Swiss Jews

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

Switzerland has had a settled Jewish community since the 13th century. The communities flourished until 1348's Black Death, when the Jews were accused of poisoning wells.

 

The Jews underwent a diverse variety of tortures and persecutions during this time. Six hundred Jews were burned at the stake and the community was dissolved in 1349. The Jews of Basel were burned on an island in the Rhine on Jan. 9, 1349. Their children were spared from the burning but were forcibly baptized instead. The first Swiss persecution of the Jews took place in Bern, where the Jewish community was accused of having murdered a Christian boy named Rudolf (Ruff). They were expelled from Bern but then allowed to return shortly after.

 

During the Middle Ages, the Jews were almost exclusively confined to money lending, advancing funds to all strata of society. But they were hated and ostracized. Jews were required to wear the "Judenhut" (or Jew's hat), with the occasional exemption of Jewish physicians. As their principal occupation was money lending, when the Christian inhabitants were in debt to the moneylenders, the Jews were blamed and tortured or expelled. Expulsions and persecutions occurred repeatedly. Because of the prohibition against usury the Jews could not be gone for long or else the economic functioning of Swiss society would have ceased. Jews were also required to live in certain neighborhoods and reside on certain streets. Their infrastructure, such as slaughterhouses, synagogues, mikvot, and cemeteries were located in these neighborhoods. Jews had to pay high taxes for these privileges, particularly for their cemeteries.

 

While most of the Jews were expelled in 1349 from Switzerland, they had already returned to Zurich by 1352 and Basel by 1361. Their return did not herald an end to persecutions and maltreatment continued until the Jewish community was again expelled. Accused of blood libel, all of the Jews living at Schaffhausen were condemned to death and thirty were burned alive on June 25, 1401. Four weeks later, eighteen men and women were burned at the stake in Winterthur.

 

During the mid to late 1500's, some Jewish families were admitted when Christian printers in Basel began printing Hebrew texts. They needed Jews to proofread these texts and therefore acquired hundreds of residency permits for Jews.

 

During all those years of persecution, there were two safe places for Jews in the Aargau Canton of Switzerland: Lengnau and Endingen. That was where my Jewish ancestors, Nathan Halevi Wyss and his family and descendants, lived, in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries.

 

Some of the Jews, beginning in the 17th century, converted to Anabaptist beliefs, and specifically,  to the Mennonite denomination.  But because those beliefs continued to be in contradiction to the predominantly Catholic Swiss, they were also persecuted and 1000's left their homes to live in Germany.  From there, many chose to come to America in the early 1700's, where they settled primarily in the Pennsylvania lands bought from William Penn.

[phkrause]

Some great stuff Pam

[Kevin H]

Powerful!!!

[TruthSeeker123]

Very interesting! Are they your paternal or maternal grandparents?

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

The Jewish Swiss lines are on both my mom and dad's sides...  

[TruthSeeker123]

That's awesome!

[Aliensanctuary]

Tragic what ignorance and intolerance has done to the descendants of Jacob throughout the millennia. It's more like the demons of Satan trying to change the future by destroying the line of the Messiah.

[james423]

Somewhere back in the Brenneman family history was a person named Abraham the Heretic.  I've always wondered if he was Jewish.

[phkrause]

If he was a Jew, he was not a heretic. hahahaha

[ChildofChrist]

Would you happen to know where in Germany the converted Jewish settled? Is it possible for them to have migrated down into the low lands? Like Saxony? My family came over in 1846 and settled in Zurich, Ontario, Canada. Later some went to Iowa then some returned to Brutus, MI. My great grandfather read the Great Controversy and believed. His wife refused to part with the old ways and beliefs of the Mennonite community.

 

quote: Some of the Jews, beginning in the 17th century, converted to Anabaptist beliefs, and specifically,  to the Mennonite denomination.  But because those beliefs continued to be in contradiction to the predominantly Catholic Swiss, they were also persecuted and 1000's left their homes to live in Germany.  From there, many chose to come to America in the early 1700's, where they settled primarily in the Pennsylvania lands bought from William Penn.

