Jews were tragically expelled from the Austrian capital three times, but when allowed to were able to reach great heights, leaving an indelible mark.

By Joshua Marks, JNS

A recent exploration of Vienna highlights Austria’s splendid capital, situated along the Danube River in Central Europe and historically one of the most significant Jewish cities on the continent.

Vienna also has a notable history of antisemitism. Specifically, the Jewish community faced expulsion on three occasions: the first Vienna Gesera, enacted by Duke Albert V in 1420-21; the second, under Emperor Leopold I in 1669-70; and the tragic deportation of 65,000 Jews to concentration camps during the Anschluss from 1938 to 1945, where they met horrific fates.

Nevertheless, in the intervals between these acts of persecution, Hebraic life flourished in the city, marked by remarkable intellectual, scientific, artistic, cultural and religious contributions few other cities can match. Known as the City of Dreams after the founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud, many of its most renowned residents were of Jewish descent.

The Heldenplatz in front of the Hofburg Palace where Nazi leader Adolf Hitler stood on the balcony on March 15, 1938, and gave a triumphal speech two days after the annexation of Austria into the German Reich, Vienna, Austria, Aug. 23, 2024. Photo by Joshua Marks.

The rich history of Jewish life in Vienna, spanning over 800 years, is evident throughout the city, making it advisable to dedicate several days to exploring. An alternative itinerary could feature a concert of Mozart and Strauss, followed by a leisurely stroll through the grounds of Schönbrunn Palace, the former residence of the Habsburg emperors.

Before undertaking a Jewish-focused tour of Vienna, it is advisable to read “Jewish Vienna,” part of the Mandelbaum City Guide series. Equipped with knowledge of significant sites, one can utilize Vienna’s efficient public transportation system to discover one of the most pivotal cities in Jewish history.

The following are some highlights from my trip there with my wife in late August. Our flight from Tel Aviv was facilitated by El Al, Israel’s national airline, which has maintained regular departures from Ben Gurion Airport during the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, unlike some foreign airlines, including Austrian Airlines, which have intermittently suspended their services.

Judenplatz
Address: Judenpl. 8
Closest U-Bahn (rapid transit) stations: Herrengase (U3) or Schottenring (U4)  

The story of Jewish life in Vienna traces its origins to the Middle Ages, specifically in the vicinity of Judenplatz (Jewish Square in German). This location also marks the site of the first of three significant tragedies that befell the city’s Jewish community.

The earliest official records of Jews in Austria date back to the year 904. However, it was not until 1194 that a Jew was specifically mentioned in Vienna, with a man named Schlom (Shalom) being recognized as a mint master under Duke Leopold V.

Schlom’s fate mirrored that of countless Jews across Europe and Jerusalem during the Crusades. As European Christians advanced toward the Holy Land, they perpetrated violence against Jews, including the massacre of Schlom and 15 members of his household in Vienna in 1196.

Schlom’s story, along with that of other Jews from Vienna, is presented at the Jewish Museum of Vienna, which features a secondary location in the Jewish medieval quarter dedicated to the Jewish community of the Middle Ages. This site contains remnants of the synagogue that existed until its destruction during the first Vienna Gesera in 1421, a persecution of the Jews by Duke Albert V.

The remains of the medieval Ashkenazi synagogue that was destroyed in 1421, Museum Judenplatz, Vienna, Austria, Aug. 25, 2024. Photo by Joshua Marks.

Situated in the Misrachi-Haus at Judenplatz 8, to our surprise the museum was pleasantly adorned with blue-and-white Israeli flags hanging from the windows during our visit. Upon entering, visitors are greeted by an empty chair, a poignant reminder of the hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza following the violent attacks perpetrated by the terrorist group in the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7, 2023.

Staring in the early 13th century, a Jewish community thrived in Vienna for nearly two centuries, and the museum showcases artifacts from this era, including a large iron key discovered at the main entrance of the synagogue during excavations conducted in the 1990s.

The Jewish community in medieval Vienna expanded to approximately 900 individuals, constituting 5% of the city’s total population. During this period, Jews were recognized as the sole tolerated religious minority in Austria and were granted specific “privileges.” However, by the mid-14th century, this status resulted in the demonization of the Jewish population, who faced accusations of usury, leading to the implementation of new laws that limited their mobility.

Despite these challenges, medieval Vienna was home to at least two synagogues, a kosher butcher, a ritual bathhouse and a hospital. The city emerged as a significant rabbinical center within Ashkenaz, the region encompassing northern France and the Rhineland, where Jews initially settled during the Middle Ages, later expanding into central and eastern Europe due to migrations prompted by persecution.

