History of the Jews in Erfurt

The history of the Jews in Erfurt begins in the High Middle Ages with the first settlement of Jewish merchants in Erfurt. In the following centuries, the community developed into one of the largest and most important in the Holy Roman Empire. Research distinguishes between the first and second medieval Jewish communities of Erfurt. The beginnings of the first community were in the 12th century, its dissolution marked by the Plague Pogrom of 1349. The second community was founded after the resettlement of the first Jewish families in 1354 and lasted until the termination of Jewish protection by the council in 1453. It was not until the 19th century that a new Jewish Community was then formed again, from which today's Jewish State Community of Thuringia in Erfurt emerged.

The First Medieval Community

The Old Synagogue

Beginnings

Erfurt was the most important Jewish settlement in Thuringia in the Middle Ages. The Jewish community of Erfurt is indirectly documented with the Erfurt Jewish Oath, which bears the Erfurt city seal, but has no date. This Jewish Oath was granted to the city by the Archbishop of Mainz, Konrad I. He held office until 1200, so it can be assumed that there was already a Jewish settlement in Erfurt during the lifetime of Konrad I, but its exact beginning is unknown.

The Jews settled in an open quarter in which Christians also lived. In the center of the city were most of the houses inhabited by Jews: Between the town hall and the Gerafurt (later Krämerbrücke), near the hospital on Krautgasse (today Kreuzgasse) and in the parishes of St. Michael and St. Benedict, as well as opposite Wenigemarkt, where the Via Regia and the "Bohemian Road" met. The circumstances suggest that it was first and foremost a settlement of Jewish merchants, which gradually grew larger. In the block of houses between Fischmarkt, Allerheiligenstrasse and Michaelisstrasse was the synagogue, which has been preserved to this day and was recently rediscovered as the Old Synagogue. The Old Synagogue was first mentioned in 1287, but it is older than that, as its foundations date back to the 11th century.

The first secure date regarding the mention of Jews in Erfurt is a letter from Emperor Otto IV from 1212, in which he grants the Archbishop of Mainz the tax on Jews according to an agreement concluded before his imperial coronation.

Pogrom against Jews in 1221

Hebrew sources and Latin chronicles report a persecution of Jews in Erfurt during the time of the Crusades on 16 June 1221, in which 21 to 26 Jews were murdered or took their own lives. The reason for the pogrom was the blood libel legend, the false accusation that Jews had murdered a Christian and then drunk his blood. Christians stormed the synagogue, destroyed the Torah scrolls and forced the Jews present to renounce their faith. When they refused, the Christians set fire and beat the Jews to death. The Peterschronik reports that the persecution originated from Frisian pilgrims. Perhaps they were Crusaders. Despite the persecution of Jews, the Jewish community in Erfurt continued to exist.^[1]

Taxes and Life Before 1349

Probably as early as the beginning of the 13th century, the Jewish settlement was a fully-formed community, which included a cemetery in particular. Several Jewish settlements in the surrounding area belonged to it as daughter settlements and had their dead buried in Erfurt.

At the beginning of the 13th century, the Archbishop of Mainz had jurisdiction over the Jews of Erfurt. Furthermore, he possessed the right of taxation and the right to grant privileges. He imposed an annual tax on the Jews of 80 marks of fine silver, later increased to 100 marks of fine silver, to be paid on Martinmas. In addition, the Jews in Erfurt had to pay interest on their houses, and on New Year's Day they had to pay four pounds of pepper to the archbishop's court in Erfurt. Additionally, they were obliged, when the archbishop's notary was present, to supply him with parchment.

The protector of the Jews was the Archbishop of Mainz. However, this protection was repeatedly taken over or de facto exercised temporarily by the city of Erfurt.

In 1240, Archbishop Siegfried III of Mainz empowered the pastor of the Benedictine church to force the Jews living in his parish to pay the parish taxes levied on the houses, if their Christian owners did not do so.

Little is known about the intellectual life of the Jews in Erfurt. Around 1271, several rabbis resided in Erfurt, but their names are not known. On the other hand, several elaborately designed Hebrew manuscripts have survived. Rabbi Alexander Suslin also came from Erfurt.

