The Jewish Community of Leipzig

Leipzig

A city in Saxony, Germany

Leipzig is the largest city in Saxony, and the 10th most populous city in Germany. It is located 99 miles (160km) southwest of Berlin, where the White Elster, Pleisse, and Parthe Rivers meet.

Leipzig is home to one of the most active Jewish communities in Central Germany. The synagogue on Keil Street (the Brody Synagogue), Leipzig’s only synagogue to have survived World War II, is the only one in Central Germany to host a daily minyan. The community includes a kosher store, a kosher bakery in the local farmer’s market, a mikvah (ritual bath) that was built in 2006, and two cemeteries. A Jewish Community Center (the Ariowitsch-Haus) opened in 2006 and serves as a cultural center for Leipzig’s Jewish community. The community center hosts holiday celebrations, programming related to Israel, and provides Jewish educational opportunities.

Educational opportunities for Jewish children include a Jewish kindergarten run by the Jewish community. Additionally, the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation opened the Tora Zentrum (Torah Center) in 2005, where Jews from Leipzig and the surrounding area can gather to meet each other, and to learn about Judaism. Tora Zentrum hosts celebrations on Jewish holidays, classes for students and adults, seminars, and social gatherings.

In 2012 Leipzig’s Jewish community had approximately 1,300 members.

HISTORY

Or Zarua, a collection of responsa compiled by Rabbi Yitshak ben Moshe of Vienna between 1250 and 1285, is the first Jewish source to mention a Jewish community in Leipzig; a responsum references Rabbi Yitshak’s arbitration of a dispute between his son-in-law, a resident of Leipzig, and a Jew living in other town. Based on Rabbi Yitshak’s answer, it appears that the Jews of Leipzig already had a synagogue and a Talmud Torah by that time, and their main source of income was from finance. Additionally, a document published by Duke Heinrich the Enlightened (Heinrich der Erlauchte, 1221-1288) in 1248 praises Leipzig’s Jews and their contributions to the commercial development of Leipzig. Indeed, the Leipzig fair regulations of 1268 granted the Jews rights equal to those of Christian merchants, and the market day was changed from Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath) to Friday, indicating how important their presence was at the fairs. Leipzig’s Jews lived on a Jewish Street, located on the city’s outskirts, outside of the city wall and close to the road from Leipzig to Merseburg.

The Jews were expelled from Leipzig in the aftermath of the Black Death (1348-1349), when Jews throughout Europe were subject to anti-Jewish violence and expulsions, but were permitted to return shortly thereafter. A synagogue had been established by 1352, and records from 1359 mention the existence of a Judengasse (Jewish Street) and a Judenburg (Jewish Town). By 1364 there was also a Jewish school (Scola Sudaeorum), which also served as a synagogue and Talmud Torah.

Though the Jews of Leipzig were relatively safe, and enjoyed a number of protections, they were nonetheless subject to a number of anti-Jewish regulations, which grew in severity over time. They were compelled to pay protection money in exchange for the security of their personal and communal property. Additionally, from the beginning of the 15th century they were forbidden to conduct public prayers in the synagogue. In 1430 the Jews of Leipzig were among those expelled from Saxony; their property was also confiscated. Though they continued to be admitted to Leipzig on fair days, they were not permitted to remain; when they came to trade they prayed in groups in houses that were outside of the city limits, or in the areas where they were permitted to stay during fair days. Every Jew who came to the Leipzig fair had to pay protection money and to present a "character document" issued by the authorities. Jews were forbidden from opening shops on the main streets, or to trade on Sundays and Christian holidays.

In spite of the restrictions and limitations placed on the Jews, in 1659 there were 450-500 Jewish traders at the fairs; in 1700 there were over 1,000 traders, and in 1800 more than 2,000. By 1840 there were 3,596 Jewish businessmen coming to the Leipzig fair. Between the years 1668-1764, approximately 82,000 Jewish businessmen were registered as having attended the Leipzig fair. One of the visitors to the Leipzig fair was the Jewish philosopher and emancipation proponent, Moses Mendelssohn (1729-1786).

Most of the Jewish merchants, traders, and businessmen who came to the Leipzig fair dealt in cloth, furs, cotton, silk and food products. Eventually, the controversial decision was made to allow Jews to open shops on the main streets during the fairs. This decision was opposed by Christian businessmen and Leipzig’s town council, and the debates that swirled regarding what rights Jews should have during the fairs lasted for about 100 years and prompted a great deal of anti-Semitism.

With the development of international trade, the importance of the Leipzig fair grew, as did the significance and scope of Jewish participation in the fair. Jewish businessmen from Poland and Russia were the principal buyers in Leipzig fairs and made the city the center of the fur trade. As a result, restrictions began to be eased. The Bruehl Quarter was opened to the Jews, and regulations were passed to further enable the participation of Jewish traders at the Leipzig fairs. Jewish businessmen from Russia, Poland and Hungary were exempt from paying protection money, and paid the same taxes as Christian merchants.

