History of the Jews in Laupheim

These rulers were often highly in debt due to the fragmentation of their territories, as was the case with Laupheim being separated into two independent states, Großlaupheim and Kleinlaupheim, as well as frequent wars.

[7] The first protection contract between them and the local authorities dates from 1730 which indicates that the final arrival of the four Jewish families occurred in that year.

[16] Unlike the unfree Christian population of both parts of Laupheim, the Jewish inhabitants had a considerable larger autonomy in administrating their own communal affairs.

The parnassim and the rabbi had restricted legal authority over members of the community, being permitted to exact, up to a certain amount, financial penalties.

[9] In criminal cases and in disputes between Christians and Jews, the local ruler reserved the right to make a legal decision.

The Judenberg forms a regular square where the 8 oldest houses, arranged in 3 rows, are positioned parallel to one of the main streets leading away from the town centre.

[23] The fact that in a relative short period of time so many new buildings could be erected is an indication of the prosperity of the Jewish community, particularly regarding the recession and the famines that followed the Napoleonic Wars.

He was bitterly disappointed with his subjects obstinate behaviour towards him as their former feudal lord (they had taken him to court for 300 different offences) and sold the castles to the Kingdom of Württemberg.

[25] Großlaupheim Castle with all accompanying lands was then acquired by the Jewish merchant Viktor Steiner[26] whose family managed to hold on to the possession for five generations, even through the Nazi-period, until 1961.

Hayum became, for example, Heinrich, Baruch was changed to Berthold or Bernhard, so that at the end of the 19th century, it was almost impossible to distinguish the Jewish citizens of Laupheim from their Christian fellow-citizens simply because of their names.

[29] The Jews' Act of 1828 forced the rabbis to keep vital records of all members of their community, something Christian priests had been obliged to do so for a long time.

This turned the office of rabbi from being a purely spiritual leader into a semi-official function, the tasks of which also included administration for which he was accountable to the officials of the Kingdom of Württemberg.

[31] Also, a great number of the founders of the local trade bank, an early form of the Credit Union, in 1868, were Jewish entrepreneurs from Laupheim.

This process of migration had already started in the 1850s with many Laupheim Jews being attracted to the bigger cities, such as Ulm, Stuttgart, Munich and Frankfurt.

Furthermore, between 1835 and 1870, no less than 176 Jewish inhabitants of Laupheim emigrated to the United States, particularly after the failed revolution of 1848 and its ensuing economic crisis, which was felt most harshly by those who were less affluent.

This development gathered momentum in the 1870s with more and more Jewish inhabitants leaving Laupheim either to move abroad or to other centres within the newly founded German Empire.

A company producing wooden tools, founded by Josef Steiner and his four sons, became one of the leading distributors of products of this kind in southern Germany.

There were even a few private banks owned by Jews, which were successful enough to survive well into the 1930s but were forced to close down after 1933 following the immense pressure put on them by the National Socialist administration.

[37] By the end of the 19th century Jews in Laupheim were completely integrated and assimilated into society, being part of all walks of life, a situation which would not change for more than 30 years.

However, the absence of many fathers due to their frequently being away from home in their capacity as traders, made it necessary to employ travelling teachers who received food and accommodation in return for their services.

In 1780, the Talmud-Torah-Society was founded to assist the religious instruction of fellow Jews and to take care of young people.

Members of the local SA positioned themselves in front of Jewish shops in order to intimidate potential customers and prevent them from entering.

[43] In the year following the Nazis' rise to power, in the course of so-called Gleichschaltung, the Laupheim Jews were deprived of membership of all non-Jewish organisations, be it political or cultural.

On 6 November 1935, a non-local party group leader of the NSDAP took photographs of customers entering a shoe shop, which happened to be owned by a Jew.

[44][45] The propaganda of the ruling party had its effects in that the turnover of Jewish businesses decreased dramatically; one shop's revenue declined even by 80 percent.

[46] The assassination of Ernst vom Rath, Third Secretary of the German Embassy in Paris, by Herschel Grynszpan served as a pretext for a nationwide pogrom against Jews throughout Germany and Austria on the night of 9–10 November 1938, colloquially known as Kristallnacht.

Four of them were acquitted whereas the twelve others were sentenced to prison terms ranging between two months and one year for crimes against humanity and being accessory to arson.

In Laupheim this meant that some Jewish shops were bought by one or some of the former employees at a rate considerably lower than the current market price.

[51] However, most of these businesses did not manage to survive for long as they lacked sufficient capital and expertise to run an enterprise, especially since there was no possibility to export goods.

[54] Of the 249 Jews registered in Laupheim in 1933, 126 managed to save their lives by fleeing Germany and emigrating to various foreign destinations.