In 1292, the Aschaffenburg Council decreed that all Jews must be recognizable outwardly. From then on, they had to wear a yellow Jewish badge as a distinguishing mark to be distinguishable from the Christian citizenry. The Jews of Erfurt were exempted from this obligation if they paid a fee.

In 1309, Margrave Frederick of Meissen besieged Erfurt. The Jews participated in the defense of the city on ramparts and walls. In 1330, Louis the Bavarian granted Margrave Frederick of Meissen supremacy over all Jews in Thuringia. But for Erfurt, nothing changed, as the council still had supremacy.

In 1340, the council of Erfurt decreed that Jews could only trade legally at the market and on the streets, but not in their houses, a regulation that was primarily aimed at making money lending more difficult for Jews.

The money lending activities of the Jews of Erfurt are well documented. Borrowers included not only citizens from Erfurt and the surrounding area, but also Lübeck merchants, Thuringian nobles, the Landgraves of Thuringia, and even ecclesiastical institutions. Pawns are sometimes mentioned. In 1348, the city of Erfurt took over the loan from a Jewish company and in return received parts as a gift and parts through sale of the Kapellendorf castle. Well-known Jewish moneylenders at the beginning of the 14th century include Abraham Rotenburg, Jutta Kophelin and Kalman of Wiehe.

The Pogrom against Jews in 1349

In 1349, a major persecution of Jews took place in Erfurt. Almost all Jews were killed or driven out. The Jews were accused of being responsible for the outbreak of the plague by poisoning the city's wells. The council of Würzburg wrote to a number of cities, including Erfurt, and asked the council of Erfurt whether it had made any observations and gained any knowledge regarding this matter. The council of Erfurt announced that its Jews had done nothing of the sort and had remained inconspicuous. On the other hand, there were some former councilors as well as parts of the patriciate and some guild masters who hoped to overthrow the city council and take over the government themselves through the unrest associated with the pogrom.

On 21 March 1349, they armed themselves and assured their people that the council secretly wished for the death of the Jews, had thus called for "beating the Jews", and gathered in front of the synagogue. The council learned of this incident and sent a councilor who was supposed to stop the assembled people. But he did nothing of the sort, but rather encouraged the assembled people and ordered the craftsmen to block off Wallgasse so that the Jews could not escape. The conspirators incited the mob as well as the residents and other people to such an extent that they would not prevent anyone from attacking the Jews. The Jews in the synagogue were also armed. In the ensuing escalation, about 100 Jews died in the synagogue. Many Jews were finally so desperate that they set their houses on fire and burned in them or killed themselves in other ways to avoid another violent death.

As a consequence of the events, the council of Erfurt saw its power shaken and had to restore it. Three of the conspirators were executed, but the masterminds went unpunished. The councilor who had defied the council's orders, incited against the Jews and took action against them, was also not punished. The new archbishop, who had supremacy over the Jews, was recognized by Erfurt and then waived all legal claims he had against the council for the murder of the Jews (e.g. for lost tax revenues). The legacy of the Jews - their remaining property and outstanding debts fell to the city and were collected by it - but debts that citizens and Erfurt owed to the Jews were annulled.

The Second Medieval Community

In 1354, two families resettled in Erfurt and founded the second Jewish community. Jakob von Schweinfurt, who was one of the re-founders of the second community in 1357, was presumably a survivor of the pogroms.^[2] The community temporarily developed into one of the largest in the German-speaking area. This is also due to many Jewish immigrants from Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. The council provided the Jews with residential houses, which they could also rent for life. In addition, in the first few years the council had two rows of smaller houses and a new synagogue built. All this indicates that the council had an interest in the renewed settlement of Jews. Some of the residential houses of the Jews were also buildings that had been in Jewish possession before 1349 and had passed to ownership of the city after the persecution. Like pre-1349, several wealthy money-lending families were based in Erfurt. They often granted their loans in partnerships, sometimes together with Jews from other places. Their debtors included, among others, the Margraves of Meissen, the Landgraves of Thuringia, the Teutonic Order's bailiwick of Thuringia, the Bishop of Würzburg, nobles in Thuringia, but of course also citizens from Erfurt and the surrounding area. Within the Jewish community, some other professions are also attested, such as butchers, a midwife, scribes, bookbinders, prayer leaders, household and community servants, and two craftsmen who made shofars. There was also a second-hand clothing trade. The "cancellation of Jewish debts" carried out by King Wenceslaus in 1391 represented an economic setback. On the basis of this debt cancellation, Landgrave Balthasar of Thuringia and his subjects had their debts and interest to Jews partially or completely remitted. Part of the money went to King Wenceslaus. As a result, several Jewish families emigrated from Erfurt. However, other wealthy Jewish families moved to Erfurt.