Ultimately, in 1710 the mintmaster and merchant Gerd Levi was permitted to settle in Leipzig; by the mid-18th century seven Jewish families were granted permission to live in the city, and by the end of the century there were up to 50 Jewish merchants living in Leipzig. Beginning in 1810 Jews from Brody, Poland who came to the fair, were permitted to remain and trade in Leipzig. and in 1810. Thus began the nucleus of a new Jewish community in Leipzig.

At the beginning of the 19th century Jews were once again permitted to hold public prayer services, and in 1815 a major milestone was reached when the municipal council agreed to the request to open Leipzig’s first Jewish cemetery; until then, anyone who died during the fairs was transferred to Dessau or Halle for burial. This cemetery was used until 1864, when a new cemetery was consecrated; an additional cemetery was opened in the 1920s. Permission was granted in 1837 for the Jews to establish an organized community; that community was officially recognized in 1847.

The Chief Rabbi of Dresden, Rabbi Zechariah Frankel, attempted to found a synagogue in Leipzig in 1837. His efforts, however, were unsuccessful and it was only in 1855 that a synagogue was consecrated. This synagogue was designed to accommodate the many hundreds of Jews who traded at the fairs and was most closely affiliated with the Reform Movement.

Rabbi Dr. Adolf Jellinek was the first rabbi to serve the Jewish community of Leipzig. He served from 1848 to 1855, until he was elected Chief Rabbi of the Jewish community of Vienna. His successor was Rabbi Abraham Meir Goldschmidt, who served from 1858 to 1886. In 1887 Dr. Nathan Porges was appointed as Leipzig’s Chief Rabbi, a position he held until 1917 when he was succeeded by Rabbi Dr. Felix Goldmann. Rabbi Goldmann became was one of the most prominent leaders of liberal Jews in Germany; he also helped found the Jewish Agency for Palestine and Keren Hayesod. In addition to his religious leadership, Rabbi Goldmann was renowned for his scientific work and his writing on the subject of anti-Semitism. He remained in office until his death in 1934. His deputy, who succeeded him after his death, was Rabbi Dr. Gustav Kohn, Leipzig’s last rabbi before World War II (1939-1945).

The first rabbis of Leipzig all identified with liberal Judaism, but there were some Orthodox rabbis who were active in the city. Dr. Nehemia Nobel served as an Orthodox rabbi between 1902 and 1905. However, the city’s first official Orthodox rabbi was Rabbi Dr. Ephraim Carlebach. In 1917 Rabbi Carlebach was appointed as the Chief Orthodox Rabbi of Leipzig, and in 1924 he was officially elected to lead the Orthodox rabbinate along with Rabbi Goldmann. Rabbi Carlebach immigrated to Mandate Palestine in 1935 and was succeeded by Rabbi Dr. David Ochs, who served the community until the Kristallnacht pogrom of November 1938, when he also immigrated to Palestine.

Besides the official community rabbis, a number of rabbis served community associations and synagogues. Two, Rabbi David Feldmann, who published the “Shortened Shulkhan Arukh” (“Kitzur Shulkhan Arukh”), and Rabbi Moshe Rogoznitzki, were chosen to serve as the dayanim (judges) of the community. They served until the Nazi rise to power in 1933, when they immigrated to England.

In 1869 the Organization of Jewish Communities in Germany (Deutsch-Israelitischer Gemeindebund) was founded in Leipzig and led by Moritz Kohner and Jacob Nachod. Membership was compulsory for all Jewish residents, regardless of whether they were German citizens; according to the laws of the State of Saxony any secession from the community was regarded as a secession from Judaism. As a result, community organizations that were not part of the official unified community were not established in Leipzig; this was in contrast to Prussia, where the ultra-Orthodox were allowed to found communities that broke away from the general communities.

In 1838 there were 45,516 inhabitants in Leipzig, of whom 162 were Jews. The Jewish community grew steadily, however, particularly during the last decades of the 19th century when many Jews from Galicia and other countries in Eastern Europe came immigrated to Leipzig. By the beginning of the 20th century the Jewish community consisted of approximately 6,000 people. In 1910 the Jewish population was 9,728, and in 1925 Leipzig was officially the largest Jewish community in Saxony, with 13,047 Jews (out of a total population of 679,159).

The Jewish community of Leipzig established a number of funds to help the needy; indeed, until World War I (1914-1918) there were 48 active charitable funds. Haim Eitingon founded a Jewish hospital in 1928, and a Jewish old age home was opened around the same time by the Ariowitsch family. Communal and charitable institutions included a public kitchen, as well as two Jewish libraries. The community also established a number of social and youth organizations, particularly during the 1920s, including a branch of the Bar Kochba Association.

