Jewish Liberal Newspaper, May 6, 1921

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Lis Strenger

p. 1

The Old Testament and Judaism, A Response to the “Deutsche Zeitung”.

by Counselor Ed. König (Bonn).
Synopsis: König was taken to task by the “Deutsche Zeitung” for lecturing on what the Jewish and Christian views of the Old Testament have in common. He first defends himself against being labeled a “traditionalist” by citing the modern, critical approach his scholarly work takes to analyzing the bible. He then further supports his claim that the Jewish and Christian views of the Old Testament do not diverge as much as theologians like Franz Delitzsch and Max Maurenbrecher posit. König counters the claim that the Jews regard the Old Testament very differently from how Christians regard the New Testament by describing how Judaism was not solely focused on laws (e.g. the apocryphal and post-exile writings) and how Christianity was much more focused on laws than commonly accepted, both having a strong prophetic tradition.

On the Palestine Question – keren hayesod.

by Max Vogelstein (Breslau).
The editors note that this article is a response to the article, “Muβte das sein?” by R. A. Spitz published in the April 22, 1921 issue.
Synopsis: Max Vogelstein states that he is not representing any official Jewish organization or local chapter as he expresses his opinion. He begins his article by citing a recent article Dr. Paul Nathan where he claims that the barriers that separated Zionists and non-Zionists have fallen in the face of the Palestinian Mandate. Vogelstein disagrees and goes on to assert that, “We hold the Zionist agenda to contradict the essence of Judaism, whether it can be realized or not. That’s why we must reject Zionism and under no circumstances lend it any support.” Even the facts that Nathan brings to bear on this argument can’t change this position. Vogelstein is so critical of the Zionists because their goals in Palestine are national (which keren hayesod represents) and not social. Vogelstein feels that there are so many social issues facing Jews, especially for German Jews whose number one duty must be to help rebuild the devastated fatherland.
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As evidence of keren hayesod’s nationalist interests Vogelstein points to their resolutions outlining how to build up Palestine’s national treasury and how to allocate it—one third for land purchases, job creation, education, relief for immigrants, etc. but two thirds for national and economic institutions and endeavors. He quotes Schmarja Levin, a Zionist leader, who says that the keren hayesod is “a matter for the entire Zionist organization and for all the Jewish people.” Then he exclaims, “Only those who feel they belong to the Jewish “folk” should donate. Not us!” And he re-asserts that Zionists and non-Zionists are still going their separate ways.
Vogelstein then brings up the matter of the Eastern European Jews and how their problems must be dealt socially. The money flowing to the keren hayesod would be better put to use helping this population. Moving them all to Palestine is unrealistic and something must be done to improve their situation in the East.
He concludes by pointing out the importance to Jewish “Wissenschaft” to the renewal and strengthening of Judaism and reminding the reader of the dismal state of the rabbinical seminaries, educational institutions, scientific organizations, and libraries. How helpful it would be if keren hayesod could divert some funds to support these. As much as it grieves us, the Palestine work must be left to the Zionists alone.

On the Central Organization’s Palestine Resolution.

The editors received the following editorial from Johannes Wilhelm:
Synopsis: The board of the Central Organization made its position on the Palestine development fund clear at its April 10th meeting, unambiguously distancing itself from Zionist goals. The author critiques the “Muβte das sein?” article for its representation of how a slim majority pushed through this resolution. This author speaks of the courage it took to make this resolution despite the fact that it would cause some to leave the organization, especially those that do not recognize the danger Zionism poses to German Jewry. People from all over the empire voted for the resolution, though Dr. Paul Nathan and a number of Berliners did not support it.

Aus dem Reich.

Berlin. Jewish Children’s Aid
Synopsis: At its last meeting, the German Jews’ Central Aid Committee decided to hold a collection for Jewish Children’s Aid, but to defer it until the German Children’s Aid collection campaign ended. The funds from the German Children’s Aid collection that go to Jewish children are simply not enough given the degree of need.
Berlin. The Aid society for Jewish Emigration Affairs is responsible for regulating the emigration that goes through Germany, for advising emigrants, and for communicating with other organizations to effect systematic and coordinated support of emigrants. Dr. Nathan Ben Nathan has been appointed Secretary of the Central Bureau. Volunteers are welcome. Headquarters are in Berlin, Steglitzerstraβe 12, and local offices are in Hamburg (Ferdinandstraβe 14) and Bremen (Düsternstraβe 7). Other offices at border crossings and main railroad stations are planned. Discussions are being held with shipping companies and foreign Jewish immigration organizations. Just as before the war, the Central Bureau will publish a newsletter with information about emigration and will notify and brief the press about emigration issues.
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Von Liebe und Leid.

A biblical novella by Walter Brinitzer.
Synopsis: A man leaves his wife for 7 days to find a certain fruit tree for his orchard. On the day of his return, the kind of ghosts sees her and desires her. He promises to spare her if she promises in turn to follow him wherever he goes. She was true to her word, but one night he cannot control his lust. She is saved when he is struck dead by a bolt of lightning. To give thanks, she builds a temple and selects seven wise men to praise God by preaching his word. Sorrow entered the temple’s door but love came out having heard the word of God.
The husband looked everywhere for his wife, praying all the time for help. God took pity on him and after seven years brought him to the temple. Each of the seven wise men give him advice, but were unable to relieve him of his sorrow. This being a first, they sought out their mistress who had them bring the man to her. She didn’t recognize her husband for sorrow had so distorted his face. She told him that his sorrow could not be as great as hers and she tells her story. They recognize each other, and all ends well.
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Munich. Jewish businesses listed in an anti-Semitic directory, titled “Little Unchristian Book of Munich to guide purchases, including a list of German doctors and lawyers” by a “völkisch” publisher. The preface states that the listed businesses are “truly German, that is, completely without Jewish influence.” The directory also includes a number of Jewish companies and doctors that seemed to feel insulted and their businesses compromised, by their inclusion in the book (which is decorated with a swastika), as though they had been trying to be secretive about their Jewishness—they brought a complaint against the publisher to prevent it from further distributing the book as long as their names were included. The state court ordered the publisher to cease distributing the book as long as the names of the Jewish plaintiffs were included or face punishment. During the trial, the accused publisher agreed to stop distributing the directory with the Jewish names and pay all legal fees.
Leipzig. Secret Jewish Laws. The directors of the Central Organization of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith invited Pastor Fiebig (Leipzig) to speak on this topic in the zoo. Moritz Ury welcomed the audience briefly and asked everyone to maintain a calm and sober attitude. Before Pastor Fiebig moved to his central topic, he identified himself as a chronicler and scientist and as such is free of any influence or constraint. God’s people, he continued, have had from the beginning a duty to hold God’s name holy and suffer for his sake. Because rabbinical literature is treated like a stepchild at the universities, the sources that would provide a better understanding of Jewish laws, and their importance to the psyche and morality have remained hidden. That there exist secret, Jewish, inaccessible laws that justify immorality, or tolerate it, must be decisively rejected. Moreover, in order to understand Jews, one must hold to three fundamental concepts: Justice, Casuistry, and Morality. Justice leads to Casuistry and strives to be moral. Justice must be kept in mind if one wants to understand Jewish writings and social laws. One must refute some of the negative accusations that maliciously place Jewish morality under suspicion and undermine it. 3. Moses 20, 10, for example, threatens Jewish adulterers with death. There is no evidence of a secret permission, as is often claimed, for adultery with non-Jewish women. That consorting with non-Jewish women is somehow “rewarded” with impunity is contradicted by Talmudic threat of punishment for adultery. If that is no longer true today, the fault lies in the lack of Jewish judges. The discussion that followed was passionate. One argued for and against the secret laws. A German-Volkist accused Pastor Fiebig of being an obsequious promoter of Jews.
Hamburg. Synopsis: Dr. Holländer (Berlin) spoke at the Central Organization of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith on how things stand with regards to the responsibility of Jews for Germany’s misfortune. Dr. Holländer counters some of the anti-Semitic myths about Jews and their relationship to the war such as profiteering and shirking military duty. Likewise the idea that Jews are responsible for Bolshevism. He is confident that once the nation has recovered, the power of German honesty, culture, and loyalty will put an end to this scapegoating. During the discussion, Professor Roll concluded that the problem stems less from anything to do with the Jewish faith, rather it is an expression of the worry about the German fatherland. Dr. Cimbal disagreed by claiming that Jews did try to avoid military duty and reminded the audience of the long history of anti-Semitism in Germany.

Aus der Presse.

The “Frankfurter Zeitung” printed the following by Dr. Reinhard Strecker, president of the department of education in Darmstadt, under the heading, “Race and Politics.” He asks which educated person takes the grotesque distortions of racial theory seriously. He thinks the cause of anti-Semitic demagoguery lies in the fact that this generation has lost its soul in the quest for profit and individual and national expansion. He finds a parallel between anti-Semitism and the anti-German war-time propaganda—both seek to destroy the opponent. He shows how racialism becomes a double-edged sword by citing that Mussolini’s newspaper, “Popolo d’Italia,” labelled the Romanians a mongrel, barbaric people when they declared war. Soon after, the same paper hailed them as the worthy sons of ancient Romans, privileged to be members of the Latin race.
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Lokales.

Jewish Theological Seminary.

Dr. Rabin, on whose appointment to the Breslau Jewish Theological Seminary we recently reported, is 38 years old. The son of a Ukrainian rabbi, he followed the typical Talmudic studies in Russia and was authorized as a rabbi by a well-respected Lithuanian rabbi. He studies oriental languages, history, and philosophy in Germany and Switzerland, passing his doctoral exam summa cum laude in Bern where he also received his teaching certification in history, geography, philosophy, and pedagogy. He taught for several years at the teacher’s seminary of the Aid Association of German Jews in Jerusalem and was then selected to lead the rabbinical training institute in Odessa. When war broke out he was in Germany where he was interned, which brought him into personal contact with professors at Giessen. In 1918 he was appointed as a lector at the University of Giessen for post-biblical Jewish history, then at the University of Frankfurt a. M. where he also taught Hebrew. Dr. Rabin will teach biblical exegesis and history at the Seminary, and take over the intermediate course in the Talmud. His main area of focus is the history of the Masoretic text.

“Schlesische Volksstimme”

The local chapter of the Central Organization of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith reported to us:
In recent days, advertisement editions of the “Schlessische Volksstimme” were sent to numerous Jewish families to elicit subscriptions. They were accompanied by circulation numbers that were confirmed by the solicitor, Czaya.
Our brothers and sisters in faith will hopefully not fall for this aggressive advertisement. This edition sent to expand readership interestingly enough does not contain the anti-Semitic clap-trap that this newspaper rarely lacks. For example, one of the recent editions spread the lie that German Jews were traveling in neutral foreign countries and advocating for the separation of the Rhine’s left bank.

Concerts.


Evening of Song with Anita Frenzel.
Synopsis: The program included Brahm’s “Trenning” and “Salome” aws well as Reger’s “Maria Wiegenlied.” The accompanist was Egmont Pollak whose own compositions were also performed: “Albumblatt” and “Schmetterlinge.” As a solo, he played Rubinstein’s “Spanischer Tanz.”

