The Jewish School
To Our Readers!
Synopsis: The newspaper will now be sent through the mail because the delivery service was unreliable. Now all subscribers will receive the newspaper on Fridays.
Am I in the Place of God? (Gen. 50, 19.)
Synopsis: Just as Joseph forgave his brothers and showed them mercy, today’s Jews do not want vengeance against those who mistreat them, for they know that holding on to wrongs disrupts the order of things as much as mindless submission. Today the peoples and the classes see each other as enemies. The small-minded want to be both plaintiff and judge as they accuse the other of guilt for every misfortune. However, only through understanding and forgetting can these wrongs be overcome. We Jews have suffered much misfortune throughout history and we can only be thankful that there have been few expressions of hatred and vengeance. Let us protect ourselves now from becoming bitter in while facing the flood of anti-Semitism; rather let us connect pride to true humility. We are not in God’s place as judges.
The Jewish School – a Necessity?
Synopsis: This question was the center of recent communal elections. The Liberals and Orthodox are against confessional schools on the principle of religious tolerance and the Zionists and ultra-Orthodox support them. In 1890 in the Prussian parliament, Stöcker and Count Pfeil claimed that the secondary schools in Berlin and Breslau have too strong a Jewish character—their solution was to create special schools (“Sonderschulen”). There were strong voices against this proposal, especially the Minister responsible for representing Jewish affairs who said that employing 500 Jewish teachers for 15,000 Jewish pupils would lead to further divisiveness.
That the Zionists are united with the anti-Semites in their emphasis on Jewish schools the foreignness of Jews in Germany is well-known, but it was surprising to see the right-wing Orthodox represented by Agudas to align themselves with this nationalism. They do differ in the rationale for the schools. The latter want to strengthen orthodoxy while the Zionists want to use them as a springboard for the folkist idea.
Distinguished pedagogues have determined that separate schools will not diminish anti-Semitism. The best way to do that is to bring “teachers of the Jewish religion” into the general teachers’ body as regular teachers. At the time, there were calls to cleanse the Protestant schools of Jewish and Catholic teachers.
The existing Jewish schools were founded before the emancipation. The goal of education should not be to create a uniform identity, but one that’s formed from a variety of sensibilities and perspectives. This synthesis is one of Germany nationality and Jewish faith. There hasn’t been a Jewish people in Germany for 1,900 years, having been residents here much longer than Christian fellow citizens. Don’t supporters of Jewish schools realize that quotas are part of anti-Semites’ agenda? German Jews have an especially strong thirst for knowledge and are therefore well represented in the higher-level schools. In boys’ schools, for every 10,000 residents of a given faith, there are 61 Christians and 365 Jews. In the universities, there are 5 Christians and 32 Jews.
The writer, Ignaz Walsch, asserts that religious education should take place in carefully established religion schools and in the home. The article goes on to critique lectures by Dr. Heinemann (author of “The League of Nations from a Jewish Perspective”) and Dr. Carlebach—both defenders of Jewish schools. Dr. Carlebach maintained that Jewish children don’t even know what the Torah is and sees having Jewish schools a way to address this problem. Dr. Heinemann, the better pedagogue, cited people who said they could not be Jews because they were part of German culture, a perspective that contradicts the goal of liberal Judaism.
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p. 2.
Aus dem Reich.
Synopsis:
Munich. The anti-Semite Dietrich Eckart offered a prize of 1000 Marks to someone who could prove that a Jewish family had three sons who spent at least three weeks in combat. The rabbi of Hannover, Dr. Freund, sent a list of twenty families who met these criteria in his congregation. When Eckart refused to pay out the prize money, Dr. Freund sued him. During the proceedings he submitted another 50 families, some of whom had lost three sons in the war. Eckart agreed to pay the thousand Marks, which Dr. Freund contributed to Jewish causes.
Berlin. Announcement of a lecture to be held in honor of the recently deceased head of the Society for the Advancement of the Scientific Study of Judaism, Dr. M. Brann, by Rabbi Dr. Bloch.
Berlin. Report on the second exhibit of the art collection of the Jewish congregation. There are paintings from Poland and Russia as well as the painting “Moses Mendelsohn and His Circle.”
From the Province.
Synopsis:
Union of Synagogues of Breslau und Liegnitz will discuss how to revive the activities that had been stalled due to the war.
Bernstadt. In a chronicle documenting Bernstadt’s wartime experience, Rabbi Wolfgang describes the involvement of the Bernstadt Jewish community: the donations, the prayers, and the 26 soldiers of which three died and some received the Iron Cross.
Ratibor. All Liberal representatives were elected at the recent Representatives Assembly meeting.
