history of the jewish community and the ghetto in venice

2004-12-21T08:54:00.000-08:00

Jewish settlements in the Veneto were found even in ancient times. Archeological remains and reliable testimony testify to the presence of Jews in Aquileia, Grado, and Concordia since the IV and V centuries. Jews from the East and transalpine countries were the first to settle there, but, after 1492, many Jews expelled from Spain and Portugal also arrived. Small communities were created in the mainland near Padua, Treviso, Bassano, and Conegliano. From there, Jews began to move to Venice where their residence was always precarious owing to the wavering policy of the Serenissima which kept giving and withdrawing its permission to stay. Gradually, however, the number of Jews and the importance of the role they played in the life of the city kept growing. The Governor of the Republic, then, decided that the Jews had to live in only one area of the city and on 29 March 1516 a law decreed that that area was to be in the S. Girolamo parish and would be called "Ghetto Novo". Thus the first ghetto of Europe came into existence. Today it is a lively and thriving quarter, with its religious and administrative institutions, particularly two Synagogues, still open to service.
in the XVI and XVII centuries, the Ghetto experienced a rich cultural growth. Many Hebrew books were printed by Bomberg, Bragadin, Giustinian, and Vendramin; famous Rabbis, such as Leon da Modena and Simone Luzzatto, and distinguished poets (notably Sara Coppio Sullam) lived there. The five major Synagogues, as well as smaller study and prayer houses (midrashim), were built. The Jews from different ethnic groups ("nations") were in fact allowed to organise their communities ( "Universities") but only for small numbers, and each with an autonomous administration, an individual Rabbi and an individual synagogue. The oldest one, the Schola Grande Tedesca (German School) was built in 1528-29. The Schola Canton was founded by German Jews for their Ashkenazi ritual in 1531-32. Merchants from the East built the Schola Levantina (Levantine School) in the Ghetto Vecchio in 1538, and the Schola Spagnola (Spanish School) followed later in the century. The last and simpler synagogue, the Schola Italiana (Italian School), was built in 1575. All these Synagogues have remained intact over the centuries, forming a monumental complex which is unique from an artistic, architectural and historical point of view, as demonstrated by the towering houses, whose flats were built much lower than usual, to accomodate the great number of Jews living in the Ghetto.
According to tradition, the word "Ghetto" comes from the Venetian word "geto" (pron. je-tto), indicating the site of a metal foundry. The term came to be pronounced with a guttural 'g' by the German Jews, who were the first to settle down here. The first area assigned to the Jews was called "Ghetto Novo" (New Ghetto) probably because there was a new foundry there, while there was an older foundry in the "Ghetto Vecchio" (Old Ghetto), assigned after 1541. Finally the "Ghetto Novissimo" (Newest Ghetto) was added to the area of settlement for the Jews in 1633. The Jews had to remain in the Ghetto during the night, while two large gates closed the area off (the marks of the hinges are still visible today). Christian guards (payed by the Jews themselves) patrolled by boat the canals surrounding the Ghetto, blocking possible escapes. Little by little, life in the Ghetto developed. Shops and schools opened, while the pawnshops, which the Jews were obliged to run, were visited by needy Venetians. The Ghetto began to entertain a rich commercial and cultural exchange with the rest of the city.
In 1797 Napoleon decreed the end of the segregation and Jews were recognized equal rights. After several restrictions under the Austrian rule, equality was made definitive when Venice became part of the Kingdom of Italy, as a memorial stone placed in the center of the Ghetto Novo testifies. On the opposite side of the square, under a symbolic line of barbed wire, the City of Venice has placed seven bas-relief plaques by the sculptor Arbit Blatas who donated them. They depict and commemorate the tragedy of the deportation of the European Jews to the concentration camps. Next to the memorial is the Jewish rest home (built in 1890) from where a sad procession of Venetian Jews left for the camps during the years of nazi-fascist persecution. In their memory, on the adjacent wall of the Ghetto, a new monument by Arbit Blatas records their names and ages.

Juditta Grosswirth

2004-11-04T03:54:00.000-08:00

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Survivor:
Code: RelatioNet GR JU 38 VE IT Family Name:
KLEIMAN Adolescence Name:GROSSWIRTH First Name: JUDITTA Middle Name: x Father Name: x Father Middle Name: x Mother Name:x Birth Date: 1938 Town In Holocaust: VENICE Country In Holocaust: IT PO Profession In Holocaust: x Status: x Death Place: x Death Reason: x Date of Death : x Add: Street, No: Qiriat Shaool Cemetery Town: Tel Aviv Country: Israel Tl: x Fax: x Mobile: x E-Mail: x Notes: x

RelatioNet GR JU 38 VE IT

history of the jewish community and the ghetto in venice

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Juditta Grosswirth