The Jewish community in Erfurt was run by several community elders (Parnassim). Their tasks included supervising the community employees, administering the community assets, and mediating disputes within the community. The Parnassim elected the rabbi, but also represented the community externally, for example to the Erfurt council. They were also responsible for taxing the Jews and enforcing Jewish civil rights. Disputes within the community council were settled by the Erfurt council. The rabbi, also called the "Judahmeister," not only performed the cultic duties, but also sat in judgment with other scholars and acted as a teacher. Other community offices are mentioned in a document from 1414: At that time, the Erfurt council permitted the Jewish community to employ the Judahmeister, two cantors, three butchers, a shammes, a man and a woman responsible for the mikveh, and a man for the cemetery, as well as supporting five alms recipients. However, these circumstances had probably already existed before 1414. In 1436, the community council had the city council confirm its old property rights to the communal facilities, namely the synagogue, mikveh, cemetery and the so-called Tanzhaus. The Tanzhaus can be understood as a community house. Between 1416 and 1421, a rabbinical assembly took place in Erfurt, attended by Lipman Mühlhausen, Jechiel b. Abraham Semelman and Abraham Katz. At the synod, a resolution was passed regarding the defilement of priests by approaching corpses. The well-known rabbi Yom Tov Lipman Mühlhausen lived in Erfurt at this time. Later, Rabbi Jakob Weil resided in Erfurt.

The coexistence of Jews and Christians was regulated in several ordinances, most of which were based on regulations common elsewhere. In 1389 a clothing ordinance was introduced and in 1452 the wearing of yellow rings was ordered. In 1375 and 1377 the Jews paid contributions for the construction of new ramparts and walls for the city, as well as the sum of 100 pounds in 1377 for the manufacture of artillery. In 1447 they paid 400 pounds, which went towards the construction of the outer ring of the city wall. Furthermore, the city received the regular taxes from the Jews, which were passed on to the archbishop, the official protector.

The End of the Jewish Community in Erfurt

In the 1430s, economic crises, but also repeated tax demands from the Empire, led to a gradual economic disadvantaging of Jewish families. In 1436, all Jews were expelled from the neighboring Landgraviate of Thuringia. In the 1440s, the emigration of Jewish families from Erfurt began. After a visit by the preacher Nicholas of Cusa in 1452, the council demanded that the Jews wear yellow rings on their clothes for identification.

In 1453, the council announced to the Archbishop of Mainz, the city's ruler, that it would withdraw protection from the Jews. This deprived the Jewish families of legal security, forcing them to emigrate. As early as the summer of 1454, no Jews lived in Erfurt anymore and the council took back their houses. In the following years, several Jews from their new places of residence sought settlements regarding their real estate and outstanding loans. At the same time, the city had to deal with the Archbishop of Mainz, as well as with the Emperor, who demanded payment of the taxes claimed from the Jews of Erfurt. The unfulfilled tax demands of the Emperor even led to a trial at the Imperial Chamber Court. However, with the support of individual bishops and the Pope, as well as their city ruler, the Archbishop of Mainz, this trial was dropped. The city reached a settlement with the archbishop in 1458. He received a down payment for the now-missing Jewish tax. In return, the archbishop allowed the city to no longer tolerate Jews.

It was not until Erfurt was occupied by the French from 1806 to 1813 that Jews were again allowed to move to the city.

The Jewish Community 1815 to 1945

After Erfurt became Prussian at the beginning of the 19th century, Jews resettled in the city. In 1840, they erected their first house of worship with the Kleine Synagoge (Small Synagogue). After the city and community had grown greatly due to the influx of many Jews from rural regions, the community built a new house of worship in 1884 with the Große Synagoge (Great Synagogue) on Kartäuserring.

