Duisburg, Germany

A small Jewish community apparently existed in Duisburg in the 12th century. The community was completely destroyed in the Black Death persecutions of 1348-49. During the 18th century, there were never more than three extended Jewish families in the city. In addition, as many as 21 Jews studied at Duisburg University. A synagogue was dedicated in 1793. Although in 1806, under Napoleon, the Jews were accorded civil rights, replacing the old letters of protection, Jewish commerce was in fact restricted by Napoleon himself. With the return of Prussian rule, anti-Jewish discrimination was reinstated. Antisemitic outbursts occurred in the Hep! Hep! riots of 1819 and in 1885, with the general flare-up of antisemitic agitation in Germany. The Jewish population, which grew from 70 in 1827 to 307 in 1880 and 1,554 in 1910, never exceeded 1% of the general population. In the first half of the 19th century, most new Jewish settlers arrived from neighboring towns and villages; by the end of the century, most came from Poland. Economic conditions for the Jews improved somewhat in the early 19th century. Most engaged in petty trade and peddling. Some were butchers or dealt in cattle and hides; others entered light industry. The Samuel Meir & Levi Co. manufactured cotton goods and Philip Politz contributed to the development of the modem steamship and railway services vital to the region's industry and mining. On the whole, however, the community remained poor. A new synagogue was consecrated in 1828. The local cemetery was opened in 1823 and a private Jewish school began to operate in 1824 under Prussia's compulsory education law, and it was finally closed in 1876. In 1905, the city became Greater Duisburg, uniting Duisburg and Ruhrort. A new Jewish school opened in 1927 to serve both communities. The community's first and only rabbi, Dr. Mannes Neumark of Poznan, was appointed in 1904 and served until the Nazi era. The Zionists became active in 1903. The first Jewish youth group (Juedischer Jugendbund) was founded in 1906 with the declared aim of preparing the young for the fight against antisemitism. During WWI, many Jews arrived from Poland as laborers, bringing the number of East European Jews in Greater Duisburg up to 1,500 in 1920. By 1925, the Jewish population of the city was 2,080. Mostly Orthodox, the East European Jews had their own synagogue and in 1926 opened a talmud torah financed by Agudat Israel. Most Jews engaged in trade, a few operated big department stores, while others were butchers and artisans. A few belonged to the professional class (doctors, lawyers, engineers). During the Weimar period, there were about 30 community and social organizations, some of a political and cultural nature, others providing extensive charitable and welfare services. Hehalutz began operating in 1925 but only became a significant force after 1933. WIZO and Tze'irei Mizrachi were also active in the late 1920s. The most important youth group in the city was Habonim, which attracted many of the East European Jews in the city and offered Hebrew instruction and promoted pioneer settlement in Palestine. Also associated with the East European Jews were the left-wing Zionist political parties Po'alei Zion and Ha-Po'el ha-Tza'ir, which united in 1932. The Jewish population of Duisburg (including the independent communities of Hamborn and Ruhrort) was 2,560 (total 440,419) in 1933. Anti-Jewish agitation commenced before the official 1 April Boycott Day. Jewish merchants, particularly East Europeans, were accused of Communist ties and attacked. Jewish judges, lawyers, and doctors were gradually pushed out of their professions. Municipal workers were threatened with dismissal if they patronized Jewish stores and Jewish butchers were denied the use of the municipal slaughterhouse. In July 1937, the communities of Duisburg (with 902 Jews remaining), Hamborn (348), and Ruhrort (155) were united. The Central Union ceased its operations in November 1937 but the Zionists intensified theirs as aliya became a means of escape from Nazi Germany. In the 1934-38 period, an average of 185 students attended the Jewish school. An additional class for 14-16-year-olds was opened in 1935 to prepare them for emigration. Pupils were taught Hebrew and English, bookkeeping, and technical drawing while girls studied homemaking and handicrafts. Others studied at the Yavne school in Cologne, the only Jewish secondary school in the Rhineland and Westphalia. The Duisburg school closed down in June 1942. Jewish cultural life was maintained through the Jewish Cultural Association (Juedischer Kulturbund). The social and economic isolation of the Jews continued with the passage of the Nuremberg Laws in August 1935. Jews were dismissed from their jobs and pressured into liquidating their businesses. In November 1935, 89 Jewish business establishments were still operating in the city. In October 1938, 140 Jews with Polish citizenship were expelled to the Polish border. On Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938), the synagogue was set on fire; 40 Jewish homes and 25 Jewish stores were destroyed; the furnishings in the community center and Jewish school were vandalized; Jews were beaten; and 23 were sent to the Dachau concentration camp. In early December 1938, a group of children was brought to Holland in a Kindertransport. Some later reached England and thus survived the war. In May 1939, the Jewish population of Duisburg numbered 809. The remaining Jews were crowded into 11 "Jewish houses." Between 1941-42 they were deported to the ghettoes and to the death camps. The transport to the Riga ghetto on 11 December 1941 involved a journey of 61 hours in subfreezing weather without food. Of those earmarked for the ghetto there, just 3% survived. On 25 July 1942, 127 local Jews were sent to Theresienstadt in a transport of 980 from the region. Few remained in the city after that date. Dr. Kaufmann, the last community head, was kept behind "to liquidate the last traces of Jewish property." He was arrested on 23 June 1943 and murdered with his wife at Auschwitz.