Jewish life in the Tyrol was overshadowed by other regions of Europe, which at least for a time could boast important centres of Jewish culture, scholarship and economic prosperity. Only in Hohenems in Vorarlberg were Jews allowed to settle in larger numbers and lead a community life from the 17th century onwards. Otherwise, as in most regions of German-speaking Austria, there were only individual persons or families in the „Land in the Mountains“, who were at least temporarily tolerated for economic reasons, until the Basic Law of 1867. Here is a brief overview of the history of the Jews of Tyrol, Essentially taken from Th. Albrich: „Jüdisches Leben im historischen Tirol“, Verlag Haymon, 2013.

Since a historical view of Tyrol without South Tyrol, and also without Trentino, which had been linked to the County of Tyrol since the 12th century, cannot provide a coherent picture, these areas are also dealt with here. From the 14th century onwards, the Vorarlberg dominions successively came into Habsburg possession, the County of Hohenems only in 1765. As these territories were now subordinate to the County of Tyrol under the name „Vorarlberg“ from 1786 to 1918, they are closely linked to Tyrolean history, especially from a Jewish perspective, and are therefore indispensable in the following account.

From 1509, Jews lived in Tyrol again, in Bolzano, until they were expelled and re-admitted shortly afterwards. With Samuel May an influential family from Verona came to Innsbruck for a few decades around 1570. As the provincial estates did not tolerate Jews, only individual families with mostly temporary special authorisations remain. Numerous Jews travelled through Tyrol but were not allowed to stay. Do not stay in one place for more than 3 days and had to reveal their Jewish identity at the customs offices and Customs duty to pay. Jews from outside the Habsburg Empire were sometimes completely forbidden from travelling through, such as the Marrans who had fled from Spain and settled not far from Tyrol in northern Italy. In any case, the journey required a Letter of march from the authorities required. From the 16th century there was the possibility of longer stays, albeit in exchange for Daily taxation. Although expulsions were no longer so frequent in Central Europe, the pressure for confessional segregation increased, which led Jews, among other things, to the Wearing the Jewish symbol (yellow circle). The church and popular beliefs constantly provided the idiological justification for incitement against Jews. The cults centred around Ursula of Lienz and Simon of Trent continued to be cultivated and Around 1620, the cult of the Anderl von Rinn in addition. In the southern parts of the country, mendicant orders agitated against the Jews. In 1617, 12 Jewish families were granted permanent residence in Hohenems, which, despite a temporary expulsion, led to the development of a fully-fledged community. In addition to the influential May family („court Jews“), names such as Landauer, Uffenheimer, Pollackh, Günzburger and Iseron were added to the Innsbruck community.

Jewish life was centred on Hohenems, Innsbruck and Bolzano and comprised Never more than 400 people in total. While only individual families were allowed to reside in Innsbruck and Bolzano, Hohenems permitted the establishment of one of the few Jewish communities on the territory of present-day Austria. By way of comparison: in Vienna, Jews were forbidden to establish a community until 1848. Emperor Charles VI and his daughter Empress Maria Theresa operated a anti-Jewish policy. In 1748 she wanted to expel all Jews from Innsbruck, but this did not happen. In 1765, however, she granted the Jews of Innsbruck the privilege of supplying food to the imperial court for the duration of their stay in the provincial capital (Archduke Leopold's wedding), as only they had the necessary trade connections to fulfil this demanding task. With the move of Jonathan Uffenheimer from Innsbruck to Hohenems in 1725 and the Jewish families expelled from Sulz in 1748 and taken in by Hohenems, the Community in Hohenems a remarkable Upswing. Among other things, this led to the Construction of the synagogue 1770 to 1772. With Emperor Joseph II's Patent of Tolerance in 1781/82, the community continued to grow and trade relations with Italy and Switzerland developed. A class of Jewish craftsmen also emerged on this basis.

