Alemannia Judaica

Isaak Hess (1789-1866) opened an antiquarian bookshop in his hometown of Lauchheim in 1817, which he moved to Ellwangen in 1838. The antiquarian bookshop soon became one of the most important of its time and was continued after Hess' death by his sons Moritz and Sigmund. The building at Schmiedstraße 6 also served as a residence.

Hess also became an early board member of Lauchheim's Jewish community and played an important role in the emancipation of Württemberg's Jews in the 19th century.

Isaak Hess was born in Lauchheim on May 26, 1789. He attended a rabbinical school in Fürth and then worked for several years as a tutor and bookkeeper. In 1817 he founded his own antiquarian bookshop in Lauchheim. In 1838, he moved his antiquarian bookshop to Ellwangen and expanded it with an assortment bookstore. The emancipation efforts of the Württemberg Jews were of particular concern to him. He was a member of a government commission that prepared a law on the political and civil rights of Jews in Württemberg.

In the address book of the city of Suhl from the year 1910, the following entry can be found in the company register section: Levy, David, Inh: Gustav Levy jun. und N. Ottensoser, Schnittwaren- und Lederhandlung, Langebrücke 19.

The merchant Julius Sommer, born on October 10, 1859 in Höchheim/Lower Franconia, married Johanna, née Levi, on January 19, 1891 in Eschwege. The couple lived in Suhl, initially at Herrenstrasse 28 (1892/1893) and later at Steinweg 25. Their son Julius was born on January 15, 1892. Daughter Gretchen followed on March 9, 1893. Julius Sommer died on March 6, 1926 in Suhl. His wife succeeded him 10 years later on his birth date, October 10, 1936. Julius Sommer belonged to the representation of the Jewish community of Suhl.

The Jewish cemetery in Stralsund was acquired by the Stralsund synagogue community in 1850 and expanded in 1912. During the National Socialist regime, the Jewish community was forced to sell the cemetery to the city in the early 1940s. Until today, the cemetery remained intact. In 1956 it was transformed into a memorial site. In this process the gravestones were moved, as  it is still visible today. On 19.08.1997 the state association of the Jewish community of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern took over the cemetery. The last renovation took place between 2000 and 2008.