Bielefeld, Germany

Jewish settlement dates from at least 1345 but the community was destroyed in the Black Death persecutions of 1348-49. Jews again settled in 1370. A Jewish cemetery was opened in the early 1660s and a synagogue and mikve in the late 17th century. Jewish trade continued to flourish in the early 19th century; 23 of the 28 Jewish breadwinners were merchants. Many women were active in family businesses. Towards the end of the 19th century, most working single women were employed as salesladies. Jews also set up textile plants. Most Jews belonged to the middle and upper classes, enjoying a higher standard of living than the rest of the local population. The Jewish population rose from 184 in 1821 to 653 in 1880 and 793 (total 63,016) in 1900. Jews were active in public life from the 1840s, becoming members of the municipal council. The community was distinctly Liberal in its religious outlook. The number of converts among the Jews was relatively high (totaling nearly 10% of the community in 1845) as was the percentage of mixed marriages (six of the 11 Jewish weddings in 1908). An Orthodox minority continued to exist. In 1925, in the Weimar period, the Jewish population reached a peak of 883. Jews continued to play a dominant role in the textile industry and were also prominent in the legal profession, comprising 21% of the city's lawyers. Over half the Jews engaged in trade. With the Nazi rise to power, measures were immediately instituted to remove the Jews from economic and public life. Boycotts were directed against Jewish doctors and lawyers as well as Jewish businesses. Jewish incomes dropped sharply and in 1935 numerous Jewish businesses were sold. Nonetheless, the rate of emigration in the first years of Nazi rule was well below the national average. Most of these Jews left for neighboring countries. The community organized help for emigrants as well as vocational retraining through the Regional Bureau for Jewish Economic Relief (Provinzialstelle fuer Juedische Wirtschaftshilfe). Zionist activity among the young was also expanded. Hebrew and other courses were organized. On 28-29 Oct. 1938, at least 11-13 Jews of East European origin were expelled, leaving a total Jewish population of about 500. On Kristallnacht, the synagogue was burned and at least 18 Jewish stores were vandalized. About 40-50 Jewish men were arrested, most of them shopkeepers. About 30 were sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp, where they were kept for some months. By January 1939 only four Jewish businesses were still open. By May-June these too were "Aryanized". Jews were now increasingly mobilized for forced labor. The remaining Jews were moved to at least 19 "Jews houses," with another 48 managing to emigrate until the ban on emigration on 23 October 1941. The community started a Jewish school for 17 Jewish students in September 1939. A Jewish old age home housed another 20-30 Jews. A camp, holding an average of 75 nonresident Jews engaged in forced labor, was also set up. In fall 1941, 400 Jews were left in the city in addition to another 100 in mixed marriages. Deportations began in late 1941, including 431 Jews in seven transports: 88 to the Riga ghetto on 13 December; 45 to the Warsaw ghetto or to the Lublin district (Poland) on 31 March 1942; 32 to an unknown destination (perhaps Minsk or Trostynets) on 8-11 July; 145 to the Theresienstadt ghetto on 31 July (mostly elderly Jews); 84 to Auschwitz on 2 March 1943 (including about 63 from the forced labor camp); 29 to Theresienstadt on 12 May; and eight to Theresienstadt on 28 June. Subsequently another 20 were deported in small groups and on 19 September 1944, 30-40 Jews in mixed marriages were deported to Zeitz and Elben. At least 509 Jews perished in the Holocaust. In the satellite community of Brackwede, 13 of the 20 Jews there emigrated. A community of 50-60 survivors was established after the war, with a synagogue and community center dedicated in 1963. In the 1980s, about 30 Jews remained.