On the Jewish Kur-Hospital in Warmbrunn in the Riesengebirge.


The hospital was founded 43 years ago but its roots go back to the 1830’s when fellow Jews of modest means received assistance to take a cure. The unforgettable Scheimann Schneller contributed so that land could be purchased in the 1870’s and an imposing building constructed that housed those in need during their cure. Due to recent economic conditions, the hospital now asks those who can to pay for part of their stay. The hospital’s annual report requests additional donations so that they can once again house the ill at no cost to them.

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Jewish Liberal Newspaper, April 22, 1921

Posted on December 27, 2014 by Lis Strenger

Because of Passover, the next issue of our newspaper will appear on Friday, May 6.

by Rabbi Dr. Vogelstein.

More than three thousand years ago a foreign people in the wondrous lands on the Nile gained their freedom after several hundred years of bondage. Leaving a highly cultured and economically thriving land, the freed people went into the desert toward battles and an uncertain future.

The wonderland with its colossal buildings, pyramids, and temples, with its hieroglyphs and mummies, with its blossoming science and art still holds the interest of researchers. But next to the greatness, almost as a condition for the existence of the former, the limitless despotism of the pharaohs, the oppression of the people, the complete negation of individual freedom and independence, stood the people, slaves to the work that created the great monuments, where only a few who belonged to preferred casts earned anything. The aristocratic culture existed only for a few privileged while millions lived primitively. How could foreigners expect a better lot? Even if one of them had been one of the land’s benefactors—gratitude was an unknown concept in the pharaohs’ politics. The foreigners were enslaved and because their resistance was feared, one tried to exterminate them.

The Israelites suffered badly under slavery. But they still retained some of what had come down from their ancestors. They went along with the circumstances, but while the majority of the Egyptians took slavery for granted, they at least had an understanding for the misery that burdened them. The liberator appeared. The hard misfortunes that were dealt the Egyptians became signs to them that the God of their ancestors punished the opposition of the despots. Finally, their opposition was broken and the people could leave the land freely.

In remembrance we celebrate Passover every year. But can we really celebrate something that lies millennia in the past? And is then the fact that it happened to our forefathers enough to bridge the abyss of the millennia? Indeed the celebration would be useless and without meaning, if it didn’t have anything to say to us about ourselves and our lives. That becomes clear in the Passover haggadah. In every era, mankind should see itself as being freed from Egypt. God freed not only our ancestors but us as well.

The question must be asked: What lasting, fruitful effect does this event have? For “only what is fruitful, is true.” That was what was claimed by those teachers that spent Passover together in Bue Brak. That has come down to us from the very little we know of what they spoke about. One interpretation is that the liberation from Egypt is something so mighty that no moment of our existence should pass without thinking about it. The other interpretation is that even in messianic times will its memory be kept alive because it is the route and source of what mankind will have achieved when the messianic prophecy is fulfilled. In this event does the freedom of the individual not only appear as a God-given right, as a religious and moral imperative, but is realized through the freeing of Israel. The idea of freedom has become one of the foundational pillars of the entire religious and moral way of life and “Weltanschaung” of Judaism. Thus, it is not an empty formula, when in the Sabbath prayer and on every holy day the exodus from Egypt is mentioned. But the idea of freedom is simultaneously a duty. One asks, “Free from what?” because the external bonds seem most important to mankind. More important though is the question, “Free to what end?” Only through this question does freedom attain moral value.

Judaism has gone through history as a fighter for freedom. In those times when the unethical position was held that a land’s ruler determined the religious faith of his subjects, Judaism rejected the oppression of the conscience. In times of misery and persecution it called for inner freedom. The ideas embodied by Passover are no less meaningful today than thousands of years ago. As with all historical holy days of Judaism, Passover points to the work of the present, to the aim of the future, through the remembrance of past events. Consequently, the last days of the celebration emphasize thinking of the future.

The world is apparently infinitely far from messianic perfection. But for everyone who seeks ideal values in today’s life, it must be a proud and joyous awareness to be able to work towards the realization of an ideal which was borne out of Egypt by our ancestors.

From Deutsche Gröβe, Friedrich Schiller:
Fighting for reason’s freedom,
Is to fight for all peoples’ rights,
for all eternal time.

Did That Have to Be?

We have ascertained directly with the author of the following essay that it expresses only his personal opinion. The Editors.

As easy as it is, as happy as it makes us, to cross swords with the enemy on the field of intellectual battle, so hard and depressing it is to have to fight with friends. In this case, one doesn’t want to say one word too many or form a sentence too sharply, so that each makes clear the desire and intention to aver only that which the conscience calls one to, and yet does not hurt the one to whom we are so bound with strong connections.

Today I must fight with one of my best and oldest friends—with the Central Organization of German Citizens of Jewish Faith! In the previous issue of this newspaper appeared the April 10th resolution that the leadership of this association made with regards to the settlement of Palestine. It’s perhaps not redundant if I repeat the statement here:

“Were the settlement of Palestine nothing more than a large aid project, nothing would be said about the decision of the Central Organization not to support this work. However, the settlement of Palestine is the primary objective of nationalist Jewish politics. That is why its support is to be rejected. As long as the social and religious institutions of the German people and the religious and cultural needs of the German Jewry suffer bitterly and as long as countless homeless Jews need our immediate and urgent help, the Jewish sense of community and charity has many opportunities and the duty to work productively within German society.”

When shortly before the World War the Saverne Affair occurred, as down below in Alsace the most extreme and unsympathetic representatives of Prussian militarism trampled on the freedom and equal rights of the Alsatian people, our current Chancellor, Fehrenbach, said in a masterful speech in the Reichstag, that the recent improvement in the attitude and position of the Alsatians toward the Reich was over and done with. He, Fehrenbach, when he heard of the goings on in Saverne and their impact, called out in consternation, “Tatters, only tatters!”
“Only tatters” … that is how many of us feel in the face of the Central Organization’s resolution. There was in the last few months—as I had once before expressed in these pages—a feeling of hopefulness developing.

The Zionists had moved on beyond their deep disappointment. With the high hopes, with triumphant celebrations, they had welcomed that the English Commonwealth had taken over the Palestinian Mandate from the Turkish empire and immediately started the process of creating a national homeland for the Jews. It seemed then that all the Zionist dreams were coming to fruition, and that we who had opposed the Zionist ideology were being swept aside.

But then a frost came into the spring nights. The text of the law made it clear that the English government had worked out the justification for their Palestinian Mandate. And the text was very far from allowing the Jews any significant influence on the governance and administration of the country, and carefully and fearfully defined parity of the national and political rights of the non-Jewish inhabitants of the country. It does not differ from the principles—reasonable and democratic—according to which the culturally progressive English colonies are governed so that it should be apparent to the whole world, what is obvious to sober judges of English ways and history, that England has no intention of seeing this country as anything other than a means to expand the sphere of influence for British statecraft and administrative power—and an infinitely valuable protection of its flank position in the Orient.

More disappointments came. The more one got to know the country, the clearer it became that mass settlement would require a very long time and a huge amount of money, which England expects the Jews to fund. Also to consider is the resistance offered by the Arabs, which was underestimated thanks to the wily Emir Faisal’s fine speeches two years ago, but which is quite strong and touch and requires the greatest care and caution. And finally, the American Zionists are not agreed with the continental Zionists, especially not with the Germans. The Americans with their clever insight had expected the afore-mentioned difficulties. They also have the example before them of the bitter experiences of the German-Americans during the World War as a warning not to let themselves get pushed into a national conflict. And so they have made as a condition of their participation (which is essential) that any national element in the movement be de-emphasized in favor of the social, practical aspects of colonization which would make it easier for all Jews to participate in the work in Palestine.

The German Zionists did not agree with this position. They learned, they adapted. Their tone, which every visitor to their meetings and every reader of their press has found to be bitter and embittering for decades, mildly put, began to gradually change.

On our non-Zionist side, tendencies were developing that were somewhat receptive and made it easier for the Zionists to change their approach. That Jewish youth was participating more actively, more deeply in religious life, in Jewish literature, and Jewish history, also increased their love of the land which was once the homeland of our people but also of our faith. The hate of others bonded us more tightly together and made it the order of the day that despite our differences we come together to defend against the enemy and work together toward strengthening Judaism. A new attitude was developing. It appeared everywhere. A few weeks ago at a Berlin lecture, the staunch fighter for liberalism, a man of faultless German conviction as Rabbi Dr. Baeck called for all Jews to participate in the establishment of a new Palestine. In Breslau, the chairman of the Central Organization, Hirschberg, a man who has no understanding for Zionist leanings, expressed the same sentiment. But none has expressed so clearly our right and our duty to build up Palestine as a man, who has done so much for the Jews of the East as for the German-Jewish colonization and educational work in the Orient, who always sided with universal Judaism and against any exaggerated Zionist aspirations and whose German conviction not even Dr. Naumann could doubt—I am referring to Dr. Paul Nathan.
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In an essay, “The Jewish-national homeland in Palestine” (the author also placed the title in quotation marks) in the March volume of the Central Organization Journal he said unequivocally:

“The position of the various Jewish parties take towards each other, especially the position of the Zionists toward the non-Zionists must change fundamentally; at least it should change fundamentally. The differences that separate the one from the other have lost any meaning for the foreseeable future, and according to these principles: cessat causa, cessat effectus [The cause ceasing, the effect must cease; see http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/%5D, we are approaching the moment when it might be possible for Judaism to present a unified front.”

He based his belief, which was at once a wish and an admonition, on the English Mandate, the positive it contained, that it would allow Jews with national or religious longing for the holy land cultivate the fields, import and export goods, “pray at the Wailing Wall as once before,” and the negative, in that it would put an end to misguided Zionist hopes and bring the dreamers back down to earth and to fruitful, positive work. Nathan added in his clear and deliberate way:

“The new development, whether one greets it with exaggerated hopes, or regards it with negativity, places all Jews of the world, regardless of whether they are Zionists or not Zionists, in a completely changed position.

The hopeful Zionists now see their plans being constrained to a high degree. The non-Zionists however find themselves in a position that no longer offers them names for what they should call their opposition to the Zionists.

Palestine is firmly in the hands of England, which makes it highly possible that under English protection secure institutions can be created that benefit the Jews in that country both in intellectual and economic terms. Whereas before the war of 1914, all business in Palestine had to deal with arbitrary acts by the Turks, now English lawfulness will provide a dependable guarantee for the country’s development.

Today, the world Jewry can consider the Palestine question as it once did before the unfortunate and bitter strife with the Zionists. In politics, the best thing that one can do is in the face of new conditions is to forget, to thoroughly forget.

My circle of friends and I have worked on the Palestine project for a quarter of a century. We can now get back to work as only one thing has changed. In the place of constantly changing political conditions, which the Turkish regime engendered, there is, for the foreseeable future, a firmly grounded English rule.”