Expulsions of Jews in Europe from 1100 to 1600 AD. pic.twitter.com/ikvRV70zR3

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The first notable rabbi of Vienna was Itzchak bar Moshe, known as Or Zarua, Hebrew for “Sown Light,” after his most renowned scholarly work, still regarded as a vital component of rabbinical literature.

As stated earlier, this period of Jewish life in Vienna ended with the first Gesera, a term derived from the Yiddish account of the persecution, during which the Jewish community faced murders, expulsions, arrests and coerced conversions, even of children under the age of 15.

On Sukkot, Sept. 23, 1420, some Jews chose to commit mass suicide within the synagogue rather than convert to Christianity. The rabbi, known as Jona, took the tragic step of killing all the men and women present in the synagogue before ultimately taking his own life by self-immolation.

Then, on March 12, 1421, over 200 Jewish survivors—comprising 92 men and 120 women—were burned at the stake. The synagogue was razed, and its stones repurposed for the construction of the University of Vienna.

Klaus Lohrmann, a Viennese historian and the founding director of the Institute for Jewish History of Austria, depicted the harrowing moment at the execution site as the women arrived in 86 carts, witnessing the flames that would determine their destinies:

When the women saw what was to befall them, they started to dance as if they were being led to the marriage chuppah. They glorified and sanctified His name, much to the astonishment of the onlookers. Once again the duke announced that he would reward those who became baptized with riches and honors. He had a cross brought so that they could pay homage to it. But they spat at the cross and the duke, taking courage they would be soon in the Garden of Eden. As the fire burned, they cursed the duke and his G-d and gave praise to Heaven. From the fire they recited “Shema Yisroel” and “May His great Name be blessed forever and ever.”

A residence located on Judenplatz, constructed between the late 15th and early 16th centuries, features an inscription that commemorates the killings of the “Hebrew dogs,” as it describes the Jewish people murdered during the Vienna Gesara.

In modern times, the church has recognized its role in the persecution of Jews throughout Europe and has therefore installed a plaque on the wall of the same building, condemning the anti-Jewish sentiments expressed in the inscription. The plaque includes a statement that “Today, Christianity acknowledges its responsibility for the persecution of Jews and understands its shortcomings.”

Throughout the Middle Ages, Jews in various regions of Austria and Europe faced brutal violence, not only at the hands of marauding Crusaders but also due to accusations of blood libel, according to which they required Christian blood for their religious ceremonies. They were also charged with the alleged purchase or theft of consecrated Eucharist wafers, an act considered desecration, and were wrongfully blamed for the spread of the plague by supposedly poisoning wells during the Black Death.

Above the remnants of the medieval synagogue, which are preserved underground within the museum, stands the Memorial to the Austrian Jewish Victims of the Shoah. This memorial, designed by British artist Rachel Whiteread, is a reinforced concrete cube adorned with walls featuring inverted books. It was unveiled on Oct. 25, 2000, concurrently with the Judenplatz Museum, and draws inspiration from the Jewish identity as the “People of the Book.” Inscribed along the base are the names of 41 concentration camps and other sites where Austrian Jews were murdered by the Nazis and their accomplices during the Holocaust.

The concept for the memorial was championed by renowned Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, following the 1988 inauguration of the Memorial against War and Fascism at Albertinaplatz, which was perceived as overly general and included a statue depicting a Jew cleaning the pavement, an image regarded as a symbol of perpetual humiliation.

The “Street-washing Jew” sculpture, part of the Memorial against War and Fascism on the Albertinaplatz in Vienna, Austria on Aug. 23, 2024. Photo by Joshua Marks.

Austria’s annexation into the German Reich on March 13, 1938, marked a tragic turning point for the 185,000 Jews who were part of the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde (IKG – Jewish Community) in Vienna. The total Jewish population in the city may have reached as high as 200,000, constituting over 10% of Vienna’s overall population. Before the incursion of Austrian-born Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, only Warsaw and Budapest had larger Jewish communities.

In the face of Nazi oppression, more than 120,000 Jews managed to flee, while approximately 65,000 were tragically murdered. Following the liberation of the city by the Soviet Red Army in 1945, the IKG reported a mere 3,955 members remaining. Currently, the Vienna Jewish Community comprises around 8,000 members.

Jewish Museum Vienna
Address: Dorotheergasse 11
Closest U-Bahn station: Stephansplatz (U1 or U3)

Vienna was the site of the world’s inaugural Jewish museum, established in 1895. In the 1920s the museum adopted a Zionist perspective, but it was shut down by the Gestapo, the Nazi secret police, in 1938. The management and members of the museum faced expulsion or execution, while its curator, Jakob Bronner, sought refuge in Palestine that same year.

