Wuerttemberg is a state in Germany. There is evidence that the Jewish community of *Heilbronn in Wuerttemberg was one of the earliest in Germany. An inscription bearing the name of "Nathan the Parnes" on the entrance of the mikveh apparently dates from the latter half of the 11^th century. Information on Jewish settlement in Wuerttemberg becomes more definite in the early 13^th century. Jews are known to have settled in 65 localities there before the *Black Death persecutions. These settlements suffered during the *Rindfleisch massacres of 1298 and again in the *Armleder uprising of 1335–37 but soon recovered. At that time the more important Jewish communities were centered in Heilbronn, *Ulm, *Esslingen, and Schwaebisch Gmuend. At first the Jews paid their taxes directly to the king, the count of Wuerttemberg, or to a nobleman to whom the king had granted taxing privileges; from the middle of the 14^th century, however, most cities acquired taxation rights over the Jews living within them. Jews in positions of financial responsibility were helpful to many cities during a period of territorial expansion in the 14^th century. During the 15^th century, however, many Jews in Wuerttemberg became impoverished due to heavy taxation and the official cancellation of debts that were owed to them. Throughout the 15^th century the Jews were alternately enabled to settle or expelled by the nobles, and by the end of the century they had been banished from most of the towns. In 1521 a decree was issued expelling the Jews from the entire duchy. Nevertheless, some of them managed to remain in many of the small villages during the 16^th and 17^th centuries. Jewish settlement in Wuerttemberg was substantially renewed only in the 18^th century when Jews were first allowed to visit fairs and trade in cattle; later they were allowed to settle permanently in the duke's private lands and several other limited areas. With the aid of Joseph Suess *Oppenheimer, several Jews were granted residence in *Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg.

The dukes subsequently enacted more liberal regulations concerning Jewish settlement, such as the Hochberg Regulation of 1780. During the 18^th century they retained a number of *Court Jews who aided significantly in the economic development of the duchy. When Napoleon added large areas to Wuerttemberg in 1806, the Jewish population rose from 534 to 4,884; by 1817 there were 3,256 Jews living in 79 localities. Jews were permitted to live in cities such as Ulm, from which they had previously been excluded. The body tax (*Leibzoll) was abrogated and Jews were accepted in the army. The improved attitude toward the Jews did not deteriorate after Napoleon's downfall. In 1828 a law was issued obliging Jewish children to receive a secular education; this, however, applied only to shopkeepers and craftsmen and discriminated against peddlers, cattle traders, brokers, and moneylenders. The law recognized the organization of local communities, and in 1831 a central Jewish executive was created in Stuttgart that functioned under governmental supervision. The constitutions of the local communities were drawn up along similar lines to those applied to the Christian communities. The chief rabbi was a government official; but when the chief rabbi Joseph Meir, who was of Reformist bent, tried to introduce the 60 Hymns of Israel, mostly of his own composition, into the traditional liturgy, most congregations refused to adopt the proposal, although it came from an official source. However, the Jews did not gain full civil equality in Wuerttemberg until April 25, 1828, and their religious life still remained subject to governmental supervision. Full autonomy was granted in 1912 and was supplemented by additional legislation approved in 1924. The Jewish population increased from 8,918 in 1828 to 11,916 in 1925, organized in 51 communities. By 1933 the number had decreased to 10,023, in 43 communities.

Holocaust Period

Antisemitism was already a significant political factor in Wuerttemberg at the end of the 19^th century. With the growth of Nazism from 1925 to 1933, the party became increasingly active in its propaganda campaign against the Jews. After the rise of the Nazis to power, the boycott of Jewish goods, as well as general harassment, led many Jews to emigrate from Wuerttemberg, and 9,000 left there in 1935. While the Zionist movement had not been generally strong in Wuerttemberg, 200 Jews from the village of Rexingen immigrated to Palestine in 1938 to found the settlement of *Shavei Zion.

In October 1938 Jews of Polish extraction were deported back to Poland. On Nov. 9–16, 1938, 18 synagogues in Wuerttemberg were burned to the ground, and 12 others were severely damaged; 875 Jews were imprisoned. Jewish enterprises were "aryanized" and a systematic plan was put into action to rid Wuerttemberg of its Jewish communities. From 1941 to 1945, there were 12 deportations totaling 2,500 Jews from Stuttgart; 260 committed suicide before deportation. Only 180 survived the war; 200 Jews who had intermarried were spared deportation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

P. Sauer, Die juedischen Gemeinden in Wuerttemberg und Hohenzollern (1966); Germania Judaica, 2 (1968), 928; 3 (1987), 2075–78; L. Adler, in: ylbi (1960), 287–98; Juedische Gottes haeuser und Friedhoefe in Wuerttemberg (1928); A. Taenzer, Die Geschichte der Juden in Wuerttemberg (1937). ADD. BIBLIOGRAPHY: A. Taenzer, Die Geschichte der Juden in Wuerttemberg (1937, reprinted 1983); H. Dicker, Creativity, Holocaust, Reconstruction: Jewish Life in Wuerttemberg, Past and Present (1984); U. Jeggle, Judendoerfer in Wuerttemberg (Untersuchungen des Ludwig-Uhland-Instituts der Universitaet Tuebingen, vol. 90) (1999²); R. Gregorius, Das juedische Schul- und Erziehungswesen in Wuerttemberg (1806–1933) (2000); Juedische Gotteshaeuser und Friedhoefe in Wuerttemberg (1932, reprinted 2002); E. Kraiss and M. Reuter, Bet Hachajim – Haus des Lebens. Juedische Friedhoefe in Wuerttembergisch-Franken (2003).

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

WEBSITE: www.alemannia.de.

Wuerttemberg, Germany