Stuttgart:

By: Isidore Singer , Theodor Kroner

German city, and capital of the kingdom of Württemberg. The first historical mention of Stuttgart dates from the administration of Eberhard the Illustrious (1265-1325, and to a somewhat later period belongs the earliest mention of a Jewish community there, for in 1348-49, the year of the Black Death, the Jews of Stuttgart, as well as of other places, met the fate of martyrs in the flames (Stälin, "Wirtembergische Gesch." iii. 244, notes 3-4). A ghetto and a "Judenschule" existed in this period, and a Jew named Leo is specifically mentioned (Hartmann, "Chronik der Stadt Stuttgart," Stuttgart, 1886).

Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries.

Traces of Jews in Stuttgart are again found in 1393, when mention is made of one Baruch Baselless; while under the joint rule of the counts Eberhard the Younger and Ulrich V., the Well-Beloved, Moses, surnamed Jäcklin, lived in the city with his family and servants, and even received citizenship, letters of protection and privilege being granted to him. Whether this Moses Jäcklin is identical with the Moses Jecklin of Esslingen (1404-51) is uncertain. During this same period mention is made of a Solomon who purchased a patent of protection for eight florins (1435-41), of a Lazarus who obtained a similar document for ten florins (1437-1443), and of Kaufman and Bel (1459). The Jew Brein (?) received the permission of Count Ulrich to settle in Cannstatt and to lend money at interest, although he was forbidden to take more than one pfennig per pound, and he had not the right to levy a distress. These scanty allusions justify the assumption that there were Jewish communities, even though they were small, at Stuttgart and Cannstatt in the fifteenth century; but in 1492 Count Eberhard im Bart, despite the earnest remonstrances of their zealous friend Reuchlin, absolutely forbade the Jews to reside there longer. Duke Ulrich (1498-1550) and his successór, Duke Christopher (1550-68), at the urgent petition of Josel of Rosheim, finally granted safe-conducts to Jews, but refused them residence. Nevertheless, a number of Jews lived at Stuttgart for a time, though they had no opportunity of establishing a community. In 1522, moreover, the city passed into the possession of the emperor Charles V., and later of his successor, Ferdinand, while in 1535 the Reformation was effected.

Conditions changed, however, with the accession of Duke Frederick (1593-1608), who showed special favor to the great artist Abraham Calorno, and even greater favor, in 1598, to Maggino Gabrieli, the consul-general of a company of Jewish merchants. He granted the latter the freedom of trade which they desired, received them gladly, and sold them a house in the market-place, the "Armbrustschutzhaus," in which they held religious services. The magistracy of the city, however, aided by the court chaplain, Lucas Osiander, brought charges against them, while the consistory declared that "next to the devil, the Jews are the worst enemies of the Christians"; to this the duke retorted that "the Jew is no magician, but you and those like you are worthless priests, and adulterers"; and Osiander, who had denounced the Jews from the pulpit, was obliged to leave the city. On May 23, 1598, Frederick made an agreement with the members of Gabrieli's company, assigning them Neidlingen as a residence, but forbidding them all exercise of religion; and three months later they left the country.

Despite all the obstacles which were set up by theauthorities and despite the added restrictions upon the granting of safe-conducts imposed by Duke Johann Frederick (1608-28) and the princely administrator Louis Frederick, some Jews seem to have remained in Stuttgart, and Duke Eberhard III. (1628-74) soon ordered their expulsion from the city "because there were too many of them." Their entreaties were unavailing, and only Solomon, Emanuel, and the latter's wife, Feile, were allowed fourteen days to arrange their affairs ("Landesordnung," pp. 93, 100).

Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries.

Nevertheless, Jews evidently continued to reside at Stuttgart for some time afterward. In 1661 the complaint was made that travelers on foot between Stuttgart and Ulm, Augsburg, Strasburg, and Frankfort carried out and in large quantities of wares, including goods belonging to Jews, and defrauded the government of all excises. But since such travelers were protected by the citizens of the towns mentioned as well as of the neighboring districts, it was almost impossible to bring one of them to punishment; the merchants of those cities, moreover, allowed themselves to be used as shields for foreign traders, to the disadvantage of their class as a whole. The conditions were exactly the same with the traders as with the Jews, who were restricted to the lending of money and to commerce. Although expelled from Württemberg, the Jews held their own owing to their commercial relations in the neighboring regions, while they were entitled to safe-conducts through the country in that they were "servants of the empire"; and the Christian merchants themselves, disregarding all attacks upon the Jews and all the threats of the government, continued to avail themselves of their services, and frequently used them as a means of carrying out some prohibited negotiation ( ib. pp. 187-188, 191).