Naturally, Nathan warns pointedly against overestimating the possibility of development in this country that he knows so well, and against one other illusion—namely to have any exaggerated hope of German participation in building this country. He sees two reasons for our limited participation: because of our poverty and because the boundless misery of the Ukrainian Jews will consume all of our charity and willing aid. “Our sympathy, however,” concludes the beautiful essay, “stays with Palestine, where the collective contribution of all Jews looks attainable.”

The odd response to this heartfelt and compelling appeal is this resolution of the Central Organization’s board. Whoever reads the resolution reprinted above completely objectively must recoil from the iciness of the first sentence. Even if the settlement of Palestine were nothing more than a large social aid project—even then there shouldn’t be anything said against this project from the Central Organization’s perspective. The devil take it, shouldn’t there be something to said for it?

The second and third sentences deny support for the settlement of Palestine. Here I ask emphatically: Where does the board of the Central Organization get the right to undermine the Esra association, which has done great and beneficial things for the colonization of the holy land, and has just recently once again asked for the participation of all German Jews, and which consists of all Jewish directions while consistently highlighting that the development of Palestine is not the work of a single party?

The last sentence gives a kind of answer to this question, although not one that is satisfying on a human or scientific level. It states with bare words, “We are too poor, we can’t do anything.” Indeed, we have become very poor—we scarcely know or apprehend how poor. The need of our congregations, or our charitable institutions becomes ever clearer and more blatant. Paul Nathan in no way fails to recognize that, as we have seen, when he declares that the burden of caring for Palestine will have to rest mostly on the shoulders of the English and American Jews. But does that mean that we impoverished ones cannot or should not contribute our mites to this great work? That’s what the Central Organization’s board thinks, and Rabbi Dr. Jacob (whom I know as a redoubtable opposition fighter and therefor don’t like to see him on this path) agrees with them and gives the Zionists this deadly earnest advice, to come back “in fifty, or perhaps in thirty or twenty years.”

No, and a hundred times no! “Poverty gladly gives to poverty,” claims the lovely poem by Heinrich Seidel. In addition, a significant portion of German Jews still lives in relative ease, so that their ability to make donations need not be so limited. It’s only a matter of appealing to the Jewish heart and conscience of these men and women, of hammering it home, that an “I can’t” isn’t acceptable from them. Should they have such reservations on their overly sensitive consciences, as has Rabbi Dr. Jacob, that every Mark spent on Palestine is “forbidden displacement of capital abroad,” then we need only point to the certainly very patriotic German Catholics, who don’t hold back from paying millions and more every year as Peter’s Pence that to Rome, the center of their religion. Let’s not be more Catholic than the Pope! Let’s not be shamed by our fellow citizens who are no poorer than we are. We must protect ourselves from illusions about what we can achieve, but let’s not turn away from making our modest contribution to the significant work that the greater Jewish community is doing down there.

Naturally, we must emphatically make the point, that as Hirschberg said: an unconditional support of the Zionist development fund, Keren hayesod, does not come under consideration. We want to help Palestine develop, because the clamoring misery of our brothers in the East demands that no possibility of finding the homeless a refuge be overlooked. We want to do it because the immigration options in other countries are increasingly limited due to the prevalent prejudice and the growing economic difficulties, while this country has been declared through a formal act of justice for human rights to be a homeland for homeless Jews. We want to do it because the aroused longing of tens and hundreds of thousand victims for the land of their fathers, the land of religious promise. We don’t want our participation to fail, because we confidently hope that this country will someday be a warm source from which Jewish religious renewal will spring. We don’t however want to gather the building blocks for a Jewish national state, a Zionist castle in the clouds, and therefore we need assurances that the work that all parties should contribute to does not serve those objectives that we non-Zionist Jews today, after the fiasco of the boldest Jewish nationalist dreams, oppose even more heartily than in the years and decades of struggle that lie behind us.

It might not be easy to find such a compromise, but it will and must succeed, if we have the will to put our hands to building Palestine. That the board of the Central Organization is lacking this will (or at least the majority that pushed through this resolution) – that is the serious reproach we must make today.

We know, or at least apprehend: The concern that a number of the members who were present when the League of Nationalist German Jews that some real or apparent concessions to the Zionists were made influenced this resolution. But fear always makes for a poor advisor in such essential matters. And especially when the well-known “fear of one’s own courage” bears even slight resemblance…

The board of the Central Organization has spoken. Now it is up to the members to speak and to act. No one should take the comfortable approach and quit because they don’t like the new direction. Today’s minority must become tomorrow’s majority. Even if it takes until the day after tomorrow—our day will come! Because the future has never belonged to absolute negation!
by Erich Spitz

Aus dem Reich.

Berlin. A description of the Liberal Association’s Winterfest concert and dance.

Seder.

A sketch by Ino Gaβmann.
Synopsis: On a ship bound for New York, a wealthy Jewish industrialist from Baltimore is throwing an opulent supper party with his business associates. He meets the ship’s steward who tells him how ten poor Eastern Jewish families are preparing their seder, which evokes his own childhood memories of seders he used to celebrate when he was a poor orphan living with his Uncle in a Silesian town near the Polish border. Instead of attending his dinner party, he goes below deck to spend the night in prayer and song with the immigrants. Morning finds him renewed, having re-discovered his better self. He goes on to help his new friends make their way in the new world, and since then, always celebrates Passover.

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Detmold. The court recently acquitted Captain Manderscheidt of having insulted Reichsminister Geβler by saying that as a Democrat he was influenced by Jews. The court found that no insult had taken place, merely a statement of fact because as everyone knows the German Democratic Party has a high percentage of Jewish members, therefore calling it a “Jewish Party” is not an insult.

Hamburg. At a meeting of the Central Organization of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith, Rabbi Dr. Jacob (Dortmund) spoke on “The Jews in Germany.” He focused on the history of Anti-Semitism in Germany. His speech was often interrupted by calls and comments from the audience. He ended with the statement, “All of us are the Fatherland. Germanness lies in the spirit, not in the blood.”

The Hagadah.

Lecture by the teacher, Robert Hirschfeld in the Jewish Liberal Youth Organization, Breslau.
Synopsis: The lecturer describes the contents of the Hagadah and the seder in a straight-forward manner. He then describes the Hagadah books themselves and how they were the only opportunity for Jewish artists to illustrate using a wide range of Biblical topics. These illustrations were often meant for children. In recent times, there were various attempts at appealing to modern interpretations, the most successful of these being written by Rabbi Dr. Seligmann from Frankfurt.

Local Events.

Introduction of the New Congregational Rabbi.

Dr. Hoffmann’s introduction took place the 20th of April. After Eduard Sachs warmly remembered Rabbi Dr. Rosenthal, who had passed away just several weeks ago, the head of the representatives, Professor Wohlauer recalled Dr. Hoffmann’s father’s contributions as the director of the Berlin rabbinical seminary. Dr. Vogelstein expressed his hope and desire that both colleagues would work side-by-side for the good of the whole community although they held opposing views on Jewish matters. After thanking for the praise given his father, Dr. Hoffmann promised that he would always be a true pastor of the orthodox community.

Exhibit of Jewish Religious Objects.

Synopsis: Rosa Freudenthal organized the exhibit that included objects used in synagogues as well as in the home. It featured modern artists, men and women, from all over Germany: Mendelssohn (Hellerau), Leo Horovitz (Frankfurt), Friedrich Adler (Hamburg), Wonka (Breslau), Rosa Weyl (Breslau), Mrs. Zadikow (Munich), Erna Selten (Breslau). Antique objects from Willy Falk’s private collection, from the Soldin synagogue and the Kirschstein (Nikolassee) were also on display.

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The local Chapter of the League of Jewish Women will be once again sending children in need of rest and relaxation to the sun spa home in Segeberg from June 10 to July 15. Miss Cohn will be accepting registrations daily from 9 to 10 am until May 5 at 12 I Tauentzienstraβe.

Associations and Assemblies.

The Central Organization.

The Central Organization of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith recently called a meeting dedicated to examining anti-Semitism. The originally scheduled speaker, Reverend Nithak-Stahn could not attend. In his place, Representative Staerck (Jena) spoke on the history of anti-Semitism. The meeting was well attended by government leaders and Christian fellow citizens. Staerck begins his history with the book of Esther to illustrate how anti-Semitism has been present since the earliest times. He showed how in Greco-Roman times, hatred of the Jews as “enemies of the truth” transformed into hatred of Jews as “enemies of Jesus Christ,” especially as the status as privileged slave traders led them to sell Christians. Spain was cited as the premier example of medieval anti-Semitism, despite the papacy being generally well-disposed toward Jews, which did not prevent priests from waging a battle between church and synagogue that even Luther joined. In the 18th and 19th century the French Revolution’s notions of freedom and equality eventually led the way to Jewish emancipation. By 1870, anti-Semitism had once again peaked with Adolf Stöcker leading the movement, the effects of which are still being felt today. He goes on to contrast the situation of Germany’s Jews with England’s where integration of even relatively conservative Jews has occurred. He ends with an appeal to the spirit of reconciliation for Jews to participate in the reconstruction of Germany.

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Jewish Liberal Newspaper, April 15, 1921

Posted on November 28, 2014 by Lis Strenger

On the Start of the School Year.

by Rabbi Dr. Sänger (Breslau).
Synopsis: Ever since the revolution, older children in particular have been challenging their parents with questions about whether they should continue taking religion classes in school. This questioning is a sign of the present time when the meaning of all things is being questioned. The study of religion stems from a sense of God’s real presence in life, which is something that parents instill in their children in addition to passing on their traditions, which is aided by religious education. In these difficult times, Judaism’s ethical and social laws can equip the young person with the means to be devout, feel fulfilled, and be a friend to mankind.

Dr. Sänger pleads with parents not to take their children out of religion classes. The congregation is making every effort to ensure that schools offer two hours a week of Jewish religious education by qualified instructors. No Jewish parent should be satisfied with a mere two hours, especially not when it comes to learning Hebrew. The congregation offers additional courses at two schools and one program for the training of women teachers of religious education.

Anti-Semitism, School, and Youth.

by Max Kosler, Elementary School Teacher (Dresden).
Synopsis: Kosler laments that unscrupulous politicians are sowing the seeds of hate with anti-Semitic propaganda among children and emphasizes the importance of combating lies. One such lie, that Jews avoided their military duty, can easily be countered with the facts. Jews served in the same proportion as all other sectors—20%–and were in consistent proportion among the fallen, the wounded, the decorated, and the imprisoned. One newspaper was fined 1000 marks for understating Jewish participation in the war.

All other anti-Semitic fairy tales can be as easily disproven. But in the education of children, the example of adults and teachers exert huge influence. They are teaching children to imagine Jews with evil intentions standing at almost every corner even though among 60 million Germans there are only a half million Jews.
The anti-Semites are aided by the naïve and uncritical who easily believe anything that is cloaked in nationalism. The youth fall in this category. And then there are others who willingly spread tales that they themselves do not believe if it somehow serves their cause—among this group are the businessmen who seek some competitive advantage by blaming Jews. They claim to be protecting themselves against the Eastern Jews, but in doing so, harm all Jews. Kosler reminds the reader that masses of Eastern Jews were forcibly brought to Germany to work in the munitions factories.

