Jewish community of Speyer
Encyclopedia
The history of the Jews
in Speyer
, Germany
, reaches back over 1,000 years.
In the Middle Ages
the city of Speyer
, Germany
, was home to one of the most significant Jewish
communities in the Holy Roman Empire
. After many ups and downs throughout history the community was totally wiped out 1940 in the Holocaust
. With the fall of the Iron Curtain
in 1989 Jews again chose to settle in Speyer and a first assembly took place in 1996.
. Thus, it is assumed that the first Jews also lived in Speyer in Late Antiquity
. Yet, with the collapse of state and church administration in the Migration Period
and the decline of the urban Roman lifestyle, it must also be assumed that the Jewish communities dispersed. Jews resettled in the Rhine area coming from Southern France where Roman life had more or less remained intact. Traveling Jewish merchants certainly would have had dependencies in Rhenish towns, even though the first branches are only mentioned in 906 for Mainz
, 960 for Worms
and later still for Speyer in 1070/80.
With the construction of the cathedral
, beginning in 1032, Speyer emerged as one of the major towns along the Rhine. The first records of Jews in Speyer appear in the 1070s. They were members of the renowned Kalonymos family of Mainz, which had migrated a century before from Italy. Other Jews from Mainz had possibly also settled in Speyer.
But the actual history of the Jews in Speyer started in 1084. Jews fleeing from pogroms in Mainz and Worms ignited by the crusades took refuge with their relatives in Speyer. They possibly came at the instigation of bishop Rüdiger Huzmann (1073–1090), who invited a larger number of Jews to live in his town with the expressed approval of emperor Henry IV
. In his notes the bishop wrote:
The settlement mentioned in this privilege is the former suburb of Altspeyer in the area to the east of today's railway station. The "valley" refers either to a moat-like grove to the north of the Weidenberg (today Hirschgraben) or to the low areas around the stream of the Speyerbach. This walled settlement for Jews was well to the north outside the walls of the city proper and it is the first documented Ghetto
. The Jews had to mend and guard the walls of Altspeyer themselves.
The charter granted by bishop Huzmann went well beyond contemporary practice anywhere else in the empire. The Jews of Speyer were allowed to carry out any kind of trade, exchange gold and money, own land, have their own laws, justice system and administration, employ non-Jews as servants, and were not required to pay tolls or duties at the city's borders. The reason for asking the Jews to come to Speyer was their important role in the money and trade businesses, especially with distant regions. Money lenders were needed on a large scale for the construction of the cathedral
. The deliberate settlement of Jews was seen as a measure for business development. The Jews can also be regarded as pioneers of urban development in Germany. The prosecution of Jews and trade restrictions led to considerable economic disadvantages and loss of revenues, which is why bishops, lords and kings usually tried to restrain the anti-semitic fervour of the lower clergy and the public. By granting privileges and protection to the Jews, they were merely lured into one's realm while at the same time safeguarding considerable revenues and protection fees.
With the aid of bishop Huzmann the Jews of Speyer had their rights and privileges confirmed and even expanded ("sub tuicionem nostram reciperemus et teneremus") by Henry IV as he departed on his third punitive expedition to Italy in 1090. The rights and privileges which had been especially granted to the Jews of Speyer, in particular to Judah ben Kalonymus
, David ben Meshullam, and Moses ben Ghutiel (Jekuthiel), were extended to all the Jews of the empire. This Imperial Jews Charter was one of the first in Germany. The regulations concerned various political, legal, economical and religious aspects of life, most prominently free enterprise, the sale of goods to Christians and protection of property. A new regulation was that Jews who acquired stolen goods had to sell them back at the same price if the former owner wished to buy them. This constituted a major improvement because it greatly reduced the business risk for the Jews who had often been subject to accusations that they were dealing in stolen goods. In the event of disagreements between Jews and Christians from then on the "right of the concerned" was to be employed, which meant that Jews could also prove their case by oath or witness. Trials by ordeal
were forbidden. Jews were also allowed to address the emperor or the imperial court directly in case of difficulties. Among each other they could use their own courts, which was to help avoid arbitrariness by Christian judges. Torture of any kind was strictly forbidden, and in the case of murder or injury the privilege stated that fines were to be paid to the emperor. The privilege also introduced strict rules for baptisms. Forced baptisms of children were totally outlawed. Jews voluntarily getting baptised were required to think it over for three days. Conversions were also made more difficult in that baptised Jews would lose their rights to inheritance. Basically, these regulations were meant to protect the size of the Jewish community and to ensure continued revenues. Jews were also allowed to employ Christian maids, wet nurse
s and labourers in their homes as long as it was ensured that they could observe the Christian Sundays and holidays. Neither the original charter granted by the bishop nor its re-enactment by the emperor proved sufficient to afford the Jews adequate protection.
The two charters of 1084 and 1090 marked the beginning of the "golden era" of the Jews in Speyer which, with limitations, was to last into the 13./14. century. They also called for a sound Jewish community in the town by that time. According to these documents, an "Archisynagogos", also called a "Jews bishop" (episcopus Iudeorum] presided the administration as well as the court of the community. He was elected by the community and confirmed by the bishop. Later, sources report of a "Jews council" of twelve presided by the Jews bishop who represented the community outside. In 1333 and 1344, the authority of the Jews council was expressly confirmed by the city council of Speyer.
s swept the country, triggered by an epidemic of the plague, which was blamed on the Jews, and the First crusade
. The Jews of Speyer were among the first to be hit, but compared to the communities in Worms
and Mainz
, which followed a few days later, they got off lightly.
On 3 May 1096, Count Emicho of Leiningen
stopped in Speyer on his way to the crusade and, together with burghers of Speyer and peasants from nearby, attacked the Jews and the synagogue. In a report on the pogroms of 1096 in Speyer and Worms, written 1097–1140 by the so-called Anonymus of Mainz, it says: "And it happened on the 8. day in the month of Iyar
(6 May 1096), on a Sabbath, the last judgement started to come upon us as the mistaken and city dwellers rose in Speyer against the holy men, the pious of the Almighty; they conspired against them to seize them together in the synagogue. This came to their attention, so they rose early in the morning, even on Sabbath, prayed briefly and left the synagogue. And when they (=the enemy) noticed that their plan to seize them together couldn't be followed, they rose against them and killed eleven souls among them….And it happened when Bishop John heard of this, he came with many troops and wholeheartedly stood by the community, he took them into his private quarters and saved them from their hands" The bishop had the rioters punished severely and the Jews stayed in the bishop's palace on the northern side of the cathedral and in other nearby towns until the rage of the mob had subsided. Taking this action, which the Jews paid him for, the bishop of Speyer (Johann vom Kraichgau I, 1090–1104) prevented massacres and expulsions as happened in other cities of the Rhineland, thus saving himself and the town a valuable source of revenues. 800 Jews perished in the pogroms of Worms and even 1000 in Mainz. The events in Speyer are also mentioned in Salomo bar Simson's chronicle on the Pogroms of 1096 which he wrote around 1140.
Around the time of these events a second Jewish quarter was established in the vicinity of the cathedral along modern day Kleine Pfaffengasse which used to be the Judengasse (Jews Alley) while the settlement with a synagoge continued to exist in Altspeyer. It is estimated that the Jewish community of Speyer consisted of 300 to 400 people. Around 1100, on the Judengasse (today Pfaffengasse), the Jews built the Judenhof (Jews Court) as the centre of their community containing a mikveh with a pool at groundwater level for ritual baths, a men's and later a women's synagogue. The synagogue, designed and built by the same architects as the cathedral of Speyer, was consecrated on 21. September 1104, eleven years after the pogrom of 1096. It fell into disuse in the 16th century but its ruins today represent the oldest visible remnants of a mikveh in central Europe. Today it is an archaeological heritage site and has been made accessible; the pool is still supplied by groundwater.
