The Kauffman Family. Omaha Beach survivor PFC Freddy Kaufmann, who immigrated in 1938 from Kordel, Germany, moved to North Norwich with his wife Ilse after a prolonged recuperation from wounds suffered on D-Day. Freddy worked for the Moses meat processing firm and then became a cattle dealer. (Submitted photo)

NORWICH - The Norwich Jewish Center is pleased to host noted historian, Dr. Edward J. Erickson, who will present “Tradesmen, Cattle Dealers, and Chemists - Chenango County’s Jewish Community from 1914-2025” at the Norwich Jewish Center at 2 p.m. on Sunday, September 27.

There were three “waves” of Jewish families immigrating to Chenango County in the twentieth century, the earliest wave came in 1900-1930, and they were mostly Eastern European tradesmen.

The second wave arrived in 1937-1941, composed of southern German farmers and cattle dealers, who were fleeing the Nazis. The third wave came after World War II, and comprised manufacturers and educated professionals, who were mostly native-born. Together these disparate groups bonded into a united community that created the Jewish Center of Norwich, built new industries and businesses, and opened professional practices throughout the county.

If you lived in Norwich in the mid to late twentieth century, you would remember numbers of Jewish families and you will certainly remember how important they were in our economy, our schools, and our lives.

By the 1970s the Jewish community of Chenango County, centered in Norwich, New York, was a large, vibrant, and influential force in the city and throughout the county, with over sixty families. Sadly, the loss of manufacturing and pharmaceutical laboratories between 1970-2009, as well as the decline of the cattle industry and dairy farming, tore the heart out of Norwich’s Jewish community. Very few families remain today. Like much of our city’s history, their stories exist now only in our memories and in our hearts.

Join historian Ed Erickson as he discusses his research and the story of a once influential community, their achievements, and their legacies.

The presentation is open to the public at 2 p.m. on Sunday, September 27 at the Norwich Jewish Center, 72 South Broad Street, Norwich.

-Information from the Norwich Jewish Center