The government’s position towards Jews also colors our youth’s judgment. Should one allow a teacher to hold forth about the “Jewish government”? Even the far-right Germans know that having 3 Jewish ministers out of 160 does not make a government Jewish. Other examples of anti-Semitic fairy tales can be spun for industry and finance. Some anti-Semitic economists have calculated that 9/10s of the world’s capital is in Jewish hands.

They don’t spare the youngest children and use them to spread their literature and flyers. Kosler was recently given on a Jewish-Bolshevist plot revealed in an article that appeared in an ostensibly Russian paper founded by German anti-Semites. The Central Organization of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith had offered 10,000 marks to the person who can prove the authenticity of the article. Unfortunately, the youth take this material for its word. The anti-Semites even resort to writing articles under Jewish pseudonyms that purport to offer insiders’ validation of Jewish conspiracies. Adults are naïve if they think that the youth does not read and absorb this material. Instead of passing out calendars with swastikas and Dinter’s books, the League of National German Youth should distribute von Oppeln-Bronikowski’s “Antisemitism?” or the Protestant theologian, Hermann Strack’s, writings.
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The Founding of the League of National German Jews.

(reported by our Berlin representative)
On April 11, Dr. Max Naumann announced his new organization to the press founded on the principle that German Jews were a tribe, just like the other German tribes, and not a religious group. The tribe is always secondary to the nation. The organization welcomes all Germans of Jewish decent, including those who are no longer members of a Jewish congregation (dissidents) as long as they have not become members of a non-Jewish congregation. The reporter satirically states that he admires Naumann, who despite his lack of knowledge about Judaism, is establishing a Jewish organization. This new organization is a threat to the Central Organization of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith and the reporter warns these members about joining. “When the League of National German Jews declares, “The French, the English Jew is just a Frenchman or Englishman to the National German Jew.” Or “for the National German Jew the Eastern Jewish issue is not a Jewish issue but a German issue,” this attitude does not justly represent Judaism.” Naumann contradicts all religions when he claims that a national German feeling is never influenced by a feeling of internationalism. (signed B. W.) Following the article are reprints of the Naumann-Vorreuter correspondence that appeared in the April 1, 1921 issue.

Ophir, the Ancient Land of Gold.

by Dr. Manuel Joel (Breslau).
Synopsis: Dr. Manuel presents the case for placing the biblical land of Ophir in South Africa, near the Zambezi region and Zimbabwe, particularly as made by Karl Peters, the founder of Germany’s East African colony.
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Aus dem Reich.

Berlin. The Free Jewish Adult Education School began its eighth trimester with a set of lectures on “Currents in Modern Judaism” covering topics such as the kabbalah, Spinoza, Zionism, and Jewish women and their significance in education.

Berlin. The Association for the Academy of Science of Judaism held a memorial honoring its founder, Dr. Leopold Landau. Dr. Täubler gave the speech that beautifully described the kind of man Leopold Landau was.

Berlin. The Conference of German Students of Jewish Faith held its annual meeting. This organization was founded to combat anti-Semitism among students. This meeting focused on the rise of anti-Semitism in German universities after the war. It was decided to continue with the methods for fighting anti-Semitism that had proven successful before the war, especially with regards to the current repression and denigration of Jewish women. These consist of using every opportunity to foster or awaken the awareness of the mistreatment of Jews by word and deed in all those with some level of insight. The current hateful atmosphere in the universities is felt all the more because of the large number of Jewish fraternity members died in combat, about which misleading statisticians have given the public a false picture.

Although the group did not deal with religious or similar issues within Judaism, it had long ago taken a negative position toward Zionism, a position which was re- affirmed at this meeting. Finally, the topic of physical fitness was addressed. Given the current circumstances, and that military service was no longer an option, sports were to play a larger part than before, starting with an event planned for the fall that should serve as the proof of achievements in this area.

Berlin. The association of alumnae of the Berlin teachers’ college held a general assembly after years of not meeting due to the circumstances. Members of the board are mentioned. At the meeting, the board was dissolved and new members appointed to a new structure. Decisions were made about using some of the funds from the Doris and Michael Holzman Fund to pay 800 Marks to two needy student teachers so that they could visit spas. It was agreed that widows and orphans of previous members should also have trips to spas paid for.

Braunschweig. In the State Assembly, the democratic representative, Rönneburg, declared that the anti-Semitic persecution at the higher institutions of learning must be countered most forcefully. Wearing of swastikas must be forbidden. As should the recruitment of anyone under the age of 17 into a political association. Bringing politics into schools is not to be tolerated. He was joined by Minister Oerter who decried the educators who fostered an anti-Semitic spirit.

Frankfurt a. M. Dr. Otto Driesen, whose reputation as a great pedagogue precedes him, is the new director of the Pilanthropin school, replacing the late Dr. Salo Adler. Driesen studied law and economics in Berlin, Paris, Heidelberg, and Strassburg. He travelled in France, Switzerland, Italy and Belgium after which he began teaching in Charlottenburg. During the war he led various wartime organizations, including the educational division of the charitable organization, “Vaterlandsdank.” His more important scientific works dealt with philological themes and the use of film and gramophones in classrooms and in scientific research.

On the Development of Palestine

Resolution of the Central Organization on the Palestine Question
The Central Organization of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith shared the following resolution with us:
“Were the settlement of Palestine nothing more than a large aid project, nothing would be said about the decision of the Central Organization not to support this work. However, the settlement of Palestine is the primary objective of nationalist Jewish politics. That is why its support is to be rejected. As long as the social and religious institutions of the German people and the religious and cultural needs of the German Jewry suffer bitterly and as long as countless homeless Jews need our immediate and urgent help, the Jewish sense of community and charity has many opportunities and the duty to work productively within German society.”

The following letter by Rabbi Dr. Jacob of Dortmund appeared in the “Israelitisches Familienblatt” under the heading of “On the Development of Palestine” The letter was a response to an invitation to participate in the collection to assist Keren Hasseyod and addressed to the head of this organization.
Dear Sir,
After serious consideration, to my chagrin, I must ask you to step back from your intention to choose me to serve on the committee for Keren Hasseyod and the reconstruction of Palestine. I would not only not support the collection, but I would be obliged to oppose it. Since I foresee that my position will be questioned from several directions, allow me to explain my reasons. And since the issue interests many, I will share them so as to be more broadly evaluated.

As a religious Jew I love Zion and the holy land, the cradle of my religion, and thus have always been a friend to the reconstruction of Palestine. It could mark a blessed turn in the sorrowful history of Israel, if Palestine were to become a haven of peace for the persecuted and oppressed brothers of our people and thus a starting point for the religious renewal of mankind and Israel so that once again “from Zion came the law and from Jerusalem the word of God.” Even those who do not share this hope, regard this land as the birthplace and home of a large family, tied as it is with thousands of previous memories. Its sons are scattered throughout the world and have found their own lovely homes that they do not consider giving up. Still, they do not want their modest tribal home to decay; rather they piously want to maintain it. And, who knows, but it might serve as a refuge or old-age home for those who are less prosperous? Further, I realize that Zionism may be a political and spiritual necessity for Jews in some countries—and might perhaps become one for German Jews. But we have not yet reached that state. Germany is still our fatherland, which we do not think of giving up freely.

Two things prevent me from participating in supporting the planned collection at this time. 1) As German Jews we have to wage an exacerbated war on anti-Semitism in Germany that wants to take away our participation in the fatherland. Our existence, our rights, and our honor are at stake. Our enemies support this fight with huge material means, which is why we also need to dedicate our efforts and our money. 2) As German Jews we suffer most heavily from the collapse of our fatherland. The German people, to which we belong, struggles for air beneath exploitation by our enemy, the monstrous taxes, insane inflation. The misery is without bounds. When I think how millions decay here, how hundreds of thousands of children suffer from malnutrition and weakness, that tuberculosis claims hordes of lives, that hospitals, rest homes, orphanages face closure because of lack of means, that this misery might not be turned around even if we multiply our efforts, that for the same reason countless beneficial projects must be halted, that science dies, that our Jewish communities, which are supported almost completely by the annual taxes and are barely holding on when all they do is protect their rabbis and teachers from hunger and abject poverty, when I see the misery in my city and community on a daily basis—when I consider all of this, it’s impossible for me to rationalize collecting German money for an English-Jewish colony in Asia in these times. Even when I see it as my duty to help with the reconstruction of Palestine, I cannot, when another duty is more important to me. Since I cannot help all of the world’s misery go away, I do my part to relieve the misery I see before my eyes. Not the reconstruction of Palestine, but the reconstruction of Germany is what should concern German Jews. Let the Jews of England and America, the victorious countries (that are currently in London planning how they will enrich themselves on German poverty) participate in the reconstruction of Palestine! We German Jews are forced to stand aside this time due to our circumstances.

As praiseworthy as the reconstruction of Palestine is, since it took two thousand years, it can wait a bit longer. Now is just not the right time for us German Jews. Ask me again in fifty, maybe even thirty or twenty years, when with God’s help we are doing better once again. But in this moment it seems to me that every German Mark spent on the development of an English-Jewish colony in Asia drains our capital and shifts it abroad.

These reasons are of such overwhelming importance for me that it appears unnecessary to go into other considerations such as that we would just be working for English imperialism and Zionist nationalism.
Most Respectfully Yours, Dr. [Benno] Jacob

Local Events.

Correction.

Synopsis: Dr. O. Fischer, the dean of the Law School of the Friederich Wilhelm University in Breslau wrote to correct the statement in the April 1, 1920 issue of this paper that the Law School sponsored the Lunapark event. This was an unofficial event and the invitations went out without the knowledge or consent of the faculty.

Jewish Theological Seminary. We have learned that the lectures of the deceased instructors Dr. Horovitz and Professor Brann, as well as the larger part of Dr. Lewkowitz’s classes must be newly assigned. Dr. Rabin (Frankfurt a. Main) has been selected to instruct Exegesis and History starting in the summer semester. The search for a new Seminary Rabbi is also in process.
Dr. Hoffmann’s inauguration as the congregation-rabbi will take place on Wednesday, April 20 at 5:30 in the representatives’ assembly hall.

Jewish-Liberal Youth Association. The Association’s communications committee notified us that in the future they will hold their meetings in various parts of the city to foster closer relationships among members.

