Gera, Germany

There is evidence of sporadic settlement as well as expulsion of Jews from Gera since the 14th century. A synagogue is known to have existed in 1502. A sizable Jewish population began to develop only in the late 19th century, increasing rapidly owing to the influx of Jews from Eastern Europe. A community was formally founded in 1885 and in 1895, there were 90 Jews in Gera, engaged mostly in commerce. Hermann Tietz and his nephew Oskar Tietz, who came to Gera in 1882, were the founders of a chain of department stores all over Germany. The Jewish population grew from 50 in 1900 to 519 in 1925 (0.6% of the total). With the Nazi rise to power in 1933, many Jews emigrated and the Jewish population dropped to 378. Forced "Aryanization” of Jewish businesses began here as early 1933 and in 1934 the Tietz concern was forced to sell out. In October 1938, all Jews who had Polish citizenship were deported to Poland. On Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938), the two synagogues in Gera were vandalized and one destroyed, 36 Jewish men were arrested, and the Jewish shops were closed down. In 1939, only 77 Jews remained in Gera. They were deported to death camps during the war.