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Essay on The Jewish History of Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Germany, situated in the Rhineland area. The name is pronounced as vorms with a long "o" (like in English "caught") and a sharp final "s" (like in English "once"). The name is of Celtic origin: Borbetomagus meant "settlement in a watery area". This was probably transformed into the Latin name Wormatia that had been in use since the 6th century. Today, it is an industrial centre and is famed for its local wine called Liebfraumilch. Other industries include chemicals and metal goods.
At the end of 2001, it had 84,426 inhabitants. Worms claims to be the site where the events of the ancient German Nibelungenlied took place but several other cities make this claim as well. Nevertheless, a multimedia Nibelungenmuseum was opened in 2001, and a yearly festival attempts to recapture the atmosphere of the piece (Potok, 108).The city is known as a former center for Judaism. A cemetery dating back to the 11th century is believed to be the oldest in Europe; an ancient synagogue was built around 1034. Although much of the Jewish Quarter was destroyed in the events known as Kristallnacht of 1938 and a recognizeable Jewish community no longer exists, after renovations in the 1970s and 1980s, much of the buildings can be seen in a close to original state. The city has been nearly destroyed twice in its history.
In 1689, French troops invaded, almost eradicating the city; it came under French rule again from 1789 till 1816. In World War II, it was heavily bombed (Mendes-Flohr, Reinharz, 65).Evidence of Jews in the area now known as Germany dates back to the early 4th century; in the 1930s, a Jewish graveyard from that era was found in the city of Cologne. When the first Jews migrated to the "barbarian lands," Christianity had not yet.....
