History of the Jews in Besançon

The beginnings of the history of the Jews in Besançon go back to the Middle Ages, a period during which the Jews settled in the city attracted by its activity as a commercial place. The community was founded at the end of the 14th century and, due to its status as a free imperial city, Besançon remained one of the only territories in present-day France to tolerate Jews after their expulsion from the kingdom of France in 1394. The community was nevertheless expelled in turn from Besançon in the middle of the 15th century. The Jews made a tentative return to the city in the 18th century, but it was only after the French Revolution, which emancipated them, that their situation in the Franche-Comté capital stabilized. Although the Jewish community never exceeded 2,000 people except on the eve of the Second World War, it experienced great economic success during the industrial revolution at the end of the 19th century, when the Lipmann family founded LIP, a brand of watchmaking which then became one of the economic engines of the region and remained associated with the name of the city. The importance of the community was recognized in 1881 by the signing of a decree authorizing the creation of a consistory based in Besançon. During the Second World War, the Besançon community, like the rest of the Jews of France, was hit hard by the Nazi anti-Semitic policies. From the 1950s, the arrival of Jews from North Africa brought vitality to the community and gave it a new face. The synagogue of Besançon, the Jewish cemetery and the Castle of the Jewess are all testimonies to the contribution of this community to the history of Besançon. Timeline of Besançon and History of the Jews in France Before the Middle Ages, there is no evidence of a Jewish presence in the region, although it cannot be ruled out: at the height of the Roman Empire, 10% of the general population was Jewish and, in Gaul, the presence of Jews is attested particularly in the Rhone Valley from the third century.