Anti-Semitism during the Weimar Republic affected Eduard Rosenthal, the father of the Thuringian constitution. In Erfurt, it affected the Jewish shoe manufacturer Alfred Hess, who had made the city museum and his house a center of Expressionism.

After 1933, many Jews in Erfurt were driven out of their professions, their property was "Aryanized". The Römischer Kaiser department store (today Anger-1 Galerie) advertised its Aryanization. Many Jews emigratied. The synagogue was destroyed on Kristallnacht in 1938. From 1940 to 1943, the Nazi state deported the Jews of Thuringia, 500 people in May 1942 alone, to various concentration camps, where they became victims of the Holocaust.

The Jewish Community after 1945

Erfurt New Synagogue (1952, architect: Willy Nöckel)

After the end of the war, a small Jewish community formed again in Erfurt in 1946 (after considerable emigration, 112 members in 1955). Max Cars took over the chairmanship of the Thuringian Association of Jewish Communities. In 1952, the New Synagogue, the only synagogue built during the GDR era, was opened on the site of the burned-down synagogue.^[3]

Herbert Ringer (1905–1988) was the representative of the Jewish Community of Erfurt since 1947, chairman of the Landesverband or formally the Jüdische Landesgemeinde Thüringen (Jewish State Community of Thuringia) from 1961 to 1985. He was also vice president of the Association of Jewish Communities in the GDR from 1962 to 1985.

As a long-time member of the community in Erfurt, Raphael Scharf-Katz was chairman of the Jewish Community in Erfurt and the Jewish State Community of Thuringia from 1985 until his death in 1994. After reunification in 1990, the community (28 members in 1990) grew significantly through the influx of contingent refugees from the former Soviet Union and the CIS states. In 2020, the Jewish population was 620, but with a declining trend.^[4] The rabbi is Rabbi Alexander Nachama, son of Andreas Nachama.^[5]

Publicity

After reunification, the Jewish history of Erfurt received broad recognition in research. Interest was heightened by the discovery of the Jewish Treasure of Erfurt in 1998 and the reconstruction of the oldest completely preserved synagogue in Central Europe in the 2000s. Today, the exhibition of the treasure find and important medieval manuscripts can be seen in the Old Synagogue. The city administration is working towards recognition of the medieval Jewish heritage as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Since 2010, the "Erfurt Synagogue Evenings" with lectures and music have been held once a month in the Old Synagogue, organized by the city and the Society for the History and Antiquities of Erfurt.

References

^ Alte Synagoge und Mikwe zu Erfurt. Edited by Landeshauptstadt Erfurt, Jena 2009, ISBN 978-3-932906-97-8, page 27.
^ Alemannia Judaica/Synagoge in Schweinfurt, viewed on 18 December 2018.
^ Ulrike Offenberg: Seid vorsichtig gegen die Machthaber : die jüdischen Gemeinden in der SBZ und der DDR 1945-1990. 1st edition. Aufbau-Verlag, Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-351-02468-1, pages 56–58.
^ Gemeinde Erfurt, 13 November 2017, viewed on 9 November 2021.
^ Der junge Rabbiner, in Die Zeit, 2 September 2021, viewed 30 November 2021.

External links

Jüdische history and presence in Erfurt (German)
Erfurt Synagogue on Erfurt web (German).

[1] Alte Synagoge und Mikwe zu Erfurt. Edited by Landeshauptstadt Erfurt, Jena 2009, ISBN 978-3-932906-97-8, page 27.

[2] Alemannia Judaica/Synagoge in Schweinfurt, viewed on 18 December 2018.

[3] Ulrike Offenberg: Seid vorsichtig gegen die Machthaber : die jüdischen Gemeinden in der SBZ und der DDR 1945-1990. 1st edition. Aufbau-Verlag, Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-351-02468-1, pages 56–58.

[4] Gemeinde Erfurt, 13 November 2017, viewed on 9 November 2021.

[5] Der junge Rabbiner, in Die Zeit, 2 September 2021, viewed 30 November 2021.

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