Fuerth, Germany

The Jews present in the 15th century were apparently expelled and a new community was founded in the first half of the 16th under the protection of the margrave George the Pious. The proximity of the settlement to the commercial center of Nuremberg and the rivalry between the Protestant nobility of Ansbach and the Catholic bishops of Bamberg enabled the development of the Jewish community, which became the largest in Bavaria and one of the most important in Germany. The Jews of Fuerth were restricted primarily to money lending and citizenship in the town was denied to them. A synagogue (the "Altschule") was built in 1617 when the Jewish population stood at around 1,500. The Jews fled temporarily in the Thirty Years War (1618-1648). After the war the community continued its growth under the protection of the bishop of Bamberg and founded the first Jewish hospital in Germany. Many refugees arrived from Vienna in 1670 after the expulsion there, including members of the well-known Fraenkel family. At the end of the 17th century Fuerth had five synagogues and its prayer rite spread throughout most of south Germany. Numerous Jewish printing presses also operated in Fuerth from the late 17th century. In this period, the Jewish community enjoyed a unique legal status in Germany, including civil rights and broad autonomy. In 1880 the Jewish population reached a peak of 3,330 (total 31,063). With the completion of the emancipation in Germany and the growth of new Jewish population centers, Fuerth lost its special position and its Jewish population began to decline, numbering 2,504 in 1925 and 1,990 in 1933 (total 77,135). In 1933 the community operated seven synagogues, a community center, numerous welfare agencies, and branches of national organizations like the Central Union (CV), the Jewish Cultural Association (Juedischer Kulturbund), the Zionist Organization with the Hehalutz youth movement, and Agudat Israel. Jews owned 220 of the city's 720 business establishments. Already in 1933 there were frequent anti-Semitic out-bursts, with mass arrests and beatings by the SA. In October 1938, all Jews without citizenship papers (i.e., East Europeans) were expelled from Fuerth. On “Kristallnacht” (9-10 November 1938), most community buildings were destroyed by the SA along with Jewish stores. The Jews were dragged out of their beds in the middle of the night and held in the city square; 150 of the men were then sent to the Dachau concentration camp after severe beatings. Between 1933 and 1941, 1,400 Jews managed to leave Fuerth, many to the U.S. and Shanghai. The liquidation of the community commenced on 28 November 1941 when 83 Jews were deported to the Riga ghetto. Another 224, almost all the remaining Jews under the age of 65, were sent to lzbica in the Lublin district (Poland) on 24 March 1942. On 10 September 1942, 153 of the sick and old and the children at the orphanage were expelled to Theresienstadt. In all, 504 Jews were deported through the end of 1943. After the war about 40 Jews returned, forming a new community that numbered 200 in 1970.