The first Jewish population in the region to be later known as Germany came with the Romans to the city now known as 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. A change of status in the late Renaissance Era, combined with the Jewish Enlightenment, the Haskalah, meant that by the 1920s Germany had one of the most integrated Jewish populations in Europe, contributing prominently to German culture and society. During The Holocaust many Jews fled Germany to other countries for refuge, and the majority of the remaining population were killed. The following is a list of some famous Jews (by religion or descent) from Germany proper. Historical figures Politicians Fischel Arnheim, politician Ludwig Bamberger, politician Daniel Cohn-Bendit, member of European Parliament, student leader in 1968 Wilhelm Dröscher, SPD politician Kurt Eisner, Bavarian prime minister , Mayor of Berlin from 1931 to 1933, (converted to Christianity) Heinrich von Friedberg, jurist, statesman (converted to Christianity) Karl Rudolf Friedenthal, Prussian politician (converted to Christianity) Clement Freud, German-born British MP Rudolf Hilferding, Finance Minister in 1923 and from 1928 to 1929 Alex Himelfarb, ambassador Helmut Schmidt, Chancellor of West Germany (1974–1982) Henry Kissinger, U.S. Secretary of State, Nobel Prize (1973) Ludwig Landmann, mayor of Frankfurt/Main Eduard Lasker, co-founder of the National Liberal Party Eugen Leviné, Bavarian prime minister Jutta Oesterle-Schwerin, Member of parliament, Green party, Feminist party Eduard von Simson, President of the Reichstag, President of the Reichsgericht Walther Rathenau, Foreign Minister of the Weimar Republic Herbert Weichmann, Mayor of Hamburg 1965–1971, president of the German Bundesrat (Federal upper house) Marina Weisband, Ukrainian-born former Pirate Party Germany politician Jeanette Wolff, West Berlin politician Walter Wolfgang, German-born politician Activists Hedwig Dohm-Schleh, feminist, author Nahum Goldmann, president of World Jewish Congress Amalie Nacken (1855–1940) was a Munich-based philanthropist Josel of Rosheim, court Jew and Jewish advocate Paul Spiegel, leader of the Central Council of Jews in Germany Sidonie Werner (1860–1932), women's rights activist Religious figures Rabbis Aaron ben Benjamin Wolf, Chief Rabbi of Berlin (1709) Aaron Moses ben Mordecai of East Prussia Abraham Auerbach (mid 1700s – November 3, 1846), Alsatian-born rabbi and liturgical poet. Fled France for Germany after imprisonment during the Reign of Terror. Ahron Daum, Chief Rabbi of Frankfurt am Main Abraham Geiger, founding father