History of the Jews in Bratislava
[1] Until the end of World War I, Bratislava (known as Pressburg or Pozsony through much of its history) was a multicultural city with a Hungarian and German majority and a Slovak and Jewish minority.
Jews started to migrate in larger numbers to Upper Hungary in the 11th century as first Jewish settlements appeared also in Bratislava.
The first Jewish religious community in Bratislava was founded in the late 13th century,[5] as evidenced by the Menor Codex (Memorbuch) from Mainz.
A 1299 decree of Andrew II of Hungary granted to Bratislava's Jewish inhabitants rights equal with other citizens of the city.
Jews became represented by a Jewish Mayor, elected from the ranks of Christian citizens by the King and since 1440 by the Bratislava City Council.
The existence of a synagogue in the city is attested by a 1335 decree of Pope Benedict XII which mentions a letter from the local Cistercian Order to the Archbishop of Esztergom asking him to have the Jewish temple demolished.
In 1360, all Jews were expelled from Bratislava and their belongings were confiscated, part of the community found refuge in the town of Hainburg an der Donau.
[1] In 1520, Louis II of Hungary decreed that Jews no longer had to wear distinct clothing but it wasn't until the Prefect of Bratislava Jewry Jakub Mendel complained directly to the King in 1521, that the city was forced to change the law.
[7] In 1599, Count Nicolaus Pálffy ab Erdöd inherited the Bratislava Castle and the Schlossgrund area and allowed Jews to settle here.
In 1670, when the Jews of Vienna were expelled, many refugees settled in Schlossgrund and a Jewish quarter later becoming synonymous with the Vydrica area began to form.
On 5 June 1839, the Diet of Hungary convened in Bratislava and in 1840 passed a law enabling Jews to freely settle in any free city.
A progressive Jewish elementary school was established in the city despite opposition from the Rabbi of Bratislava Samuel Benjamin Sofer.
After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, the General Jewish Congress of Budapest, attended also by delegates from Bratislava, tried to unify Hungarian Jews.
After the war, Austria-Hungary collapsed and the events were accompanied by attacks on Jews, which continued during the Hungarian Revolution of 1919 and ceased only after the newly created Czechoslovak regime established control in 1919.
[10] During the interwar period, many Bratislava Jews owned businesses and many were employed as doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, artists and more.
It was during this time that Imi Lichtenfeld helped to defend his Jewish neighborhood against racist gangs by utilizing principles he would later use to found the martial art Krav Maga.
On 11 November 1938, violent attacks on the Bratislava synagogues and the Pressburg Yeshiva occurred and sporadic pogroms continued during the war.
Despite organized effort by the Bratislava Jewish Community, most of its members were ultimately deported into extermination camps in occupied Poland.
[13] Today, no evidence of the camp remains due to the large-scale construction project in Petržalka later in the 20th century when the former village was transformed into the largest panel hause complex in Central Europe.
On April 15, 1945, Max Weiss became the chairman of the revived Jewish community and prayer services were renewed in the Heydukova Street Synagogue.
Jewish newspapers started to be printed and the community re-established a mikveh, ritual slaughter, kosher butcher and canteen, homes for the aged, schools and a hospital.
