Munich - Introduction (München / Muenchen)
General information: First Jewish presence: 13th century; peak Jewish population: 11,083 in 1910; Jewish population in 1933: 9,005
Summary: The Middle Ages
While we cannot be certain about the exact origins of Munich’s medieval Jewish community, a document from 1229 refers to the presence of a Jew in the city. Jews lived in a designated Jewish quarter and apparently maintained a synagogue, a mikveh and a cemetery. The medieval community was wiped out by a series of pogroms in 1285, 1345, 1349, 1413 and 1442.
The 18th Century until the Rise of Hitler
Although a small community was reestablished in the late 17th century, it was expelled in 1715. During the years that followed, a number of court Jews were allowed to settle in Munich, among them Wolf Wertheimer and Aron Elias Seligmann. More Jewish families moved to Munich in the 1780s, and by 1798 the Jewish community numbered 216 members. A rabbi was appointed and a rabbinate established in 1802.
The legal status of the community improved during the Napoleonic era: in 1805, Jews were granted permission to worship in public, live in all parts of the city, sell craft work and trade in certain goods. The decree of 1813, which permitted Bavarian Jews to establish new communities, triggered the establishment of an independent Israelite congregation in 1815 and of a synagogue on Theaterstrasse (later named Westenrieder Strasse) in 1826. An elementary school, which also offered religious tuition and was founded by Abraham Wolfsheimer, operated from 1842 until 1872. The community built a cemetery on Thalkirchner Strasse in 1816 (enlarged in 1854, 1871 and again in 1881); in 1908, this was replaced by a new cemetery on Garchinger Strasse. Prior to 1816, Jews were buried in Kriegshaber, near Augsburg.
The growing Jewish population (4,144 in 1880) triggered the construction, in 1887, of an impressive synagogue at 7 Herzog Max Strasse. Then the third largest synagogue in Germany, it was intended to be the central synagogue of the entire community. But in 1873, in response to the introduction of religious reforms and the steady development of the Reform movement (under the leadership of Rabbi Dr. Josef Perles), the Orthodox faction founded the Ohel Jakob Association and inaugurated, in 1892, their own synagogue on Kanalstrasse (later called Herzog Rudolf Strasse). Eastern European Jews prayed at Kanalstrasse and in several other locations (Klenzestrasse, Ickstattstrasse and Hans Sachs Strasse). Later, in 1931, two Eastern European religious organizations, the Linath Hazedek and the Agudath Achim, inaugurated an Orthodox synagogue on Reichenbachstrasse. Jews greatly contributed to Munich’s fame as a cultural and artistic hub. Prominent Jewish personalities included the art dealer Lehmann Bernheimer, the gallery owner David Heinemann, the conductor Hermann Levi, the poet Karl Wolfskehl and the businessman Hermann Tietz, the last of whom founded the famous Hertie department store chain in 1888. Local Jews were also prominent in industry and trade.
