Traces of Jewish life in Ettlingen, Baden-Würtemberg

Every time I travel somewhere in Germany - and in Europe - I discover traces of Jewish life. In most cases, there are stories about a life that used to be and the past in general. But learning about the past is always a good opportunity to think about the future. 

The last week, I visited the small locality of Ettlingen, situated 5 minutes away by train from Karlsruhe, in the Western part of Germany, close to the border to France.

During WWII, many of the Jews murdered in this part of the country were sent to Gur concentration camp in France. Ettlingen has a relatively small Jewish community, with origins as far as the beginning of the 14th century. The Black Death persecutions and pogroms between 1348-1349 when Jews were accused and killed for an imaginary fault of spreading this epidemics - instead of thinking more logically at the precarious hygienic conditions most part of the population lived in, decimated the community. The Jews returned in Ettlingen in the 17th century, with most of them used to live on Färbergasse - Dyers alley - that was also named Jüdengasse - Jewish alley. With the number increasing, a synagogue was built on Alberstr. in 1849, that was further replaced by a biggest one in Pforzheimstr. According to local statistics, in 1910, there were 75 Jews living in Ettlingen. 

During Kristallnacht, this synagogue was destroyed and the deportation of Jews started. In 1933, there were 48 Jews living here, the number increasing to 79 at the end of the decade. Most of them were sent to death during WWII, Stolpersteine being installed in the recent years to remember the fate of the former Jewish residents. The ones featured in the picture are situated on Rheinstrasse, on the way to the central train station. 

Source of the information: The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life before and after the Holocaust, A-J, ed. by Shmuel Spector, Geoffrey Wigoder

Traces of Jewish life in Ludgwislust, Germany

Ludwigslust is a small town in the German district of Mecklenburg Vorpommern, in the Northern part of the country. It is mostly famous for the baroque castle, called the Versailles of the North, for its golden stucco and massive decorations, most of them made out using a special revolutionary technique at the time - 18th century - of papier mache. 

The Jewish life here was rather discrete, without significant mentions of the city as an active center. Being close to Hamburg and the big trade center, most probably Jewish families established here searching for a quiet place far away from the urban centers. Nowadays, the city has a Jewish cemetery. Documents of missionary centers mention a high number of baptism done among the local Jews. Jewish citizens of Ludwigslust were mostly reform. Near Ludwigslust, a locality where the Jewish presence is mentioned is Grabow.
On Kanalstrasse, at no. 10, I noticed a Stolpersteine, remembering the inhabitant of the house, whose fate remained unknown. His properties were seized by new owners. Tourist information documents mention the existence of several other Stolpersteine on various streets in the city. 

Besides the castle, there is a dark side of Ludwigslust, not well known. Towards the end of WWII, in its close vicinity of the city the Wöbbelin camp was created, as a subcamp of a Neungamme concentration camp. Here were brought prisoners from all over the country whom the SS evacuated from the other camps to prevent the liberation. Around 5,000 inmates were found by the 82nd Airbone Division who liberated the camp May 2, 1945. Funeral services for the inmates - both Jewish and Christians - were made, where the inhabitants of Ludgwislust were brought to in order to witness the horrors made.
In the city it was also a munition factory where Jews were sent to work too.
Probably a comprehensive history of Jews in Ludwigslust remains to be written, but my short visit there revealed equally some important and tragic facts.