Juelich

JUELICH, former duchy and town in Germany. During the 13^th century Jews lived in the county of Juelich (from 1356 the duchy of Juelich-Berg). In the course of the 16^th century the Jews of Juelich-Berg were persecuted and finally expelled in 1595; however, they were readmitted around the first quarter of the 17^th century. The first privilege, granted in 1689, was renewed and approved every 16 years up to the French occupation in 1792. In 1808 the duchy of Juelich-Berg was transformed into the grand duchy of *Berg and in 1815 it was incorporated into the Prussian kingdom.

Among other documentary evidence, reference to a Jewish martyr bears witness to the fact that Jews resided in the town of Juelich in the 13^th century. The names of four Jews are known from documents dating from 1324, when a community possessing a synagogue was in existence. A R. Jacob of Juelich lived c. 1300. During the *Black Death persecutions (1348–49) the Jewish community was destroyed and its property and synagogue confiscated. Among the few survivors was "Jacob son of the martyr Joel of Gulkha" (Juelich). In 1356, Margrave William IV of Juelich-Berg relinquished his claims to the property of the defunct community to the archbishop of Cologne. Later the community was restored: at the end of the 16^th century there was one Jewish family in Juelich; there were three families in 1673 and 13 in 1786. In the 18^th century services were held in a private house. The community of Juelich was under the jurisdiction of the *Landesrabbiner of the duchy Juelich-Berg, with his seat in *Duesseldorf. In the 18^th century he performed his rabbinic functions in both Juelich and Dueren. From 1706 to 1750 Samson Levi Froehlich served as rabbi, Judah Loeb Senever was rabbi in 1779–1821.

In 1806 there were 95 Jews in Juelich. The community reached its peak of 137 in 1910. When the Nazis seized power in 1933, there were 120 Jews in Juelich, owning a synagogue (erected 1860) and a cemetery. There were then two charitable societies and two cultural organizations. As a result of emigration the community had declined to 52 by May 17, 1939. On March 24, 1941, the last 24 Jews of Juelich were removed to Kirchberg and from there deported to the East. With those local Jews deported after reaching Holland and Belgium a total of 71 of the town's Jews perished in the Holocaust.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.