All Topics  
Yekke

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Yekke
 
 
  Topics Yekke Topic Home

The term Yekke (adjective: Yekkish) (alt: Jecke or Yecke) is a generally jovial, mildly derogatory term used to refer to Jew
Jew

A Jew is a member of the Jewish people, an ethnoreligious group that traces its ancestry to the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East....
s originating from Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 or adhering to the Western-European minhag
Minhag

Minhag is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. A related concept, Nusach , refers to the traditional order and form of the Jewish services....
.

Today, very few Yekkes are proper German residents, but they remain in regions such as Switzerland, Eastern France (Alsace and Lorraine), and Luxembourg
Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a small landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany....
. A significant community managed to escape Frankfurt after Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht

File:1938 Interior of Berlin synagogue after Kristallnacht.jpgKristallnacht or the Night of Broken Glass or "night of shattered crystal" was a pogrom in Nazi Germany on November 9?10, 1938....
, and relocated to the Washington Heights
Washington Heights

Washington Heights may refer to some places in the United States:*Washington Heights, Manhattan **Washington Heights , a 2003 film set in Washington Heights, Manhattan...
 region of New York City, where they still have a community, K'hal Adass Jeshurun, which punctiliously adheres to the Yekkish liturgical text, rituals, and melodies.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Yekke'
Start a new discussion about 'Yekke'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The term Yekke (adjective: Yekkish) (alt: Jecke or Yecke) is a generally jovial, mildly derogatory term used to refer to Jew
Jew

A Jew is a member of the Jewish people, an ethnoreligious group that traces its ancestry to the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East....
s originating from Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 or adhering to the Western-European minhag
Minhag

Minhag is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. A related concept, Nusach , refers to the traditional order and form of the Jewish services....
.

Today, very few Yekkes are proper German residents, but they remain in regions such as Switzerland, Eastern France (Alsace and Lorraine), and Luxembourg
Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a small landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany....
. A significant community managed to escape Frankfurt after Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht

File:1938 Interior of Berlin synagogue after Kristallnacht.jpgKristallnacht or the Night of Broken Glass or "night of shattered crystal" was a pogrom in Nazi Germany on November 9?10, 1938....
, and relocated to the Washington Heights
Washington Heights

Washington Heights may refer to some places in the United States:*Washington Heights, Manhattan **Washington Heights , a 2003 film set in Washington Heights, Manhattan...
 region of New York City, where they still have a community, K'hal Adass Jeshurun, which punctiliously adheres to the Yekkish liturgical text, rituals, and melodies. Also a group established kibbutz
Kibbutz

A kibbutz is a Intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The kibbutz is a form of communal living that combines socialism and Zionism....
 Chofetz Chaim
Hafetz Haim

Hafetz Haim is a religious kibbutz in central Israel. Located in the Shephelah, it falls under the jurisdiction of Nahal Sorek Regional Council....
 in the Gedarim region of Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
 just south of Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv-Yafo , usually Tel Aviv, is the List of largest cities and second largest cities by country List of cities in Israel in Israel, with an estimated population of 390,100....
.

There are a number of theories regarding the etymology of the word. The most famous is that it originates from the cultural differences in dress that developed between the more westernized Western Europe
Western Europe

Western Europe refers to the countries in the western most half of Europe. This concept has had different meanings, political and cultural as well as geographical issues have influenced the area....
an Jews who traded in the more traditional long coats for shorter "jackets" ("yekke") while the outer clothing worn by the Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe is a term that applies to the geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the Europe. Throughout history and to a lesser extent today, parts of Eastern Europe has been distinguishable from Western Europe and other regions due to cultural, religious, economic, and historical reasons, even though there i...
an Jews was typically "longer" (such as bekishe
Bekishe

A bekishe is a long coat, usually made of black silk or polyester worn by Hasidic Judaism, and by some non-Hasidic Haredi Jews. Most Hasidim only wear them on Shabbos, Jewish holidays, or at weddings and other such events....
s). Another theory is that the word derives from "Yekkef", the Western pronunciation of the name "Jacob" or "Jack", which is different from the Eastern European pronunciation, which is 'Yankef" or "Yankev".

The term is often used in a slightly derogatory or cynical manner, although it is also used as a badge of honour. It is used mainly in reference to the German Jews’ legendary attention to detail and punctuality. This sense for detail extends into the strict adherence to minhag
Minhag

Minhag is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. A related concept, Nusach , refers to the traditional order and form of the Jewish services....
im (religious customs, especially when pertaining to the synagogue service
Jewish services

Jewish services are the prayer recitations that form part of the observance of Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book....
). Oberlander
Oberlander Jews

Oberlander Jews are Ashkenazi, Yiddish- and German language-speaking Jews originating in the Oberland or higher land western region of Hungary and the district surrounding Bratislava in Slovakia....
s—Jews originating from parts of Austria
Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
, the Czech Republic
Czech Republic

The Czech Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east....
, and Slovakia
Slovakia

Slovakia . It was amended in September 1998 to allow direct election of the president and again in February 2001 due to EU admission requirements....
—are often confused with yekkes due to similar minhag
Minhag

Minhag is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. A related concept, Nusach , refers to the traditional order and form of the Jewish services....
im.

See also

  • Yid
    Yid

    The word Yid is a slang Jewish ethnonym. Its usage may be controversial in modern English language. It is not offensive when , the way Yiddish-speakers say it....
  • List of German Jews
    List of German Jews

    The Jewish presence in Germany is older than Christianity; the first Jewish population came with the Romans to the city Cologne. A "Golden Age" in the first millennium saw the emergence of the Ashkenazi Jews, while the persecution and expulsion that followed the Crusades led to the creation of Yiddish and an overall shift eastwards....
  • Chuts
    Chuts

    Chuts is the name applied to Jews who immigrated to London from The Netherlands during the latter part of the 19th century. They typically came from Amsterdam and practised trades they had already learned there, most notably cigar, cap and slipper making....