Germany

From JudaismWiki

GERMANY. The existence of Jewish settlements in Germany early in the 4th century has been established by historical evidence. Reference to Jews in Cologne is found in decrees issued by Emperor Constantine. Earlier, Jewish traders had followed in the footsteps of the Roman legions who established military outposts along the northern ports of the Rhine. Little is known about the fate of the Jews in Germany at the time of the fall of the Roman empire and during the succeeding invasions from the East and West. During the reign of Charlemagne (771-814), the Jews engaged in commerce and trade. He found Jews useful to the welfare of the state and protected them against undue discrimination. His son Louis the Pious (814-840) extended commercial privileges to Jews. Their importance in the economic field is illustrated by the fact that on many occasions market-day was postponed from a Sabbath to a weekday in order to enable Jews to participate in it. Often, Jews were invited to settle in particular towns in order to increase their prosperity. In the 9th and 10th centuries Jewish communities sprang up in the cities of Augsburg, Mayence, Regensburg, Speyer, and Worms.

The development of Jewish economic life paralleled intensive scholarly activity. The famous family of Kalonymus, a family of scholars and poets, moved from Italy to Germany. One of the greatest authorities on Jewish law, Rabbenu Gershom, called “the Light of the Exile,” headed a Talmudic academy, or yeshiva, in the city of Mayence, attracting students from distant countries.

[edit] In the Middle Ages

The First Crusade in 1096 brought about the destruction of a number of Jewish communities. A number of elegies included in the Book of Lamentations chanted on the Ninth of Av bemoan the tragedy of that period. The Second Crusade in 1146, although less severe in its effect on Jewish communities, led to a worsening of the Jewish economic position. Jews became chattels of the kings, who extended them protection against the attacks of fanatic mobs at the price of their freedom and only in exchange for a heavy tribute. (see Crusades)

This humiliating status did not save the Jews from cruel discriminations. In the 13th century, Jews were forced to wear a degrading yellow badge. They were forbidden to hold public office. Ritual murder accusations were leveled against them, even though these were denounced by Pope Innocent IV.

Persecutions of Jews increased at the time of the plague known as the Black Death from 1348-49. The Jews were accused of having caused the plague by poisoning the wells. The resulting widespread pogroms in many German towns caused Jews to seek shelter in Slavic countries. In 1421, Jews were expelled from Cologne. During the next two centuries, the Jewish population continued to be victimized with blood accusations, confiscations of property, forced baptism, burning of Jewish books, and physical attacks. The banishment of the Jews from important centers of trade and commerce—Worms, Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Vienna—continued well into the 17th century.

The Reformation in the 16th century did not radically change the position of German Jews. However, the interest of German humanists in Jewish scholarship and the emphasis of the Reformation on the Bible resulted in some instances in better treatment of the Jewish population. The foremost defender of the Jews, Johann Reuchlin (1455-1522), was a Hebrew scholar. He courageously fought the confiscation and the burning of Jewish books. Other humanists joined the right against persecution. The country was divided into approximately 200 small independent states ruled by princes who had only weak ties to the Emperor. The Jewish position varied from one region to the next, depending upon the whim of the local ruler.

The Cossack uprising in the Ukraine in 1648-49 and the messianic Sabbatai Zevi movement brought an influx of Eastern European victims of the massacres to Germany and left a mark on German Jews as well. As late as the second half of the 18th century, traces of the Sabbataian movement were still evident.

The 18th century found the German Jews still sealed off in ghettos. They were divided into two classes, “protected” and “tolerated.” Only a few privileged individuals fell into the “protected” category. The struggle to break out of their narrow confines and become a part of German culture and society culminated in the Haskalah, or Enlightenment. Under the influence of this movement, great changes took place in Jewish life. At the same time, emancipation efforts gained support among liberal gentile scholars and authors, such as G.E. Lessing. This movement aimed to remove civil and political discrimination and attain equal rights for Jews as citizens of the country. The French Revolution and Napoleon’s conquests brought a measure of freedom to Jews of Germany. In the first half of the 19th century, the foremost champion of emancipation was Gabriel Riesser. His fight for equal rights for Jews resulted in a measure of success after the Revolution of 1848.

[edit] Emancipation and Reform

The struggle for equality was accompanied by great intellectual activity and sweeping changes in the Jewish way of life. Jewish scholarship was advanced by the great historians and scholars Jost, Graetz, Zunz, Steinschneider, and Geiger. The quest for change in the old traditions and the adoption of new religious forms in harmony with modern thought and practices were expressed in the Reform movement. A considerable number of Jews left the Jewish fold altogether.

