Hayu

HEMSBACH

hemsbach
Time Period Region
1499 - 1803 Holy Roman Empire
1803 - 1871 Kingdom of Baden
1871 - Present Federal Republic of Germany
Year Total Population Jewish Population
1722 9 families
1825 1,533 61 families
1871 140
1875 1,604 111
1900 1,977 101
1910 2,530 89
1925 2,876 86
1933 3,014 54
1936 46
1938 33
1939 22
1941 0
Hemsbach (Yiddish: המסבאך) is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located 18 km northeast of Mannheim.


Early Jewish History

In the 16th century, Jews settled in Hemsbach in very small numbers (single digits) and primarily made their living selling cheap meats.
 
Public prayer was conducted for hundreds of years in a public hall. After this hall went up in flames, a synagogue was built in 1846 where space was also allotted for offices, a school, and a mikvah.

A Jewish cemetery close to Hemsbach was already in use by 1578 and later contained about a thousand graves. This cemetery is the oldest and largest in north Baden and served eight Jewish communities in the area.

In the 19th century, Jews in Hemsbach made a living mainly by selling cattle and also by farming, storekeeping, peddling, and money lending. In the times of this century, the rich fabric dealer Caesar Oppenheimer won great standing and influence, who would always help people out without distinguishing their religion.

This community kept growing until the start of the seventies, and reached its highest population (140 Jews) in 1871. From then on, migration and urbanization caused the number of Jews to diminish. At the start of the 20th century, only 100 Jews were left in Hemsbach and with the rise of the Nazis their number was cut in half.

In WWI, four Jews from Hemsbach died: Moritz Dokov, Sigmund Oppenheimer, Sigmund Pfaltzer, Julius Simon.


Development of the Jewish Community

The following family tree and chart are attempts to trace the lineage of Hemsbach residents from the patronymic period up to the adoption of surnames in 1815. The basis for the column placement of names is based primarily on patronyms and, to a lesser extent, on ages, where they are known. As new information becomes available, this chart will be adapted and, hopefully, become increasingly more accurate.

Jehoshua Eliakum Isaac
(1637-1725)		 Salomon
(1675-1742)		 Isaac
Leser
Baruch
(1687)
Zacharias Callman
Josef
(1647-1722)		 Eliakum
( -1714)
Feiss
(1684-1747)		 Josel
( -1794)		 Feiss EMRICH
(1754-1823) 
Herz
( -1794)
 Löw MAAS
(1754)
Samuel MAAS
(1760)
Moyses
( -1797)		 Feist PFÄLZER
(1778)
Mayer PFÄLZER
(1790)
David PFÄLZER
(1795)
Hayum
( -1747)


Notes: In the chart below, death dates [d.] are based on the Hemsbach cemetery burial register (Berthold Rosenthal Collection)

KALMAN EMRICH / MAAS / PFÄLZER OPPENHEIMER ZIMMER / FÜRST JANKAU JAKOB
1670 Isaac
1677 Joseph
1710 Eisig
Salomon		 Josef
1717 Itzig [80]
Salomon [42]
Borich [30]		 Josef [70]
Feis [33]
Mausche		 Simon Löw Oppenheimer [38]
1722 Salomon Isaac
Baruch Isaac
Zacharias Isaac		 Feist
Moyses
Samuel
1726 Simon
Hayum
1727 Lazarus
1729 Salomon [d. 1742]
Baruch
Zacharias
Josef		 Feist Samson
1743 Leser Salomon
{wife, 2 daughters, father}

(Eyssig Salomon widow)
{daughter - 1 married daughter in Rimbach}

Baruch
{wife}		 Veiss Joseph
{wife, son, daughter, mother - 2 married sons in Hemsbach and Sachsen}

Hayum Veist [d. 1747]
{wife, father, mother}

Moyses
{wife, daughter}		 Simon Löw
{wife, 2 sons, 4 daughters - 2 married sons in Hemsbach and Hoffenheim, 2 married daughters in Hemsbach, Heppenheim, and ?}

Hayum Simon
{wife, daughter, mother}		 Samuel Anschel
{wife, 3 sons}
1744 Baruch
Zacharias		 Feist Josef [d. 1747]
Hertz Feist		 Samson Löw [d. 1753]
Hayum Samson		 Samuel Löw Mennle
1746 Herz Feist Joseph Samuel [d. 1755] Löw Emmanuel
1753 Löser Salomon
 (Veist Joseph widow)
Herz Veist		 (Simon Löw widow)
Hayum Simon		 Samuel Anschel [d. 1755] Löb Mäntle
1765 Löser Salomon
Callman Zacharias		 (Veist Joseph widow)
Herz Veist
Josef Veist		 (Simon Löw widow)
Löw Simon
Hayum Simon		 (Samuel Anschel widow) Löw Emanuel
Simon Emanuel
1771 Leser Salomon
Salomon Zacharias		 Herz Veist [d. 1794]
Josel Feist [d. 1794]
Zippora (mother of Veist ?)		 Löw Simon [d. 1772]
Hayum Simon [d. 1788]
(Löw Simon widow)		 (Samuel Anschel widow/
Abraham Samuel mother)
Abraham Samuel		 Löw Mendel
Simon Mendel		 Mordge Marx
1801 Feiss Josel
Löw Herz
Samuel Herz		 Simon Löw Oppenheimer
Herz Löw Oppenheimer
Joel Hayum
Agate (Hayum Oppenheimer widow)		 Lazarus Abraham
Abraham Samuel		 Simon Mendele Löw
Simon Löw Emanuel
(Löw Emanuel Kaals widow)
(Simon Emanuel widow)
Salomon Levi *		 Marx Jacob
1815 Moses KALMAN [57] Feist Jossel EMRICH [61] **
Löw Herz MAAS [61]
Samuel Herz MAAS [55]
Feist Moises PFALZER [37]
David Moises PFALZER [20]
Mayer Moises PFALZER [25]		 Simon OPPENHEIMER [57]
Herz OPPENHEIMER [56]
Joel Chaim OPPENHEIMER [49]
Jachet OPPENHEIMER [67]
Zacharias OPPENHEIMER [30]		 Leiser Abraham ZIMMER [52]
Anschel Afrom FURST [38]		 Mandel Löw JANKAU [62]
Salomon Löw JANKAU [47]
Simon Löw JANKAU [57]		 Mardochei JAKOB [77]

*   In Berthold Rosenthal notes of records from 1796, there is a reference to a Salomon Löw Levi (this must be the later Salomon Löw JANKAU)
**  In Berthold Rosenthal notes of records from 1785, Löw Herz MAAS was previously Löw Herz Feist (confirming his paternal line)

The following individuals show up in the records intermittently but do not appear to have a continuous lineage to the 19th century in Hemsbach:

Machol (1661)
Hertz (1676)
Sara, wid. (1676)
Schumger (1710)
Soger (1710, 1717 [46])
Wolf Aaron (1717 [30], 1722, 1729, 1743 {wife, father}, 1744, 1753)
Daniel (1729)
Mayer Nickelsburger (1746)
Isaak Bar BAER (1815 [22])

References

[1] Hössler, Harald. Juden in Hemsbach 1660-1933. Heidelberg: Pädagogische Hochschule Heidelberg, 1984.
[2] Pinkas ha-kehilot Germanyah : entsiklopedyah shel ha-yishuvim ha-Yehudim le-min hivasdam ve-'ad le-ahar Sho'at Milhemet ha-'olam ha-sheniyah: Württemberg, Hohenzollern, Baden. Yad Vashem: Jerusalem, 1986.
[3] Berthold Rosenthal Collection.
[4] Allemania Judaica website.