Siegfried Czapski
Siegfried Czapski led a self-determined life in his time and was very successful, especially professionally. After completing his studies in physics, math and philosophy, he worked in Jena for the company Zeiss and was involved in innovative projects there, such as the technical realization of a binocular microscope based on the idea of the American biologist Horatio S. Greenough and the development of prismatic field scopes. Because of his abilities, Ernst Abbe even declared him his personal assistant in 1884.
Jewish school in Walldorf (Schmalkalden-Meiningen) until 1909
At the end of the 18th century, Jewish reformers began to criticize the low level of schooling and the lack of teaching methods in Jewish education, which mostly took place in the private homes of the prayer leaders and shepherds. In order to raise the educational level of the Jewish population, new educational models developed in the transition from the 18th and 19th centuries, which led to the establishment of Jewish elementary schools and the expansion of the canon of subjects, including in Walldorf.
Villa Rosenthal
The Rosenthal Villa was built in 1891. It was the home and center of life for the couple Eduard and Clara Rosenthal and their son Curt. Numerous testimonies attest to the cultural importance of Villa Rosenthal as a meeting place of science, art and politics. The couple promoted social exchange and supported educational programs for workers and employees. After Clara Rosenthal's death in 1941, the building was bequeathed to the city of Jena in her will and has served as a residence ever since. In 2004, the villa was taken over by jenawohnen GmbH and extensively renovated.
Jewish community Hebenshausen
In Hebenshausen existed since the 17th century a Jewish community, 1603/06 is first reported by Jews*Jüdinnen in the place. By 1861 the number of resident Jews had grown to 104 out of a total population of 494 (1864). From then on, the number of Jewish members decreased steadily due to people moving away. In 1925, only 6 of the 388 inhabitants in the village were of Jewish faith. Already at the beginning of the 20th century the number of members was no longer sufficient to conduct services in the synagogue in Hebenshausen.
Behrendt department store
The department store Behrendt was opened in 1886 by the tradesman Adolph Behrendt in the center of Jena. After Behrendt initially had his business at Markt 16 with his trade license for a trade in white and plaster goods, he acquired the house Markt 17 in 1889/90 and laid the foundation for the establishment of Jena's first department store by expanding the business assortment with manufactures.
Jewish cemetery (Hebenshausen)
The Jewish cemetery of Hebenshausen is located two kilometers north of the village on a small hill at the edge of a small village. It can be reached by a tarred dirt road at the edge of the village or by a small access road of the B27 in direction Göttingen shortly before the exit Marzhausen. The cemetery was established at the beginning of the 18th century to provide the growing Jewish community with a local burial place. Previously, burials had taken place in the Jewish cemetery in Witzenhausen.
City walk on the Jewish economic and trade history Heilbad Heiligenstadt
Heilbad Heiligenstadt is a small town in the Obereichsfeld, located in northern Thuringia. The district town is located in the border triangle of Hesse, Lower Saxony and Thuringia and is characterized above all by its rural location. For the first time, since the Middle Ages, a Jewish family was again resident in Heiligenstadt with the granting of a charter of protection for Heiligenstadt and the arrival of Levi Joseph Meyer (from 1808 Levi Meyer Loewenthal).
City walk Rudolstadt
Rudolstadt, former Schwarzburg princely residence and today a small Thuringian town, houses an interesting Judaica collection from the 17th and 18th centuries at Heidecksburg Castle. A small Jewish community with only a few families settled below the castle during this period, whose members were able to operate quite freely as merchants on the basis of a princely trade concession and were recognized as an equal religious community by Prince Ludwig Friedrich II of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt in 1796.
Butcher store of the Friedmann family
In September 1892, Hermann Friedmann and his wife Clara opened a store for butcher's supplies in Jena's Grietgasse with an associated wholesale gut and fur business. Subsequently, the family business developed into a successful company that was also active internationally. The Friedmanns were strongly involved in the "Israelite Religious Community" of Jena. The premises of their store also functioned as a place of Jewish life.
Moses Simson and family
Moses Simson was born in Schwarza in 1808 and lived there until he moved to Suhl in 1848. However, he was already known as a businessman before his arrival in Suhl - both his father and grandfather must have been role models for him in his commercial activities. Moses Simson was the offspring of Simson Lippmann's first marriage to Mindel, the daughter of Meyer Löb from Heinrichs. His father concentrated on the trading area in Henneberg in Electoral Saxony and left Moses and his four siblings a fortune of 11,939 riksdaler at his death in 1812.