The museum’s collection was dispersed to various other institutions, primarily to the Museum of Ethnology, now known as the Weltmuseum. Some artifacts were showcased in 1939 at an antisemitic propaganda exhibition titled The Physical and Mental Images of the Jews.

A second, smaller museum was established in 1964, operating for a few years before the current museum was inaugurated at its principal location in the Palais Eskeles on Dorotheergasse on Nov. 18, 1993.

While the Judenplatz museum focuses solely on the medieval era, the main museum presents the comprehensive narrative of Vienna’s Jewish community, featuring a Judaica collection from over 100 synagogues that were destroyed in Austria, as well as Jewish institutions that were compelled to close and private residences.

The Jewish Museum Vienna which provides an overview of the history and present-day life of Jews in the Austrian capital, Vienna, Austria, Aug. 25, 2024. Photo by Joshua Marks.

The museum narrates the history of the second Jewish community in Vienna, which was reinstated 180 years after their expulsion in 1421. Their return to the city was facilitated by the emperor’s need for financial support, particularly during the Thirty Years’ War from 1618 to 1648. This second Jewish community was officially established in 1624 when Emperor Ferdinand II issued a patent on Dec. 6, placing the Jewish population under the protection of the House of Austria. He allocated a portion of the Unterer Werd in the second district for their settlement.

For the second of three expulsions, Jews were removed from Vienna by the decree of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I in 1669, primarily for economic and religious motives, with the actual expulsion occurring in 1670. Antisemitic residents renamed the area that once served as the Jewish quarter Leopoldstadt in his honor.

Anti-Jewish sentiment remained prevalent within the Habsburg territories, exemplified by Maria Theresa’s expulsion of 20,000 Jews from Prague in 1744, which represented the final expulsion of Jews in Central Europe before 1933. In 1777, Maria Theresa expressed her views on the Jewish community, stating, “I know of no greater plague than this race, whose deceit, usury and avarice are reducing people to beggars and who conduct all the disreputable transactions that would be abhorrent to an honest person.”

The Vienna Jewish Museum provides insights into the Sephardic community of Vienna, which was permitted to settle and engage in commerce within the city due to the Treaty of Passarowitz in 1718, a peace accord between the Habsburgs and the Ottomans.

Turkish Sephardic Jews enjoyed greater privileges compared with the established Ashkenazi communities, as they were subjects of Sultan Ahmed III. This included the right to form a legally recognized community in Vienna and to construct a synagogue. The foundation of this Sephardic community can be traced back to Diego d’Aguilar, whose family, originally from Portugal, was compelled to convert to another faith before returning to Judaism.

#WeRemember
The “Turkish Temple” in Vienna, an Ottoman-Sephardic synagogue in Neo-Moorish style inaugurated in 1888 and destroyed during the “Kristallnacht” in November 1938. pic.twitter.com/Au1bUgzioB

— Luis Lozano-Paredes (@llparedes) January 27, 2019

In 1887, the Sephardic Jews of Vienna inaugurated the neo-Moorish Turkish Temple, designed to evoke the grandeur of the Alhambra in Granada. Unfortunately, this synagogue was destroyed by the Nazis during the events of Kristallnacht in 1938.

The City Temple (Stadttempel), inaugurated in 1826, remarkably escaped destruction during the Nazi pogrom of 1938 due to its concealment behind an apartment building. It stands as the sole synagogue in the city to endure World War II, as the Nazis systematically demolished the remaining 93 synagogues and Jewish prayer houses.

This synagogue has witnessed significant historical moments, including April 15, 1949, when an Israeli passenger aircraft made its inaugural landing in Austria to transport the remains of Theodor Herzl, an Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist and the pioneer of modern political Zionism, to Jerusalem for reinterment. The remains were exhumed the day prior and brought to the City Temple, where large crowds gathered before the El Al flight, a Douglas DC-4, departed for the Jewish homeland.

A portrait of Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist and the father of modern political Zionism Theodor Herzl at the Jewish Museum of Vienna in Vienna, Austria on Aug. 25, 2024.

In 1981, the synagogue became the site of a tragic Palestinian terrorist attack, perpetrated by two members of the Abu Nidal Organization (Fatah – Revolutionary Council). Armed with machine guns and hand grenades, the assailants targeted attendees of a bar mitzvah ceremony, killing two individuals and injuring 18 others, several of them critically.