Along with the Frisians
, the Jews made up the majority of the long distance merchants in the 11th and 12th century. Both groups had their headquarters in the merchant's quarters right at the free cathedral territory. Members of the renowned Kalonymos family
lived in Speyer at that time and took a leading part in the development of Jewish studies in Germany. One example is Jekuthiel ben Moses, a liturgical poet and author of the reshut יראתי to Kalir's Kerobah for the feast of Rosh Hashana. A son of Jekuthiel named Moses of Speyer has been quoted as a high Talmudical authority. Another Kalonymos from Speyer for some time was responsible for the finances of emperor Barbarossa
. Another famous man of letters, Jehuda ben Samuel he-Chasid, called Jehuda the Pious, and the son of the German halachist Balak
ist Kalonymus ben Isaac the Elder, was born 1140 in Speyer.
In these years the Jewish community of Speyer became one of the most significant in the Holy Roman Empire. It was an important centre for Torah
studies and, in spite of pogroms, persecution and expulsion, it had considerable influence on the spiritual and cultural life of the city. In a synod of Rabbis in Troyes
around 1150 the leadership of the Jews in Germany was transferred to the Jewish communities of Speyer, Worms and Mainz. This was confirmed by a convention of Rabbis in Mainz. The three communities created a federation called "SHUM" (שום: initials of the Hebrew names of the three cities: Shpira (Hebrew: שפירא), Warmaisa, Magenza) and kept this leadership until the middle of the 13th century. Over a period of decades, these communities enacted a body of regulations known as "Takkanot SHUM
". The SHUM-Cities had their own rite
and were accepted as central authority in legal and religious matters. Speyer had renowned Jewish schools and a highly frequented Yeshiva
. Because of their high esteem in the Middle Ages the three SHUM-Cities were praised as "Rhenish Jerusalem". They had considerable influence on the development of Ashkenazi culture
. In the 13th century Issac ben Mose Or Sarua from Vienna wrote: "From our teachers in Mainz, Worms and Speyer the teachings were spread to all of Israel ...", and all the communities in Germany and in the Slavic kingdoms were followers.
Yet, even in this flourishing period of the Speyer Jewry, there were outbursts of violence in 1146 during the Second Crusade
, in which not only laymen but also members of the clergy took part. This came to the attention of Bernard of Clairvaux
who wrote a letter of reproach to Bishop Günther. Among the victims of this pogrom was a woman named Minna, whose ears and tongue were cut off because she refused to submit to baptism.
in February 1195 the Jewish community of Speyer was subject to new persecutions during which nine Jews were killed. On 13 February the daughter of Rabbi and judge Isaak ben Ascher Halevi the Younger (*1130) was accused of ritual murder (blood libel
), killed and displayed in the market square for three days. Halevi himself was killed when he tried to interfere and recover his daughter's body from the mob. Many Jews sought refuge on the high balcony of the synagogue where they had to remain until Hezekiah ben Reuben of Boppard
and Moses ben Joseph ha-Kohen effected their release by paying a ransom. The Jews fled and their homes were plundered and burned; the synagogue in Altspeyer was destroyed. When Emperor Henry VI
returned from Apulia the perpetrators were compelled to pay damages to him as well as to the Jews.
Riots again occurred in Speyer in 1282 when Herbord, Ritter von der Ohm, accused the Jews of having murdered his grandson. The ensuing rage among the populace had Bishop Werner lay the matter before the provincial synod of Aschaffenburg
on September 8, 1282. In the following year Emperor Rudolph approved the decision of this synod and ordered property to be taken from the Jews and reverted to the royal treasury. As the persecutions in Speyer continued, the Jews decided to emigrate to the Holy Land
; the property of the few who actually succeeded was confiscated. On June 24, 1291, Rudolph issued another order for taxes, requiring the Jews of Speyer to maintain the newly established Fort and garrison of Landau
.
At the beginning of the 14th century the powers of the emperor and the bishop were weakened; for a payment of 300 pounds heller the city of Speyer took on the protection of the Jews, which proved as ineffectual as that of the bishop.
On Easter week, 1343, when the body of a Christian named Ludwig was found, Jews were tortured and burned at the stake. On March 11, 1344, Speyer requested the king's permission to confiscate the houses of these Jews for the benefit of the city, which was granted.
During the great plague of 1348/49 pogroms swept through France and Germany, especially the Rhineland
, and on 22 January 1349 the Jewish community of Speyer was totally wiped out. Many chose to be burned in their homes, among them Rabbi Eliakim, others converted or fled to Heidelberg
or Sinzheim
. In one account, the burnt corpses were collected into empty winecasks and rolled into the Rhine. Property and the cemetery were confiscated.
In view of this breach of the urban order of peace (Bruch der städtischen Friedensordnung), which was to protect all the city dwellers alike, emperor Charles IV
, who came to Speyer in spring 1349, declared on March 29, 1349, that the city had no blame whatsoever for the riots. Some of the Jews who had managed to escape returned to Speyer beginning in 1352, but were driven out anew the following year only to be allowed to return again in 1354, when they were assigned to quarters between Webergasse and the old school. On December 24 of that year, their synagogue and school, their cemetery and their "Dantzhus" or "Brutehus" were returned to them. In 1364 Bishop Adolph borrowed 800 guilders from the Jews for a weekly interest of one Strassburg pfennig. Bishop Nicolaus (1390) granted the Jews permission to settle in any city within the Speyer diocese on payment of a yearly tribute of 15 guilders. One half of this income went to the garrison, the other to the diocese. In 1394 King Wenceslaus
renewed the decree of 1349 by Emperor Charles IV, which declared the Jews to be the property of the city.
The Jewish community of Speyer never regained the size and status it had had before 1349. In the years between the pogroms the relations between Jews and Christians were tense and the Jews had to put up with many restrictions. From 1405 to 1421 they were entirely banned from the city. On February 11, 1431, King Sigismund
ordered that any complaint brought against Jews in Speyer should be heard only before the municipal court, indicating that Jews lived in Speyer that year. There is a document from 1434 in which the Speyer council renewed the right of the Jews to live in the city for another six years, for which 5 to 35 Gilders were to be paid per household. Yet, the council again had to yield to the demands of the citizens and decree an expulsion; as early as the following year, on 8 May 1435, the Jews were again expelled "for ever" from the city. The decree said: The council is compelled to banish the Jews; but it has no designs upon their lives or their property: it only revokes their rights of citizenship and of settlement. Until Novomber 11 they are at liberty to go whither they please with all their property, and in the meantime they may make final disposition of their business affairs. One of the refugees from Speyer was Moses Mentzlav whose son, Israel Nathan, founded a printing house in Soncino
, Italy.
Again, for 1467 there is a document confirming that the city of Speyer welcomed Jews for the duration of another ten years at the instigation of the bishop because he had special powers to set rules for the livelihoods of the Jews. In the years 1468, 1469 and 1472 bishop Matthias von Rammung decreed that all Jews in Speyer were to live together in one area and that they might have a synagogue. They were to wear clothes of such a fashion as to distinguish them from the Christians. Men were to wear pointed hats in different colours (this had already been decided at the Fourth Council of the Lateran
in 1215) and a yellow ring on their chest. There are documents showing Jews of Speyer already wearing pointed hats by the mid-14th century. Jewish women had to wear two blue ribbons in their veils. Jews were forbidden participate in the public occasions of the Christians, couldn't employ Christian servants or midwives, sell medicines or engage in usury
. Jews had to stay out of public areas and were to keep their windows and doors closed during Holy Week
and important holidays. In 1472 many Jews committed suicide to avoid forced baptism
. As of 1500/1529 there were no Jews in Speyer.