The Tolerance patent provided the Jews in Austria with relief in the sense of civil equality, but without allowing this in its entirety (continued ban on property acquisition, restrictions on authorised professions). In return, Emperor Joseph II attempted to gradually restrict national autonomy (numerous rules in the area of Jewish life, a ban on Hebrew and Yiddish in business correspondence, a ban on founding a community). The Loss of Jewish identity was accepted by the Jews in German-speaking Austria in the hope of complete equality. The keeping of register books was made compulsory and all Jews had to adopt a surname with immediate effect. From 1788, Jews were also conscripted for military service.
Whilst Gabriel Uffenheimer served as a „leading figure“ in Innsbruck during the period of emerging tolerance, had Heinrich Hendle At the same time, Heinrich Hendle held this position in Bolzano, where Jewish life was able to develop somewhat more freely. There was a prayer room and a study hall in Heinrich Hendle's house. The city council allowed the city's Jews to pray there, but charged an annual fee of 50 guilders for taking out the Torah scroll. Hendle earned merit through financial support during the French wars and was awarded the title of „court factor“.

Despite or perhaps even because of the government's increasing tolerance, the 18th century was characterised by a further Blossoming of the cults around the ritual murder legends coined. A chapel was built for Simon in Trento. The veneration of Anderl von Rinn was now also recognised by the Pope and „enjoyed“ numerous publications, theatre performances and pilgrimages. Efforts were also made in Lienz, together with the Haller Damenstift convent, to revitalise the veneration of Ursula Pöck, which, in contrast to Anderl von Rinn, only met with a moderate response from the population. Franz Thomas Locherer was also accused of ritual murder in Montiggl, probably the last in Western Europe before the anti-Semitic revival at the end of the 19th century.

The century, characterised by profound changes, meant a transition from anachronistic restrictions to legal equality and seemingly tolerated coexistence for the Jews in Tyrol within a few decades.

The economically advantageous Bavarian period from 1806 to 1814 was characterised by an incisive event, the Looting, especially in Innsbruck during the Tyrolean uprising of 1809. At that time, there were only 7 Jewish families living in the town, 3 of them wealthy. They were so badly robbed, abused and their property destroyed that they faced economic ruin. Although the Hohenems Jews were spared this outbreak of violence, they were forced to provide large sums of money for the Tyrolean uprising. The excuse was the false claim that Jews in particular had profited from the previous auction of the estates of the monasteries dissolved by the Bavarians. To replace the letters of protection, the Bavarians issued the „Normal number“ was introduced, an upper limit for the number of resident Jews, in Innsbruck 7 families. This made immigration, which was already very difficult before, practically impossible. At the same time, however, some restrictions were lifted.

The Jewish community of Hohenems, with over 400 souls at the time, benefited particularly strongly from this, both economically and culturally. The young generation endeavoured to introduce the German language into everyday and religious life and was open to reform. This laid the foundations early on for the decline of the Kehila (community), which manifested itself after 1867 in the rapid migration to economically more interesting places. The return of Tyrol and Vorarlberg to Austria was characterised by the reintroduction of discriminatory restrictions, as was the case in practically all German-speaking countries, although not everywhere to the same extent and at the same speed. While the restrictions were immediately reintroduced in Tyrol, in particular the ban on the purchase of real estate, the Bavarian laws remained in place in Vorarlberg for several decades.

In the Pre-March After lengthy authorisation procedures, two major industrialists come to Innsbruck: Martin Steiner, vinegar manufacturer and operator of a brewery, and David Friedmann, cotton manufacturer. The already resident Dannhauser family, which had suffered severely during the pogrom of the Tyrolean uprising in 1809, was still active as a merchant in Innsbruck for several generations and fulfilled various religious tasks.

In Bolzano only a few Jews were resident. In the 1920s, only Marcus Gerson a house in which there was a prayer room that was even open to Christians during services. In the 1930s, more and more Jews moved in from Hohenems, who had to leave the town due to the limiting „normal number“.
The first Jews with permanent residence in Merano After long difficulties, the Biedermann brothers, who opened a bank and later offered themselves as contacts for Jewish spa guests. At the same time, the appearance of the The Schwarz merchant family in Bolzano.

In contrast to Innsbruck and Bolzano, the Jewish community is growing in Hohenems steady and reaches its peak in 1850 with 500 members. The Normal number of 90 families remained in place here too, however, so that many descendants willing to marry had to emigrate. This led to international connections very early on, which were used for trading purposes. Apart from the Italian lands, the Hohenems Jews enjoyed the greatest freedoms in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy; they were allowed to move freely and buy property in Vorarlberg.

The exceptional talent's career began during this time Solomon Sulzer, who was trained as a cantor as a child, was appointed to the post of cantor at the age of 16 and moved to Vienna at the age of 22. There he achieved great fame, far beyond the geographical and denominational borders.

