How The Rhine River Affected Our Jewish History

 Nadene Goldfoot                                               

Flowing through six countries, the Rhine River has served as a link between southern and northern Europe since Roman times. Originating from mountain brooks in the Swiss Alps, the Rhine travels north into Switzerland's Lake Constance (Europe's third largest), over the surging Rhine Falls (among Europe's largest), and on to Basel, where it becomes a major waterway used to transport goods and raw materials. The Rhine then serves as a border between Germany and France, narrows through deep gorges and meanders through steep-sided valleys renowned for vineyards and castles. At the Netherlands border, the Rhine splits into tributaries that cross an extensive delta and empty into the North Sea. Length: Approximately 1,230 kilometers / 765 miles long.  

A tributary:   Moselle: Travels southwest from Koblenz to France

Main:  Travels southeast from Mainz to Frankfurt

Key Cities along or near the Rhine River: are Amsterdam, Holland and Cologne, Germany  

Koblenz, Mainz and Cologne are larger populated Jewish cities.  Koblenz is where Werner Oster came from who married my father's sister;  my uncle in May 1939, possibly the last Jew out of Germany before the door closed.   

 Over time, the Rhine became a major shipping route and a central axis of the Holy Roman Empire. The Romans' first urban settlement, recognized circa 50 A.D., was on the present-day site of Cologne, Germany.   The city of Koblenz ranks as the third-largest city by population in Rhineland-Palatinate, behind Mainz and Ludwigshafen am Rhein. 

The Rhine was used from Roman times to transport trade and goods deep into inland Europe, with the many castles and fortifications built up around the Middle Rhine attesting to its importance. However, they were built not for any romantic purpose but instead to exact tolls from those using the river—often generating significant wealth for their owners and communities.                                                

The Rhine served as a formidable German border during World War II, a defensive barrier to Allied troops. Fighting brought mass destruction of bridges, trains and ships along the Rhine, including the bridge at Arnhem—immortalized in the film, A Bridge Too Far, and at Nijmegen, over a tributary of the Rhine. Both were part of the Allies' failed "Operation Market Garden." In a separate operation, the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen was captured by the Allies intact, helping to bring the war to an end. Post-war, the region has focused on political cooperation, economic development and tourism. 

Heidelberg, Germany has had a Jewish presence since the 13th century, but the community was decimated multiple times and ultimately deported during the Holocaust.  Black Death: The Jewish community was decimated in 1349. Expulsion: In 1391, Jews were expelled from Heidelberg and the Palatinate region. Persecution: In the 1930s, the Nazis persecuted Jewish students and community members in Heidelberg. Deportation: In 1940, Jews were deported to Gurs camp in France. Between 1941 and 1945, more Jews were deported to death camps.

In 1933 there were 1,100 Jews in the city (1.3% of the total population). The April 7 expulsion of Jews from the civil services resulted in the dismissal of 34 Jewish professors. By 1935 there was only one "full" Jewish student at the University, the remaining "Jewish" students were of mixed ancestry. Fourteen Polish Jews were expelled in October 1938. The synagogues were demolished on Nov. 10, 1938; its religious objects were confiscated and destroyed by university students. One hundred and fifty Jewish men were deported to Dachau but later released. On Oct. 22, 1940, 339 Jews were transported to Gurs. One hundred Jews were saved from deportation by Protestant Evangelical Pastor Hermann Maas, who got them out of the country. He was subsequently recognized by Yad Vashem as a Righteous Gentile. From 1942 to 1945, a further 103 were deported, mainly to Theresienstadt. Eighteen returned after the war and joined the 50 of mixed marriages that had outlived the war at Heidelberg. 

A new community came into being after World War II, numbering 139 persons in 1967. A new synagogue was consecrated in 1958. In 1979 the Central Council of Jews in Germany (Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland) opened the Hochschule fuer Juedische Studien (University for Jewish Studies) in Heidelberg. From 2001 it offered a program for rabbinical training in cooperation with Orthodox, Conservative, and Liberal rabbinical seminaries in Jerusalem, New York, and London. In 1987 the Central Council of Jews in Germany established the Central Archives for research on the history of the Jews in Germany, which collects documents from Jewish communities, associations, organizations, and individuals. The Jewish community numbered 188 in 1989 and 550 in 2005. The membership increased due to the immigration of Jews from the former Soviet Union. A new community center was opened in 1994.

 After the war, a Jewish community was re-established in Heidelberg. The city now has a synagogue in the Weststadt district, and "Stolpersteine" (stumbling stones) that mark the locations of former Jewish residents. Impact  The persecution of the Jewish community in Heidelberg was part of a larger Nazi effort to limit Jewish influence and control in Germany. Heidelberg's city council and the city's guilds repeatedly ensured that the ruling Elector limited the number of "his" Jews in Heidelberg so as not to allow Jewish competition to grow. An extremely high municipal taxation of the Jews temporarily residing here also served this purpose.