While the champions of religious reform were gaining ground in Germany, a new orthodoxy was strengthened by the writings and activities of Samson Raphael Hirsch and Israel Hildesheimer, head of a rabbinical seminary in Berlin. A moderating influence on Jewish life in Germany was exerted by Zacharias Frankel, president of the Breslau Seminary. From the middle of the 19th century on, German Jews made outstanding contributions to literature, science, and economics. Jewish religion and philosophy were enriched by the works of Hermann Cohen, Martin Buber, and Franz Rosenzweig.

Despite their integration into the life of the country and their patriotic devotion to Germany, Jews could not escape vicious antisemitism. During World War I, 96,000 out of 550,000 Jews served in the German army, and 12,000 died on the battlefield. Yet immediately after the war, the Nazis spread the lie that the Jews had stabbed Germany in the back, causing its defeat. In the 1920’s there were only isolated attacks against Jews. But after the rise of Adolf Hitler, antisemitism aiming at the total destruction of the Jewish people became the avowed policy of the Nazi regime. During the first years of World War II, the Nazis seized the opportunity to exterminate the Jewish population of Germany and its occupied territories. Six million Jews perished in the greatest slaughter in Jewish history.

[edit] Nazi Extermination and Postwar Period

During the early stages of Hitler’s rise to power, about 60,000 German Jews managed to emigrate to Israel. Between 1933 and 1941, a total of 310,000 Jews escaped from Germany to other countries, but 130,000 were deported to the gas chambers and concentration camps of Eastern Europe. Leo Baeck, head of Germany’s prewar Jewish community, survived World War II in Theresienstadt.

In 1952, the Federal Republic of Germany agreed to pay collective reparations to Israel and world Jewry for the crimes committed by Nazi Germany against the Jewish people.

In 1990, East and West Germany became unified. The prewar Jewish population numbered about 600,000. Currently, of Germany’s 82.5 million in population, 118,000 are Jewish, the country’s largest Jewish centers being Berlin, Frankfurt-on-the-Main, and Munich. The largest Jewish communities are in Berlin with 10,000, Frankfurt Am Main with 6,000, and Munich with 5,000. In recent years, the Jewish community has perceived a new, growing trend of antisemitism in the general population, much in the same manner as other major European countries. The concern for the community’s safety, therefore, is great. But despite this, in 2006, Germany saw the first rabbis ordained inside its borders since the Holocaust.

SYNAGOGUES

Aachen Aachen Synagogue Synagogenplatz 23 Aachen

Amberg Amberg Synagogue Salzgasse 5 Amberg Tel: 49-962-113140

Augsburg Augsburg Synagogue Halderstr 8 Augsburg Tel: 49-821-517985

Bad Kreuznach Bad Kreuznach Synagogue Alzeyer str 63 Bad Kreuznach --Tel: 49-671-26991

Bad Nauheim Bad Nauheim Synagogue Karlstr 34 Bad Nauheim Tel: 49-6032-5605

Bad Pyrmont Bad Pyrmont Jewish Congregation Arolser Str. 13 Bad Pyrmont Reform Tel: 49 52 81 60 67 75 Fax: 49 52 81 96 11 71

Bad Segeberg Jüdische Gemeinde Bad Segeberg Website Moorweg 14 Groß Rönnau Bad Segeberg 23795 Liberal Tel: (04551) 87 95 30

Baden Baden-Baden Synagogue Website Werderstr. 2 Baden 76530 --Unknown-- Tel: 49-7221-39-1021 Fax: 49-7221-39-1024

Bayreuth Bayreuth Synagogue Munzgasse 2 Bayreuth Tel: 49-921-65407

Berlin Judische Gemeinde zu Berlin Oranienburger Strasse 28 Berlin http://www.jg-berlin.org/site/index.php

Adass Jisroel Tucholskystrasse 40 Mitte Berlin Tel: 49 30-281-3135 Fax: 49 30-281-3122

Chabad Lubawitsch - Berlin Augsburger Str. 33 Berlin http://www.chabadberlin.de/

Herbartstrasse Synagogue Herbartstrasse 26 Berlin

Oranienburger Strasse Synagogue Oranienburger Strasse 28 Berlin - traditional-egalitarian http://www.or-synagoge.de/

Pestalozzi Synagogue Pestalozzi Str 14-15 Berlin

Rykestrasse Synagogue Rykestrasse 53 Berlin

Bochum Bochum - Gemeindeburo Syn. Duppelstr Alte Wittener Str 35 Bochum Tel: 49 234-361563

Bonn Juedische Gemeinde Bonn Tempelstrasse 2-4 Bonn 53113 Orthodox http://www.synagoge.de/Staedtebild/Bonn.shtml

