on 3 April 1849, the young emperor Franz Joseph I
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...
used the words “Israelite Community of Vienna” for the first time; three years later, a provisory constitution for the community was enacted and 1852 is therefore considered the year in which Vienna's Kultusgemeinde was founded. The community's offices were established in the Stadttempel
Stadttempel
The Stadttempel is the main synagogue of Vienna, Austria. It is located in the 1st District , at Seitenstettengasse 4.-History:...
in the Seitenstettengasse.
Vienna's Jewish community had around 185,000 members at the time of Austria’s Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
with the Third Reich in 1938. In that same year, the Nazis closed the IKG down. It was reopened in May 1938 as the “Vienna Jewish Community” with the task of acting as a buffer organisation between the Nazis and Vienna’s Jewish population. This body was also forced to organise the emigration and later the deportation of Vienna’s Jews for the Central Office for Jewish Emigration
Central Office for Jewish Emigration
The Central Office for Jewish Emigration was a designation of Nazi institutions in Vienna, Prague and Amsterdam. Its purpose was to expel Jews from Nazi-controlled areas.- History :...
. The title Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien has been in use again since 1945.
On 29 August 1981, a terrorist attack was made on the synagogue in the Seitenstettengasse using hand grenades and firearms. Two people died and another 21 were injured in the attack. The attack is attributed to the Palestinian extremist Abu Nidal Organisation. Since then, strict security has been in place at the entrance to the synagogue, while the Seitenstettengasse is guarded by the police.
Presidents of the IKG since 1853
- Leopold Edler von Wertheimstein (1853−1863)
- Josef Ritter von Wertheimer (1864−1867)
- Jonas Freiherr von Königswarter (1868−1871)
- Ignaz KurandaIgnaz KurandaIgnaz Kuranda was an Austrian deputy and political writer.- Establishes "Die Grenzboten" :His grandfather and father were dealers in second-hand books...
(1872−1884) - Moritz Ritter von Borkenau (1884−1885)
- Arminio Cohn (1886−1890)
- Wilhelm Ritter von Gutmann (1891−1892)
- 1893 - 1896 vacant
- Gustav SimonGustav SimonGustav Simon was, as the Nazi Gauleiter in the Moselland Gau from 1940 until 1944, the Chief of the Civil Administration in Luxembourg, which was occupied at that time by Nazi Germany....
(1896−1897) - Heinrich Klinger (1897−1903)
- Alfred Stern (1904−1918)
- Alois Pick (1920−1932, new elections, first use of proportional voting)
- Desider Friedmann (murdered in the Auschwitz concentration campAuschwitz 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...
) (from 1933) - David Brill (1946−1948)
- Kurt Heitler (September 1950 to May 1951)
- David ShapiraDavid ShapiraDavid S. Shapira is an American businessman. He serves as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Giant Eagle, Inc. He joined the company in 1971 and has been President and CEO since 1980. He has also been involved in philanthropic causes...
(1948−1952) - Emil Maurer (1952−1963)
- Ernst Feldsberg (1963−1970)
- Anton Pick (1970−1981)
- Ivan Hacker (1982−1987)
- Paul Grosz (1987−1998)
- Ariel Muzicant (since 1998)
Rabbis of the IKG since 1824
- Isaak Noah Mannheimer (1824−1865)
- Adolf JellinekAdolf Jellinek----Adolf Jellinek |Drslavice]], nearby Uherské Hradiště, Moravia - December 28, 1893, Vienna) was an Austrian rabbi and scholar...
(1865−1893) - Moritz GüdemannMoritz Güdemann- Life :He was educated at Breslau , and took his rabbinical diploma at the Jewish Theological Seminary of that city. In the latter year he was called to the rabbinate of Magdeburg; in 1866 he went to Vienna as preacher, where he became rabbi in 1868, and chief rabbi in 1890.- Works :Güdemann...
(1894−1918) - Zwi Perez Chajes (1918−1927)
- David Feuchtwang – Chief Rabbi (1933−1936)
- Israel Taglicht – interim Chief Rabbi (1936)
- Isidor Öhler – Preacher in the Stadttempel (1946)
- Akiba Eisenberg – Chief Rabbi (1948−1983)
- Paul Chaim Eisenberg – Chief Rabbi (since 1983)
The IKG’s archive
The IKG’s archive is the only archive of a Jewish community known to have been maintained in its entirety from the founding of the community to the time after World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and is thus one of the most important archives in German-speaking Europe. It contains meeting minutes, decrees, protocols, reports, letters, emigration and finance documents, lists of deportees, indexes, books, photographs, plans and posters which bear witness to the history of the IKG and its members. The oldest documents date from the 16th century. The archive has been in existence since 1816; it was increasingly professional from the middle of the 19th century.
The indexes and files that were produced between 1938 and 1945 were the basis for Nazi management of Jewish emigration and deportation. Today, these documents are a record of the fate of exiled and murdered Jews and are used to aid survivors’ claims for restitution and compensation.
In 1995 they uncovered evidence of the 1945 Deutsch Schützen massacre
Deutsch Schützen massacre
The Deutsch Schützen massacre was a 1945 mass killing of approximately 60 Jewish forced laborers in Deutsch Schützen-Eisenberg.-Incident and aftermath:The incident occurred on 29 March 1945....
, which led to prosecution in 2009.
Further reading
- Felicitas Heimann-Jelinek, Lothar Hölbling und Ingo ZechnerIngo ZechnerIngo Zechner is a philosopher and historian, until 2009 Business Manager of the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies .- Life :...
: Ordnung muss sein - Das Archiv der Israelitischen Kultusgemeinde Wien. Jüdisches Museum Wien, Wien 2007. ISBN 978-3-901398-45-2
External links
- Website der IKG Wien
- Anlaufstelle der IKG Wien für jüdische NS-Verfolgte in und aus Österreich
- Ordnung muss sein. Das Archiv der Israelitischen Kultusgemeinde Wien Ausstellung im Jüdischen Museum Wien (4. Juli 2007 - 21. Oktober 2007)