Dortmund, Germany

Dortmund Westphalia, Germany. Transient Jewish merchants were present in the late 11th cent, but per¬manent Jewish settlement only began in the early 13th century. By mid century, there was an organized community with a synagogue. Jews engaged in money lending and were, for the most part, under the protection of the Counts of the Mark. In 1350, during the Black Death persecutions, the Jews were accused of poisoning wells, arrested, and expelled under an agreement between the Count of the Mark and the municipality to divide up their property. In 1372, the Jews were invited to return, so that the municipality might again benefit from their financial services. Ten protected Jewish families were present by 1380. The Jewish population dropped with the decline of the city as a political and economic force and by the mid 15th century no Jews remained. Residence rights were again accorded in 1543, but in 1596 the Jews were expelled, effectively ending Jewish settlement until the modern era. Only after equal rights were accorded to the Jews in the Grand Duchy of Berg in 1808 were residence restrictions lifted and merchants and peddlers living in nearby villages allowed to settle. In 1846, they comprised 38 families, In the mid¬ 19th century, with the accelerated economic and demographic development of the city, the situation of the community improved and its population began to expand rapidly, reaching a figure of 1,924 (total 142,733) in 1900. A synagogue was built in the mid 19th century; an organ introduced in 1870 testified to the Liberal character of the congregation. A new synagogue, one of the most beautiful in Germany and with a seating capacity of 1,200, was consecrated in 1900 Agudat Israel became active in 1914. The Zionist group active in 1899 was the earliest in Westphalia. In 1907, 62% of the Jews were engaged in trade and transport services; 23% in crafts and industry; and 5.2% belonged to the free professions. Jews took an active part in public life following emancipation, with three serving on the municipal council in 1910 and one serving as chairman of the local medical society. In the late 19th century, Dortmund became a focus of anti-Semitic propaganda in Westphalia. The anti-Semitic Westfaelische Reform was published there from 1882, attacking Jewish merchants and instigating occasional mob violence. In the Reichstag elections of 1890, the anti-Semites won 3% of the vote, Anti-Semitic outbursts were renewed after WWI against a background of economic crisis. During WWI, many East European Jews settled in Dortmund, representing a third of the Jewish population in 1925, which had now grown to 3,820. The old population comprised the middle class, mostly businessmen, but with some professionals, musicians, theater people, and artisans. The East European Jews constituted the lower class, living in rundown neighborhoods and earning meager livelihoods in petty trade, peddling, and crafts. In June 1933, four months after the Nazis came to power, the Jewish population numbered 4,108 (total 540,875). The new regime undertook a Nazification campaign in the municipality, eliminating Jews and opposition forces. During 1933, 217 Jews were arrested, including a few from other communities in the district. The economic boycott against the Jews was rigorously enforced with municipal institutions breaking off commercial ties with the Jews and shoppers staying away from Jewish stores. Agitation against Jewish businessmen was intensified in summer 1935, with boycott watches in front of Jewish stores and windows occasionally smashed. The community strove to sustain its members, organizing cultural and educational activities. The Jewish Cultural Association offered lectures in Jewish subjects and produced plays and concerts; The community also offered practical vocational training and courses in Hebrew and English. In 1934, the Palestine Office opened a local branch and, together with Hehalutz, organized emigration to Palestine. Welfare services brought financial relief to 800 Jews while the Jewish school, which also offered vocational training, accommodated 356 children in 1934 and 258 in February 1938. In July 1938, the municipality instituted proceedings to dismantle the Great Synagogue, a process which began on 3 October 1938, more than a month before Kristallnacht (9-10 November 1938). By August 1938, the community was reduced to 2,600, with 500 business establishments still operating. By October the number of Jewish businesses had been reduced by a further 144 and 600 Jews with Polish citizenship were expelled from the city. On Kristallnacht, Jewish homes and stores were wrecked along with the community center and wealthy Jews were forced to make "contributions" to their tormentors. Through 16 November, 600 Jews were arrested, most being sent to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Seventeen died there and others were released after meeting extortionate demands. Another 500 Jews fled the city after Kristallnacht, leaving 1,444 in May 1939. By September 1939, just 63 houses remained in Jewish hands. With another 200 Jews managing to leave after the outbreak of war, 1,222 remained in June 1941. These were left without rights, property, homes, or in¬come. Gradually they were confined to "Jew houses". Dortmund was a district concentration point for deportations to the east. Between 1942 and 1945, about 5,000 Jews, includ¬ing the Jews of Dortmund were deported. On 27 April 1942, the largest group of Jews from Dortmund, numbering 700-800, was deported to Zamosc in the Lublin district (Poland) and from there sent to the Belzec death camp. On 29 July 1942, 327 elderly people were deported to Theresienstadt. After the war, 40-50 survivors, mostly from the Theresienstadt ghetto, formed a new community, which grew to 420 in 1962, making it the largest in Westphalia. In the 1990s, Jews arriving from the former Soviet bloc created a community of 1,310 in 1993.