In 1898 Professor Abraham Adler, a court counsellor, established Leipzig’s first commercial high school. This was followed in 1912 by a Jewish secondary school for boys and girls, founded by Rabbi Carlebach, who served as its director until he left for Palestine. The school functioned until the early years of World War II, when it was converted to one of the forty "Jewish houses" in which the Jews were confined before being sent to the concentration and death camps. The building survived the war, and during the 1990s it is used as a library for the blind. A Talmud Torah school was founded by Rabbi Feldmann, who directed it until the Nazis came to power. Classes were held in the afternoons, once the children had been dismissed from their regular schools. In 1911 the first women's seminary was opened by Henrietta Goldschmidt, with funding from Henri Hinrichsen; Hinrichsen published music books and in 1901 he established a music library which contained over 15,000 books.

With the extension of Jewish emancipation throughout Germany, Jews were able to take an active role in the University of Leipzig, as well as in the city’s academic and cultural life more broadly. In 1839 Julius Fuerst became the first Jew to be accepted as a lecturer at the university. During his academic career Fuerst published Orient, a platform for researching Jewish history and literature. Among the Jewish academics who followed at the University of Leipzig were Professor Yeshayahu Kahan, the first lecturer on the subject of literature after the Biblical era, and Georg Witkowski, an authority on German studies with a focus on the works of Goethe. Felix Mendelssohn-Bartoldi, the grandson of Moses Mendelssohn, founded Leipzig’s music conservatory. Mendelssohn-Bartoldi recruited the pianist and teacher Ignaz Moscheles (1794-1870), who eventually succeeded him as the head of the conservatory. Gustav Brecher and Angelo Neumann served as directors of Leipzig’s operas.

A number of Leipzig’s Jews also served in prominent judicial positions. Martin Eduard Sigismund von Simson officiated as the president of the law courts in Leipzig from 1879 until 1891.

With the rise of the Nazis to power in March 1933, Jewish activity in the economic and cultural spheres of Leipzig, as well as within Germany as a whole, became more circumscribed. An economic boycott of the Jews was enacted on April 1, 1933; subsequently, Jews were gradually removed from public office, and artists, scientists, and writers were dismissed from their posts. On the night of November 9, 1936 members of the Nazi party pulled down the statue of Felix Mendelssohn that had stood in front of the Leipzig concert hall Gewandhaus. Jewish publishing houses were forcibly closed down in 1937, prompting many of their managers to emigrate with their families.

In august 1938 the community of Leipzig numbered 10,800, making it the sixth-largest in Germany.

THE HOLOCAUST

Approximately 5,000 Jews of Polish origin were expelled from Leipzig on October 28-29, 1938 and sent on special trains to the Polish border. The Kristallnacht Pogrom took place only weeks later, on the night of November 9, 1938. During the pogrom all of Leipzig’s synagogues of, with one exception, were destroyed, along with the funeral parlor in the new Jewish cemetery; the Brody Synagogue, on Keil Street, was the only synagogue that was not destroyed during Kristallnacht, because it was located in a residential building.

Before the synagogues were set on fire, the Gestapo confiscated community documents and papers. They looted Jewish shops, and later transferred ownership of the shops to Aryans. To add insult to injury, an owner of one of the Jewish commercial houses was charged for the damage caused by the fire, which had been set by the Nazis. Kristallnacht prompted a wave of Jewish emigration from Leipzig, and from Germany as a whole.

At the beginning of 1942 about 2,000 of the Jews remaining in Leipzig were living in special "Jewish houses,” from which they would be deported in groups to the camps. During the first aktion more than half were sent to camps in Riga; later, many were sent to the Belzec death camp and to Theresienstadt. The last transport left Leipzig for Theresienstadt on February 11 or 12, 1945 and comprised 55 Jews, including people categorized by the Nazi authorities as “half Jews”, who were no longer protected from deportation because their non-Jewish spouses had either died or divorced them. If the non-Jewish spouse of a mixed marriage had died, the offspring of such marriages was now also destined for deportation. Following this transport Leipzig was considered “judenrein”.

POSTWAR

The Jewish community was revived after the war. The synagogue on Keil Street was reconsecrated. The cemeteries and funeral halls were also restored. However, many of those who helped revive the postwar Jewish community were not native to Leipzig; the new community consisted of a few natives of Leipzig who had spent the war years in the city, but most were concentration camp survivors from other areas throughout Europe who came Leipzig after the war.

In 1968 there were 100 Jews living in Leipzig. The community was under the supervision of an East Berlin rabbi. Snice 1950 religious services were led by the cantor Werner Sander, who also organized the choir Leipziger Synagogalcho in 1962.

During the 1970s and 1980s membership in Leipzig’s Jewish community declined, and by 1991 there were only 35 Jews in Leipzig’s Jewish community. However, with the fall of the Soviet Union, and Jewish emigration from former Soviet countries, the community began to grow dramatically beginning in the 1990s. In 2005 the Jewish community numbered 1,133.