Development
The foundation and development of the
Jewish settlement in Southern Burgenland legally evolved from a series of writs
of protection between the Batthyány family and the Jewish communities. Their
settlement was dependent on the landlord's explicit permission. On the one hand
the Jews received protection through the landlord; on the other hand they were
subject to his regulations.
The Jewish municipality of Schlaining was founded in the second half of the 17th
century.
The Schlaining land register of 1750 denotes the Jews' duties:
regular protection money for 39 families = 100 guilder;
extra protection money per family exceeding the 39 and therefore requiring an
extraordinary permission by the landlord = 4 guilder;
for the permit to serve wine = 34 guilder;
for trading of tobacco, soap and candles = 18 guilder;
New Year's dues = 25 guilder.
The payment of protection money allowed the Jews a certain level of autonomy in
the management of their affairs. They had permission to elect their own head of
community, called Judenrichter, which translates roughly to “judge of the Jews”,
and to elect five jurors. They were responsible for monitoring the observance of
religious regulations and for punishing minor offenses and settled charges
against Jews by the Christians. The community's finances were kept by two
treasurers and two auditors. The account books had to be presented to the
authority at the end of the year.
The lifting of restrictions on purchase and on settlement in 1840 and the
massive migration of various groups and classes of the population of South
Burgenland in the last quarter of the 19th century was extremely rough on the
Schlaining community. Many Jews left Schlaining to settle in the prosperous
towns and cities. At the end of the 19th century at least half of the original
population lived in Oberwart or Großpetersdorf. There were also a few families
in ten other villages. The religious community suffered great problems because
of this. In 1922 the last Rabbi left Schlaining and settled in the affiliated
town of Oberwart where he took on the duties of a Rabbi from 1924 on. In 1930
Oberwart's own religious community was founded, Schlaining was joined as a sub-
parish.
In 1697 there were 55 Jews living in Schlaining. During the 18th century the
Schlaining Jewish community counted 50 to 60 people. In 1735 only 45 people are
denoted. The Jewish community reached its peak of 600 people in 1857. After that
the number began to decline continuously. In 1920 the number of Jews in
Schlaining sank down to 59 and in 1934 there were merely 19 Jews in Schlaining.
Jewish Life
From the end of the 17th century the
Batthyánys rented out flats to Jewish families. An apartment was made of a
larger room and a smaller one as well as a kitchen which two families often had
to share. Altogether the Batthyánys were able to house around 55 or 60 families
in their Jew houses, collecting rent from all of them. The rapid increase in the
Jewish population led to more and more Jews renting from Schlaining residents or
trying to obtain property themselves, the latter most likely being only rare
exceptions.
During the Vormärz, the years before the German Revolution in March 1848, there
was a small upper class in the Schlaining Jewish community. These were mainly
merchants that held leading positions in the administration of the municipality.
The craftsmen and traders formed the middle class. The dominance of the craft
guilds limited any room for development among them. The broad lower class mainly
consisted of peddlers and wine merchants that supplied the rural areas with the
necessities of daily life. The proportion of poor Jews was fairly large; it
amounted to roughly one fifth to one fourth of the working population.
Marietta Fluk, Stadtschlaining - Media PA/ USA during her visit in
Stadtschlaining:
“I really cannot remember much. I was six years old when we left Schlaining
and I probably should remember more – but I guess I have a mental block
because these times were not the happiest and maybe I have suppressed it all. I
remember when the Nazis came and knocked at the door and that my mother told me
– I must have been around four years old – not to speak. They entered and
searched the house. I think about the incident but I do not remember. I know
that we went away. I think we went to Vienna and on to the United States from
there. I remember the boat passage. I have an image of it, I know I was there,
but I cannot remember. I do however remember our arrival in June 1938. My mother
had two brothers here, who helped us get by. And may I add that all these years
my Mother said to me that we would have never been able to leave Schlaining
without the help of her Christian friends.
I don't think that my mother had bad thoughts (about Schlaining), I think she
had sad thoughts because she had left her homeland, the only home she had ever
had, and because she had left everything behind; but alas, we have got away. We
lost some family members who had not managed to leave. I do not think that my
mother thought badly about the town, about Schlaining. It had been her Christian
friends here in Schlaining that had helped us. She only ever thought and said
good things about the people here. She surely would have come back had she had
the means and the money to do so. And had she lived longer, maybe we would have
made this trip to Schlaining together. No, she did not think badly about the
people here. What happened here was not the fault of the town.”