The Nazi Era
Munich, a Nazi stronghold during the Weimar Republic, was the birthplace of the Nazi Party (in 1920). Jewish students were attacked at the university, and Jewish candidates for teaching positions were rejected on racial grounds. After the Beer Hall Putsch of November 1923, Jews were assaulted in public. One hundred and eighty Eastern European Jewish families were expelled from the city. In 1930, Munich became the national headquarters of the Nazi Party. Nevertheless, Munich’s Jewish community numbered more than 9,000 members in 1933, and continued to offer an array of religious and cultural opportunities. A Jewish public school, established in 1924, had an enrollment of 132 children in 1932/33; a Talmud Torah school enrolled 793 students that same year. The community also maintained a variety of social services, including an old-age home, summer camps, children’s homes and kindergartens, welfare organizations, employment agencies and vocational schools. Cultural associations were active in Munich, as were branches of nation-wide Jewish organizations. The community’s outstanding library included an extensive collection of Hebrew manuscripts. Under Nazi rule, Jews were persecuted and rapidly deprived of their rights. Anti-Jewish boycotts were aggressively enforced by the SA and Hitler Youth: businesses were “aryanized,” Jews were arrested and sent to Dachau and, in June/July of 1938, the central synagogue on Herzog Max Strasse was demolished on Hitler’s orders. Fifty Jews were indicted on charges of racial defilement. Goebbels’ famous anti-Semitic speech, held in Munich on November 9, 1938, triggered Pogrom Night. In Munich alone, synagogues, prayer rooms, the Jewish library and other facilities were destroyed. Jewish homes and businesses were damaged and looted, and store windows were smashed. Approximately 1, 000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to Dachau. In May 1939, all Polish Jews were expelled from the city. Between 1933 and 1938, a total of 3,574 Jews left Munich. Another 803 died in the city. By the fall of 1941, local Jews had been evicted from approximately 1,500 apartments. Often subjected to forced labor, many were forced to build the Milbertshofen Ghetto, about four miles from Munich. Four hundred and fifty Jews were sent to live there in 1941, and the ghetto also served as a transit camp. Three hundred Munich Jews were brought to the Berg-am-Leim Ghetto. Between November 1941 and February 1945, 42 transports deported 2,991 Munich Jews to Riga, Piaski, Auschwitz and Theresienstadt. At least 2,804 local Jews perished in the Shoah.
After World War II
A new Jewish community was founded in Munich in July 1945, and the reconstructed synagogue on Reichenbachstrasse opened for services in 1947. (It was Munich’s central synagogue until 2006). As a result of the immigration to Germany of Eastern European Jews during the 1990s, the community grew to about 11,000 members (in 2006). In 2006/07, a new synagogue building, community center and Jewish museum were opened on Jakobsplatz. Three memorial stones commemorate the destroyed community: the first, unveiled in 1969, stands on the site of the old central synagogue; the second commemorates the Ohel Jakob Synagogue; and the third memorializes those who suffered at the Milbertshofen transit camp.
While we cannot be certain about the exact origins of Munich’s medieval Jewish community, a document from 1229 refers to the presence of a Jew in the city. Jews lived in a designated Jewish quarter and apparently maintained a synagogue, a mikveh and a cemetery. The medieval community was wiped out by a series of pogroms in 1285, 1345, 1349, 1413 and 1442.
The 18th Century until the Rise of Hitler
Although a small community was reestablished in the late 17th century, it was expelled in 1715. During the years that followed, a number of court Jews were allowed to settle in Munich, among them Wolf Wertheimer and Aron Elias Seligmann. More Jewish families moved to Munich in the 1780s, and by 1798 the Jewish community numbered 216 members. A rabbi was appointed and a rabbinate established in 1802.
The legal status of the community improved during the Napoleonic era: in 1805, Jews were granted permission to worship in public, live in all parts of the city, sell craft work and trade in certain goods. The decree of 1813, which permitted Bavarian Jews to establish new communities, triggered the establishment of an independent Israelite congregation in 1815 and of a synagogue on Theaterstrasse (later named Westenrieder Strasse) in 1826. An elementary school, which also offered religious tuition and was founded by Abraham Wolfsheimer, operated from 1842 until 1872. The community built a cemetery on Thalkirchner Strasse in 1816 (enlarged in 1854, 1871 and again in 1881); in 1908, this was replaced by a new cemetery on Garchinger Strasse. Prior to 1816, Jews were buried in Kriegshaber, near Augsburg.
The growing Jewish population (4,144 in 1880) triggered the construction, in 1887, of an impressive synagogue at 7 Herzog Max Strasse. Then the third largest synagogue in Germany, it was intended to be the central synagogue of the entire community. But in 1873, in response to the introduction of religious reforms and the steady development of the Reform movement (under the leadership of Rabbi Dr. Josef Perles), the Orthodox faction founded the Ohel Jakob Association and inaugurated, in 1892, their own synagogue on Kanalstrasse (later called Herzog Rudolf Strasse). Eastern European Jews prayed at Kanalstrasse and in several other locations (Klenzestrasse, Ickstattstrasse and Hans Sachs Strasse). Later, in 1931, two Eastern European religious organizations, the Linath Hazedek and the Agudath Achim, inaugurated an Orthodox synagogue on Reichenbachstrasse. Jews greatly contributed to Munich’s fame as a cultural and artistic hub. Prominent Jewish personalities included the art dealer Lehmann Bernheimer, the gallery owner David Heinemann, the conductor Hermann Levi, the poet Karl Wolfskehl and the businessman Hermann Tietz, the last of whom founded the famous Hertie department store chain in 1888. Local Jews were also prominent in industry and trade.