, or "Enactments of SHU"M" were a set of decrees formulated and agreed upon over a period of decades by the leaders of three of the central cities of Medieval Rhineland
Jewry: Speyer
, Worms
, and Mainz
. The initials of the Hebrew
names for these cities, , , and form the initials . While these regulations were intended to address the problems of that time, they had an effect on European Jewry that lasted centuries.
was held in Troyes
. This synod was led by Rabbeinu Tam
, his brother, the Rashbam
, both grandchildren of Rashi
, and Eliezer ben Nathan
(the Ra'avan). Over 250 rabbis
from communities all over France
attended as well. A number of communal decrees were enacted at the synod covering both Jewish-Gentile
relations as well as matters relating internally to the Jewish community. Examples of such decrees include:
Among the many new decrees implemented or older decrees strengthened was the famous ban of Rabbenu Gershom
against polygamy
.
of 1544 in Speyer the Jews of the empire complained to emperor Charles V
that they were mistreated and denied their given rights. This included beatings, tortures and killings, imprisonment, robbery, expulsion, closing of schools and synagogues, payment of tolls and duties and the denial of the right to appeal to the imperial or other courts. ("gewaltigelich, fraventlich und muetwillig an ihren persohnen, leiben, haab und güettern mit tottschlagen, rauben, wegfüren, außtreibung ihrer heußlichen wohnungen, versperung und zerstörung ierer schuellen und sinagogen, deßgleichen an gelaiten und zollen belaidigt und beschwerdt … nit allain ierer haab und güetter entsetzt, geblündert und außgetriben, sondern auch ohne alle unser rechtliche erkhanndtnuß gefangen, gepeiniget, vertilgt und umb leib und guett") A trigger for the new wave of antisemitism in the empire can be seen in Martin Luther
's antisemitic writings of 1543.
Accordingly Charles V considered it necessary to renew and confirm the Jews' charter. At the same time these rights and privileges were extended to the Jews of the whole empire. Nobody was to have the right to close their schools and synagogues, to drive them out or hinder their use. Whoever violated the imperial constitutio pacis by infringing upon the rights of the Jews was to be punished by every authority. Every Jew was to have the right to do business in the empire and every authority was to protect him and not burden him with tolls or duties. Jews were not required to wear "Jewish insignias" outside of their dwellings and no Jew was to be driven from his home without the emperor's expressed consent. Because Jews paid higher taxes but had no public offices, real estate or manual trade, they were allowed to charge higher interest rates than the Christians. It was forbidden to accuse Jews of using Christian blood without due proof and witness, to take them prisoner, to torture or to execute them. Infringements of this privilege were to be fined with 50 marks in gold, one half to be paid to the emperor and the other to the Jewish community.
In 1548 this charter was once more confirmed by Charles V and again by emperor Maximilian II
in 1566.
and the following years that the indebted cities saw themselves forced to make use of their financial power. In Speyer at least five such loans are documented between 1645 and 1656. The city started taking out loans from Jews as early as 1629. This enabled the Jews to anticipate the town's forthcoming profits in trade matters, which got them into conflict with the guild
s. So, because of complaints, the Jews trading rights were restricted several times for short periods of time during the 17th century. Before Speyer was burned down in 1689, trade and financial transactions with Jews had been totally banned. In the following years of reconstruction Jews were not allowed to resettle permanently.
Until 1750, the internal affairs of the small community were administered by the rabbi of Worms for an annual compensation of 10 Reichsthaler. Visits by the rabbis required official permission, as documents from 1682, 1685, 1698, 1713, and 1746 show. In the last-named document a reference is made to "our rabbi David Strauss of Worms". Episcopal edicts in 1717, 1719, 1722, 1726, 1727, 1728, 1736, 1741, and 1748 prohibited Gipsies and Jews having no safe-conducts from visiting the diocese estates; and those that were provided with safe-conducts were required, for sanitary reasons, to submit their bundles or packages to a rigid examination.
As of 1752 the Jews were forbidden, on pain of severe punishment, to employ the services of any rabbi other than their own. The first rabbi of Speyer was Isaac Weil (1750–63), succeeded by Löwin Löb Calvaria, whose salary was provided by a bequest in the testament of a Jew named Süssle.
At the end of the 18th century, a Jewish community re-established itself in Speyer after the French Revolution
. It distinguished itself by its liberal and emancipated attitudes which repeatedly brought it into conflict with the more conservative district rabbinate of Bad Dürkheim
. In 1828 it founded a welfare club and contributed to the efforts of the city council fighting the great poverty in the town. In 1830 the Speyer Jewish community had 209 members. In 1837 it built a new synagogue on the site of the former church of St. Jacob on Heydenreichstraße; the synagogue included a little school.
In 1863 Carl David became the first Jewish council member in Speyer. A leading figure of the Jews, Sigmund Herz, was member of the city council from 1874 to 1914. By 1890 the Jewish community had grown to 535 members, the greatest number ever in Speyer; by 1910 the number had diminished to 403. In the early 1930s Speyer Jews started leaving for larger cities or to emigrate because of rising antisemitism.
(Kristallnacht) there were only 81 left. In the night of 9 November, SA and SS troops looted the synagogue on Heydenreichstraße, taking away the library, precious cloths, carpets and ritual utensils and setting the building alight. The firemen only kept an eye on the neighbouring buildings. Along with the synagogue the Jews also lost their school. The same night the Jewish cemetery was also vandalized. The debris of the synagogue was removed in the following days, which was billed to the Jewish community. A member of the community supplied a prayer room in his house on Herdstraße. The city later used this house as a storage for furniture left behind by deported Jews.
On 22 October 1940, 51 of the 60 Jews remaining in Speyer were deported to the internment
camp of Gurs
in southern France
. Some of them managed to escape to Switzerland, the USA and South Africa with the aid of locals, while others were extradited to Germany and murdered at Auschwitz. Only one Jew survived the Nazi era hidden in Speyer.
In 1951, the city of Speyer considered putting a parking lot on the site of the former synagogue. In 1955 the council decided on a payment of 30,000 DM to the German Jewish community (as settlement of a restitution procedure). In 1959 the department store company Anker bought the whole block, including the empty lot of the former synagogue, for Speyer's first department store on Maximilianstraße (today Kaufhof). At the recommendation of the German Cities Council Speyer bought development bonds from the State of Israel
worth 2,000 DM in 1961.
In 1968, a commemorative plaque was unveiled in the court of the mikveh commemorating the fate of the Speyer Jews. 1979 another plaque was attached at the back wall of the Kaufhof department store building where the synagogue once stood. Right in front of the site a monument was erected in 1992. Shortly after it was moved across the street to its present place because of the restricted space. There was no majority for a motion
2007 in the council by the Social Democratic Party to have commemorative brass cobblestones (so-called Stolpersteine
or "stumbling stones") placed in the pavement in front of buildings where Jews lived until their deportation. This has been done in many other German cities.
Up to the 1990s there was no Jewish community in Speyer. It was only in October 1996 that the first assembly took place. Ten Jews who had emigrated from Eastern Europe decided to found a new Jewish community. On 9 November 2008 the cornerstone
was laid for a new synagogue. It will be built by extending the former church of St. Guido and will hold 140.