Free Jewish High School Evening Social

On April 10, the free Jewish High School invited its sponsors and friends to an evening social in the Great Hall of the Lessing Lodge before it closed its doors for the mid-year break. Dr. Wallerstein from the Stadttheater opened the evening’s full program(which was at times marred by being somewhat inappropriate) by playing Lewandowski’s “Ma-tamou” on the harmonium. Dr. Lewskowitz made a short speech in which he portrayed the Jewish High School as a place where all practices could work together, as a platform for the common goal of fostering love and pride for Judaism. The first part of the program was dedicated to music with performances by Mrs. Ochs-Pfahl of the Stadttheater, Mr. Wallerstein, and Mr. Peiser. These artists’ names alone ensured the success that was evident by the audience’s applause. This was followed by a tea break which was equally appreciated. The second part of the program featured a world premier of Herman Heijermans’“Ahasver.” Mrs. Ochs-Pfahl sang as a prelude to the one-act play a Sabbath song with much expression. The lyrical, peaceful character of the song contrasted strangely with the dramatic, dark content of the play. The play’s direction lay in the capable hands of Mr. Arnfeld, who shared playing the main roles with Mrs. Ludwig-Blum and Mr. Böhm (all from the Lobetheater). The portrayal of the Jewish milieu, for which the Dutch poet is mainly known and the significance of the one-act play, “Ahasver,” was well preserved. That was largely thanks to Mr. Arnfeld who imbued his Kralik with the typical speech, appearance and gestures of the Jewish father: the pride in his only much-loved son, the despair that expressed itself in the terrible curse he laid upon this wayward son. The interpretation affected all in the audience, as evidenced by their silence at first, then loud applause and calls, unfortunately! (by Betty Foerder, university student)
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Orchestral Matinee

Synopsis: The “Free Association for Classical Music” sponsored a concert last Sunday. Mr. Schönfeld was the director, Mr. Trautner played piano, and Kurt Nellhaus was the very young and very talented guest conductor.

Associations and Assemblies.

Central Organization of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith.

Invites the public to a lecture by the well-known Reverend Nithak-Stahn of Berlin on “Anti-Semitism and Humanity” followed by an open discussion.

The Duties of the German Jewry

In the Union to Further the Interests of Breslau’s Synagogue Congregations, the lawyer, Mr. Hirschberg, spoke on the “Duties of the German Jewry,” emphasizing that after the collapse of Germany England had taken over the mandate to establish a national homeland for Jews in Palestine. With that, the rest of the world’s Jews has a great responsibility to support these efforts, especially given how difficult the colonization will be due to the hostility of the Arabs. The first step to meeting this responsibility is to properly instruct the youth in their religion and to train teachers who can improve the religious education. The larger congregations are certainly in a position to help the smaller ones through financial means. In addition, the colonization would be further supported by training the youth to be farmers and craftsmen. A heated discussion followed in which the lawyer Jacobsohn expressed his skepticism over the success of Palestine since its governor, Herbert Samuel, was an outspoken opponent of Zionism. The banker Loewy stressed that the new Zionist state should be led by Jewish law and strict religiosity—he had been disappointed by how little a role religion played in the recent assembly of German-Jewish communities in Berlin since he was under the impression that the goal of Augdas Yisroel was to re-awaken an interest in the Torah.

Mr. Hirschberg agreed with Mr. Jacobsohn on many points. He also acknowledged that Mr. Loewy was right about many things but that he had to disagree with him that the fostering of broader interest in the Torah was the responsibility Agudas Yisroel alone—he saw that as the responsibility of all religious Jewish parties.

Family Announcements

Engagements: Suse Schidlower (Breslau) and Richard Weiβenberg (Schweidnitz); Friedel Tarrasch (Groβ-Wartenberg) with Ernst Doβmar (Berlin); Käte Münzerhelberger (Charlottenburg) and Willi Mosle (Leipzig); Lotte Krieg (Breslau) and Josef Hirschberg (Breslau); Alice Radlauer (Breslau) and Bruno Bensch (Breslau); Ellen Schalscha (Gera, Reuβ) and Siegfried Leipziger (Breslau); Hertha Linker (Breslau) and Gustav Krause (Czenstochau); Erika Nelken (Breslau) and Carl Muschel (Breslau); Jenny Schimek (Breslau) and Harry Brauer (Breslau).

Marriages: Julian Matthias and Käthe Tyrrasch (Nreslau); Lawyer Dr. Alfred Wolff and Hilde Weiβ (Oppeln); Martin Wiener and Margarete Simon (Breslau).

Births: Son: Julius Abraham and Rosel, née Riesenfeld (Charlottenburg); Albert Schragenheim and Claire, née Broh (Zoppot).
Daughter: Bernhard Böhm and Cläre, née Vogel (Breslau); Wilhelm Blumenfeld and Erna, née Bremer (Lauban).

Deaths: Oscar Heimann (Berlin); Adolf Frey (Breslau); Arthur Kaβriel (Breslau); Louis Siedner (Breslau), Berta Schachtel, née Weiβ (Breslau); Lina Friedner (Breslau); Mathilde Heilborn, née Aufrichtig (Breslau); Lisbeth Lust (Berlin); Martin Aufrichtig (Breslau).

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Jewish Liberal Newspaper, April 8, 1921

Posted on January 19, 2014 by Lis Strenger

Pacifism and Judaism.

by Dr. Walter Brinitzer (Chemnitz).
A French war song says: “Let us hate and kill, have no other safety than hate, hate is the prize.”
The sixth commandment orders: You shall not kill. The sixth commandment has lifted its voice through millennia, but how few who hold the fate of millions of people in their power have heard it.
War has been the watchword, hatred and killing. How does Judaism stand toward war and peace?
I. Judaism and War
Synopsis: Brinitzer cites from the Bible and the Talmud to support the position that Judaism rejects war as immoral and sinful and calls upon mankind to pursue peace.

II. War and Reality
Is war avoidable? The state only exists in opposition to other, external powers. If the state however is based on justice (Rechtstaat) in contrast to a national state, then it can better project its external power. The state’s duty is to establish the conditions under which its citizens can live and work well together. However, if one were to do away with states in order to do away with these constantly opposing powers, all cultural development would cease.

In this universal state, man would no longer be free because the state would be an absolute despot. Universalism is only feasible once cultural development has reached its apex in the messianic time. For now, similarities and differences in nature, geology, climate, peoples give rise to many individual states. Without a power that exists over the states, the only way to resolve conflicts is through might. War seems to be a natural outcome of the concept of the state.

III. Pacifism and Judaism.
We are always threatened by the possibility of war while its immorality is always apparent. This conflict gives rise to pacifism, which is a thoroughly Jewish-ethical concept with its roots in the messianic idea of peace and the perfection of humanity. Thus, peace does not conflict with love of one’s country, rather it represents its perfection. War is caused by hatred of other peoples and states’ loss of power. Should the ideal of pacifism be realized, there must be some guarantees that eradicate these conditions. There are both moral and legal guarantees. The ethical ones consist of furthering love of peace amongst people and the legal one consists of international courts whose aim is to avoid violent conflicts.

True peace is not created by treaties but by calling forth and nurturing peaceful attitudes, especially when it comes to dealings with other peoples. Science, art, and global business are examples where peoples interact peacefully.

Both Judaism and Christianity have emphasized love of peace. Bernitzer suspects that the German nationalist warmongers who often fall in with anti-Semites. He cites the pope, the Anglican church, the Lutheran churches of Alsace, and Kant as examples of advancing the cause of peace.

As for the legal guarantee, Bernitzer envisions a system of courts that does not force individual states to submit to the power of a universal body; rather these courts objectively and faithfully hand down decisions based on the commonalities shared by states. The current civil court system also replaced an older system based on blood vengeance. This new international court system could have the same effect. Another example is the Hague Convention. Bernitzer believes that wars would no longer result from legal conflicts were such a court system to exist. However, he concedes that animosity is also caused by expansionism or some other need required for its progress. But even here, the courts could assist in finding a solution after objectively weighing the interests.
p. 2

On the Passing of Dr. S. Horovitz.

by Dr. [Dagobert] Nellhaus (Rybnik, Upper Silesia)
Obituary for Seminarrabbiner Dr. Saul Horwitz, who had taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary for 25 years.

A New Achievement by Euphorion Verlag

A review of the bibliophile edition of the “Klagelieder des Jeremias” opens with acknowledgement of Jewish contributions to contemporary German arts in the areas of theater and publishing, notwithstanding the dire circumstances in which Germany finds itself. The review includes a description of the new edition, of which only 100 copies have been made. The reviewer anticipates that these will all be purchased by foreigners who have more resources. The text is a translation by the renowned biblical translator, Lazarus Goldschmidt.
The illustrations are by William Schocken. The review was written by Dr. Ludwig Davidsohn.

Aid Society of German Jews.

Report from the General Assembly.
by our Berlin correspondent
Synopsis: The conference was held under the leadership of James Simon, chair of the Aid Society of German Jews. After business affairs were attended to, Dr. Bernhard Kahn (director of the Bund) reported on the Aid Society’s wartime activities. “The work of the aid societies from New York and San Francisco in Astrakhan and Odessa is better known and more appreciated than the work done in Frankfurt am Main, Cologne, or Munich.”
When war broke out the Aid Society formed a committee to oversee assistance to some 70,000 Russian emigrants stranded in Germany. To date, these efforts have cost 2.75 million marks. These efforts gained recognition from the German government and military as well as from the enemy Russian government and neutral states. However, as a the eastern regions became occupied, the activity of the Aid Society increased immensely as it spent 7 million marks on aid for Eastern Jews and was able to raise another 70 million marks, which included donations from the American aid committees. The Aid Society also set up a clearinghouse for those seeking relatives, used even by non-Jews, foreign embassies, and the Red Cross. On a single day, the Aid Society received 2,300 letters.
In addition to these war efforts, the Aid Society kept up with its educational mission. It sponsored 50 institutions with 6700 students, 3,000 of which were in Palestine and Asiatic Turkey. When the war started it had to cease its activities in many countries, but institutes in Palestine and Turkey thrived their conquest. The cost of maintaining the schools during the war was 3 million marks. Now the Aid Society has given up its educational work and is focusing all its resources on aiding Eastern Jews who have it so much harder now than during the war—pogroms in Poland and almost daily pogroms in Ukraine have affected at least 1,000 towns resulting in the murder or maiming of 150,000 Jews of all ages. Military administrators expelled circa 750,000 Lithuanian and Latvian Jews to Russia. Of these displaced persons no more than 80,000 are in Germany, according to Paul Nathan, as a result of negotiations with Hindenburg after the occupation of Poland. The Aid Society participated in these negotiations. Two questions were asked:
1. How can one transport the greatest number of people overseas in order to evacuate the area?
2. How can people be brought to Germany to work in munitions factories?

To kick out these Eastern Jews who were forcibly brought to Germany and send them back into a veritable hell is inhumane. No government in Germany has ever planned such a thing. Only anti-Semites and German-national Jews that follow Dr. Naumann would demand this. The Aid Society has always maintained a German and patriotic perspective, which does not preclude humaneness.

Aus dem Reich.

Berlin. The American Jewish organizations report that immigrants who want to enter the United States and now have difficulties with immigration services are being misled by unscrupulous agents to go to Mexico instead of waiting for legal resolution of their issues.

These unfortunate immigrants, who are advised by these agents to take this misguided step find themselves in the most difficult circumstances. The border between Mexico and the United States is most strictly guarded, so that there is no possibility of slipping into the United States. Countless individuals who have attempted this have been interned in the American state of Texas and now await considerable punishment and deportation. Others have been sent back to Mexico and are in the worst of circumstances. Through their ignorance they have now lost every opportunity to go to America.