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

The Swiss Jews settled first along the Rhein northward from Switzerland to the Friedelsheim, Germany area.  I do know that some eventually went east, into what is now Russia.  It's very possible that some may have stopped short of Russia and settled in the Saxony area of Dresden..

[ChildofChrist]

Thanks. It has only been recently that I thought about my maternal side of the tree. Some things seem destined to remain in a fog of mystery. When the 2nd Coming occurs, all will be revealed.

[Guest Pmoore]

This is really interesting. I too am a descendant of Nathan Halevi Wyss through the Frey's and then the Funcks who were prominent Mennonites.

[Guest Frenzel]

I am also a descendant of Nathan Halevi Wyss through the Frey Family.  I'm still trying to figure out through Ancestry.com who his parents were.  I've found conflicting information and would really like to be accurate in my findings.  Can anyone help me with this?  Thank you.

[Guest JFrye]

I am as well and a Frey/ changed to Frye. Marty Frey and Ursula Wyss are my far away but close to my heart grand parents. Very cool topic to read about as well as sad.  thanks though for sure ! 

[Guest Guest AV]

Fascinating - I had no idea about this part of my family ancestry. I too have traced back to Marti Frey and Ursula Wyss - and then through their granddaughter Verena who married Ulrich Mueller. It looks like a couple of generations later, their son Johann Jakob Muller emigrated to France (in the 1600s). His daughter Maria (my 6th great-grandmother) then came to the United States. A long journey, but the family survived - so thankful for that. 

[Guest Elizabeth Coffman]

Thank you for posting!  I am interested in any related materials regarding the (forced) conversion of Jews to Christian Mennonites in Bern, Switzerland around the 14th century.  I can trace my father's heritage back to Mennonite Kauffmans from Bern, Switzerland in the late 15th century.  My father's recent DNA test returned 70% Ashkenazi Jewish heritage.  Since there is no other family history that I can locate with  more recent Jewish ancestry (only Mennonite), I am trying to figure out if this Jewish heritage can be traced back 500 years to forced conversions in Europe.  I am a teacher who is interested in world history and the persecution of religious faiths of all kinds.  Any book titles or links are appreciated.

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

70% Ashkenazi ethnicity on a DNA test would indicate Jewish ancestry on both parents' sides.  I have several Swiss lines that were orginally Jewish:  my Hershey and Wyss lines, specifically, and both lines became Mennonite.  (By the way, the Kauffman Mennonite families are intertwined in my family tree.)

Most of the Swiss Jews were not particularly "forced" to convert to Christianity; rather, the persecutions sent them either into hiding in the sanctuary cities, or by moving to Germany.  One other tactic was for them to intermarry with Gentiles, yet keep their Jewish faith (though not openly).

Chapter Four of this book discusses the 14th century Swiss Jewish persecution:  https://books.google.com/books?id=0Wg-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA141&lpg=PA141&dq=swiss+jews+persecution&source=bl&ots=TDacQmVo5y&sig=7lfk05XSyxIxTJSh0ayQk1Vx5Qg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwifmdX6hPLaAhVm6oMKHUvjDIYQ6AEIiAEwCQ#v=onepage&q=swiss jews persecution&f=false

 

[JoeMo]

Hey Pam,

"I have several Swiss lines that were originally Jewish":

That is so cool!  I have been very tempted to do the Ancestry or Me23 DNA tests to see my origins.  There are several adoptions on both sides of my family; so I think I'm mostly Italian and French; but not sure. It would be interesting to see if I could trace my ancestry back to one of the tribes of Israel.   I hesitate to get the DNA test because I don't necessarily want my DNA in a national database (yes; I am a conspiracy theorist).

