This Jewish history blog follows on from an anti-racism post I wrote recently, which largely focused on Muslims in 20th century Welsh history.
Jews in Wales – A Short History
This one will focus on Jewish people in Cymru during that same century.As of the most recent census in 2021, Jews make up just 0.1% of the Welsh population. This does not mean, however, that Jews are new arrivals into Cymru.
What many may not realise is that the Jewish faith (Judaism) is only outlived by the Christian faith in Cymru and wider Britain, with the 1290 Edict of Expulsion by Edward I being the reason for a centuries-long period without the presence of Jews within Welsh lands.
There will be many of us who, while not practising Jews or identifying as an ethnic Jew, would be surprised to find ethnic Jews in our own family trees. Much like Muslims, there were many Jews who fought in the British Army during the Second World War. It is estimated that around 60,000 were involved.
Furthermore, as many will likely be aware, the Second World War saw us fighting against a force who wanted to exterminate Jews and it won’t be a surprise to those of you aware of this fact that many Jews came to Britain as refugees. Though the war didn’t officially begin until 1939, Hitler had been in power for six years already (and his toxic worldview had dominated propaganda even before his taking power) and, as a result, Jews had already been persecuted for years prior to the war beginning.
Jewish refugees, therefore, came to Britain and Cymru in their thousands and an estimated 70,000 did so before the outbreak of war in 1939. This number would extend by another 10,000 during the war.
Many of the Jewish people who live in Cymru today are descended from the same Jews who fled the Holocaust. The attached image, per the People’s Collection of Wales, shows members of the Cardiff Jewish community standing behind Penylan Synagogue sometime in or around 1955.
Penylan Synagogue was a place of worship for Orthodox Jews in Cyncoed Gardens, Caerdydd (Cardiff in English), and today exists as the Cardiff United Synagogue.
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Niklas is the founder, owner, manager, editor, writer, video creator, voice over artist, and so forth, of Welsh Histories. He is passionate about the preservation of Welsh culture; the rejuvenation of the Welsh language and the promotion of Welsh history. Niklas currently resides in Pune, Maharashtra, with his beloved wife.