Naturally, no Jewish organization would condone illegal immigration of this or any other kind. However, the emigrants must be warned against following the promises of unprincipled agents who are only interested in capitalizing on the understandable impatience and misery of the emigrants and do not care what becomes of those who so naively entrusted themselves to them.

It must always be pointed out that any attempt to enter the United States without proper passports and papers will lead to lasting misery.

Berlin. Memorial for Professor Louis Lewandoski.
A concert commemorating Louis Lewandoski’s, the creator of modern synagogal music, hundredth anniversary of his birth was extremely well attended and by members of all Jewish tendencies. The performers hailed from the best of Berlin’s musical circles—Dr. James Simon (piano), Professor Dessau (violin) and Erwel Stegmann (cello). Rabbi Dr. Hochfeld delivered the memorial address which emphasized Lewandoski’s influence in shaping the modern German synagogue service. The concert concluded with Lewandoski’s religious compositions, performed by the choir of the Fasanenstraβe synagogue led by chief cantor Davidsohn. Vera Goldberg and Agnes Laibach performed soprano solos. The organist was Otto Levy.

Magdeburg. Dr. Otto Landsberg, previously Reich Minister of Justice and now representing Germany in Brussels, reports on his journey to observe the Upper Silesian vote. He praises the authorities’ organization skills for being able to shuttle Upper Silesians from all over Germany for the vote and the hospitality of the locals. “German-nationalists should never doubt that Jews can’t feel German–they came in droves to cast their votes for their fatherland. Not one of them thought to disprove stupid prejudices through their votes; they smiled pityingly at the swastikas with which especially tactful volunteers of the homeland protection service had decorated their chests… Their only thought was to save their homeland and Germany from their downfall.

Frankfurt a. M. Fatherland and the German Jews. Ismar Freund lectured on the importance of the German fatherland to German Jews. He began with a review of Rome’s persecutions of Christians and the persecution of Jews in the middle ages before examining the roots and nature of the concept of a Jewish people. With regards to Germany in particular, German Jews regard it as the land of their forefathers since the time of Roman colonization and through common religious foundation feel a kinship with the Christian view of “Germanness.”
p. 4
Emden. The Jewish school year closed with an impressive ceremony that also served as a farewell to Mr. Selig, who had taught at the school for 32 years. State Rabbi Dr. Hoffmann was the main speaker.

Local Events.

Memorial for Rabbi Prof. Dr. Guttmann.

A small group gathered at Rabbi Guttmann’s grave for a simple yet impressive ceremony to unveil the headstone. Head cantor Cerini sang, “Was ist der Mensch?” and chair of the council Goldfeld presented the memorial to the family. Rabbi Dr. Vogelstein spoke of Guttmann’s accomplishments and virtues. The cantor then sang the El mole rachamim and the service closed with the Kaddish.

The Free Jewish High School will stage the premiere of Heyjermann’s one-act play, “Ahasver.”

Exhibition of modern Jewish ceremonial objects will be hosted by Rosa Freudenthal.

Concerts.

Jettka Finkenstein Jubilee Concert
To celebrate her forty years as a mezzo-soprano and singing teacher, Jettka Finkenstein and her students sang a selection of Lieder, arias, and choral works. The singers were Friedrich Taubert, Albert Wesel, Elli Rosa, Erna Bauer, Hertha Gärtner, Friede Paege-Bohn, Else Daniel-Nolte, and Hilde Hoffmann.

Family Announcements

Engagements: Hilde Schwarz with Max Sklarz (Breslau)
Marriages: Adolf Levin with Pine Rosengarten (Berlin); Ismar Hoffmann with Helena Böhm (Breslau); Max Schüftan with Grete Grünpeter (Breslau); Counselor Dr. Friedrich Weiβ with Helene Katz (Nikolai).
Births: Son: Fritz Haberkorn and Elfriede nee Zimmer (Breslau); Kurt Panofsky and Betty nee Schindler (Sohrau, Upper Silesia).
Daughter: Julius Loewenhardt and Dora nee Kamny (Lublinitz).
Deaths: Eduard Jacobwitz (Breslau); David Janower (Breslau); Dr. Saul Horovitz (Breslau); Alexander Dzialoskinski (Breslau); Regina Hammerschlag nee Leubuscher (Breslau).
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Jewish Liberal Newspaper, April 1, 1921

Posted on January 12, 2014 by Lis Strenger

Liberalism and Orthodoxy.

by Rabbi Dr. Sigfrid Behrens (Göttingen).

Partial translation: The time of religious struggle, whose center was the Breslau congregation, seems to be over, having given way to preoccupation with the difficulties of the present time. In public Jewish life, there is rarely friction between liberals and the orthodox. The worries over Jewish existence, the need to defend ourselves, and common humanitarian work have neutralized partisanship. We avoid religious questions, which is leading to some stagnation in our spiritual, religious life. We have reached a phase of disinterest. However, smaller orthodox groups and the Zionists have more energy, are ready to sacrifice, and have set lofty goals. Liberalism has receded into the background. Is it lacking the eagerness and motivation of the smaller groups? Liberalism simply doesn’t function by means of the slogan or sensationalism. Mysticism and the pain caused by every break with tradition are foreign to it because it addresses the thinking person. Judaism has room for all forms; it relies on all parties to achieve its goals. We guard against a majority rule and one-sidedness that would make us ignore the wishes and needs of the smaller groups. We are devoted to the Jewish religion, its instruction and its practice. The Hebrew language is just as holy and essential as the love of the land of our forefathers. We are not just interested in an academic profession of faith—we aim to develop the whole person.

We must find time to reconnect with ourselves, to be prepared to make sacrifices for our choice of liberal Judaism. We must find the deeper meaning of Sabbath, holy days, religious observations and customs. All this would be for naught if we did not inspire the youth for they are the future of Judaism, as all groups and parties recognize. I do not think I am mistaken about the gravity of the present hour.

Every movement needs a spiritual intensity, needs personalities who serve as models, who motivate, and who can lead the way to the promised land. The liberal communities are honor bound to support their clergy and administrators financially, especially the wealthier ones. Hic Rhodus, hic salta! Show us what you can do!

On the National-German Jew.

[An exchange of letters among the chief editor of the “Kölnische Zeitung,” Mrs. H. Vorreuter (Dortmund), and Dr. Max Naumann, author of an essay on the national-German Jew.] Vorreuter is critical of Naumann’s attempt to enlighten the Germans, a partially barbaric and anti-Semitic people, about Jewish thought. Germany’s enemies would like nothing more than to justify the maltreatment of the Germans. She argues that it’s not race, but religion and a shared history of suffering that ties Jews together. Whosoever sees blood as the anchor of identity is just as much of a materialist as the anti-Semites. On speaks of animals in terms of race; of people one should speak of their intellectual makeup. Perhaps Naumann does not realize that the 250,000 Jews in the Central Association are regarded as “assimilators” by Zionists. National-German Jews want to deny their origins. German liberal Jews however want to keep their ethical-religious individuality, the sense of family, and the Jewish concept of charitable work.

Vorreuter questions both concepts of race and nationality. She points out the Germans who are not deluded by racial theories understand that Germans are a mixture of peoples, including Jews. Jews are part of the unified German group within the greater white race. It is painful to see how anti-Semitism is nurtured, even among intellectuals. She cites Adolf von Harnack http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_von_Harnack as justified in noting that a follower of Jesus would do far better to follow the Talmud or Jewish ethical writings which are closer to Jesus than the Germanic, Aryan Christian theologians.

As Jews, one must identify with the Eastern Jews, even with the Bolshevik Jews, even though they are “asocial” elements. Indeed, not just Polish Jews, but Polish Catholics and Protestants are not as culturally developed [as Germans].

She concludes that there is no middle ground, as Naumann argues, but only a sharp delineation between the national Jew and the Jewish German. Naumann’s reponse to her includes his opposition to the importation of people from the East, be they Jewish or Slavic. He defends the right of Jews to flee their deplorable conditions, but he cannot condone the mass immigration to Germany because of the harm it can do to the country. In her subsequent letter, Vorreuter reminds Naumann that the Versailles Treaty is to blame for the mass immigration and that Germany should respond with humanity. She also notes that many of the Easterners now in Germany had been forcibly brought to work in factories to allow German men to become soldiers. And that the French forced 10,000 Alsatian Jews to move to Germany. The remainder of her response decries the anti-Semitism that in her eyes is defaming the nation of enlightenment and humanity that freed their ancestors from the ghetto. She ends her letter by quoting a verse from Heinrich Heine’s “Nachtgedanken”:
Germany endures,
it is a heartily healthy country!
With its oaks, its linden trees
I will always find it again.
[“If I think of Germany in the night,” translation by Sedulia Scott, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.]

p. 2

Louis Lewandowski

(On his one-hundredth birthday)
Partial translation: Lewandoski was born 100 years ago on April 3, in Wreschen, Posen [now Września, Poland], becoming one of the most significant reformers of synagogal music. He followed in the footsteps of Vienna’s great synagogal composer, Salomon Sulzer, who had been active two decades earlier than Lewandowski and whose greatest contribution was the monumental “Schir Zion.”

Both of Lewandoski’s parents came from rabbinical families, though their present circumstances were such that young Louis and his four brothers had to earn a living early on. All served as assistant cantors, though it was Louis’s talent that stood out. Aged twelve, he left home for Berlin where he attended high school and was sponsored by Dr. Baruch Auerbach. He also became a soloist in the Old Synagogue where he drew the attention of Alexander Mendelssohn, grandson of Moses Mendelssohn. After hearing Louis play violin and piano, Alexander convinced him to dedicate himself to music. He studied music theory and acoustics at the University of Berlin, but his real wish was to attend the Hochschule for Music, which at the time did not allow Jews. He insisted however on taking the entrance exam, and through Mendelssohn’s support was able to break through the racial barrier and become the first Jewish student to enroll. He was well accepted by his instructors, and won prizes for his compositions. In 1856 he made his first public appearance as conductor for the Kroll opera theater. After a long illness, he turned from secular music to religious song. His congregation sent him to Vienna to study under Sulzer. It was under Sulzer’s influence that he composed his significant work, “Kol riunats und T’sillah.” On his 25th anniversary, he said of the essence of Jewish synagogal song: “The musical expression of our Geberweise is a sacred inheritance, created without musical education, without critical study; it is only the outpouring of the holiest inspiration. And even if we have forgotten the language of our fathers, we can regain our understanding of their and our magnificent tones and continue to maintain and cultivate them. Who cannot fail but to find in them the history of our people!”
Lewandowski understood the significance of prayer in the service, so he focused on the recitative, which is a challenging art form when performed without instrumental accompaniment. He also limited his choral arrangements to two voices, also without accompaniment. These minimalist forms saw his greatest accomplishments.

