Portraits of Our Past: Jews of the German Countryside

386 Pages·2001·32.265 MB·English

by  Emily C Rose

Portraits of
Our Past
The Jewish Publication Society
gratefully acknowledges agift from
The Lucius N. Littauer Foundation
in support of the publication of this title.
ur
Rose
Emily C.
...
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• ~ THE JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY
Philadelphia
2001 • 5761
Copyright © 2001 by EmilyC. Rose
First edition. All rights reserved
No part ofthis bookmaybe reproduced ortransmitted in anyform or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or
any information storage or retrieval system, except for brief passages in
connection with a critical review, without permission in writing from the
publisher:
The Jewish Publication Society
2100Arch Street, 2nd Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19103
www.jewishpub.org
Design and Composition by BookDesign Studio
Anote on transliterations: The transliteration of Hebrew, Jewish..
German, andYiddish words is not an exact science. In some instances,
the authoradopted spellings that reflect local dialects. Note also that
the Hebrew letternis transliterated as "b."
LibraryofCongress Cataloging..in..Publication Data
Rose, EmilyC.
Portraits of our past: Jews ofthe German countryside/ Emily
C. Rose
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. )and index.
ISBN 0..8276..0706..7
1. Jews-Germany-History-1800..1933. 2. Germany-Rural
conditions. 3. Germany-Ethnic relations. 4. Jews,
German-Illinois-Chicago-History-19th century. 5. Rose, Emily
C.-Family. I. Title.
DS135.G33 R55 2001
305.892'4043-dc21
2001029137
09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 109 8 76 54 32 1
...1remember how the Jewish men of the village community
wouldgatherbeforethe synagogueona Saturdayevening,watch..
ing the skyfor the appearance ofthe first stars, whereupon they
would enter the house of worship and conclude the day of rest
withthe offeringofthetraditional prayers. This act seemedto me
symbolic, the countrymen lifting up their eyes to the heaven to
drawstrength fortheworkoftheweekto come.
-Rabbi Emil Schorsch
"TheRuralJew:ObservationsonthePaperofWernerCahnman"
YearBookLeoBaeckInstitute

Table of Contents
ListofIllustrations ix
The Discovery: Two Portraits
The StoryBegins: Setting Down Roots 13
NewTimes 45
Hep! Hep! Riots 67
Transitions 79
Moving Backward 99
Changes in the Families 113
The New Jewish Community 137
Leavingthe SchacherJew Behind 151
Even Keel 163
Fightingfor Civil Rights 171
Years ofTurmoil 191
ShiftingWinds 203
AGerman Village in Chicago 227
German Jews 265
And the StoryContinues: Portraits ofMy Past 291
Traditional Jewish Life in theVillages and SmallTowns 297
ABlueprintfor Researchers 331
Notes 339
Selected Bibliography 347
Acknowledgments 353
Index 357
vii

Illustrations
Maps and Price Guide
Europe, 1990s 5
Jewish villages, BlackForest District 17
Southern Germany, earlynineteenth century 18
Prices and costs, nineteenth century 23
Southern Germany, mid..nineteenth century 119
United States, 1850s 228
FamilyTrees
Kaz and Berlizheimerfamilies, to 1828 20
Kaz and Berlizheimerfamilies, to 1848 115
Gundelfingerfamily, to 1857 120
David Berlizheimerfamily inAmerica 240
Leopold Berlizheimerfamily in America 260
Kaz and Berlizheimerfamilies, after 1848 272
Gundelfingerfamily, after 1857 273
Plates
Joseph David Berlizheimer 2
Gustel Berlizheimer (B. Kaz) 3
Family register 9
Discoveringthe past, old documents 10
Signature page, family document 11
MUhringen Jewish cemetery 21
MUhringen, 1735 22
Rabbi NathanaelWeil 25
The hanging ofJoseph SUss Oppenheimer 26
Travel prayer book 30
Newspaper notice, market day changed 33
ix