The medieval Jewish cemetery of Speyer lay opposite the Judenturm (Jews' tower) to the west of the former Jews' quarter in Altspeyer (today between Bahnhofstraße and Wormer Landstraße). After the pogroms of 1349 it was ploughed under and in 1358 the city returned some of it as leasehold estate
. After the expulsion of 1405 the area was owned by a Christian but in 1429 the Jews were able to retrieve it. After the expulsion of 1435 the city confiscated the cemetery and leased it to Christians. In the 18th century it was the garden plot of the poor house (Elendherbergsacker).
After Jews resettled in Speyer in the 19th century a new cemetery was built at St. Klara Klosterweg and remained in use until 1888. The former mortuary and a part of the western wall are still in place.
In 1888 the Jewish cemetery was moved to the new city cemetery built in the north of Speyer along Wormser Landstraße, where it now occupies the south-eastern section.
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
in Speyer
Speyer
Speyer is a city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located beside the river Rhine, Speyer is 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Founded by the Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, reaches back over 1,000 years.
In the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
the city of Speyer
Speyer
Speyer is a city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located beside the river Rhine, Speyer is 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Founded by the Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, was home to one of the most significant Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
communities in the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
. After many ups and downs throughout history the community was totally wiped out 1940 in the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
. With the fall of the Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
in 1989 Jews again chose to settle in Speyer and a first assembly took place in 1996.
The beginnings in 1084
The earliest account of Jewish settlement along the Rhine is dated from the year 321 in CologneCologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
. Thus, it is assumed that the first Jews also lived in Speyer in Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
. Yet, with the collapse of state and church administration in the Migration Period
Migration Period
The Migration Period, also called the Barbarian Invasions , was a period of intensified human migration in Europe that occurred from c. 400 to 800 CE. This period marked the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages...
and the decline of the urban Roman lifestyle, it must also be assumed that the Jewish communities dispersed. Jews resettled in the Rhine area coming from Southern France where Roman life had more or less remained intact. Traveling Jewish merchants certainly would have had dependencies in Rhenish towns, even though the first branches are only mentioned in 906 for Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
, 960 for Worms
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
and later still for Speyer in 1070/80.
With the construction of the cathedral
Speyer Cathedral
The Speyer Cathedral, officially the Imperial Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption and St Stephen, in Latin: Domus sanctae Mariae Spirae in Speyer, Germany, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Speyer and is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Bamberg. The cathedral, which is dedicated to St...
, beginning in 1032, Speyer emerged as one of the major towns along the Rhine. The first records of Jews in Speyer appear in the 1070s. They were members of the renowned Kalonymos family of Mainz, which had migrated a century before from Italy. Other Jews from Mainz had possibly also settled in Speyer.
But the actual history of the Jews in Speyer started in 1084. Jews fleeing from pogroms in Mainz and Worms ignited by the crusades took refuge with their relatives in Speyer. They possibly came at the instigation of bishop Rüdiger Huzmann (1073–1090), who invited a larger number of Jews to live in his town with the expressed approval of emperor Henry IV
Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry IV was King of the Romans from 1056 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 until his forced abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty and one of the most powerful and important figures of the 11th century...
. In his notes the bishop wrote:
In the name of the holy and undivided trinity, I, Rüdiger, with the surname of Huozmann, bishop of Speyer, in my endeavor to turn the village of Speyer into a city, believed to multiply its image a thousand times by also inviting Jews. I had them settle outside the quarters of the other inhabitants and as not to have them disquieted by the insolence of the lowly folk I had them surrounded by a wall. Now the place of their habitation which I acquired justly (for in the first place I obtained the hill partly with money and partly by exchange, while I received the valley by way of gift from some heirs) that place, I say, I transferred to them on condition that they pay annually 3 ½ pounds in silver for the use of the brethren. I have granted also to them within the district where they dwell, and from that district outside the town as far as the harbour, and within the harbour itself, full power to change gold and silver, and to buy and sell what they please. And I have also given them license to do this throughout the state. Besides this I have given them land of the church for a cemetery with rights of inheritance. This also I have added that if any Jew should at any time stay with them he shall pay no thelony. Then also just as the judge of the city hears cases between citizens, so the chief rabbi shall hear cases which arise between the Jews or against them. But if by chance he is unable to decide any of them they shall go to the bishop or his chamberlain. They shall maintain watches, guards, and fortifications about their district, the guards in common with our vassals. They may lawfully employ nurses and servants from among our people. Slaughtered meat which they may not eat according to their law they may lawfully sell to Christians, and Christians may lawfully buy it. Finally, to round out these concessions, I have granted that they may enjoy the same privileges as the Jews in any other city of Germany. Lest any of my successors diminish this gift and concession, or constrain them to pay greater taxes, alleging that they have usurped these privileges, and have no episcopal warrant for them, I have left this charter as a suitable testimony of the said grant. And that this may never be forgotten, I have signed it, and confirmed it with my seal as may be seen below. Given on September 15, 1084, etc.
The settlement mentioned in this privilege is the former suburb of Altspeyer in the area to the east of today's railway station. The "valley" refers either to a moat-like grove to the north of the Weidenberg (today Hirschgraben) or to the low areas around the stream of the Speyerbach. This walled settlement for Jews was well to the north outside the walls of the city proper and it is the first documented 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...
. The Jews had to mend and guard the walls of Altspeyer themselves.
The charter granted by bishop Huzmann went well beyond contemporary practice anywhere else in the empire. The Jews of Speyer were allowed to carry out any kind of trade, exchange gold and money, own land, have their own laws, justice system and administration, employ non-Jews as servants, and were not required to pay tolls or duties at the city's borders. The reason for asking the Jews to come to Speyer was their important role in the money and trade businesses, especially with distant regions. Money lenders were needed on a large scale for the construction of the cathedral
Speyer Cathedral
The Speyer Cathedral, officially the Imperial Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption and St Stephen, in Latin: Domus sanctae Mariae Spirae in Speyer, Germany, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Speyer and is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Bamberg. The cathedral, which is dedicated to St...
. The deliberate settlement of Jews was seen as a measure for business development. The Jews can also be regarded as pioneers of urban development in Germany. The prosecution of Jews and trade restrictions led to considerable economic disadvantages and loss of revenues, which is why bishops, lords and kings usually tried to restrain the anti-semitic fervour of the lower clergy and the public. By granting privileges and protection to the Jews, they were merely lured into one's realm while at the same time safeguarding considerable revenues and protection fees.
With the aid of bishop Huzmann the Jews of Speyer had their rights and privileges confirmed and even expanded ("sub tuicionem nostram reciperemus et teneremus") by Henry IV as he departed on his third punitive expedition to Italy in 1090. The rights and privileges which had been especially granted to the Jews of Speyer, in particular to Judah ben Kalonymus
Kalonymos family
Kalonymos or Kalonymus is a prominent Jewish family originally from Lucca, Italy, which, after the settlement at Mainz and Speyer of several of its members, took during many generations a leading part in the development of Jewish learning in Germany...
