A History of the Jews in Bickenbach and Southern Hesse

Karl Schemel About this book t Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, the heroic memorial for the Holocaust, the memory of three Jewish fellow-citizensA from Bickenbach who were victims of the Nazi terror, lives on – Rosel Wolf, aged 12, and her parents, Benno and Settchen Wolf, were murdered in a camp in Minsk, Belorussia, in 1941 or 1942. This book, which is about the history of the Jews in Bickenbach and in southern Hesse, is dedicated to their memory. After intensive study and years of research, Karl Schemel, the author of the book and mayor of Bickenbach, has set out a lasting literary monument for the former Jewish citizens. Based on the earliest reports of Jewish life in Bickenbach, he reconstructs the history of the Jews in the region over the centuries, who found their terrible end in Nazi persecution. This book remembers the fate of many Jewish families from Bickenbach and neighbouring communities, drawing an impressive picture of the culture, religion and language of Jews of southern Hesse, and reminds us of still visible traces of Jewish history in the nearby region. Numerous illustrations also depict the lives of Jewish families and communities. In countless conversations, Karl Schemel has collected information that inevitably would have been forgotten without this book, and he has made and maintained contact with families of the survivors – in the knowledge that “planting a small seed of possible friendship requires care and assistance from every side, as well as constant attention”. Stefan Rebenich, Professor of Ancient History and the Classical Tradition, University of Bern, Switzerland. Bickenbach on the Sand Bickenbach community local history Volume 2 Karl Schemel A History of the Jews in Bickenbach and southern Hesse English edition Edited by Andrew Wolf and Anna Wolf Bickenbach on the Sand Bickenbach community local history Volume 2 A History of the Jews in Bickenbach and southern Hesse Author: Karl Schemel English edition Edited by Andrew Wolf and Anna Wolf ORIGINAL EDITION: Copyright © Karl Schemel 1993 All rights reserved. Publisher: Matchball – Tomas Klang, Bickenbach Editors: Bickenbach Municipal Council ENGLISH EDITION: Copyright © Andrew Wolf 2018 Publisher: Andrew Wolf – Melbourne, Australia Design and production: Andrew Wolf [email protected] Images and graphics – permission for reproduction for English edition given by family of Karl Schemel. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be resold, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Every effort has been made to ensure that this book is free from error or omissions. However, the publisher, the editor, or their agents, shall not accept responsibility for injury, loss or damage occasioned to any person acting or refraining from action as a result of material in this book whether or not such injury, loss or damage is in any way due to any negligent act or omission, breach of duty or default on the part of the publisher, the editor or their agents. ISBN: 978-0-646-98599-2 Printed by Waratah Digital waratah-group.com.au Memorial stone in Bickenbach dedicated to Benno Wolf and his family. Original edition dedication For Rosel Wolf and her parents Benno and Settchen Wolf murdered c.1941–1942 in an extermination camp in Minsk, Belarus English edition dedication Ernst and Ludwig Wolf and their families A HISTORY OF THE JEWS IN BICKENBACH AND SOUTHERN HESSE Contents Introduction ................................................................. vii The David, Korr and Kawin families .......................... 107 English edition introduction ......................................... ix The Jewish community in Alsbach ............................. 109 The Jews ......................................................................... 1 On religion and the Jewish faith ................................ 120 Jewish families of Bickenbach, 1701–1945 .................... 4 The Jewish cemetery at Alsbach ................................. 123 Bickenbach community Land Registry ........................ 10 Abraham Samuel ben Isaak Bacharach, The Rabbi of Worms .................................................. 128 The Jewish school and the Jewish bathhouse ............... 12 The graves of Bickenbach Jews in Alsbach, Jewish months and holidays ......................................... 15 1734–1934 ................................................................... 129 The Sabbath, the Jewish day of rest .............................. 16 Death of a traveller ..................................................... 133 The Bentheim family .................................................... 18 Chevra Kadisha – the holy society ............................. 138 The Berger family �� 34 Hähnlein .................................................................... 141 The Parable of the Three Rings Jugenheim .................................................................. 144 from Nathan the Wise ................................................... 37 Seeheim ...................................................................... 145 The Breunich family ..................................................... 40 Bensheim .................................................................... 148 Dr. Wilhelm Grumach’s family .................................... 42 Zwingenberg .............................................................. 152 The Langer family – from Bickenbach to Palestine ..... 46 Pfungstadt and the Israelite teaching and The Mainzer family ...................................................... 50 education institute ...................................................... 153 The family of Moses Spieß ........................................... 57 Jews in Speyer am Rhein ............................................ 157 ............................... The Stahl-Feitlersche cigar factory 62 The holy community of Warmaisa The Wolf family (and Moses Feitel) ............................. 65 (Worms in Hebrew) ................................................... 159 The Wolf family of Schulstrasse and their descendants 74 Jews in Magenza (Mainz in Hebrew) ........................ 161 Lazarus Wolf ........................................................... 82 Jews in Frankfurt ........................................................ 164 Emil Wolf ................................................................ 85 The Rothschild family ................................................ 166 Hugo Wolf ............................................................... 85 Jews in Darmstadt ...................................................... 168 Rena Wolf �� 90 Fränkisch-Crumbach in Odenwald ............................ 174 The family of Benno Wolf ............................................ 95 The Rabbi of miracles from Michelstadt in the Odenwald ......................................................... 177 Ludwig Wolf ......................................................... 102 Jewish life, Jewish humour, poems and anecdotes ...... 179 Ernst Wolf ............................................................. 104 Jewish language and disappearing dialects ................. 182 iv A HISTORY OF THE JEWS IN BICKENBACH AND SOUTHERN HESSE Market and trade language ......................................... 190 Jewish hardship leading up to WWII ........................ 316 Miscellaneous literature, proverbs, slurs ..................... 194 Key dates throughout the war .................................... 318 Süßkind, the minstrel of Trimberg ............................. 204 Act of Military Surrender, 7 May 1945 �� 330 Martin Buber ............................................................. 207 Wartime handbills signalling the end of the war ....... 331 Else Ury ...................................................................... 209 Gathering at the Jewish cemetery in Alsbach ............ 342 Elisabeth Langgässer and Karl Wolfskehl .................. 210 Exhibition: The history of the Jews in Bickenbach .... 348 Anti-Semitism and Racism ........................................ 212 Old Bickenbach in pictures �� 350 Anti-Semitism of the National Socialists .................. 215 US Air Force aerial photo of Bickenbach ................... 369 National Socialism and the NSDAP �� 217 Chronology 1932–1949 (and beyond) ........................ 372 War Veterans and Frontline Soldier associations ....... 220 A glance at the history of Israel ................................. 379 The SS State ............................................................... 225 In conclusion .............................................................. 382 Where does the swastika come from? ........................ 226 Supplementary explanations, abbreviations, technical terms and keywords ..................................... 383 National Socialists in Bickenbach �� 227 Bibliography ............................................................... 389 The SA also marches in Bickenbach ........................... 231 Acknowledgements .................................................... 396 Formation of municipal self-administrative bodies .... 234 Credits for photographs, drawings, Osthofen concentration camp, Hesse ........................

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