                                   Koblenz:  3/25/08 From nephew of Werner Oster: David Goldfoot: To get to Koblenz, we went right thru Boppard, which is only about 9 kilometers from where we were staying in Koblenz. Boppard is a beautiful little village right on the Rhine, which is probably the most beautiful part of Germany. I had opportunities to go visit Boppard but I found I couldn't do it. I talked in German to several people who pronounced German just like Uncle Werner did, and I just felt really sad about what happened to him in his life and that I wasn't around when he died, so I just couldn't do it.

        Boppard, city, Rhineland-Palatinate Land (state), western Germany. Boppard is located on the left bank of the Rhine, some 12 miles (20 km) south of the city of Koblenz.  Boppard is still partly surrounded by medieval walls, and its picturesque appearance has made it a centre of tourism. There is also a diversified light industrial sector, with products including machinery and pharmaceuticals. Notable buildings include the Romanesque Church of St. Severus (12th–13th century), the Gothic Carmelite Church (14th century), and the archbishop’s castle (14th century), which now houses the municipal museum. The city also has a spa with mineral springs. Pop. (2003 est.) 16,346.

Werner Oster could not get his red-headed 16 yr old sister out of Germany, and his parents who were killed in concentration camps there.  He had a hard time dealing with that later in life. 

His father had served in the German army and was a decorated soldier in the service of the Kaiser, but was forced to scrub the streets because he was a Jew.  Many wore their uniforms while doing this to show people they had been good citizens.  

8/26/04  I found many Osters in Koblenz, Germany in the burial listings.  That could be his town.  1/27/06  I have found many Jewish Osters that came to the USA from Germany before WWII.  They were shown as "Hebrew" on the immigration lists.  One was Lili E. Oster & H. Oster, b: 1907 arrived 20 Aug 1937 at age 30 from port Cherbourge, France on Berengasia Ship from Germany to NY.                                           

9/18/08  I just found the information on immigration.  Werner came over as a butcher on the ship "George Washington".  Last residence was Boppard and his immigration paper was issued in Stuttgarten.                                      

    St. Louis in the Port of Hamburg:  Hamburg stands on the branching River Elbe at the head of a 110 km (68 mi) estuary to the North Sea, on the mouth of the Alster and Bille. Hamburg is one of Germany's three city-states alongside Berlin and Bremen.   After the Rhine, the Elbe River is Germany’s most significant commercial waterway. It is 724 miles (1,165 kilometers) long, with about 525 miles (845 kilometers) navigable for large ships.

(The info I found says there was no George Washington ship at that time near Germany.  The closest I found was the famous St. Louis.  In May 1939, the German liner,  St. Louis,  sailed from Hamburg, Germany, to Havana, Cuba. The 937 passengers were almost all Jewish refugees. Cuba's government refused to allow the ship to land. The United States and Canada were unwilling to admit the passengers. The St. Louis passengers were finally permitted to land in western European countries rather than return to Nazi Germany. Ultimately, 254 St. Louis passengers were killed in the Holocaust.                                  

                     Hamburg in 1811

 Werner's ship left between May 4 and May 12, 1939 from Boppard to Hamburg.  He got to New York and then went to Texas, he said.  

He was born in Westerburg.  A friend was Arthur Rose.  I've listed him being born in  Westerburg, Hildesheim, Niedersachsen, Germany. 

       Westerburg :  Jews are first mentioned in 1616. In 1760, the Jewish community comprised 75 persons with one rabbi, and by 1754, there was a Jewish school. Public schooling is first known to have been instituted in 1557. Later, the school was also run temporarily as a Latin school.  Werner was born in 1916.  

 Westerburg (German pronunciation: [ˈvɛstɐˌbʊʁk] ) is a small town of roughly 6,000 inhabitants in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The town is named after the castle built on a hill above the medieval town centre (Burg is German for “castle”)

9/18/08 Hi, Nadene, thanks for all of this information.  I knew my father was not born in Boppard, and at one time I knew about Westerburg because it's familiar and I had visited the area, but I had forgotten most of the very little bit that I knew.   I never had known the name of the ship he came on. Westerburg: This place is situated in Oldenburg, Weser-Ems, Niedersachsen, Germany, its geographical coordinates are 53° 1' 0" North, 8° 13' 0" East and its original name (with diacritics) is Westerburg.

4/13/11: Came over on George Washington ship from Hamburg, with 18 other Jewish people on board.  Arthur Rose listed as friend.  

A stretch of quaint towns, castle ruins and winegrowing villages alongside the Rhine—between the towns of Koblenz, Bingen and Rüdesheim in the Upper Middle Rhine Valley—is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Recognized for its beauty as well as the Rhine's importance as a route of cultural exchange, the river has inspired many writers, painters and musicians.

So, The Rhineland is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy Roman Empire, Prussia, and the German Empire.

Resource:

https://www.tauck.com/river-cruises/european-river-facts/rhine-river-facts

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westerburg 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koblenz

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/voyage-of-the-st-louis    

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhineland     

https://www.britannica.com/place/Boppard   

https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Elbe-River/274139