Pforzheim, Germany

The 13th century Jewish community was victimized in a blood libel in 1267. The Jews also suffered in the Black Death persecutions of 1348-49. Few Jews were present in Pforzheim until the 17th century. In 1614, they were expelled together with all the Jews of Baden-Durlach and only began to settle again in 1670. In the late 1760s, Jews were among the founders of the gold and jewelry industry that brought prosperity to the city. However, all through the 19th century the Jews were subjected to local agitation aimed at curtailing their economic activity. In the early 19th century, a number of special taxes and disabilities were discontinued and Jews were permitted to purchase farmland. Toward the end of the 19th century most of the Jews were well off, owning banks and department stores as well as factories. A new synagogue was built in 1892, equipped with an organ in keeping with the community's Reform and assimilationist tendencies. By 1910 the community had grown to 766 (total 69,066) and by 1927 to a peak of 1,000. After WWI, community life expanded, with the Zionists becoming active. An Adass Jeshurun congregation of 20 families was formed by Orthodox Jews of East European origin. From the 1920s on, anti-Semitism became rampant. At the outset of the Nazi era, the Jewish population was 770. Persecution and the economic boycott were soon intensified. In March 1933, 18 Jewish families of Polish origin were expelled to the Polish border. Jews were dismissed from the public service and in 1935 a number of Jews were arrested for "racial defilement". The remaining East European Jews were expelled on 28 October 1938 and on “Kristallnacht” (9-10 November 1938), Jews were beaten, Jewish stores were looted, and the synagogue was set on fire. Twenty-three Jewish men were sent to the Dachau concentration camp. On 22 October 1940, 183 were deported to the Gurs concentration camp where 20 died; 50 perished in Auschwitz and 66 in other camps; 46 survived the Holocaust. The 51 Jews remaining in Pforzheim were deported mainly to lzbica (Poland) and to the Theresienstadt ghetto; 17 survived. The community formed after the war numbered 120 in 1976.