Frankfurt, Germany: a trade and financial center with Jewish history

Jewish History in Frankfurt

Documents indicate that the Jewish population of Frankfurt went back at least to 1150, probably earlier. But it was not a continuous settlement. In 1241 the first documented pogrom slaughtered all 200 members of the community. With few other good options, another Jewish community tried again.

Almost 100 years later, in 1349, another pogrom resulted in 150 people murdered. The rest agreed to be baptized. Once again, the Jewish community was wiped out.

Still another Jewish community was formed. But less than one hundred years later, in 1464, the Archbishop of Mainz with the complicity of Emperor Frederick III called for the creation of the Jewish ghetto. The gates into the area were locked at night, on Sundays, and Christian holidays.

It wasn’t until early 1800s that the Jews were allowed to live in other parts of Frankfurt.

But the flourishing community was not safe. When the National Socialists (Nazis) came to power, more than 10,000 Jews living in Frankfurt were deported to the camps and murdered. Of the four Frankfurt synagogues only one still exists. Read more at JewishVirtualLibrary.org

Today, Frankfurt has a Jewish population, kosher supermarkets and even facilities for kosher catering. There’s a restored synagogue with a vibrant outreach program providing courses and information open to any and all.

Exploring Jewish Frankfurt

The major Jewish sites are set up more for German-speaking visitors with accommodations made for English speaking tourists. My guide for the journey through Jewish history was the knowledgeable, patient, and totally excellent Elisabeth Luecke.

Museum Judengasse

Start with life in the Jewish ghetto at the Museum Judengasse. Located at Börneplatz, it is a branch of the Jewish Museum centered around the foundations of five houses of the former Judengasse (Jewish street or lane). The artifacts document the history of the street, its inhabitants and buildings for a period of over 300 years of ghetto living.

While the Jewish community grew in size, the space available was fixed at about 330 meters long (just over 1/4 mile). As the community grew houses had to be divided and subdivided into ever smaller quarters. By end of the 18th century between 2,200 and 3,000 people lived in the Juddengasse.

Wealth didn’t matter. The Rothschilds lived in the ghetto along with the rest of the Jewish community, although their financial position made it possible for them to live in a more spacious dwelling.

A strip outside the building outlines the width of some of these houses. There were no street numbers in Frankfurt at the time so the houses were known by names. Goldenes Schaf (Golden Sheep) was one such house, and the photo in the slides show how narrow it was. You can see the beginnings of the next house on the right side of the photo.

Visitors who had friends or family who once lived in Frankfurt will want to visit the documentation center and library with its database names and biographies of the Frankfurt Jews known to have been deported and murdered. The museum website also has a wealth of information on the Judengasse.

As you walk along the street you may come across a welter of lined up street signs. These indicate the change in name given to the area once known as the Judenmarkt.

Old Jewish Cemetery and the Memorial at Neuer Borneplatz

Over 11,000 stone blocks integrated in the cemetery wall contain the names of all of the deported and killed Jews of Frankfurt.

The old cemetery itself is Frankfurt’s oldest remaining graveyard, in use from the 13th century to 1828. Most of the gravestones were destroyed by the Nazis who used them to repair roads. Some have been recovered but there is no money available for restoration and they are simply piled up in the middle of the cemetery. Tombstones of important members of the community or of historic interest were taken to safety. If it was not possible to return these gravestone to the proper burial site so the markers were placed along side the interior of the cemetery wall.

Jewish Museum

The story of the Jews of eastern Europe was one of repeated atrocities, lies and murderous pogroms. The Jewish Museum itself. Jewish Museum depicts this history without flinching. It is not easy for those of Jewish heritage to see it, but it was far worse to experience it, and far more dangerous to pretend it didn't happen.

The museum is more set up as educational outreach - to educate visitors about Jewish life and history. The exhibits are almost all in German, but English-speaking visitors can ask to borrow the large and complete looseleaf notebook that translates all the panels. There are also sections of the full version available at the specific exhibits.

Because of its goal to inform, there are exhibits on religious life and practices that counteract centuries of slander. The role of the church in the persecution of the Jews is documented, as is the cycle of using the Jewish community as a cash cow for the rulers and scapegoat during times of economic hardship. When the economy soured, the assets of the community was seized, and the members slaughtered. The rationale was the religious crimes and practices. Those images are also part of the museum exhibits and they are not for the faint-hearted. And they can bring visitors to tears. It is also clear that the behavior of the National Socialists different in scope and intensity, but was in fact a direct continuation of the hatred and lies that plagued the Jews across Europe for centuries.

Westend Synagogue

Today, Frankfurt has a growing Jewish community. The synagogue, located on Freiherr-som-Stein-Strasse, also includes a night school open to the entire Frankfurt community - regardless of religion. It offers courses focused on Jewish-related subjects including religious festivals, kosher cooking, and language classes for Yiddish and Hebrew.

For a complete and excellent guide to Jewish sights, and sites in Germany read ComeToGermany.com - Jewish Traveler

Leave enough time to enjoy some of the other aspects of Frankfurt. This walkable city beckons with its sophistication and plentiful attractions. For more information on visiting Frankfurt go to Frankfurt-Tourismus.de