Jewish Community Archive

The originals of the significant archival records of the former Jewish community archives have been in Jerusalem since 1957. They date back to the 16th century. In digital form, the documents are kept in the Worms City Archives.

The documents, which date back to the 16th century, have had a chequered fate since they were found in 1877.
The files and documents were discovered by chance in the synagogue's attic in 1877 and were soon processed scientifically. In the 1920s, some of them were put on public display and after the synagogue fire in 1938, they were confiscated by the Gestapo and brought to Darmstadt. The former head of the archive and museum, Dr Friedrich Illert, managed to bring the irreplaceable documents to Worms during the war, where they survived the war undamaged.

After a lengthy legal dispute over their whereabouts, a settlement was reached in the 1950s, as a result of which the originals - together with the famous Worms Machsor (selected prayers and Bible passages to be read aloud on holidays) from 1272 - were moved to Jerusalem in 1957 to the "Archive for the History of the Jewish People". The papers and parchments remain here today.
The City Archives keep the documents, which have now also been digitised, on microfilm and CD-ROM.