Ulm Donau, Germany

Jews settled in the first half of the 13th century, engaging mostly in money lending and occupying a Jewish quarter where a synagogue was maintained. In 1349 the quarter was stormed by rioters after a well-poisoning libel. The small community was expelled in 1499. Settlement was only renewed in 1782, but anti-Jewish feeling kept it from developing until after the 1848 revolution. In 1857 it was recognized as an independent community and in 1873 a splendid synagogue was inaugurated. Jews engaged in the textile trade and were represented in the professional class. They were also active in public life, with representatives in the chamber of commerce, city council, and Wurttemberg parliament. By 1880 the Jewish population stood at 694 (total 32,773). Under the Weimar Republic, anti-Semitism was rekindled, becoming virulent in the Nazi era as persecution intensified. In October 1938, 17 Jews with Polish citizenship were deported. On “Kristallnacht” (9-10 November 1938), the synagogue was burned, Jews were beaten, and Jewish stores were looted. Of the 530 Jews in Ulm in 1933, 331 emigrated by 1941. The rest were expelled, many ending their days in the Theresienstadt ghetto. After the war a refugee camp for 1,000-1,200 Displaced Jews was set up near the city and a small Jewish community reestablished.