In 1866 Lewandowski was called to the New Synagogue where he composed his second great work, a four-part chorale with organ, “Todah w’simro.” Originally composed for the Old Synagogue, he now added the organ and worked in the traditional melodies of the Kol Nidre, the “Kaddish “ for “Tal and Geschem” (the prayer for dewfall and rain), without losing the singing’s individuality. Lewandowski’s songs that are so intertwined with the Hebrew text will always hold their value, but so will his countless German psalms keep their deep religious spirit. Eighteen of these were printed and dedicated to King Ludwig II of Bavaria. His arrangements of old Hebrew melodies for chorus, song, and organ are masterful inventions and stand out for their deep religious sensibility and great simplicity. Of special note is his opus 34, “Schapsodie hebraique for piano” that he dedicated to the important Russian pianist and composer, Arthur Rubenstein. He died on February 3, 1894 shortly after retiring. –Nannie Stern.[The article lists other significant works and describes the honors he received at his 50th anniversary, which included receiving the honorary title “Professor of Music” to acknowledge his contribution as teacher, with many students active as musical directors for important congregations.]

p.3

The Plight of Students and Anti-Semitism.

by Counselor and Notary Foerder (Breslau)
Synopsis: Foerder responds to the letters published in the previous issue (March 24, 1921) on the topic of providing financial support for students in light of their anti-Semitism. He points out that the faculty does not hesitate to ask Jews to contribute funds to this cause, but is far too quiet when it comes to opposing anti-Semitism at the university.

Aus dem Reich.

Berlin. The “Vossische Zeitung” reported on a conference held by Sir Herbert Samuel in Palestine to elect rabbinical leadership and religious court (beth din).

Berlin. The well-known human-rights activist, Dr. Wehberg, who opposed the anti-Semitic stance of the Eisenach Resolutions was expelled from his fraternity, the “Marchia.”

Halle. The anti-Semitic “Hallesche Zeitung” blamed Jews for the recent regionalinsurrection by communists.

From the Province.

Völkisch Youth Formation.

Suhrau, Silesia. A student named Knobel founded a youth organization called “Jungsturm” whose symbol is the swastika. One of their outings led them by the Jewish cemetery where their leaders instructed them to spit three times. As a result, the organization was banned as was wearing a swastika.

Local Events.

Representatives Assembly.

The meeting opened with a remembrance of the recently deceased Rabbi Dr. Rosenthal. In a three-hour session the representatives addressed 28 proposals and one urgent request. They addressed the upkeep of graves, donations to synagogues, social welfare, and the convalescent hospital. They increased the amount set aside for matzoh, discussed fees paid for weddings and the voting rights of the congregations’ employees. The topic that met with the most interest was the increase of salaries, which would now amount to over 100,000 marks. The assembly approved joining the Central Organization of German Jews. 1,000 marks were given to the Jewish labor board and 1,000 marks earmarked for helping to feed Jewish refugees from the east.
On Sunday, March 27, girls’ confirmation was held in the New Synagogue. The lovely, impressive ceremony was uplifting; every place in the synagogue was taken. After introductory organ music, Rabbi Dr. Sänger gave a sermon that touched the heart in which he reminded the six girls of their duties to their faith community. Then the girls professed their faith and received a prayer book from Dr. Sänger. The ceremony concluded with the hymn, “Die Himmel rühmen des Ewigen Ehre.“ [„Die Ehre Gottes aus der Natur” by Ludwig van Beethoven]

Jettka Finkenstein.

Jettka Finkenstein celebrated her fortieth jubilee as a performer and singing teacher on April 3, 1921. Her last public performance was in 1906. Since then she has dedicated her time and energy to teaching singing. The article describes how she studied piano, much against her parents’ wishes. After a particularly fine rendition of a Mendelssohn Lied, she gained entrance to the royal high school for music where she began her training as a mezzosoprano under Frau Professor Schultzen von Asten, Professor Gustav Engel, and Professor Joachim. She sang in the Darmstadt area for 9 years and even performed for Queen Victoria. She worked in London, Paris, and Berlin, finally settling in Breslau when she married the pianist and composer, Benno Pulvermacher, and where they founded a singing school.

p. 4

A Max Heinzel Evening.

The Breslau reciter, Thekla Eisner, staged an evening of Max Heinzel’s Silesian poetry and songs to benefit his daughter. Heinzel’s work was complemented by songs by Paul Mittmann and Franz Wagner and poems by Philo vom Walde and Hermann Bach. Thekla Eisner recited poetry in Silesian dialect and High German. The songs were sung by Margarete Hoffmann and Hans Hielscher and accompanied by Lotte Hansen.

Concerts.

Synopsis: Die Schöpfung. A review of the Breslau orchestra’s performance of Haydn’s work, conducted by Professor Dohrn. Soloists were Mrs. Hirt, Mr. Abendroth, and Mr. Depser. The pianist was Herr Czerny.

Associations and Assemblies.

Association for Jewish History and Literature.

On March 22, Rabbi Dr. Kober (Cologne) spoke about “The Rhine in Jewish History.” Jewish history on the Rhine began in 321 A.D. with a reference to the respected Jewish community of Cologne in an edict by Emperor Constantine. Other cities along the Rhine such as Worms, Mainz, Trier, and Speyer had Jewish citizens in the third century. Up until the 10th century Jewish life played itself out in the background until the arrival of Messianism from the east that inspired many to undertake pilgrimages to Palestine.

Until the crusades, Jewish rights were uncontested. In fact, Bishop Rüdiger Huozmann of Speyer could think of no better way to improve his city’s status than by offering Jews residences and privileges. Emperor Heinrich IV confirmed Jewish rights and privileges. However, the crusades brought difficult times to the Rhine’s Jewish communities. The years 1348-1350 saw terrible persecutions and for decades afterwards, Jews were expelled from the large cities to the smaller ones. After 400 years the French revolution brought citizenship and freedom to the Jews but they struggled for equal rights for most of the 19th century.

Dr. Kober concluded his talk with an interesting account of a Rhine wedding in the 15th century.

Bar mitzvahs at the Old Synagogue on April 2, 1921:
Günther Geβler, father Max G., Alsenstraβe 14; Heinz Roland Fränkel, father Leopold F., Lessingstraβe 12; Walther Nathan Lewy, father Dentist Georg L., Gartenstraβe 51.

Announcements and Advertisements

Urgent Request for Help!

The serious situation in which our association finds itself forces us to issue this public call for help. The growing unemployment in Germany on the one hand and on the other the peace treaty between Poland and Russia are causing a large emigration of Eastern Jews that had fled to Germany. Their route through Upper Siliesa, the main border crossing between Germany and Poland, is currently closed. The only open passage is through Breslau. Countless emigrants, who are without any resources, must be cared for and helped along by us on a daily basis. And now Passover is at hand. Last Passover our association had a Passover table for over 200 refugees. This year this number will be significantly larger. These activities require great sums of money. The resources available to us are far from sufficient to cover these great tasks.

That is why we turn to all Jews who are moved by the great misery of the fleeing and returning Eastern Jews with an urgent request to support us with generous donations. -–The Association of Eastern Jews.

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Jewish-Liberal Newspaper, March 24, 1921

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Lis Strenger

Amalek.

A Purim Observation.
by Rabbi Dr. Ernst Appel (Bingen am Rhein)
Synopsis: Amalek is the embodiment of hatred of Jews, attacking the sick and the weak as the Israelites crossed the dessert. Their hatred was not a result of feeling threatened by the Israelites, but rather stemmed from jealousy at how the Israelites had worked its way up from slavery. It’s significant that regarding this people the Bible urges not forgiveness and tolerance but remembrance of its misdeeds. A thousand years later, it was another Amalek, Haman, who sought to bring down the Jewish people, blaming all for the actions of an individual, Mordechai. In just this way, Amalek has attacked the Jews through the centuries, its methods being unchanged even to modern times. Just when the Jewish people start to breathe more freely, their success is viewed with suspicion and jealousy. Though Haman claims his actions are in the state’s interest, he does not evaluate the harm done to his fatherland’s morality and ideals. The piece ends with the statement that it is up to today’s Jews to carry on the battle against Amalek and bring about the kingdom of God by fighting against hatred and envy, against malice and vileness.

In the Spirit of the Constitution.

by State Representative Herrmann (Breslau)
Synopsis: Herrmann describes a people that is so shaken by recent events that it can neither look backward nor forward. The outcome is that everyone clings to the familiar and change, even positive change, is unwelcome. The recent violence and upheaval have created an environment ripe for intolerance and persecution. Even those that were once proud of their objectivity have succumbed to the poison and pass it on with one-sided opinions and slogans. Herrmann claims that a new cornerstone of political life has been laid—the Weimar Constitution which stem the two pillars of freedom and justice. For many these are empty words, but it’s important for the German people that what the letters on paper become reality.

Herrmann points out that already much that was written has not come to pass, such as equal rights. But this Weimar constitution is something more than its predecessor—the previous ones read as laws and this one is more a statement of beliefs. It calls for a new form of civic life where all are citizens, even the youth. Article 148 calls for civically-minded education that emphasizes tolerance of those that think differently. Every pupil is to receive a copy of the constitution upon graduation. This discussion leads to an observation that the current situation in schools is one of intolerance shaped by racial theories espoused by teachers. Herrmann was reassured recently when the Breslau teachers’ union resolved to teach in the spirit of the Weimar Constitution where swastika tendencies will have no place.

An American Manifesto against Anti-Semitism.

That also abroad the anti-Semitic seeds don’t thrive as much we must fear according to the constant reports of our volkisch papers is proven once again by a significant manifesto from the United States of America. There, under the leadership of the well-known industrialist, Henry Ford (whose peace ship didn’t bring him the kind of publicity he had hoped for, which he’s now attempting to achieve with his hatemongering) is importing anti-Semitism from Germany instead of something useful, and importing it via the infamous “Secrets of the Wise Men from Zion.” Mr. Ford is not having much success; the “wave” that was supposed to carry Mr. Hergt to power instead just pushed the American farther from his goal. Ford was chosen by the so-called “third party” of America as a candidate for President, but the nomination fell through in large part exactly because of his anti-Semitic activities. And now an important counterstrike against these attempts at inciting anti-Semitism has taken the form of a public declaration by 120 distinguished personages from the Union. The originator of the manifesto is a socialist writer, John Spargo, who explicitly emphasizes that “no Jewish person or organization has had anything to do with the publication of this protest.” The “New York Herald” (January 17, 1921) from which we extract these details, characterized the protest as follows: “A single citizen, a non-Jew, acting upon his own initiative and responsibility, and without consultation with anybody as he himself said wrote the brief protest and invited other distinguished citizens, non-Jews like himself, to sign it. All the work connected with the protest and all the expense involved, therefore, represent the contribution of an individual citizen to the defense of American ideals (The paper could have rightfully spoken of humanity’s ideals—the Editors.) Neither directly nor indirectly did any person of Jewish ancestry or faith, or any Jewish organization, contribute as much as a postage stamp to the cost of the undertaking.” This culturally significant document is worth citing in its entirety, especially in this time of animosity and hatred:
[Translator’s note: The article presents a translation of the entire text. Please see the original at:http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F10F10F93D5D14738DDDAE0994D9405B818EF1D3]
The signatories let it be known that the leading minds and personalities of the Union have assembled in numbers that no private action could have achieved. Protestant and Catholic clergy, leaders of the independent churches, judges and politicians, artists and educators, journalists, academics, businessmen and industrialists are represented. These are to be recognized as the highest expressions of American intellectualism. Some of the signers added comments to their support.
Harding, the President-elect, who explained that he had to abstain given his situation, wrote in a personal letter to Mr. Spargo: [Translator’s note: The original letter is cited here: >http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F10F10F93D5D14738DDDAE0994D9405B818EF1D3]
p. 2

The Plight of Students and Anti-Semitism.

