The memory of ordinary, everyday intercultural or interreligious relationships, in brief
Schopfloch is the home of a local language combining German with Hebrew, Lachoudish. A small Jewish community was integrated into local life here. In 1932, when Germany was struck by rising political antisemitism and social polarisation, Schopfloch town officials participated in the reopening ceremony of the renovated synagogue. The Nazi regime oversaw the end of the Jewish community in Schopfloch by 1939. Lachoudish is now known through studies on the remaining Hebrew words stlll spoken by residents (it is said some 200 words have been counted) some decades after the Jewish community was forced out. The town remains proud of its Jewish history, and a small number of residents continue to celebrate Lachoudish and the town’s multicultural history.
The context in which these relationships made a difference at the time
Jews were an integral part of the trading life of Schopfloch for centuries, particularly trading cattle and textiles, and their combination of Hebrew and local German dialect came to be shared amongst all of the town’s inhabitants. Whereas nearby towns in pre-modern times did not allow Jews to settle, or imposed a curfew, this was not the case in Schopfloch. A system for cooperation between Jewish and Christian traders on market day (Shabbat/Saturday) enabled Jews to remain integrated in the market trade while not having to break religious restrictions on work on the Sabbath. The common language also enabled Christian traders and construction workers to converse when on work assignments in other towns in the region, without being understood by locals there. During the early years of Nazi rule, the town continued to vote against the Nazis (and for the SPD) – a factor which may be interpreted as a reflection of the minority status of the town’s Protestant population, in a predominantly Catholic region in which neighbouring towns had far greater proportions of National Socialist Party voters.
What has happened since, which makes the memory valuable
The synagogue was destroyed in the Nazi pogrom of 9 November 1938, and the last of the small Jewish community left in 1939. Memories of pre-war solidarities are still raised in the town, and recently a mayor has promoted activities in Lachoudish, a journalist reporting that this very distinctive heritage could be used to encourage tourism.
How might the memory be used in bringing people together in practice now?
In many villages and small towns across Central Europe, Jewish and Christian residents lived alongside each other, mixing in common social institutions – and Schopfloch may be held up as a reminder of how long such social relationships could produce solidarity.
It is common to see such relationships and solidarities in a reduced sense, as ‘functional’, or ’secretive’. The vocabulary which Lachoudish developed could be seen as a contrast to this – Hebrew words relate to all aspects of life, and local German dialects were not imposed on the Jewish population by a rigid economic, social or political relationship with their Christian neighbours. Lachoudish has similarities with other German (and Polish) dialects which use vocabulary from Hebrew, Yiddish, Romani and other languages – it might be compared with Rotweltsch in other West German locations, and with Yenisch in Switzerland.
Additional context/Some additional reading
Hans-Rainer Hofmann: «Lachoudisch sprechen. Sprache zwischen Gegenwart und Vergangenheit». Wenng, Dinkelsbühl 1998
https://www.medienwerkstatt-franken.de/video/schopfloch-eine-sprachinsel-in-franken/
http://www.woernitz-franken.de/juschp.htm
https://jhva.wordpress.com/2010/08/24/lachoudisch-%E2%80%93-reste-judischer-sprache-aus-schopfloch/
https://www.juedische-allgemeine.de/kultur/borech-habo-in-schopfloch/