In the year 1679, Jews were again permitted to settle in Stuttgart; in 1706 they were allowed to engage in traffic at public fairs, and in the following year to receive pledges; and in 1712 the Jews Solomon Frankel, Leon Wolff, Marx Nathan, and Baer obtained the privilege, despite the opposition of the district, of trading throughout the country. In 1710, however, Model Löw of Pforzheim, a favorite of the Count of Würben, had received permission to deal in cattle and jewels, and he had become jealous of the new favorites of the duke and had intrigued against them in a most scandalous manner; but finally his slanders were exposed, and he was imprisoned on Jan. 31, 1721, although he was released in 1726 to carry his case to the highest court.

By this time a community had again been formed in Stuttgart, but it frequently suffered under the enforcement of various oppressive laws; for many ordinances were enacted against the Jewish religion, and circumcision, e.g. , could be performed only abroad. The reign of Carl Alexander (1733-1737), on the other hand, brought many ameliorations and an increase in the number of communities. His confidential adviser, Joseph Süss Oppenheimer , conferred upon Moses Drach the right of printing playing-cards (Feb. 25, 1734), while Jacob Uhlmann was given the contract of supplying rations for the troops of the district (March 18, 1734), and on Jan. 21, 1737, Oppenheimer himself again received the privilege of granting rights of residence to Jewish families. The fall of Oppenheimer on March 12 of the same year in consequence of the sudden death of the duke brought terror and destruction on all the Jews of Stuttgart. The sons and sons-in-law of Levin were expelled, but Marx Nathan, Noah and his associates, Solomon Meïr, Moses Drach, and Elijah Ḥayyim were permitted to remain, although they were exposed to the fury of the people until the provost was ordered to protect them.

Community Organized.

The Jewish community of Stuttgart was now apparently fully organized, for a miḳweh is mentioned in 1721 ( ib. p. 171). During the control of the administrators Carl Rudolf and Peter Carl Frederick the laws against the Jews were again enforced, and in 1739 they were expelled, although their recall soon followed. The court bankers Seeligmann (1741) and Ullmann (1743) were permitted to reside in the city. One of the laws issued about this time decreed that circumcision might be performed only in a dwelling-house; this offers sufficient evidence that the community possessed a synagogue (even though it may have been but a small room for prayer), in which circumcisions had taken place; and the prohibition was probably due to the fact that children in being carried through the street aroused the displeasure of the populace. Another law required that notice was to be given immediately of the presence of non-resident Jews (1747), and the court banker Seeligmann was fined ten florins for having sheltered a Jew from another city without the knowledge of the provost. The charge that the Jews celebrated the Sabbath with too much noise is another proof of the existence of a community at that time, and a still stronger confirmation is found in the patent which was conferred on the two bankers Seeligmann and Ullmann and on Seeligmann Baiersdorfer, authorizing them to install such butchers and other officials as were necessary, and to celebrate private worship within proper bounds. Non-resident Jews, however, who might arrive on the day before the Sabbath, were obliged to leave at the close of the latter.

In general it may be said that Carl Eugene (1744-1793) was well disposed toward the Jews. In 1758 he granted Aaron Seidel, the court banker of the Prince of Ansbach, the monopoly for three months of purchasing all silver for the ducal mint, while protected Jews of Hechingen were made subcontractors. In the following year the court bankers Mark and Elias Seeligmann were authorized to import French salt for a period of twenty years, while in 1761 they were empowered to purchase forage for the French army; and four years later the prohibition against dealing in cattle at the annual fairs was repealed. The right to purchase tartar at the ducal cellars was conferred on the merchants Sontheimer and Consorten. The inhabitants resented these proofs of the duke's friendship for the Jews, but he disregarded their restrictions, even after his reconciliation with them (Jan. 27, 1770); and his decree of Feb.10, 1779, that no Jew should be deprived of the right of residence unless convicted of crime, brought new families to the community of Stuttgart, while the destruction in 1782 of the gallows erected for Oppenheimer likewise evinced a friendly attitude toward the Jews. In the year before his death Duke Frederick Eugene (1793-97) permitted the widow of the court banker Kaulla of Hechingen to establish a mercantile house at Stuttgart (Nov. 2, 1797).

