Beneath an unassuming facade lies a tale of resilience. Our story focuses on Erfurt’s enduring Jewish legacy. Erfurt was recently designated by UNESCO as a world heritage site. UNESCO recognized three buildings in Erfurt’s city center as world heritage sites. These are the Old Synagogue, the Mikveh, and the Stone House. These monuments illustrate the life of the local Jewish community. They reflect its coexistence with a Christian majority in Central Europe during the Middle Ages.
Jews began settling in Erfurt in the 800s. By the late 1000s, the Jewish community boasted a synagogue and mikveh. Erfurt became a center of Jewish scholarship. Jews from throughout the area traveled to study with Erfurt’s renown rabbis. The oldest manuscript in existence of the Tosefta was written by Erfurt scholars during the Middle Ages.
Local Christians repeatedly turned on Jews. One of the worst spasms of violence occurred on July 26, 1221. Local Christians massacred Jews in Erfurt. Between 26 and 86 Jews were murdered. For years, Erfurt’s Jews observed a fast to commemorate the victims.
In 1998, the Erfurt Horde was discovered. It was buried under the wall of a stone cellar in Erfurt’s old Jewish quarter. It likely contains the wealth of several Jewish families. There were over 3000 silver coins, 14 silver ingots, and 600 items of jewelry. There were also silver kiddush cups, a cosmetic case, and some clothing.
In 1348, tensions boiled over. The Black Death had been sickening people for over 30 years. Jews were blamed for spreading the disease. Locals accused Jews of poisoning Christian wells. On March 21, 1348, mobs attacked Erfurt’s Jewish quarter. Estimates range from 900 to over 3000 dead. Erfurt’s city council seized Jewish property. Erfurt’s synagogue was turned into a storehouse.
Jews returned to Erfurt scarcely a year later. Thousands of Jews moved to the city. They expanded the Jewish areas and built a new synagogue. Yet Erfurt’s anti-Jewish sentiment became increasingly codified. Jews were ordered to wear special clothes to distinguish themselves. Jewish women were prohibited from wearing jewelry. Erfurt’s Jews had to pay exorbitant taxes. Despite the prejudice, Erfurt’s Jews thrived. Erfurt became noted for its Jewish scholarship.
Hatred for Jews reached a head in the early 1450s. The city council revoked Jews’ right to live in the city in 1450. For the next 254 years, no Jew was allowed to reside in Erfurt. The synagogue was turned into an armory.
Jews were allowed back into Erfurt after the Napoleonic Wars. The first Jew to move into Erfurt was David Solomon Unger in 1804. The new Jewish community built the Great Synagogue. In 1932, census records show 1290 Jews living in Erfurt.
With the election of Hitler in 1933, many Jews fled Erfurt. Those who remained watched locals burn the town synagogue on Kristallnacht in 1938. They attacked hundreds of Jews. Starting in September 1941, all the Jews who still lived in Erfurt were deported to Nazi death camps.
After the Holocaust, few Jews remained in Germany. In 1946, 120 Jewish Holocaust survivors moved to Erfurt. They established the largest Jewish community in East Germany after Berlin. The New Synagogue was built in 1952 on the site of the destroyed Great Synagogue.
After 1990, Jews from the former Soviet Union poured into Germany. The city’s New Synagogue is the heart of Jewish life. Now that UNESCO has recognized Erfurt’s Jewish history, local Jews hope tourists will visit. They want people to learn more about Erfurt’s long Jewish history and its thriving Jewish life today.