, David ben Meshullam, and Moses ben Ghutiel (Jekuthiel), were extended to all the Jews of the empire. This Imperial Jews Charter was one of the first in Germany. The regulations concerned various political, legal, economical and religious aspects of life, most prominently free enterprise, the sale of goods to Christians and protection of property. A new regulation was that Jews who acquired stolen goods had to sell them back at the same price if the former owner wished to buy them. This constituted a major improvement because it greatly reduced the business risk for the Jews who had often been subject to accusations that they were dealing in stolen goods. In the event of disagreements between Jews and Christians from then on the "right of the concerned" was to be employed, which meant that Jews could also prove their case by oath or witness. Trials by ordeal
Trial by ordeal
Trial by ordeal is a judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused is determined by subjecting them to an unpleasant, usually dangerous experience...
were forbidden. Jews were also allowed to address the emperor or the imperial court directly in case of difficulties. Among each other they could use their own courts, which was to help avoid arbitrariness by Christian judges. Torture of any kind was strictly forbidden, and in the case of murder or injury the privilege stated that fines were to be paid to the emperor. The privilege also introduced strict rules for baptisms. Forced baptisms of children were totally outlawed. Jews voluntarily getting baptised were required to think it over for three days. Conversions were also made more difficult in that baptised Jews would lose their rights to inheritance. Basically, these regulations were meant to protect the size of the Jewish community and to ensure continued revenues. Jews were also allowed to employ Christian maids, wet nurse
Wet nurse
A wet nurse is a woman who is used to breast feed and care for another's child. Wet nurses are used when the mother is unable or chooses not to nurse the child herself. Wet-nursed children may be known as "milk-siblings", and in some cultures the families are linked by a special relationship of...
s and labourers in their homes as long as it was ensured that they could observe the Christian Sundays and holidays. Neither the original charter granted by the bishop nor its re-enactment by the emperor proved sufficient to afford the Jews adequate protection.
The two charters of 1084 and 1090 marked the beginning of the "golden era" of the Jews in Speyer which, with limitations, was to last into the 13./14. century. They also called for a sound Jewish community in the town by that time. According to these documents, an "Archisynagogos", also called a "Jews bishop" (episcopus Iudeorum] presided the administration as well as the court of the community. He was elected by the community and confirmed by the bishop. Later, sources report of a "Jews council" of twelve presided by the Jews bishop who represented the community outside. In 1333 and 1344, the authority of the Jews council was expressly confirmed by the city council of Speyer.
First pogroms 1096
Only six years after granting the first privileges for Jews in the empire a wave of pogromPogrom
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...
s swept the country, triggered by an epidemic of the plague, which was blamed on the Jews, and the First crusade
First Crusade
The First Crusade was a military expedition by Western Christianity to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquest of the Levant, ultimately resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem...
. The Jews of Speyer were among the first to be hit, but compared to the communities in Worms
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
and Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
, which followed a few days later, they got off lightly.
On 3 May 1096, Count Emicho of Leiningen
Emicho
Count Emicho , was a count in the Rhineland in the late 11th century and the leader of the "German Crusade" in 1096...
stopped in Speyer on his way to the crusade and, together with burghers of Speyer and peasants from nearby, attacked the Jews and the synagogue. In a report on the pogroms of 1096 in Speyer and Worms, written 1097–1140 by the so-called Anonymus of Mainz, it says: "And it happened on the 8. day in the month of Iyar
Iyar
Iyar is the eighth month of the civil year and the second month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. The name is Babylonian in origin. It is a spring month of 29 days. Iyar usually falls in April–June on the Gregorian calendar.In the Hebrew Bible, before the Babylonian Exile, the...
(6 May 1096), on a Sabbath, the last judgement started to come upon us as the mistaken and city dwellers rose in Speyer against the holy men, the pious of the Almighty; they conspired against them to seize them together in the synagogue. This came to their attention, so they rose early in the morning, even on Sabbath, prayed briefly and left the synagogue. And when they (=the enemy) noticed that their plan to seize them together couldn't be followed, they rose against them and killed eleven souls among them….And it happened when Bishop John heard of this, he came with many troops and wholeheartedly stood by the community, he took them into his private quarters and saved them from their hands" The bishop had the rioters punished severely and the Jews stayed in the bishop's palace on the northern side of the cathedral and in other nearby towns until the rage of the mob had subsided. Taking this action, which the Jews paid him for, the bishop of Speyer (Johann vom Kraichgau I, 1090–1104) prevented massacres and expulsions as happened in other cities of the Rhineland, thus saving himself and the town a valuable source of revenues. 800 Jews perished in the pogroms of Worms and even 1000 in Mainz. The events in Speyer are also mentioned in Salomo bar Simson's chronicle on the Pogroms of 1096 which he wrote around 1140.
Flourishing times
Along with the Frisians
Frisians
The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal parts of the Netherlands and Germany. They are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia, that was a part of Denmark until 1864. They inhabit an area known as Frisia...
, the Jews made up the majority of the long distance merchants in the 11th and 12th century. Both groups had their headquarters in the merchant's quarters right at the free cathedral territory. Members of the renowned Kalonymos family
Kalonymos family
Kalonymos or Kalonymus is a prominent Jewish family originally from Lucca, Italy, which, after the settlement at Mainz and Speyer of several of its members, took during many generations a leading part in the development of Jewish learning in Germany...
lived in Speyer at that time and took a leading part in the development of Jewish studies in Germany. One example is Jekuthiel ben Moses, a liturgical poet and author of the reshut יראתי to Kalir's Kerobah for the feast of Rosh Hashana. A son of Jekuthiel named Moses of Speyer has been quoted as a high Talmudical authority. Another Kalonymos from Speyer for some time was responsible for the finances of emperor Barbarossa
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
. Another famous man of letters, Jehuda ben Samuel he-Chasid, called Jehuda the Pious, and the son of the German halachist Balak
Balak
Balak was king of Moab around 1200 BC. According to Book of Numbers 22:2, and the Book of Joshua 24:9, Zippor was the father of Balak.Book of Revelation 2:12 - 2:14 says about Balak:...
ist Kalonymus ben Isaac the Elder, was born 1140 in Speyer.
In these years the Jewish community of Speyer became one of the most significant in the Holy Roman Empire. It was an important centre for 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...
studies and, in spite of pogroms, persecution and expulsion, it had considerable influence on the spiritual and cultural life of the city. In a synod of Rabbis in Troyes
Troyes
Troyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
around 1150 the leadership of the Jews in Germany was transferred to the Jewish communities of Speyer, Worms and Mainz. This was confirmed by a convention of Rabbis in Mainz. The three communities created a federation called "SHUM" (שום: initials of the Hebrew names of the three cities: Shpira (Hebrew: שפירא), Warmaisa, Magenza) and kept this leadership until the middle of the 13th century. Over a period of decades, these communities enacted a body of regulations known as "Takkanot SHUM
Takkanot Shum
The ' , or Enactments of SHU"M were a set of decrees formulated and agreed upon over a period of decades by the leaders of three of the central cities of Medieval Rhineland Jewry: Speyer, Worms, and Mainz. The initials of the Hebrew names for these cities, , , and form the initials...
". The SHUM-Cities had their own rite
Rite
A rite is an established, ceremonious, usually religious act. Rites in this sense fall into three major categories:* rites of passage, generally changing an individual's social status, such as marriage, baptism, or graduation....
and were accepted as central authority in legal and religious matters. Speyer had renowned Jewish schools and a highly frequented Yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
. Because of their high esteem in the Middle Ages the three SHUM-Cities were praised as "Rhenish Jerusalem". They had considerable influence on the development of Ashkenazi culture
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
. In the 13th century Issac ben Mose Or Sarua from Vienna wrote: "From our teachers in Mainz, Worms and Speyer the teachings were spread to all of Israel ...", and all the communities in Germany and in the Slavic kingdoms were followers.
Yet, even in this flourishing period of the Speyer Jewry, there were outbursts of violence in 1146 during the Second Crusade
Second Crusade
The Second Crusade was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa the previous year to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crusade by Baldwin of Boulogne in 1098...
