The Jewish Community of Würzburg before the Holocaust

The first Jews arrived in Würzburg at the end of the 11th century, apparently after having fled from the Rhine communities, which had been severely damaged by the persecutions of the Jews in the First Crusade in 1096. During the 12th century Würzburg housed an important and prosperous Jewish community, but it suffered the same fate as other South German Jewish communities during the persecutions of the Second Crusade: in 1147 crusaders murdered some 20 Jews, among them the community’s three rabbis. The bishop of Würzburg tried in vain to protect the Jews of the city, and following the...

Despite the rising antisemitic sentiment in Bavaria in the wake of the First World War, in 1919 four Jews were elected to the city council in Würzburg. Among them was Felix Freudenberger, who was elected mayor. The Jews of Würzburg were also active in other civic institutions. Wilhelm Kahn, for example, served on the city council for 22 years, and was also head of the wine traders union in Lower Franconia.

Most of the primary school aged Jewish children attended the Governmental Jewish Primary School in Würzburg, which was run by Aaron Mandelbaum, who taught there from 1886 up to the Nazi period. The school also took in Jewish children from nearby communities. In 1931 the Jewish school from the nearby town of Höchberg, which held six classes, was transferred to Würzburg. In 1932 the "Association for Jewish Schooling" was founded in Würzburg – its goal was to improve the curriculum and renovate the school. Almost half of the Jewish boys, and a quarter of Jewish girls, who attended...

In 1856 a Jewish primary school was opened in Würzburg; by 1877 it had 170 students, and suffered from a lack of teachers for the religious subjects. To solve this problem Rabbi Isaac Dov HaLevi Bamberger, together with four other Bavarian rabbis, initiated the establishment of a seminary for Jewish teachers in Würzburg. They petitioned the Bavarian Government on the matter, and a detailed plan for the institution was sent to the king. In 1864 the Teachers Seminary opened, providing its first 12 students with dormitory facilities. A year later the number of students had nearly doubled, reaching...

The rabbinate of Würzburg was responsible for 18 communities. From 1920, Rabbi Dr. Sigmund (Shimon) Hanover was chief rabbi of the district. The chairman of the committee of the Jewish community was Gershon Haas; his deputies were Ignaz Rindskopf and Sigmund Seligsberger. They served the community, and tried to represent it as best they could even during the Nazi period.