POITIERS

POITIERS, capital of Vienne department, W. France. The history of the Jewish community of Poitiers is almost entirely interwoven with that of poitou . During the 13th century, nathan b. joseph official was involved in a religious disputation with the bishop of Poitiers. An expulsion order against the Jews of Poitiers had already been issued in 1291 but it was canceled in exchange for a large sum of money. The community ceased to exist in 1306. The Rue de la Juiverie, the modern Rue Arsène-Orillard, was closed off by ogival gates which still existed during the 19th century. The cemetery was situated in the present suburb of Montbernage. According to local tradition, treasures buried by the Jews lay hidden there. On the eve of World War II, there were a few hundred Jews in Poitiers. Their numbers increased with the arrival of Jewish refugees from Alsace and Lorraine and later with the internees detained in several camps within the vicinity of the town. In 1970 the community consisted of about 100 persons. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Gross, Gal Jud, 452f.; Intermédiaire des chercheurs et curieux, 39 (1899), 20; 40 (1899), 1104; J. Guerinière, Essai sur l'ancien Poitou, I (1836), 491; R. Brothier de Rolliere, Poitiers – Histoire des rues (1930), 293; Z. Szajkowski, Analytical Franco-Jewish Gazetteer (1966), 284. (Bernhard Blumenkranz)