From 1828 To 1869
In 1806, both parts of Laupheim were annexed by the newly formed Kingdom of Württemberg. As a consequence the Jews in Laupheim now fell under the jurisdiction of Württemberg. Initially, there were no changes in the legal status of Jews living within the kingdom. However, the Jews’ Act of 1828 meant a considerable improvement in the status of the Jews. The legal obligation of Jews living only in the areas allocated by the authorities was lifted. Jews now had the freedom to settle and live wherever they decided to. The effect of this law in Laupheim meant that very soon the Jewish population had houses built along the Kapellenstraße and the surrounding areas so that the street unofficially received the name of Judenstraße ("Jews' Street"). The fact that in a relative short period of time so many new buildings could be erected is an indication of the prosperity of the Jewish community, particularly regarding the recession and the famines that followed the Napoleonic Wars. Another indication for this prosperity was the fact that, when a couple wanted to get married, it had to prove a certain amount of wealth before the permission to marry was granted by the local ruler, more Jewish inhabitants of Laupheim were able to get married than their Christian fellow-citizens. The act of 1828 also lifted any restrictions with regards to the prohibition of Jews to choose their professions. From now on, Jews were allowed to choose and work in any profession they wished. Furthermore, the prohibition of Jews to buy and own property was abolished.
In the years following this decree, Jews from Laupheim bought several bankrupt agricultural businesses in the surrounding villages as well as within the town of Laupheim itself, split them into smaller entities and sold them off again, thereby making considerable profit. One example of this is the acquisition of Großlaupheim Castle with all its property by the family Steiner in 1843. In 1840, Karl von Welden, the last feudal lord of Laupheim, sold the castle to the state of Württemberg. He was bitterly disappointed with his subjects obstinate behaviour towards him as their former feudal lord (they had taken him to court for 300 different offences) and sold the castles to the Kingdom of Württemberg. Großlaupheim Castle with all accompanying lands was acquired by the Jewish merchant Viktor Steiner whose family managed to hold on to the possession for five generations, even through the Nazi-period, until 1961. After Viktor Steiner's death in 1865, his son, Daniel Steiner, and his son-in-law, Salomon Klein, became heirs to the business. They, in turn, sold it on to Laupheim-born banker and industrialist Kilian Steiner, who had previously resided in Stuttgart.
The government's policy to encourage young Jews to learn one of the crafts they had previously been excluded from, only met with partial success. Even though more Jews became apprentices to craftsmen, they usually chose a profession which later enabled them to change it into a craft-related trade.
A side effect of the act was that those Jews who had not used a surname as yet were forced to acquire family names. Few of the Laupheim Jews had had surnames. Those that had used them were the families of Einstein, Obernauer and Weil. Suddenly new families seemed to emerge even though they had been living in Laupheim for quite some time. There were several options: one, to Germanise the first name, which led, amongst others, to Levi, Löw, Löffler and Levinger, instead of Levi, or to Heumann instead of Hayum. A second option was to use the name of the place from where the family had once moved to Laupheim. This resulted in family names such as Nördlinger, Öttinger, Hofheimer and Thannhauser. Furthermore, not only surnames were suddenly Germanised but first names were adapted to the German speaking environment too. Hayum became, for example, Heinrich, Baruch was changed to Berthold or Bernhard, so that at the end of the 19th century, it was almost impossible to distinguish the Jewish citizens of Laupheim from their Christian fellow-citizens simply because of their names.
The Jews' Act of 1828 forced the rabbis to keep vital records of all members of their community, something Christian priests had been obliged to do so for a long time. Rabbis now had to keep records of all birth certificates, marriage licenses, and death certificates. This turned the office of rabbi from being a purely spiritual leader into a semi-official function, the tasks of which also included administration for which he was accountable to the officials of the Kingdom of Württemberg.
The economic equality granted to the Jews in 1828 caused an increase in building works in Laupheim which, in turn, caused an increase in the economic fortunes of the small market town. This is demonstrated by the fact that the number of building-related craftsmen doubled within ten years between 1845 and 1856. The weekly market, which had been discontinued at the beginning of the century, was reintroduced in 1842. Although it had to compete with the larger markets in Ulm and Biberach, it still managed to hold its own as many horse and cattle traders as well as pedlars and hawkers, quite a few of whom were Jewish, visited the market in Laupheim, further contributing to its prosperity. Also, a great number of the founders of the local trade bank, an early form of the Credit Union, in 1868, were Jewish entrepreneurs from Laupheim. Until 1933 they were to partake in its development in prominent positions.
In 1864, Jews living in the Kingdom of Württemberg, were finally granted complete political equality. This meant that after achieving economic emancipation, they were now citizens with the same rights and obligations as their Christian neighbours. Soon after this, in 1868, the first Jewish counsellors appeared on the town council, Samuel Lämmle being the first Jew elected to it.
Read more about this topic: History Of The Jews In Laupheim