, in which not only laymen but also members of the clergy took part. This came to the attention of Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux, O.Cist was a French abbot and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian order.After the death of his mother, Bernard sought admission into the Cistercian order. Three years later, he was sent to found a new abbey at an isolated clearing in a glen known as the Val...
who wrote a letter of reproach to Bishop Günther. Among the victims of this pogrom was a woman named Minna, whose ears and tongue were cut off because she refused to submit to baptism.
Pogroms and expulsions beginning 1195
In the wake of the Third CrusadeThird Crusade
The Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin...
in February 1195 the Jewish community of Speyer was subject to new persecutions during which nine Jews were killed. On 13 February the daughter of Rabbi and judge Isaak ben Ascher Halevi the Younger (*1130) was accused of ritual murder (blood libel
Blood libel
Blood libel is a false accusation or claim that religious minorities, usually Jews, murder children to use their blood in certain aspects of their religious rituals and holidays...
), killed and displayed in the market square for three days. Halevi himself was killed when he tried to interfere and recover his daughter's body from the mob. Many Jews sought refuge on the high balcony of the synagogue where they had to remain until Hezekiah ben Reuben of Boppard
Boppard
Boppard is a town in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, lying in the Rhine Gorge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It belongs to no Verbandsgemeinde. The town is also a state-recognized tourism resort and is a winegrowing centre.-Location:Boppard lies on the upper Middle...
and Moses ben Joseph ha-Kohen effected their release by paying a ransom. The Jews fled and their homes were plundered and burned; the synagogue in Altspeyer was destroyed. When Emperor Henry VI
Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry VI was King of Germany from 1190 to 1197, Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 to 1197 and King of Sicily from 1194 to 1197.-Early years:Born in Nijmegen,...
returned from Apulia the perpetrators were compelled to pay damages to him as well as to the Jews.
Riots again occurred in Speyer in 1282 when Herbord, Ritter von der Ohm, accused the Jews of having murdered his grandson. The ensuing rage among the populace had Bishop Werner lay the matter before the provincial synod of Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg is a city in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not considered part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is the administrative seat.Aschaffenburg is known as the Tor zum Spessart or "gate to the Spessart"...
on September 8, 1282. In the following year Emperor Rudolph approved the decision of this synod and ordered property to be taken from the Jews and reverted to the royal treasury. As the persecutions in Speyer continued, the Jews decided to emigrate to the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
; the property of the few who actually succeeded was confiscated. On June 24, 1291, Rudolph issued another order for taxes, requiring the Jews of Speyer to maintain the newly established Fort and garrison of 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...
.
At the beginning of the 14th century the powers of the emperor and the bishop were weakened; for a payment of 300 pounds heller the city of Speyer took on the protection of the Jews, which proved as ineffectual as that of the bishop.
On Easter week, 1343, when the body of a Christian named Ludwig was found, Jews were tortured and burned at the stake. On March 11, 1344, Speyer requested the king's permission to confiscate the houses of these Jews for the benefit of the city, which was granted.
During the great plague of 1348/49 pogroms swept through France and Germany, especially the Rhineland
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
, and on 22 January 1349 the Jewish community of Speyer was totally wiped out. Many chose to be burned in their homes, among them Rabbi Eliakim, others converted or fled to 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...
or Sinzheim
Sinzheim
Sinzheim is a municipality in the district of Rastatt, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located 6 km west of Baden-Baden, and 11 km south of Rastatt....
. In one account, the burnt corpses were collected into empty winecasks and rolled into the Rhine. Property and the cemetery were confiscated.
In view of this breach of the urban order of peace (Bruch der städtischen Friedensordnung), which was to protect all the city dwellers alike, emperor Charles IV
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....
, who came to Speyer in spring 1349, declared on March 29, 1349, that the city had no blame whatsoever for the riots. Some of the Jews who had managed to escape returned to Speyer beginning in 1352, but were driven out anew the following year only to be allowed to return again in 1354, when they were assigned to quarters between Webergasse and the old school. On December 24 of that year, their synagogue and school, their cemetery and their "Dantzhus" or "Brutehus" were returned to them. In 1364 Bishop Adolph borrowed 800 guilders from the Jews for a weekly interest of one Strassburg pfennig. Bishop Nicolaus (1390) granted the Jews permission to settle in any city within the Speyer diocese on payment of a yearly tribute of 15 guilders. One half of this income went to the garrison, the other to the diocese. In 1394 King Wenceslaus
Wenceslaus
Wenceslaus, Wenceslas, Venceslas, Wenzeslaus, or Vyacheslav is a given name of Slavic origin and may refer to:-People:* Saint Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia , and subject of a Christmas carol...
renewed the decree of 1349 by Emperor Charles IV, which declared the Jews to be the property of the city.
The Jewish community of Speyer never regained the size and status it had had before 1349. In the years between the pogroms the relations between Jews and Christians were tense and the Jews had to put up with many restrictions. From 1405 to 1421 they were entirely banned from the city. On February 11, 1431, King Sigismund
Sigismund
Sigismund is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German sigu "victory" + munt "hand, protection". Tacitus Latinises it Segimundus...
ordered that any complaint brought against Jews in Speyer should be heard only before the municipal court, indicating that Jews lived in Speyer that year. There is a document from 1434 in which the Speyer council renewed the right of the Jews to live in the city for another six years, for which 5 to 35 Gilders were to be paid per household. Yet, the council again had to yield to the demands of the citizens and decree an expulsion; as early as the following year, on 8 May 1435, the Jews were again expelled "for ever" from the city. The decree said: The council is compelled to banish the Jews; but it has no designs upon their lives or their property: it only revokes their rights of citizenship and of settlement. Until Novomber 11 they are at liberty to go whither they please with all their property, and in the meantime they may make final disposition of their business affairs. One of the refugees from Speyer was Moses Mentzlav whose son, Israel Nathan, founded a printing house in Soncino
Soncino family (printers)
The Soncino family is an Italian Sephardi Jewish family of printers, deriving its name from the town of Soncino in the duchy of Milan. It traces its descent through a Moses of Fürth, who is mentioned in 1455, back to a certain Moses of Speyer, of the middle of the fourteenth century. The first of...
, Italy.
Again, for 1467 there is a document confirming that the city of Speyer welcomed Jews for the duration of another ten years at the instigation of the bishop because he had special powers to set rules for the livelihoods of the Jews. In the years 1468, 1469 and 1472 bishop Matthias von Rammung decreed that all Jews in Speyer were to live together in one area and that they might have a synagogue. They were to wear clothes of such a fashion as to distinguish them from the Christians. Men were to wear pointed hats in different colours (this had already been decided at the Fourth Council of the Lateran
Fourth Council of the Lateran
The Fourth Council of the Lateran was convoked by Pope Innocent III with the papal bull of April 19, 1213, and the Council gathered at Rome's Lateran Palace beginning November 11, 1215. Due to the great length of time between the Council's convocation and meeting, many bishops had the opportunity...
in 1215) and a yellow ring on their chest. There are documents showing Jews of Speyer already wearing pointed hats by the mid-14th century. Jewish women had to wear two blue ribbons in their veils. Jews were forbidden participate in the public occasions of the Christians, couldn't employ Christian servants or midwives, sell medicines or engage in usury
Usury
Usury Originally, when the charging of interest was still banned by Christian churches, usury simply meant the charging of interest at any rate . In countries where the charging of interest became acceptable, the term came to be used for interest above the rate allowed by law...
. Jews had to stay out of public areas and were to keep their windows and doors closed during Holy Week
Holy Week
Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
and important holidays. In 1472 many Jews committed suicide to avoid forced baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
. As of 1500/1529 there were no Jews in Speyer.
