Lindau

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LINDAU

LINDAU , town in Bavaria, Germany. Jews are first mentioned in tax lists of 1242. The 13th-century town charter allowed Jews to trade in pledges on loans and the local Jewish *oath was short and humane. In 1344 the Jews offered to make loans at very advantageous terms (43⅓% interest instead of the 216⅔% demanded by Christians) if they were offered civic rights. Individual Jews were granted special civic status in 1385 and 1409. In 1348 *Charles IV granted the town the local Jewish tax; in that same year the community was destroyed during the *Black Death persecutions. However, they were again in residence by 1358. In 1430, 15 Jews, accused of the murder of a boy, were burned and the rest were expelled. In 1547 the city was granted the right to exclude the Jews, a privilege reaffirmed in 1559. Even during the 18th and early 19th centuries Jews were only allowed to stay for short periods on special permits. The group of Jews who settled in Lindau, seven in 1810, never numbered more than 30 and had fallen to only four in 1939. In 1967 two elderly Jews were still living in Lindau.

bibliography:

Schweizer-Weitersheim, in: Der Israelit (Nov. 18, 1909), 2–5; Germ Jud, 1 (1963), 505; 2 (1968), 488–90; pk Bavaria.