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

4 hours ago, JoeMo said:

Hey Pam,

"I have several Swiss lines that were originally Jewish":

That is so cool!  I have been very tempted to do the Ancestry or Me23 DNA tests to see my origins.  There are several adoptions on both sides of my family; so I think I'm mostly Italian and French; but not sure. It would be interesting to see if I could trace my ancestry back to one of the tribes of Israel.   I hesitate to get the DNA test because I don't necessarily want my DNA in a national database (yes; I am a conspiracy theorist).

JoeMo, your name isn't connected to your DNA results unless you want it to be.  Each company uses a code for each DNA kit, rather than your name (though you can provide the name).  I'm the administrator for about 20 people's DNA tests (mostly family), as well as a a DNA Project Administrator for one of the testing companies.  The test results for those tests for which I'm an admin are not traceable to the person who took those tests, as all information can only lead to me via my name and email address.... but the people who took the test have anonymous access to their specific results.  If someone matches one of the people whose test I administer, they can only contact me.   For example, one of my cousins is also closely related to the Oscar Hammerstein II family (of Rodgers and Hammerstein fame).  Rather than my cousin having to give out his private email address or name, I handle the entire testing procedure and results.  The people who match him on the DNA test only have access to my name and email.  And the testing company cannot connect him to any results except through me.  But my cousin can see his own results via access provided by me.  Confidentiality is a big thing with me. 

[JoeMo]

4 minutes ago, rudywoofs (Pam) said:

your name isn't connected to your DNA results unless you want it to be.  Each company uses a code for each DNA kit, rather than your name (though you can provide the name).  I'm the administrator for about 20 people's DNA tests (mostly family), as well as a a DNA Project Administrator for one of the testing companies.

Is the same thing true for companies like Ancestry and Me23?

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

all of the DNA tests from whichever company use alphanumeric codes for processing the DNA sample ..... there needs to be name attached to the test, but it can be a pseudonym...

reminds me.... I have a DNA match with "Mickey Mouse" ..   ?

 

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

8 hours ago, The Wanderer said:

I was just wondering how far back the dna samples usually go? And what would you recommend for places to search out ancestry of say my family line?  PM me pls if that would be better to answer. How far back can the average user/customer usually get? I have heard that I have Viking in me, (Likely The Mighty Thor, lol) I would be interested to find out how far I could get on our family line.What are average costs for these companies?

average cost for an autosomal DNA test is about $89, some a bit more, some less...  The autosomal DNA test gives you results from both your father and mother's sides, and is generally the most useful.  It is also the test that will show the estimated ethnicities that have been passed down to you over the generations from 1000s of years.  Bear in mind, the ethnicities are only estimates, and are calculated differently by the various testing companies who use population samples from across the globe.  One person's ethnicity percentages will not be the same as a sibling.... that's because each person inherits varying segments of DNA from the parents' chromosomes (and you only get 50% from each parent).

As to which test is best:  it depends on what you're goal is.... if it's just to look at ethnicity, I'd go with Ancestry, FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA), or MyHeritage.  23andMe is "okay," but I find their website slow and not to be very user friendly.  If you're wanting to study your paternal haplogroup (which gets passed down father, to son, to son, to son, etc), then FamilyTreeDNA would be best, as you'd need at least a Y-DNA37 test.  If you're wanting to explore your family tree and find new cousins and/or break down brick walls in your family tree, probably Ancestry is your best choice.

[JoeMo]

10 hours ago, The Wanderer said:

if I am a direct descendedt of The Mighty Thor and his beautiful hammer. he has.lol

Be careful about what you wish for.  If you were a son of Thor, you might be a Nephilim!

[CoAspen]

I am using Family Tree DNA and it allows you to do a family tree online while also searching other persons trees. I also did the Y-dna.  Ancestry wants you to sign up for that after a period of time. So for me Family Tree is best. I do have additional software that I am using on my Mac. What ever I fill out on my Mac software, I can import to Family Tree via Gedcom file. Some of the trees can be quite extensive as they allow linking. Has been very helpful. I already know my surname side and most of my mothers, my sister did most of that by hand. Now working on the maternal side of both familys. Have found some interesting branches back in the ol' tree!!