Step back in time. What if these stones could talk? The story of Stuttgart’s Synagoge is one of resilience. It is a testament to a community that faced immense challenges. Let’s delve into the story of this sacred place.
Jews lived in Stuttgart as early as the 13th century. This early community had a synagogue and a cemetery. The Black Death pogroms of 1348 and the expulsion of 1488 decimated the medieval Jewish community. Influential court Jews like Joseph Suess Oppenheimer still lived in Stuttgart.
In 1806, other Jews were permitted to resettle in Stuttgart. The community officially founded in 1831 became Wuerttemberg’s central Jewish community. Stuttgart became the headquarters of a district rabbinate in 1834. Services were held in prayer halls until 1861. Local Jews then inaugurated a Reform synagogue at 36 Hospitalstrasse. Weekday services were in a prayer hall at the community center.
Orthodox Jews in Stuttgart founded an Adas Jeschurn association and prayer hall in 1878. Two Eastern European Jewish societies established prayer halls in the early 1900s. One was Esras Achim at 5 Marienstrasse. The other was Linath Hazedek at 13 Kasernenstrasse.
The community maintained a school for religious studies. Cemeteries were consecrated in 1834, 1874, and in the 1930s. Paul Rieger and Heinemann Auerbach served as rabbis in 1933. Many Jewish associations were active in the city that year. Otto Hirsch was appointed chairman of the Reich’s Deputation of the German Jews in 1933.
The Bad Cannstatt Jews became affiliated with the Stuttgart community in 1935. Stuttgart’s Orthodox Jews inaugurated a prayer hall at 30 Gartenstrasse in June 1938. The Hospitalstrasse Synagoge was burned down on Pogrom Night. Torah scrolls and ritual objects were destroyed. Jewish homes and businesses were severely damaged. 800 men were arrested and abused before being sent to camps. The Orthodox teacher and his family committed suicide.
In 1939, Jews still living in Stuttgart were forcibly moved into designated houses. Able-bodied Jews were taken for forced labor in 1940. Jewish public worship was outlawed in 1941. Approximately 1,342 local Jews emigrated between 1933 and 1937. Many others emigrated after 1937.
Forty-four Stuttgart Jews committed suicide. 14 died in prisons and camps. 611 were deported to Riga, Izbica, Auschwitz, and Theresienstadt. Otto Hirsch was among the victims. At least 1,200 Stuttgart Jews perished in the Shoah.
In 1948, Stuttgart’s new Jewish community was founded. They established a prayer hall at 26 Reinsburgstrasse. The community built a new house of worship in 1952. It was built on the site of the former synagogue. Several memorials have been erected in the city to commemorate the Jews of Stuttgart.
The Synagoge stands as a reminder of Stuttgart’s complex past. It symbolizes hope. It is a place of reflection. It honors those who were lost. It celebrates the enduring spirit of the Jewish community in Stuttgart.