Oppeln. Miss Fanni Schlesinger, daughter of the chairman of the Liberal Jewry Association, is engaged to Dr. Georg Kohn from Gorlitz, lawyer and member of the board of the Union of Jewish Youth Organizations.
Local Events.
Meeting of the Representatives Assembly.
Synopsis: It was noted that although almost all board members attended only one of the four Liberal representatives was present. The main topic was the question of Jewish schools. The first class of pupils had already been assembled by the Orthodox Rabbi Dr. Simonsohn and that lectures by Dr. Joseph Carlebach and Dr. Isaac Heinemann were scheduled. The Liberals were outraged. Only two Zionists and one Orthodox representative supported the Jewish school. Also discussed was the creation of two positions for teachers who would give religious instruction in the public schools equivalent to the Christian religious instruction. This proposal was accepted. The next proposal was regarding burial fees and purchase regulations for the new section of the cemetery. Fees for the Cosel cemetery are being reviewed, but it was agreed to set fees according to the position of the plot (corner, middle of a row, etc.) The final proposal regulated the duties of the various rabbis and administrators.
The Old Siddur.
A sketch by Bidsche Hohnsalz (from Zehlendorf)
Synopsis: A sentimental story of an elderly man who wanders out to the cemetery on the last night of Chanukka where he freezes to death contemplating his old prayer book and the loved ones whose names are inscribed in it.
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p. 3.
The Israelite Orphanage.
Synopsis:
Memorial ceremonies for deceased founders and sponsors took place. It was noted that the flourishing of the children was in reverse proportion to the orphanage’s resources. In January, the leaders of charitable organizations will meet and on the agenda is the issue of supporting the orphanages.
The Old Glogau Synagogue dedicated its new Torah scroll.
The 40th anniversary of the founding of the Princess Luise home took place in the founder’s apartment. Speakers were Pastor Renner of the Hofkirche, Chief Rabbi Dr. Vogelstein, and Pastor Meiβner. One hundred needy elderly women received donations.
Associations and Assemblies.
Synopsis:
Report on the lectures by Dr. Heinemann and Dr. Carlebach summarized on page 2 above.
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p. 4.
Synopsis: The Association for Jewish History and Literature held a lecture by Rabbi Dr. Baeck on the Jewish spirit which is characterized by a contrast in thinking and feeling, resulting in contradiction and an optimism that is not based on present circumstances but on future improvement. He described how this optimism expresses itself in Jewish religious beliefs, especially by the prophets.
Boycott of Jewish Businesses!
In the edition of the “Silesian Newspaper” published on November 5, the following announcement appeared:
Christian Businessmen and Craftsmen!
All Breslau Christian-German firms are invited to be included in a suppliers list intended for local and non-local buyers—at no cost. Send your exact address and business type as soon as possible to Mr. Reifgerste, Breslau V, Schwerinstraβe 38/40. The German Nationalist Protection and Defiance Federation, Breslau Chapter.
This announcement appeared three more times during the following days.
On December 2, in Friebeberg, a meeting of the German Nationalist Protection and Defiance Federation took place where, according to a report in the Silesian newspaper, Reinhold Wulle (member of Parliament) and Professor Freiherr von Freytagh-Loringhoven held speeches vilifying Jews. The many listeners were called upon to boycott Jewish businesses. It was pointed out that if Jews could not conduct business in Germany, they would soon emigrate.
On the afternoon of that same day on Schweidnitzerstraβe, the German weekly with the front page headline shouting out “The Jewish Grafters Republic” was peddled with posters—without the police stepping in.
The editor of this paper is the famous Knüppel-Kunze. The paper’s motto is “Not a dime for Jewish businesses.”
Since the 21st of December, an “Index of Christian Businessmen and Craftsmen” is being distributed in Breslau. The index includes well over 100 firms and a recommendation from the German Nationalist Protection and Defiance Federation, Breslau Chapter. The index includes, among others, the firms of Julius Henel, cloth wholesaler Prause, silversmith Julius Lemor, stationers Theiner & Meinicke and Emmo Delahon, furrier W. Bischoff, truck dealers Schuppelius & Ahrent, lighting supplier Otto Kowatsch, engraver Alwin Kaiser.
We consider it our duty to inform our readers of these facts since they are aimed at severely damaging the economic life of our city.
Advertisements and Announcements
Engagement announced between Fanni Charlotte and the lawyer Dr. Georg Kohn in Oppeln on December 20–by Hedwig Schlesinger, nee Lohnstein, and Dr. Ismar Schlesinger.
The source for these translations is the digitized version of the “Juedisch-Liberale Zeitung” available at Compact Memory. Find the digitized version of Issue 4 here.
Juedisch-liberale Zeitung 