The special anti-Jewish regulations for settlement and land acquisition coincide with the Basic laws of the state 1867, which meet with fierce Catholic-conservative opposition in Tyrol. 1890 has been awarded the Israelite law the public practice of the Jewish religion was regulated and guaranteed. There was a great sense of optimism among the Jews in view of the freedoms they had gained.
Innsbruck experienced rapid growth as a transport, commercial and administrative centre and also a Increase in the Jewish population. Jews also increasingly took part in public life, held political office and were involved in clubs and associations, most notably the Dannhauser family, who had already settled here long before the wave of immigration. The economic successes, accompanied by envy and anti-Semitic hatred, were impressive, such as the first department stores' in Tyrol: Bauer & Schwarz, the furniture store Brüll, the shoe store Pasch, Café Schindler, the textile shop Freudenfels & Co, the shoe store Graubart and others. The families continued to uphold the essential rules of tradition and closed their shops on Jewish holidays.

Ludwig Mauthner obtained in Innsbruck in 1869 The first Jew to hold a full professorship at an Austrian university, as a specialist in ophthalmology at the Faculty of Medicine, where he performed hundreds of operations. Soon, in the context of further appointments Fierce anti-Semitic resistance among the students.

Bolzano had lost much of its importance as a trading town during the Napoleonic period and Jewish life was maintained on a very modest scale by the aforementioned influx from Hohenems. With the already mentioned and related by marriage to Salomon Sulzer The Schwarz family finally brought influential and respected merchants and bankers to South Tyrol, the most important of whom was Sigismund Schwarz (1849-1919). Among other things, he is considered the initiator of several local railways: the Überetsch Railway, which was in operation until 1971, the Mori-Arco-Riva Railway and the Virgl Railway in Bolzano, which was destroyed during the Second World War.

With the construction of the Brenner railway and the winter stays of the imperial court from 1870 to 1872 Merano as a spa town became increasingly important. The spa guests also included Jews, who were looked after by the Biedermann brothers, who had lived in the town since 1820 and were the only Jews in the town until 1867, Dr Hausmann and the cloth merchant Gutmann, who had moved here from Bavaria. Among the often destitute patients were Orthodox Jews from Poland and Russia, which was not perceived with much favour by the spa guests. In 1873 there was already the first kosher restaurant, which was set up by Josef and Katharina Bermann. The The Bermann family earned great merit over three generations in the spa and hotel business and in looking after the Jewish community. With the Königswarter Foundation the foundation stone for the Foundation of a cemetery and the support of destitute Jews. In 1893, an asylum (hospital) for Jewish guests was set up in the Villa Steiner for this purpose, which was enlarged in 1909 and refurbished with modern facilities. Around the turn of the century, the spa business meant that there were significantly more Jews in the town than in other towns in Tyrol, at least seasonally.

In the 1880s, the political, modern anti-Semitism This was also the case in Tyrol, which was directly linked to the Christian and superstitious demonisation of the Jews. The modern, liberal trends associated with the increased presence of Jews in society, business and culture were resisted. It was therefore no coincidence that the ritual murder legends became increasingly popular again and that anti-Semitism fell on fertile ground, especially in conservative Tyrol. The details would go beyond the scope of this article. Just this much: the authorities were hardly willing to effectively counter the incitement against the Jews.

At the beginning of the World War 1 The Jews were infected by the general enthusiasm for the war and had their own reasons for this: loyalty to the imperial house, which was favourable to the Jews, to put an end to the incessant pogroms in the settlement area, as well as the Need for equality in the multi-ethnic state, which they wanted to prove and fight for on the battlefield.
There was an above-average number of officers among the Tyrolean soldiers in Tyrol. This can probably be explained by the high level of education and the opportunities for social advancement. The rabbis in Innsbruck and Merano, Josef Link and Adolf Altmann, were as Field Rabbi appointed. The Hohenems rabbi Ignaz Hauser was appointed military chaplain for the sick and wounded Jewish soldiers in Vorarlberg. The Religious communities faced major challenges, numerous refugees travelling through had to be supported, pastoral care had to be provided for the soldiers stationed and wounded in the hinterland, religious services had to be held and kosher food had to be organised, at least for the holidays. The Viennese religious community had to help set up the ritual kitchens, as the local communities were overwhelmed despite all their sacrifices. It was often not possible to fulfil all the needs. In Merano, for example, around a thousand Jewish soldiers had to be provided with matzot and wine for Passover in 1916. In Innsbruck in 1917, there were 400 soldiers for whom a Seder was organised in the monastery barracks.