Takkanot Shum
The Takkanot ShumTakkanot Shum
The ' , or Enactments of SHU"M were a set of decrees formulated and agreed upon over a period of decades by the leaders of three of the central cities of Medieval Rhineland Jewry: Speyer, Worms, and Mainz. The initials of the Hebrew names for these cities, , , and form the initials...
, or "Enactments of SHU"M" were a set of decrees formulated and agreed upon over a period of decades by the leaders of three of the central cities of Medieval Rhineland
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
Jewry: Speyer
Speyer
Speyer is a city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located beside the river Rhine, Speyer is 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Founded by the Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities...
, Worms
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
, and Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
. The initials of the Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
names for these cities, , , and form the initials . While these regulations were intended to address the problems of that time, they had an effect on European Jewry that lasted centuries.
Synod
In or around 1160, a synodSynod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
was held in Troyes
Troyes
Troyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
. This synod was led by Rabbeinu Tam
Rabbeinu Tam
Rabbeinu Tam , born Jacob ben Meir, was one of the most renowned French Tosafists and a foremost halachic authority of his generation...
, his brother, the Rashbam
Rashbam
Samuel ben Meir after his death known as "Rashbam", a Hebrew acronym for: RAbbi SHmuel Ben Meir, was a leading French Tosafist and grandson of Shlomo Yitzhaki, "Rashi."-Biography:...
, both grandchildren of Rashi
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
, and Eliezer ben Nathan
Eliezer ben Nathan
Eliezer ben Nathan of Mainz , Ra'aven , was a halakist and liturgical poet. As an early Rishon, he was a contemporary of the Rashbam and Rabbeinu Tam, and one of the earliest of the Tosafists. He was the son-in-law of Rabbi Eliakim b. Joseph of Mainz, a fellow student of Rashi...
(the Ra'avan). Over 250 rabbis
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...
from communities all over France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
attended as well. A number of communal decrees were enacted at the synod covering both Jewish-Gentile
Gentile
The term Gentile refers to non-Israelite peoples or nations in English translations of the Bible....
relations as well as matters relating internally to the Jewish community. Examples of such decrees include:
- The restriction requiring Jews engaged in monetary disputes amongst themselves to have the case decided by a Jewish beth dinBeth dinA beth din, bet din, beit din or beis din is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel...
, and not a secular court, unless one of the parties was refusing to accept the ruling rendered by the beth din. - A person disputing the kehillahs tax assessment on him should pay the tax first and then bring the assessors to beth dinBeth dinA beth din, bet din, beit din or beis din is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel...
. - A person lending space to a community to act as a synagogue cannot restrict specific individuals from praying there. He can only rescind the permission in toto.
Among the many new decrees implemented or older decrees strengthened was the famous ban of Rabbenu Gershom
Gershom ben Judah
Gershom ben Judah, best known as Rabbeinu Gershom and also commonly known to scholars of Judaism by the title Rabbeinu Gershom Me'Or Hagolah , was a famous Talmudist and Halakhist.Rashi of Troyes Gershom ben Judah, (c. 960 -1040? -1028?) best known as Rabbeinu Gershom (Hebrew: רבנו גרשום, "Our...
against polygamy
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
.
Scholars and rabbis from Speyer
- 11th century: Kalonymus ben MosesKalonymos familyKalonymos or Kalonymus is a prominent Jewish family originally from Lucca, Italy, which, after the settlement at Mainz and Speyer of several of its members, took during many generations a leading part in the development of Jewish learning in Germany...
, Jekuthiel ben MosesKalonymos familyKalonymos or Kalonymus is a prominent Jewish family originally from Lucca, Italy, which, after the settlement at Mainz and Speyer of several of its members, took during many generations a leading part in the development of Jewish learning in Germany...
, Moses ben JekuthielKalonymos familyKalonymos or Kalonymus is a prominent Jewish family originally from Lucca, Italy, which, after the settlement at Mainz and Speyer of several of its members, took during many generations a leading part in the development of Jewish learning in Germany...
, Judah ben KalonymusKalonymos familyKalonymos or Kalonymus is a prominent Jewish family originally from Lucca, Italy, which, after the settlement at Mainz and Speyer of several of its members, took during many generations a leading part in the development of Jewish learning in Germany...
, David ben Meshullam. - 12th century: Abraham ben Meïr ha-Kohen, Kalonymus ben IsaacKalonymos familyKalonymos or Kalonymus is a prominent Jewish family originally from Lucca, Italy, which, after the settlement at Mainz and Speyer of several of its members, took during many generations a leading part in the development of Jewish learning in Germany...
, Jacob ben Isaac ha-Levi, Eleazar ha-Ḥazzan, Eliakim ha-Levi, Isaac ben Asher ha-Levi, Samuel of SpeyerSamuel of SpeyerSamuel ben Kalonymus he-Hasid of Speyer was a Tosafist, liturgical poet, and philosopher of the 12th century, surnamed also "the Prophet" . He seems to have lived in Spain and in France. He is quoted in the tosafot to Yebamot and Soṭah , as well as by Samuel b. Meïr in his commentary on Arbe...
, Abraham ben Solomon, Isaac of BohemiaIsaac ben Jacob ha-LavanRabbi Isaac ben Jacob or Yitzhak ben Yaakov, nicknamed "ha-Lavan" or "the white" was a 12th century rabbi of Bohemia. He was a Tosafist and liturgical poet who flourished at Prague in the late 12th century. He was the brother of the renowned traveler Petachiah of Regensburg...
, Eliezer ben Isaac, Judah, Meïr ben Kalonymus, David of Speyer, Judah ben Kalonymus ha-BaurKalonymos familyKalonymos or Kalonymus is a prominent Jewish family originally from Lucca, Italy, which, after the settlement at Mainz and Speyer of several of its members, took during many generations a leading part in the development of Jewish learning in Germany...
, Shemariah ben Mordecai, Eliezer ben Joel ha-Levi, Simha ben SamuelSimha of SpeyerSimha ben Samuel of Speyer was a German rabbi and tosafist. Neither the year of his birth nor that of his death is known. He was one of the leading signatories of the Takkanot Shum . He was a nephew of the director Kalonymus, a pupil of R...
, Abraham ben Samuel - 13th century: Eleazar ben Jacob, Jacob ben Asher of Speyer, Jedidiah ben Israel, Solomon of Speyer.
- 14th century: Moses Süsslin, later "Judenmeister" in Frankfurt
- 15th century: Samuel Isaac ha-Ḳadosh and Shemariah Salman ha-Levi
The "Great Jews Privilege Charter" of Speyer 1544
At the dietReichstag (Holy Roman Empire)
The Imperial Diet was the Diet, or general assembly, of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire.During the period of the Empire, which lasted formally until 1806, the Diet was not a parliament in today's sense; instead, it was an assembly of the various estates of the realm...
of 1544 in Speyer the Jews of the empire complained to emperor Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
that they were mistreated and denied their given rights. This included beatings, tortures and killings, imprisonment, robbery, expulsion, closing of schools and synagogues, payment of tolls and duties and the denial of the right to appeal to the imperial or other courts. ("gewaltigelich, fraventlich und muetwillig an ihren persohnen, leiben, haab und güettern mit tottschlagen, rauben, wegfüren, außtreibung ihrer heußlichen wohnungen, versperung und zerstörung ierer schuellen und sinagogen, deßgleichen an gelaiten und zollen belaidigt und beschwerdt … nit allain ierer haab und güetter entsetzt, geblündert und außgetriben, sondern auch ohne alle unser rechtliche erkhanndtnuß gefangen, gepeiniget, vertilgt und umb leib und guett") A trigger for the new wave of antisemitism in the empire can be seen in Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
's antisemitic writings of 1543.
