Israelitische Kultusgemeinden#

Jewish Communities: At the beginning of the rise of Jewish communities in Austria the care devoted to Jewish cemeteries was of particular importance, culminating in the foundation of the Chewra Kadischa ("Burial Brotherhood") institution in 1763. The Edict of Tolerance promulgated by Emperor Joseph II in 1782 granted limited freedom of worship to the Jews, but no equal religious rights. In 1826 a synagogue was opened. The internal reform of the Jews in Vienna is connected with the names I. N. Mannheimer and S. Sulzer. The granting of equal civil rights in 1849, the formal constitution of the Jewish community in Vienna in 1852 and the recognition of the Jewish religious community in 1890 were further steps towards Jewish emancipation. After World War I about 200,000 Jews were living in 33 communities in Austria. After Austria's anschluss to the national-socialist German Reich in 1938 the Austrian Jews were persecuted, forced to immigrate, deported and murdered, and their synagogues destroyed. In 1945 they numbered about 9,000, since then their number has been increasing. The Jewish communities existing at present (Vienna, Linz, Salzburg, Innsbruck and Graz), although independent, have founded a federation. Since 1992 there has also been a Sephardic community in Vienna. The Vienna Jewish community runs 3 Jewish schools. The Humanity Association (Humanitaetsverein) B´nai B´rith, a sports club and a Jewish choir focus on cultural matters.

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