Bremen Bremen - Synagogue Schwachauser Heerstr 117 Bremen Tel: 49 421-498-5104 Fax: 421-498-4944

Celle Celle - Synagogue Im Kreise 24 Celle

Jüdische Gemeinde Celle P.O. Box 3110 Celle Progressive Tel: 49 5141 740 896

Chemnitz Chemnitz - Synagogue Stollberger Str 28 Chemnitz Tel: 49 371-302862

Cologne Chabad of Cologne Hochstadenstr 15 Cologne Chabad Lubavitch http://www.chabad-de.net/

Juedische Liberale Gemeinde Koeln Stammheimer Str. 22 Cologne 50735 Liberal http://www.gescherlamassoret.de/

Synagogen-Gemeinde Köln Roonstr 50 Cologne 50674 Traditional http://www.sgk.de/

Darmstadt Darmstadt - Synagogue Wilhelm-Glassing-Str 26 Darmstadt Tel: 49 6151-28897

Delmenhorst Delmenhorst - Synagogue Lousienstr 34 Delmenhorst Tel: 49 421-211-8011 Fax: 49 421-223-9369

Dessau Dessau - Synagogue Kantorstr 3 Dessau Tel: 49 340-221-5107 Fax: 49 340-221-5107

Dortmund Dortmund - Synagogue Prinz-Friedrich-Karl-Str 9 Dortmund Tel: 49 231-528497

Dresden Chabad Lubavitch Sachsen Germany Merseburger Str. 1 Dresden 01309 http://www.chabad-sachsen.de/

Dresden - Synagogue Bautzener Str 20 Dresden Tel: 49 351-55491

Synagogue Am Hasenberg 1 Dresden 01067 Liberal Tel: 49 351-693317

Duisburg Duisburg - Synagogue Springwall 16 Duisburg Tel: 49 203-298-1205

Dusseldorf Chabad Lubavitch Dusseldorf Zieten Street 58-60 Dusseldorf Tel: 49-211-420-9693 Fax: 49-211-514-4190

Emmendingen Emmendingen - Synagogue Lenzhausle am Schlossplatz Emmendingen Tel: 49 764157-1989

Erfurt Erfurt - Synagogue Juri- Gagarin -Ring 16 Erfurt Tel: 49 361-562-4964

Essen Essen - Synagogue Sedanstr 46 Essen Tel: 49 201-27-3413

Frankfurt Beth Hamidrash Altkoenigstr. 22 Frankfurt 60323 Chabad Lubavitch http://www.yeckes.com/

Beth Hamidrash West End Altkanigstr 27 Frankfurt 60323 Orthodox Tel: 49 69-723805

Chabad Lubavitch House of Frankfurt Voelckerstrasse 18 Frankfurt 60322 http://www.chabad-frankfurt.de/

Frankfurt - Synagogue Voleckestr 18 Frankfurt Tel: 49 69-959-1980

Frankfurt - Synagogue Hebelstr 6 Frankfurt Tel: 49 69-444049

Frankfurt - Synagogue Baumweg 5-7 Frankfurt Tel: 49 69-439381

Frankfurt - Westend Synagogue Freiherr-vom-Stein-Str 30 Frankfurt Tel: 49 69 726263

Jewish Community of Frankfurt Westend Street 43 Frankfurt 60325 --http://www.jg-ffm.de/c/cms/front_content.php

Kehilla Chadasha Oederweg 83 Frankfurt Reform Tel: 49 69 558 162 Fax: 49 69 558 162

Freiburg Chavurah Gescher Unterer Kirchweg 36 Badenweiler Freiburg Reform

Freiburg - Synagogue Numbmannstr 14 Freiburg 79098 --Tel: 49 761 3830967 Fax: 49 761 382332

Fulda Fulda - Synagogue Von-Schildeck Str 13 Fulda Tel: 49 661-70252

Furth Furth - Synagogue Blumenstr 31 Furth Tel: 49 911-770879

Gelsenkirchen Egalitarian Minyan Ruhr-Area Website Gelsenkirchen Progressive http://www.minjan.de/

Gelsenkirchen - Synagogue Von-der-Recke Str 9 Gelsenkirchen --Tel: http://www.talmud.de/gelsenkirchen/

Gieben Damnstr - Synagogue Damnstr 4 Gieben Gieben Tel: 49 641-33450

Goettingen Judische Gemeinde Groner Str. 11 Goettingen CONSERVATIVE Tel: 49 551-66737 Fax: 49 51-68747