Accordingly Charles V considered it necessary to renew and confirm the Jews' charter. At the same time these rights and privileges were extended to the Jews of the whole empire. Nobody was to have the right to close their schools and synagogues, to drive them out or hinder their use. Whoever violated the imperial constitutio pacis by infringing upon the rights of the Jews was to be punished by every authority. Every Jew was to have the right to do business in the empire and every authority was to protect him and not burden him with tolls or duties. Jews were not required to wear "Jewish insignias" outside of their dwellings and no Jew was to be driven from his home without the emperor's expressed consent. Because Jews paid higher taxes but had no public offices, real estate or manual trade, they were allowed to charge higher interest rates than the Christians. It was forbidden to accuse Jews of using Christian blood without due proof and witness, to take them prisoner, to torture or to execute them. Infringements of this privilege were to be fined with 50 marks in gold, one half to be paid to the emperor and the other to the Jewish community.
In 1548 this charter was once more confirmed by Charles V and again by emperor Maximilian II
Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian II was king of Bohemia and king of the Romans from 1562, king of Hungary and Croatia from 1563, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation from 1564 until his death...
in 1566.
17th, 18th and 19th century
From 1621 to 1688 Jews again settled in Speyer. It was especially during the Thirty Years' WarThirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
and the following years that the indebted cities saw themselves forced to make use of their financial power. In Speyer at least five such loans are documented between 1645 and 1656. The city started taking out loans from Jews as early as 1629. This enabled the Jews to anticipate the town's forthcoming profits in trade matters, which got them into conflict with the guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
s. So, because of complaints, the Jews trading rights were restricted several times for short periods of time during the 17th century. Before Speyer was burned down in 1689, trade and financial transactions with Jews had been totally banned. In the following years of reconstruction Jews were not allowed to resettle permanently.
Until 1750, the internal affairs of the small community were administered by the rabbi of Worms for an annual compensation of 10 Reichsthaler. Visits by the rabbis required official permission, as documents from 1682, 1685, 1698, 1713, and 1746 show. In the last-named document a reference is made to "our rabbi David Strauss of Worms". Episcopal edicts in 1717, 1719, 1722, 1726, 1727, 1728, 1736, 1741, and 1748 prohibited Gipsies and Jews having no safe-conducts from visiting the diocese estates; and those that were provided with safe-conducts were required, for sanitary reasons, to submit their bundles or packages to a rigid examination.
As of 1752 the Jews were forbidden, on pain of severe punishment, to employ the services of any rabbi other than their own. The first rabbi of Speyer was Isaac Weil (1750–63), succeeded by Löwin Löb Calvaria, whose salary was provided by a bequest in the testament of a Jew named Süssle.
At the end of the 18th century, a Jewish community re-established itself in Speyer after the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. It distinguished itself by its liberal and emancipated attitudes which repeatedly brought it into conflict with the more conservative district rabbinate of Bad Dürkheim
Bad Dürkheim
Bad Dürkheim is a spa town in the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration, and is the seat of the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
. In 1828 it founded a welfare club and contributed to the efforts of the city council fighting the great poverty in the town. In 1830 the Speyer Jewish community had 209 members. In 1837 it built a new synagogue on the site of the former church of St. Jacob on Heydenreichstraße; the synagogue included a little school.
In 1863 Carl David became the first Jewish council member in Speyer. A leading figure of the Jews, Sigmund Herz, was member of the city council from 1874 to 1914. By 1890 the Jewish community had grown to 535 members, the greatest number ever in Speyer; by 1910 the number had diminished to 403. In the early 1930s Speyer Jews started leaving for larger cities or to emigrate because of rising antisemitism.
The Jewish community in the 20th century and today
By 1933, the number of Jews in Speyer had fallen to 269, and by the time their synagogue was torched in the November pogroms of 1938Kristallnacht
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...
(Kristallnacht) there were only 81 left. In the night of 9 November, SA and SS troops looted the synagogue on Heydenreichstraße, taking away the library, precious cloths, carpets and ritual utensils and setting the building alight. The firemen only kept an eye on the neighbouring buildings. Along with the synagogue the Jews also lost their school. The same night the Jewish cemetery was also vandalized. The debris of the synagogue was removed in the following days, which was billed to the Jewish community. A member of the community supplied a prayer room in his house on Herdstraße. The city later used this house as a storage for furniture left behind by deported Jews.
On 22 October 1940, 51 of the 60 Jews remaining in Speyer were deported to the internment
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
camp of Gurs
Gurs
Gurs is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.Gurs was the site of the Camp Gurs concentration camp. Nothing remains of the camp; after World War II, a forest was planted on the site where it stood.-Geography:...
in southern France
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
. Some of them managed to escape to Switzerland, the USA and South Africa with the aid of locals, while others were extradited to Germany and murdered at Auschwitz. Only one Jew survived the Nazi era hidden in Speyer.
In 1951, the city of Speyer considered putting a parking lot on the site of the former synagogue. In 1955 the council decided on a payment of 30,000 DM to the German Jewish community (as settlement of a restitution procedure). In 1959 the department store company Anker bought the whole block, including the empty lot of the former synagogue, for Speyer's first department store on Maximilianstraße (today Kaufhof). At the recommendation of the German Cities Council Speyer bought development bonds from the State of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
worth 2,000 DM in 1961.
In 1968, a commemorative plaque was unveiled in the court of the mikveh commemorating the fate of the Speyer Jews. 1979 another plaque was attached at the back wall of the Kaufhof department store building where the synagogue once stood. Right in front of the site a monument was erected in 1992. Shortly after it was moved across the street to its present place because of the restricted space. There was no majority for a motion
Motion (legal)
In law, a motion is a procedural device to bring a limited, contested issue before a court for decision. A motion may be thought of as a request to the judge to make a decision about the case. Motions may be made at any point in administrative, criminal or civil proceedings, although that right is...
2007 in the council by the Social Democratic Party to have commemorative brass cobblestones (so-called Stolpersteine
Stolpersteine
Stolperstein is the German word for "stumbling block", "obstacle", or "something in the way". The artist Gunter Demnig has given this word a new meaning, that of a small, cobblestone-sized memorial for a single victim of Nazism...
or "stumbling stones") placed in the pavement in front of buildings where Jews lived until their deportation. This has been done in many other German cities.
Up to the 1990s there was no Jewish community in Speyer. It was only in October 1996 that the first assembly took place. Ten Jews who had emigrated from Eastern Europe decided to found a new Jewish community. On 9 November 2008 the cornerstone
Cornerstone
The cornerstone concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.Over time a cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry stone, or...
was laid for a new synagogue. It will be built by extending the former church of St. Guido and will hold 140.
The medieval Jewish cemetery of Speyer lay opposite the Judenturm (Jews' tower) to the west of the former Jews' quarter in Altspeyer (today between Bahnhofstraße and Wormer Landstraße). After the pogroms of 1349 it was ploughed under and in 1358 the city returned some of it as leasehold estate
Leasehold estate
A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord....
. After the expulsion of 1405 the area was owned by a Christian but in 1429 the Jews were able to retrieve it. After the expulsion of 1435 the city confiscated the cemetery and leased it to Christians. In the 18th century it was the garden plot of the poor house (Elendherbergsacker).
After Jews resettled in Speyer in the 19th century a new cemetery was built at St. Klara Klosterweg and remained in use until 1888. The former mortuary and a part of the western wall are still in place.
In 1888 the Jewish cemetery was moved to the new city cemetery built in the north of Speyer along Wormser Landstraße, where it now occupies the south-eastern section.