Hamburg, Germany

Hamburg, Free Hanseatic city, Germany The first Jews arrived from Portugal in 1575, conceivably as forced converts (anusim) and as part of the wave of exiled Jews dispersing throughout Europe. They were accorded residence rights and allowed to bury their dead in neighboring Altona. Jews contributed significantly to the economic development of the city, particularly in strengthening the links of the Hanseatic League with Spain and Portugal and their overseas colonies. The Ashkenazi community dates from at least the early 17th century, the first Hochdeutsche Juden, as they were called, coming from Altona, especially to seek shelter during the Thirty Years War (1618-48). The Ashkenazim were active in trade, mostly in Germany itself, dealing in gold, precious stones, tobacco, and wool as well as in moneylending. In the mid-18th century, the Ashkenazi community began to surpass the Portuguese community in wealth and influence. Local hostility continued to be a factor in the community's life but there were occasional violent outbursts directed against the Jews, often brought on by economic crisis. The Portuguese Jews were authorized to erect a synagogue in 1668 by the mayor of Hamburg. The Ashkenazi community consecrated its first synagogue in 1654. A new synagogue was consecrated in 1790. In 1671 the three communities of Hamburg, Altona, and Wandsbek united into a single congregation which lasted until the early 19th century. With the influence of Haskala making itself felt in the 19th century the Jews of Hamburg now turned to the struggle for Emancipation. Though equal rights were accorded to the Jews under French law in the Napoleonic era, the Jew Laws of 1710 were again invoked by the Congress of Vienna. In 1842, after a devastating fire, property-holding restrictions were lifted by the senate in the hope that Jews would contribute to the rehabilitation of stricken areas of Hamburg. By 1852, about 600 Jews had also been granted citizenship in the city. Further legislation, which came into force in September 1860, stipulated full religious freedom and liberty of conscience. The Jewish population rose in the state of Hamburg from 6,429 in 1811 (total 132,007) to 13,796 in 1871 and 17,877 (total 622,530) in 1890. A Reform congregation was founded in 1817, consecrating a Temple in 1818. A second Temple was completed in 1844. An Orthodox Central Synagogue was dedicated in 1859, and the Orthodox talmud torah was founded in 1805. A second Jewish school, the Israelitisehe Freischule, founded in 1815, taught Hebrew, German, and secular and commercial subjects along with its religious instruction. The Hamburg community was the first in Germany to make membership in it voluntary in November 1864. The community became henceforth renowned for its system of separation of religious matters from the other communal functions, thus enabling Orthodox, Reform, and non-observant Jews to be part of the same community. Jewish industrial enterprise continued to expand in the latter half of the 19th century, including the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, metal products, sewing machines and chemicals. The Jewish shipping industry also continued to flourish. Full emancipation in the German empire allowed Jews to branch out as retailers. The community's growth rate leveled off as the Jewish population reached a figure of 18,947 in 1910 (less than 2% of the total). One factor in the decline was the growing rate of intermarriage, reaching 24% in 1900-10. In addition to local organizations, the Central Union (C.V.) operated a branch from 1910, reaching a membership of 1,500 within four years. The Zionists were active from 1885, when an Ahavat Zion society was founded. The Ninth Zionist Congress convened in the city in 1909, the first and last to be held in Germany. Anti-Zionist Orthodox forces were organized in the Moriah Society and Agudat Israel. In all, 136 Jewish organizations were active in Hamburg before WW1. In the early years of the Weimar Republic, Jews remained active in politics, but after 1929, no Jews remained in the local senate. Economically, Jews continued to dominate the textile trade, were also prominent as grain merchants and owned over half the city's banks in 1923. Intermarriage continued to climb, from 30% in 1927 to 39% in 1933. Demographically, about 2,000 or nearly 10% of the Jews were of East European origin. Only about 20% of Jewish adults were affiliated to a synagogue organization. The Zionists continued to be active, particularly Mizrachi. Hehalutz began to operate in the early 1920s. In June 1933, after the Nazis came to power, the Jewish population of Hamburg was 16,973 (total 1.2 million). Soon, violent incidents proliferated. Windows in the Central Synagogue and Jewish stores were smashed and Jews began to be harassed in their homes, and a campaign was launched to push Jews out of their jobs. Jewish lawyers lost their licenses and Jewish doctors were banned from working. The wave of dismissals soon spread to the private sector as well. However the general boycott organized by the Nazis on 1 April was only partially successful. In 1935, demonstrations were organized against Jewish businesses. This had the desired effect and in 1935-37, 1,600 Jewish businesses changed hands, i.e., were "Aryanized”. In 1937, the names of streets named after Jews were changed. In 1938, Jews were banned from public bathing facilities. In October of the same year, about 700 Jews from Hamburg and Altona were among the 12,000 Jews of Polish origin expelled from Germany. On Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938), Jewish synagogues and stores were vandalized, windows were shattered, and prayer books and Torah scrolls torn and burned. In addition, 910 Jews were arrested and sent to the Fuhlsbüttel concentration camp. Hehalutz made efforts to prepare Jews for Aliya through Hebrew courses and agricultural training. Zionist activity intensified but other organizations as well like the Central Union (C.V.) and Agudat Israel, also stepped up their work. For those who remained behind the community organized extensive welfare services, including vocational retraining to enable Jews to find new jobs after being dismissed. In 1934 a Jewish Society for the Arts and Sciences (renamed in 1935 Jüdischer Kulturbund) was founded, putting on theater and musical productions. After the pogrom, new anti-Jewish measures were introduced, including a ban on attending cultural events and final expulsion from schools and universities. Jewish organizations were also dismantled and most of the synagogues ceased their activities. Emigration was now stepped up, with an estimated 4,000-5,000 leaving Hamburg in 1938-41. Most remaining Jews were required to move to a limited number of "Jewish houses" under community management. Following emigration, the age structure of the community altered radically, with 71.6% of the remaining Jews 60 years old or more by May 1942 and just 76 children in the community's Jewish schools. Deportations commenced on 25 October 1941. In August 1942, 1,792 Jews remained in the city. In April 1945, the Gestapo reported 647 Jews remaining. In all, of the 5,848 Jews deported directly from Hamburg, 5,296 perished, and many more died under a variety of circumstances, bringing the total number of victims up to 8,877. Only a handful of Jews were to be found in Hamburg at the time of its liberation. From June 1945 on, a stream of concentration camp survivors began to arrive. The community was reconstituted on 18 September 1945. In 1960 the community dedicated a new synagogue, growing to some 1,400 members in the mid-1970s.