Conditions became worse, however, under Frederick William (duke and elector, 1797-1805), who repealed the protection formerly accorded the Jews; but notwithstanding all commercial and industrial annoyances and obstacles, the life of the community was maintained. In 1799, despite the opposition of the Christian merchants, the contract for provisioning the army was given to members of the Kaulla family; and in 1802 the royal bank of Württemberg was founded with the cooperation of this family. The official religious census of 1803 gives the following heads of houses in the city: Isaac Löw and his wife Friederike; Solomon Aaron and his wife Rebekah; Uhlmann and his sister Henele; Maier and his cousin Jonas Lazarus; Councilor Kaulla and his wife, with their boarders and servants, Amson Heymann, Jacob Joseph, Solomon Bloch, Löw Bernstein, Ḥayyim Mayer, and Ḥayyim Ḥayyim; Kaulla and household, with coachmen, servants, and cooks; Moses Feit; the protected Jew Benedict and his wife Rosina, with their children Seligmann, Isaac, Jacob, Wolf, Fradel, and a grandson, together with their maid servants.

Nineteenth Century.

When Württemberg became a kingdom in 1806 a vast improvement was effected in the condition of the Jews in the country at large, especially in the community of Stuttgart. By a decree of June 27, 1806, King Frederick I. conferred on the imperial and royal councilor Jacob Raphael Kaulla and a number of his relatives the citizenship of Württemberg for themselves and their descendants, in recognition of the services which he had rendered the country on critical occasions, and this family has since exerted an influence for good on the Jews of the entire district, especially on their coreligionists in Stuttgart.

In 1808 the need of a synagogue was felt, and the raising of funds was authorized. At this time only those Jews were permitted to reside in the city who had property amounting to twenty thousand gulden; and they were obliged, by an enactment of July 18, 1819, to pay twelve florins each for protection. Two years later the right of citizenship was denied them. Now began the struggle for the elevation and equality of the Jews, and one of the members of the committee appointed in 1820 to determine ways and means for their civil and moral improvement was Nathan Wolf Kaulla of Stuttgart. At the same time Karl Weil was another active champion of their rights; he proposed a law which was submitted to the government in 1824, and aided in settling other legal matters as well, while Samuel Mayer, who later became professor at Tübingen, also defended the Jews. The result of the work of this committee of 1820 was the law of 1828 regarding Jewish education and emancipation; and the development of the communal life of the Jews of Stuttgart under the new enactments was rapid.

Communal Institutoins.

In 1832 a self-dependent community of 126 members was founded under an ordinance of Aug. 3, and Stuttgart was made the seat of a rabbinate which comprised Stuttgart, Esslingen, Ludwigsburg, Hochberg, and Aldlingen. In the following year the estate of Hoppelauer was acquired for a cemetery, and in 1834 a fund was obtained for the salary of a rabbi, whereupon D. Eichberg was appointed cantor; Dr. Maier was installed as district rabbi on Jan. 9, 1835. Public worship then began, the first services being held in the houses of members of the community. The parnasim, whose president was Eichberg, were Dr. Dreifuss, Solomon Jacob Kaulla, and Wolf von Kaulla. From the fall of 1835 the place of worship was the apartments of E. Hastig on the Postplatz, and front the summer of 1837 a synagogue in a house on Langestrasse (No. 16). The Jews of Stuttgart numbered 265 in 1846, and 330 in 1852. In 1831 an orphan asylum was established, and in 1848 a society for the relief of the sick, while in 1853 the Ḥebra Gemilut Ḥasadim was founded with ninety-four members under the presidency of Privy Councilor Adolph Levi. The struggle for political equality found earnest advocates in the community of Stuttgart. Commercial Councilor Pfeiffer, Court Banker Solomon Jacob Kaulla, Dr. Karl Weil, Court Banker Aaron Pfeiffer, and Abraham Thalheimer signed a petition to the government in 1833, and they were joined in 1845 by Moses Benedikt, Solomon Maier Kaulla, Counselors Jordan and L. Kaulla, Rudolf and Fr. Kaulla, and P. Holland. Through their efforts the rights conferred upon the Jews by the statutes of the German people were confirmed by the king, while in 1852 the anti-Semitic attacks on these rights were definitely defeated. Following in the footsteps of his ancestors, the counselor at law Max Kaulla, aided by Nördlinger, S. Levi, and Adolf Levi, won the decisive victory in the petitions of 1861, 1863, and 1864. The community of Stuttgart sought to adapt itself to the manners, customs, and modes of thought of its non-Jewish surroundings. In 1862 a synagogue, designed in Moorish style by Wolf, was erected, containing an organ for which Emanuel Feist composed a number of new hymns, while a prayer-book which was free from dogmatic subtleties lent dignity and simplicity to the service, so that the community of Stuttgart became an inspiration for many other Jewish congregations in Germany.

