Geschichte und Familienbuch der jüdischen Gemeinde von Schwetzingen

About this book

It is probably an ironic story that the only written testimony of the Jewish community in Schwetzingen was handed down by the National Socialists and reproduced it in 1945. While the original, that they took from is still missing, the entire text is available in print for the first time thanks to the meticulous work of Frank-Uwe Betz.These are handwritten records of the history of this local community, written by the religion teacher and later principal teacher, Simon Eichstetter, mainly written in 1901. In addition, he created the corresponding family book. The texts, which include a short history Schwetzingen, were continuted in 1928 by Eichstetter's successor in Amt, Henri Bloch. The present transcription thus provides an authentic insight into the life of the active Schwetzingen Jewish community and draws a lasting image of its members and institutions. It is complemented by a win-win that addresses the Nazi destruction of this Jewish community, the book and its author, the camp Gurs, and how to deal with the Nazi past and Jewish victims of the place.