Graefelfing Liberale Judische Gemeinde Beth Shalom Munich Hermann-Hummel Strasse 18 Graefelfing Reform Tel: 49 89 89 80 93 73 Fax: 49 89 89 80 93 74

Gudensberg Juedische Liberale Gemeinde Emet weSchalom Schmiedeweg 26 Gudensberg Reform Tel: 49 56 03 67 01 Fax: 49 56 03 67 01

Hagen Hagen - Synagogue Potthofstr 14 Hagen Tel: 49 2331-13289

Halle Hall - Synagogue Grobe Markerstr 13 Halle Tel: 49 345-020-6963

Synagogengemeinde zu Halle Hansastrasse 7a Halle Reform Tel: 49 345 62 20 272 Fax: 49 345 52 20 276

Hamburg Hamburg - Synagogue Hohe Weide 34 Hamburg Sephardi Tel: 49 40-440-9440

Hamburg - Juedische Gemeinde Beit Shira (conservative / Masorti) http://www.beit-shira.org/ info@beit-shira.org

Hameln Judische Gemeinde - Hameln Gemeindezentrum Stubenstr. 30 Hameln Reform http://www.jghreform.org/

Hanover Hanover - Synagogue Haecklstr 10 Hanover Traditional Tel: +49 511 - 810472 Fax: +49 511 - 852983

Hanover - Synagogue Freudallee 27 Hanover Tel: 49 511-288-0100

Liberale Judische Gemeinde Freundallee 27 Hanover Reform Tel: 49 51 31 45 50 32 Fax: 49 51 51 45 50 55

Hechingen Hechingen Synagogue Website Goldschmiedstrasse 20 Hechingen 72379 Conservative

Heidelberg Heidelberg - Synagogue Hausserstr 10-12 Heidelberg 69115 --Tel: 49 6221-20820 Fax: 49 6221-163008

Hildesheim Hildesheim - Synagogue Annenstr 29 Hildesheim Tel: 49 512-110-2319

Judische Gemeinde Hildesheim - Hildesheim Orleansstr. 26 Hildesheim Reform Tel: 49 5121 704 962 Fax: 49 5121 704 964

Ichenhausen Ichenhausen Synagogue Vordere Ostergasse 22 Ichenhausen Tel: 49 8221 95763

Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern - Synagogue Basteigasse 4 Kaiserslautern --Tel: 49 631-69720

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe - Synagogue Knielinger Allee 11 Karlsruhe 76133 Orthodox Tel: 49 721-72035 Fax: 49 721-756643

Kassel Kassel - Synagogue Bremer Str 9 Kassel Tel: 49 561-12960

Kiel Jüdische Gemeinde Kiel Eckernförder Straße 20a 24103 Kiel Tel: 49 431-2320433 http://www.lvjgsh.de

Koeln Synagogengemeinde Koeln Roonstr. 50 Koeln 50674 Conservative http://www.sgk.de/

Krefeld Krefeld - Synagogue Wielandstr 17b Krefeld Tel: 49 2151-20648

Landau Landau - Synagogue Frank-Loebsches Haus Landau Tel: 49 6341-86472 Fax: 49 6341-13294

Leipzig Leipzig - Synagogue Lohrstr 10 Leipzig Tel: 49 341-291028

Leipzig Synagogue Keilstrasse 4 Leipzig

Lorrach Lorrach - Synagogue Postfach 1709, Turmringerstr. 279 Lorrach Conservative Tel: 49 7621-166138

Lubeck Lubeck - Synagogue St Annenstr 13 Lubeck Tel: 49 451-798-2182 Fax: 49 451-798-2182

Magdeburg Magdeburg - Synagogue Groperstr 1a Magdeburg Tel: 49 391-561-6022

Mainz Mainz - Synagogue Foresterstr 2 Mainz Tel: 49 6131-613990 Fax: 49 6131 611767

Mannheim Mannheim - Synagogue F3-4 Rabbiner-Gruenewald-Platz Mannheim 68159 http://www.jgm-net.de/

Marburg/Lahn Marburg/Lahn Synagogue Liebigstr. 21a Marburg/Lahn 35037 --http://www.jg-marburg.de/

Monchengladbach Monchengladbach Community Center Albertusstr 54 Monchengladbach --Tel: 49 2161-123879 Fax: 49 2161-14639

Munich Beth Shalom Munich Reform http://www.beth-shalom.de/

Chabad Lubawitsch Munich Prinzregenten Street 91 Munich ORTHODOX http://www.chabadgermany.com/

Israelitische Kultusgemeinde fur Muenchen und Oberbayern Jakobs-Platz 18 Munich 80331 Orthodox http://www.ikg-muenchen.de/