The Nazi Era
Munich, a Nazi stronghold during the Weimar Republic, was the birthplace of the Nazi Party (in 1920). Jewish students were attacked at the university, and Jewish candidates for teaching positions were rejected on racial grounds. After the Beer Hall Putsch of November 1923, Jews were assaulted in public. One hundred and eighty Eastern European Jewish families were expelled from the city. In 1930, Munich became the national headquarters of the Nazi Party. Nevertheless, Munich’s Jewish community numbered more than 9,000 members in 1933, and continued to offer an array of religious and cultural opportunities. A Jewish public school, established in 1924, had an enrollment of 132 children in 1932/33; a Talmud Torah school enrolled 793 students that same year. The community also maintained a variety of social services, including an old-age home, summer camps, children’s homes and kindergartens, welfare organizations, employment agencies and vocational schools. Cultural associations were active in Munich, as were branches of nation-wide Jewish organizations. The community’s outstanding library included an extensive collection of Hebrew manuscripts. Under Nazi rule, Jews were persecuted and rapidly deprived of their rights. Anti-Jewish boycotts were aggressively enforced by the SA and Hitler Youth: businesses were “aryanized,” Jews were arrested and sent to Dachau and, in June/July of 1938, the central synagogue on Herzog Max Strasse was demolished on Hitler’s orders. Fifty Jews were indicted on charges of racial defilement. Goebbels’ famous anti-Semitic speech, held in Munich on November 9, 1938, triggered Pogrom Night. In Munich alone, synagogues, prayer rooms, the Jewish library and other facilities were destroyed. Jewish homes and businesses were damaged and looted, and store windows were smashed. Approximately 1, 000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to Dachau. In May 1939, all Polish Jews were expelled from the city. Between 1933 and 1938, a total of 3,574 Jews left Munich. Another 803 died in the city. By the fall of 1941, local Jews had been evicted from approximately 1,500 apartments. Often subjected to forced labor, many were forced to build the Milbertshofen Ghetto, about four miles from Munich. Four hundred and fifty Jews were sent to live there in 1941, and the ghetto also served as a transit camp. Three hundred Munich Jews were brought to the Berg-am-Leim Ghetto. Between November 1941 and February 1945, 42 transports deported 2,991 Munich Jews to Riga, Piaski, Auschwitz and Theresienstadt. At least 2,804 local Jews perished in the Shoah.
After World War II
A new Jewish community was founded in Munich in July 1945, and the reconstructed synagogue on Reichenbachstrasse opened for services in 1947. (It was Munich’s central synagogue until 2006). As a result of the immigration to Germany of Eastern European Jews during the 1990s, the community grew to about 11,000 members (in 2006). In 2006/07, a new synagogue building, community center and Jewish museum were opened on Jakobsplatz. Three memorial stones commemorate the destroyed community: the first, unveiled in 1969, stands on the site of the old central synagogue; the second commemorates the Ohel Jakob Synagogue; and the third memorializes those who suffered at the Milbertshofen transit camp.
Author / Sources: Heidemarie Wawrzyn
Sources: AJ, EJL, FJG, GJ, LJG, SIA, PK-BAV
www.rijo.homepage.t-online.de/pdf/en_de_ju_sky40200.pdf
Sources: AJ, EJL, FJG, GJ, LJG, SIA, PK-BAV
www.rijo.homepage.t-online.de/pdf/en_de_ju_sky40200.pdf
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