From: interview on June 17, 2001,
Burgenländische Forschungsgesellschaft (interview conducted by: Milenia
Snowdon- Prötsch)
1938
Also in Schlaining, Jewish shops were
arianized and the goods left behind were sold to the local population by party
officials from Oberwart. Not much is known about the fate of the Jewish
population of Schlaining. Many Schlaining Jews managed to escape in time, going
first to Vienna and then abroad from there. Property in Schlaining was sold by
the religious community of Oberwart to the municipality of Stadtschlaining for
3316 Reichsmark. Debt and dues were subtracted from this sum, “the rest was
transferred to a frozen bank account for travel expenses and allowances of the
displaced Jews”. (Baumgartner)
Most of the former Schlaining Jews found a new homeland in the USA, South
America and Israel.
“They did not vanish from the collective memory of the population. The
former mayor remembers 17 Jewish households with their exact addresses:
The family of the merchant Lewi Braun in house Rochusplatz Nr. 4;
The family of Arthur Heinrich in the houses Rochusplatz Nr. 3 and Hauptplatz Nr.
4;
the bachelor Eisenstädter in house Hauptplatz 18;
the family Grünwald in house Baumkirchergasse Nr. 2;
the widow Heinrich in house Baumkirchergasse Nr. 10;
the estate owner Heinrich in house Hauptplatz Nr. 5;
the family Lebensohn in house Hauptplatz Nr. 3;
the family of teacher Steiner in the same house;
the master glazier Ebenspanger with family in house Klingergasse Nr. 1;
the family Würzburger in house Langegasse Nr. 4;
the family of preacher Salomon in house Langegasse Nr. 38;
the family of synagogue clerk Jakob Preier in house Langegasse Nr. 42;
the single merchant Maier in house Langegasse Nr. 1;
the family of the Rabbi Blau in the Vorstadtgasse;
the family Scholz in house Langegasse Nr. 4;
the family of the felon Friedmann in the so-called “Badhaus” in house
Wunderlandgasse 4;
and the family Wolf in Klingergasse Nr. 12.”
From: Baumgartner Gerhard, History of the Jewish
community of Schlaining, Austrian Institute for Peace Research and Peace
Education Castle Schlaining (Ed.), Stadtschlaining 1988.
After 1945:
Nobody returned
Welcome to Stadtschaining
 The “Welcome to Stadtschlaining” project organized in 2001 by
Concentrum, the Austrian Research Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution and
the township of Stadtschlaining, brought former Schlaining Jews or their
descendants back to Schlaining. For the former Schlaining Jews and their
descendants, this program of visits was an encounter with their city of origin
and homeland on the one hand, and on the other hand an opportunity to see former
fellow citizens again and to deal with this chapter of Schlaining history.
Traces visible today
Synagogue and the Rabbi house (Today Library of Peace)
Cemetery
Remembrance Plaque in the passage to the Synagogue
Photos: Wolfgang R. Kubizek (2002)
Synagogue
 In Schlaining the Jews stayed Orthodox until the 20th
century. The synagogue formed the center of religious, social and cultural life.
The Jewish community already had a Synagogue in 1715. Where exactly it was
situated and if the location was identical with the present, one cannot tell
today.
In any case the Synagogue and adjoining Rabbi house preserved to this day
probably date back to the 18th century.  In 1864 the building was remodeled and renovated by master
builder Johann Lang from Pinkafelder. The gallery was probably constructed in
that time as well. The synagogue was ruined but not fully destroyed in the
so-called Reichskristallnacht (Crystal night) in November 1938.
The historically precious building stayed empty for many years until it was
renovated in 1988.
Since then it has been housing the library of the Austrian Research Centre for
Peace and Conflict Resolution. The Rabbi house now contains offices of the
Concentrum association.
Picture credits: Genée Pierre, Synagogues in Austria, Vienna
1992
Photo: Alma Scope (1993)
Cemeteries
There is no precise information on the first and oldest Jewish cemetery in
Schlaining. The second cemetery is now located on private property in the
municipal area, in the Basteigasse. In 2002 a memorial was constructed on the
premises made of remnants of the tombstones.
  
Photos: Wolfgang R. Kubizek
(2002)
Around 1902 a new cemetery was established outside the city, which has outlasted
to this day. In 1997/1998 the premises was fenced in and a memorial was
constructed there.
  
Photos: Wolfgang R. Kubizek
(2002)
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