In North Tyrol, the Jewish population fell from just under 500 after the end of the First World War to less than 400 by 1938, as there were Migration of young people in particular to Vienna existed. In response to the rise in anti-Semitism in all sections of the population and parties (anti-Semitic organisation), those who remained attempted to Zionist organisations to keep to themselves. Religious practice was not particularly strict, not least because there was hardly any direct immigration from Eastern Europe, which, according to the Innsbruck rabbi Rimalt, would not have been welcomed. People saw themselves as Tyroleans of the Mosaic faith. The procurement of kosher meat was only possible through subcontracting, as the Slaughtering prohibited in Tyrol was.
The Jewish population in Vorarlberg declined The population continued to decline dramatically and only consisted of around 40 people before the Anschluss. The peripheral location of Hohenems and the possibility of moving to economically more attractive towns took their toll.
In South Tyrol, the Jewish population in Merano, which numbered around 350 people at the beginning of the 1930s. This number doubled by the beginning of the Second World War due to the influx of refugees, from 1938 also from Austria. There were many Jewish spa guests in Merano to the same extent as before the First World War, including prominent figures such as Chaim Weizmann and Vladimir Zeev Jabotinsky.

Anti-Semitism increased massively under pressure from the German nationalists. The Jewish war refugees from the former crown lands, the Austrian citizenship denied, This was also the case in Tyrol. Summer holiday anti-Semitism became widespread and many communities and inns boasted that they did not accept Jews as guests. The German and Austrian Alpine Club like many other associations, refused membership to Jews (Aryan paragraph). As a result, Jewish clubs were founded, as were supporters of the respective political parties. In Innsbruck, in addition to sports clubs (Sportklub Hakoah), there were several Zionist clubs, which were particularly popular with young people (Innsbrucker „Blue and white“). However, the increasing politicisation within the Jewish community led to some internal conflicts (anti-Zionists, Zionists, revisionists). Some people emigrated to Palestine in the 1930s out of conviction, including Dr Edmund Silberstein (later: Matitiahu Sella), founder of the revisionist Innsbruck „Betar“ and for a time head of the secret police in Israel.

In South Tyrol the situation was less drastic until Italy's rapprochement with Hitler's Germany in 1936/37, as the Italian state was much less anti-Semitic. In the local population of South Tyrol and Trentino was the However, anti-Semitism is just as strong as in Austria (e.g. the „Reimmichlkalender“ propaganda tool), so that the Jewish community tended to turn towards the Italian state, which further strengthened the South Tyrolean population's hatred of Jews. The (illegal) Nazi group in Merano was particularly active. With Hitler's rise to power and the „Anschluss“ of Austria, many refugees came to Merano/Meran, who were tolerated by the authorities until 1938, but further fuelled anti-Semitism.

The years 1938 to 1945, in South Tyrol only from 1943, led to the long-prepared catastrophe. It all began with the National Socialist law-based Displacement from society. At the time of the „Anschluss“, according to current knowledge 661 „full Jews“ and 210 „half Jews“ in the Gau Tirol-Vorarlberg“, who are also known by name. Around a quarter of the „full Jews“ were no longer of the Mosaic faith. Palestine played a much greater role as a place of refuge for Tyrolean Jews than for those from the rest of Austria. A quarter of Tyrolean Jews compared to a tenth of Austrian refugees who found their way to Erez Israel. This is documented by the particularly Zionist orientation of Tyrolean Jews.

The November pogrom on the night of 9/10 November 1938 was particularly cruel in Innsbruck due to the special „ambition“ of Gauleiter Franz Hofer and the explicit murder order from SS-Oberführer Feil (the population did not take part in the riots): Three men were deliberately murdered, also to appropriate their villas (the chairman of the religious community Ing. Richard Berger, engineer Richard Graubart, Dr Wilhelm Bauer), another succumbed to his injuries a few months later in Vienna (Engineer Josef Adler). At least 25 flats were smashed up, their residents abused, 18 men were injured, some seriously, and imprisoned, and 2 people committed suicide. Although there were plans for similar actions in Vorarlberg, they were not realised. After the November pogrom, the Forced relocation to Vienna, from 1940 the first murders in concentration camps (6 people from Tyrol-Vorarlberg), from 1941 the deportations to Poland and from 1942 the systematic extermination in the concentration camps. The harrowing details (names, place, time) can be found in the above-mentioned work by Thomas Albrich. Ilse Brüll, Alfred Hochhaus and Rudolf Gomperz should be mentioned here as representatives of the many victims.

