Women's Charitable Association

The huge importance which is given to welfare and charity amongst the Jewry can be seen in the fact that the second officially registered Jewish association in St. Pölten was the Women’s Charitable Association. It was registered in the register of associations in 1902. 

This Association had already existed before its formal foundation as it had owned a saving book at the Sparcassa St. Pölten with a credit of 80,36 crowns. Money was collected in the Synagogue where a donation box was put up. In addition, the ladies most certainly organised further events or meetings to seek donations. We do not, however, have any documentation about the Association’s activities nor about the number of members. After the foundation as an association, the Women’s Charitable Association was independent from the IKG.

In 1909, the Women’s Charitable Association was criticised by the director of the IKG, Siegfried Schwarz: it had neither submitted a treasurer’s report to the Board of Directors nor had it invited any members of the board to the general assembly. Karl Frank and Albert Leicht referred to the independence of the Association as defined in the articles of association. As money was, however, also collected within the Synagogue, the board decided to request report and accounts as well as an invitation.

Later IKG–documents show that the Women’s Charity Association paid into the fund for poor relief as did the IKG and the Chevra Kadisha. The donations were used to support needy community members as well as perambulating Jews. Point of contact for the poor and needy was once again Samuel Mandl’s shoe store on Kremsergasse where those moneys were awaiting distribution. Samuel Mandl’s son Franz continued this tradition – both were also active members of the IKG. Zwi Gol remembers: "All who passed through went to see him."

As regards the funding of the Torah shrine, the Women’s Charity Association proudly presented itself in German with Hebrew script: "donated by the Women’s Association St. Pölten".