Munich - Synagogue Reichenbachstr 27 Munich

Munich - Synagogue Possartstr 15 Munich Orthodox Tel: 49 89-474-440

Schwabing Synagogue Georgenstr 71 Munich Orthodox Tel: 49 89-271-5322

Munster Munster - Synagogue Klosterstr 8-9 Munster Tel: 49 251-44909

Neu Fahrland Neu Fahrland Synagogue Am Lehnitzsee 8 Neu Fahrland Tel: 49 331-872018

Neustadt Neustadt - Synagogue Ludwigstr 20 Neustadt Tel: 49 6321-2652

Nuremburg Nuremburg - Synagogue Johann-Priem Str 20 Nuremburg Tel: 49 911-872018

Offenbach Am Main Chabad Lubavitch in Offenbach Am Main 109 Kaiser Strasse Offenbach Am Main http://www.juedisches-offenbach.de/

Oldenburg Jüdische Gemeinde zu Oldenburg Wilhelmstr. 17 Oldenburg CONSERVATIVE Tel: 49-441-13127 Fax: 49-441-14456

Osnabruck Osnabruck - Synagogue In der Baralge 43 Osnabruck Tel: 49 541-48420

Paderborn Paderborn - Synagogue Pipinstr 32 Paderborn Tel: 49 5251-22596

Pforzheim Pforzheim - Synagogue Pforzheim Tel: 49 7231-353656

Potsdam Chabad-Lubawitsch Potsdam Gutenberg Str. 60 Potsdam ORTHODOX Tel: 49-172-329-5696 Fax: 49-331-270-5416

Regensburg Jüdische Gemeinde Regensburg Am Brixener Hof 2 Regensburg 93047 Masorti http://www.jg-regensburg.de/

Reutlingen Reutlingen Lederstrasse Reutlingen 72764 http://www.alemannia-judaica.de/reutlingen_betsaal.htm

Rostock Rostock - Synagogue Schillerplatz 10 Rostock Tel: 49 381-4922315

Saarbrucken Synagogengemeinde Saar Kaiserstr 5 Saarbrucken Tel: 49 681-35152

Schwerin Schwerin - Synagogue Schlachtermarkt 3-5 Schwerin Tel: 49 385-5507345

Seesen Judische Gemeinde Seesen Horpkestr. 6 Seesen Reform Tel: 49 53 81 30 47 Fax: 49 53 81 30 47

Straubing Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Straubing Wittelsbacherstrasse 2 Straubing 94315 Traditional Tel: +49-9421 13 87

Stuttgart Israelitische Religionsgemeinschaft Wuerttemberg Hospitalstrasse 36 Stuttgart 70174 Traditional Tel: +49-711-22 8360 Fax: +49-711-22 836 21

Trier Trier - Synagogue Kaiserstr 25 Trier Tel: 49 651-40530

Ulm Beit Chabad Wurttmberg Olga Str. 93 Ulm 89073 Chabad Lubavitch http://www.alemannia-judaica.de/ulm_juedische_gemeinde.htm

Weiden Judische Gemeinde Ringstr. 17 Weiden CONSERVATIVE Tel: 0961-32794

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden - Synagogue Friedrichstr 33 Wiesbaden Tel: 49 611-301870

Wuppertal Wuppertal - Synagogue Friedrich-Ebert-Str 73 Wuppertal Tel: 49 202-300233

Wurzburg Wurzburg - Synagogue Valentin-Becker Strasse 11 Wurzburg Tel: 49 931-51190

Jewish Museums

New Synagogue Berlin--Centrum Judaicum Foundation http://www.cjudaicum.de/

Jewish Museum Berlin Lindenstraße 9-14, 10969 Berlin http://www.juedisches-museum-berlin.de/site/EN/homepage.php?meta=TRUE

Creglingen Jewish Museum http://www.juedisches-museum-creglingen.de/jmc_en/00_index_en.html

Jewish Museum of Westphalia http://www.jmw-dorsten.de/index.php?action=english_summary

The Emmendingen Society for Jewish History and Culture http://www.juedisches-museum-emmendingen.de/engl/index.html

Jewish Museum Frankfurt http://www.jewishmuseum.de/

Jewish Museum of Franconia in Furth Königstraße 89 D-90762 Fürth http://www.juedisches-museum.org/

The Jewish Museum in Jebenhausen http://www.edjewnet.de/jewmuseum/jmus_en.htm

Jewish Museum Munich St.-Jakobs-Platz 16 80331 Munich http://www.juedisches-museum.muenchen.de/cms/?L=1