As early as 1938, the „Aryanisations“ of Jewish private and business property, as well as for the „provisional administration“ of businesses and companies, mostly with the aim of forced closure. 29 businesses were affected by this in the Gau Tirol-Vorarlberg. The „Easter campaign“ 1943 was to go down in history as a Tyrol-specific endeavour to also arrest Jews of „Aryan“ spouses („privileged mixed marriages“), mostly women of an older age, and send them to extermination. Gauleiter Hofer was obsessed with the idea that Tyrol had to become „Judenrein“. Due to protests from the population and instructions from higher authorities, the operation, which ended fatally for the Teuber couple (suicide) and other people, was cancelled after several arrests and internments in the Reichenau warehouse terminated.

Also in Italy and thus in South Tyrol the pace tightened from 1938 onwards. Jews who had fled were only allowed to pass through, while all Jews who had acquired Italian citizenship after 1919 were deprived of it. Over 116 people in South Tyrol fell into this category. 666 people did not have Italian papers. They had to leave the country within 6 months. From May 1940, a Transit ban were imposed on all Jews from territories occupied by the Nazis. Racial laws were also introduced in Italy in a modified form. It is interesting to note that, among other things, someone whose „mother is of Jewish race“ was considered a Jew, which, apart from the term „race“, coincides with the Halacha (Jewish religious law), or a „half-Jew“ who shows „Jewish behaviour“, whereby a (stereotypical?) cultural characteristic was set alongside the descent characteristic. Of the approximately 1,000 foreign Jews residing in Merano in 1938, only 56 were still registered in the entire province of Bolzano in 1942. There were Residence bans for Jews in Meran, St. Ulrich, Gossensass and from 1943 also on the Ritten, i.e. in the popular summer holiday resorts. With the invasion of Hitler's Germany in September 1943 saw the beginning of a brutal wave of arrests in. Those Jews who were unable or unwilling to flee were deported to the Reichenau camp and on to Auschwitz, where they were severely maltreated. Around 70 people suffered this fate, only one Jewish woman, Walli Hoffmann, survived this procedure. Some managed to escape to Switzerland at the last minute or went into hiding.

At the time of the Anschluss, 661 Jews lived on the territory of the Kultusgemeinde Tirol-Vorarlberg. Of these, exactly half are known to have survived, while around a third were murdered. The fate of a number of people has not yet been clarified. Only around 40 of the refugees returned to Innsbruck, at least for a short time, 24 of them also died here. The last to die from the old community was Irma Krug-Löwy in 2001, who was buried at the Westfriedhof cemetery. Nobody returned to Vorarlberg.

After the Second World War, numerous DPs (Displaced Persons) in the Innsbruck area, around 2,000 of whom were of Jewish origin and were provided for in various accommodation centres. At Adolf-Pichler-Platz 10, Jakob Mendelson-Fischer set up an office for the „Jewish Committee in Innsbruck“ in 1945 (soon to be called „Refugee Liason Joint Committee“), which took care of all the needs of the Jews stranded in Innsbruck and, together with the „Bricha“, the secret organisation that helped people escape to Palestine. As late as August 1945, the Jewish DPs, apart from a transit camp at the Sisters of Mercy on Rennweg, were forced to move as a group to the camp in the Wiesenhof in Gnadenwald which was operated under poor hygienic conditions until April 1949.
Most of them and the numerous refugees who followed tried to reach Italy legally or illegally in order to embark for Palestine. Around 50,000 persons the Bricha is to be through North and South Tyrol have. The methods of escape varied greatly and the role of the occupying powers and the Austrian authorities was ambivalent. Unsurprisingly, anti-Semitic tones could be heard from the latter. The topic has now been well researched and published in book form (H.-J. Löwer: „Flucht über die Alpen“, Tyrolia 2021).

Despite legal provisions to the contrary no significant restitutions in Merano Apart from Walli Hoffmann, the only survivor of the deportations to have her villa returned to her. Some Merano families enriched themselves with Jewish property and were reported after the war, but never punished. There were also never any serious political efforts to address and come to terms with the complicity of many South Tyroleans.