When Maier died, Aug. 8, 1873, he was succeeded by Dr. Wassermann of Mühringen, who held office until Oct. 13, 1892. During this time the number of the officials of the community was increased by the appointment of Cantor E. Gundelfinger and that of D. Stössel of Lathenbach, the latter acting as a teacher of religion and as the rabbi's assistant.

The conservative members of the community of Stuttgart were grouped around the Ḥebra Ḳaddisha, which was founded in 1875, and performed works of charity for the sick, dying, and dead. A new cemetery was purchased in 1876, and religious instruction was given in the first six classes of the public schools. In 1883 the Ḥebra GemilutḤasadim was reorganized, and the tariff for burial was revised in 1888. Wassermann was the recipient of many honors. On Oct. 2, 1888, he celebrated his jubilee of office, and on July 16, 1891, his eightieth birthday, receiving the greetings of king, government, and community. A small portion of the rigidly Orthodox, however, were not pleased with his administration; and in 1878, when the wardens endeavored with especial severity to prohibit the use of the ṭallit, an independent religious body was organized under the leadership of J. Landauer. After the death of Wassermann the rabbinate was divided (1893), Th. Kroner becoming first rabbi, and D. Stössel second rabbi. The former assumed office on April 14, 1894, and since that time a number of benevolent societies have been formed within the community, including the Talmud Torah Verein, the societies for Jewish young men (1894) and women, the society for feeding the poor (1894), the pauper aid society, the working men's society (1896), the Stuttgart lodge (1899), the endowment society (1901), the loan society (1902), the Shomere Emunim, and the society for the aid of local and transient poor. Stuttgart is also the seat of branches of the Central Union of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith, the Society for Defense Against Anti-Semitism, and the Society for the Relief of German Jews. In the last twelve years, accordingly, much activity has been manifested in philanthropic movements, the latest organization being a Jewish Sisterhood. In religious instruction many changes have been made. The religious school of the community has one rabbi and four teachers, and in the public institutions both rabbis and three teachers give organized instruction. There have been no innovations, however, in the ritual of worship, but, on the contrary, many old customs have received increased observance.

A number of the members of the community of Stuttgart are prominent in public life: the manufacturers Reif and Arnold and the merchant Reis are members of the municipal council; the advocate Erlanger is second vice-president of the board of aldermen; the district judge Stern, N. Levi, an advocate, and Kallmann, a judge of the higher court, are members of the judicial organization of the district, while N. Levi is also the president of the board of directors of the chamber of advocates of the superior court of Stuttgart. The faculty of the Polytechnic High School of the city includes the Jewish teachers Kaufmann, Marx, and Schmidt; and that of the Conservatory for Music, Singing, and Dramatic Art, Professors Singer and Wien; while Gerstmann is a member of the regular company of the Hoftheater.

In 1903 the records of the community of Stuttgart showed 62 births, 16 marriages in the synagogue, and 33 burials. According to the latest census, the community comprised 776 households with 3,015 persons. The community has a library and 224 "Jahrzeit" foundations.

S. T. K.