Synopsis: More than 100 Jewish judges, lawyers, and government employees from Breslau wrote to the dean and faculty of the law school that they hesitate to turn over the funds they’ve collected to support law students in need because of the widespread anti-Semitism of the student body. Their right-wing organizations agitate for declaring German Jews to be foreigners and to introduce quotas for Jewish students (as occurred in Russia). They cite the Eisenach resolutions taken by the fraternities:
1. Only German students of Arian descent can join a fraternity.
2. Fraternities are to mold their members so that marriage to a Jewish or colored woman is out of the question or that such a marriage would be grounds for expulsion.
3. German fraternities exist to satisfy student honor: local chapters can determine whether this is even possible for students of other races.
The authors of this letter express concern over what will happen to German justice once it is in the hands of people with these beliefs. They regret that until now neither the university’s administration nor the professors have spoken out against the racism of their students. They worry that once the students realize from whom their stipends come, they will reject them.

The university answered that it had not requested contributions but was impressed by this charitable act, which of course is neutral to politics, religion, and race. The letter makes no mention of the issue of anti-Semitism. It closes its letter by suggesting that they contact the committee in charge of student aid.

Aus dem Reich.

Berlin. Synopsis: At the last assembly of representatives, it was decided to provide a 20,000 Mark subsidy to the College for Science of Judaism (summer semester, 1921). The previous amount of 18,000 per year did not suffice to balance the budget. Last year’s spending left a gap of 80,000 Marks. The Hildesheim Rabbinical Seminary also requested 20,000 Marks. Dr. Klee, representing the Jewish Volkspartei, supported the request by mentioning that several of the congregations’ rabbis had been educated there. Dr. Freund reminded the assembly that such requests had to first be presented to the Committee on Subsidies. In any case, the congregation’s financial situation probably precluded providing the subsidy. Dr. A. Loeb (Conservative) called for the equal treatment of both institutions. Plotke (Liberal) said he was for approving the subsidy after examining the seminary’s books. Professor Dr. Loewe (Jewish Volkspartei) also spoke on behalf of the seminary. In the end, the assembly voted to set aside 20,000 Marks for the rabbinical seminary.

Berlin. Synopsis: To commemorate the 100th birthday of Lewandowski, composer of religious music will take place on the first day of Passover in the New Synagogue. During the service his music will be played and the sermon will focus on the significance of his accomplishments. The other synagogues will also mention him. Note that the commemoration is not further celebrated in deference to current difficult conditions.

Berlin.Synopsis: Hering, a Reich minister stated that they are doing everything they can to combat the illegal emigration of Eastern Jews by using the border police to check for valid passports. A planned mass deportation failed because of resistance by the Polish administration. In 1920 on the eastern border, 11,453 persons were arrested, 6,169 forced back across the border, and 1,500 escaped POWs or deserters were interned. The rest were handed over to the courts or the Jewish aid societies. More camps have been established to accommodate those that cannot be deported; the camp near Stargard in Pomerania holds 2,700 such persons.

Hamburg.Synopsis: Dr. Kalmus proposed to the Representative’s Assembly that Jewish institutions and associations primarily consider hiring local Jewish craftsmen if their qualifications and rates are comparable to others.

Braunschweig.Synopsis: The local paper printed the following story that reveals the spirit of open and hidden anti-Semites: A well-known reporter, Dr. Manfred Georg, was arrested and assaulted by the French official, de Vic. The paper misunderstood the French name as “Herr Levicq” and wrote that “The German must take note of this name.” So, of course, once again, a Jew is blamed, though in this case, the culprit was actually a French nobleman.

Düsseldorf. Synopsis The local paper, “Völkische Rundschau,” published an ad for a German-völkische investment fund raising money to invest in film studios and theaters for “good German films.” There will be no Jewish investors or Germans associated with foreign races.
“We hope that plenty of German-völkische folk fall for this unbusiness-like ad. There’s no better way to get rid of one’s money than by putting it in funds that are based on a blood test.”

Fritz Kahn, the Jewish Naturalist and Artist.

by Dr. Ludwig Davidsohn.
Synopsis: Davidsohn recollects having briefly met Fritz Kahn and at the time thinking that this man would have new and surprising things to tell the world. Fritz Kahn came from a learned Jewish family; his father was a physician and wrote fictional works based on life in the ghetto. Kahn’s own early works on astronomy revealed his desire to express his ideas and research in scientific, and at the same time, in artistic terms. His book on the Milky Way was extremely popular, even among soldiers at the front. Davidsohn recalls an episode during his time as an ambulance driver in the Verdun area when enemy fire forced a group of infantry to take cover. A couple of soldiers were so lost in reading that they nearly missed the warning—they had been reading Kahn’s “The Milky Way.” His next work was on the cell. A third work, “The Jews as a Race and a Cultural People,” established him among the best of the contemporary writers according to Davidsohn. In this work, Kahn applies recent anthropological research in the area of race. The last chapter on Jewish culture stands out especially, and Davidsohn recommends it to all young Jews so they might take deep pride in their heritage.

Aus dem Ausland.

Vienna. Synopsis: The “New Viennese Journal” reported that the Islamic and Christian parties in Palestine plan to send a delegation to London to request that the immigration of foreign Jews be prohibited.

Prague. Synopsis: Czechoslovakia’s various Jewish social welfare organizations have agreed to unite and coordinate their efforts to care for war orphans, widows, and invalid veterans. At the new organization’s founding ceremony there will be speakers from the American Joint Distribution Committee, representatives of B’nai B’rith, as well as distinguished members of the German and Czech Jewish communities..
London. The English Jewish community is founding an organization, the United Press Committee, to combat anti-Semitism..

From the Province.

The Referendum in Upper Silesia./

The 20th of March has passed. However one judges the particulars of its results politically, one thing we can conclude with joyous thanks: that the majority of the votes were cast for Germany. The unfortunate result of the war was that the decision over the fate of the country was placed in foreign hands. We hope that the will of the majority of the populace and the economic and cultural conditions are honored and that Upper Silesia remains part of the German fatherland.
* * *

Synopsis: The Polish newspaper, “Gazeta Ludowa,” published an article describing how the world’s Jews are enemies of Poland, how those living in Poland systematically work against the Polish state, and that propagators of Bolshevism are also Jews. It is true that a certain segment of Jews think and feel Polish, but their number is so small that they are insignificant. Naturally, the Polish society in independent Poland energetically opposes Jews, not through pogroms, but through legal means such as boycotting Jewish trade. As a result, many Jews are leaving Poland.

Book Reviews./

The Courtship Letters of Wilhelm and Karoline von Humboldt. Published by Albert Leitzmann. (Reviewed by Regina Neitzer)
“Esther”, a Shadow Play for Young and Old by Alex and Lotte Baerwald. Weltverlag, Berlin 1920.
p. 4

Neiβe. Synopsis: The German Animal Protection Society’s committee on youth recommends guidelines suggested by Rabbi Ellguther for establishing animal shelters. His shelters have been successful in Neiβe.

Local Events.

Referendum and Anti-Semitism.

The anti-Semitic movement’s animosity toward our fatherland manifests itself in the following letter that many older Jewish ladies from our city received. It’s apparently written anonymously by someone on the Polish side that is exploiting anti-Semitic activities in a rather subtle manner. In the interest of our fatherland, we publish the following:

“To a loyal German soul,
I have learned that you, dear old mother, want to accompany those that are qualified to vote and save Upper Silesia. I beg you to stay safe and sound at home, because your life would be in danger here. Don’t believe the German promises that your safety is guaranteed. You are completely vulnerable as soon as you cross the border. The well-organized anti-Semitic union will certainly ensure that you don’t make it to the ballot box.
A member of the Upper Silesian Anti-Semitic Union.”

Synopsis: The Machsike=Tora Society held a memorial in honor of the deceased congregational Rabbi, Dr. Rosenthal. Speakers were Rabbi Dr. Simonsohn and Dr. Margulies (Florence).

Schläscher Obend.

Synopsis: Thekla Eisner put on an evening of Max-Heinzel poetry to benefit his impoverished daughter. The evening will also include Silesian songs by Paul Mittmann.

Family Notices

Engagements: Martha Seelig with Georg Wolff (Breslau); Rose Gottheiner (Breslau) with Hermann Czollek (Berlin-Charlottenburg); Elsa Püschel with Martin Gottheiner (Breslau); Edith Bogen (Berlin) with Richard Janower (Breslau).

Marriages: Fritz Steinmetz with Lotte Brieger (Breslau); Werner Schachtel with Charlotte Ritter; Ismar Schüftan with Lucie Foerder; Dr. rer. Pol. Ludwig Brieger with Else Elias (Berlin-Halensee); Arthur Kahl with Gertrud Sklarz (Breslau); Franz Bial with Else Grünfeld (Breslau); Alfons Guttmann with Hanna Samuelsohn (Breslau); Leo Transla[?]eur with Käte Goldstaub (Breslau-Carlowitz); Paul Dobecs with Hilde Cohn, Wahlstatt.

Births: Sons: Counselor Hans Kober and Mrs. (Breslau); Arthur Tischler and Irmgard nee Lewy (Breslau); Franz Weiβ and Mrs. nee Jacoby (Breslau); Fritz Schragenheim and Grete nee Friedländer (Nienburg-Hanover); Dr. Posner and Trude nee Goldring (Breslau).
Daughters: Dentist Hermann Foerder and Mally nee Koppenheim (Breslau); Martin Neumann and Frieda nee Riesenfeld (Breslau).

Deaths: Willy Gottheiner (Breslau); Emanuel Hahn (Breslau); Rosa Breit (Breslau); Magda Aschner (Nikolai); Arthur Fischler (Breslau); Anne Lichtenstein nee Wiener (Breslau); Adolf Herrmann (Berlin-Tempelhof); Siegmund Keiler (Breslau); Friedericke Lomnitz (Uschütz, Upper Silesia).

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Jewish-Liberal Newspaper, March 18, 1921

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Lis Strenger

Judaism and Internationalism.

by Dr. Siegfried Marck, Docent at the University Breslau.
Synopsis: Two forms of internationalism are central to the discussion of Judaism and internationalism: a positive one and a negative one. Negative internationalism is rootlessness, that is, being cut loose from any sense of nationalism. Negative internationalism leads to a loss of character. Negative internationalism is associated with the “eternally wandering” Jew, a type which is often caricatured. To the thinking Jew, this rootless internationalism is a painful problem and something to be overcome.

This rootlessness is overcome by increased nationalism, hence there are two trends, one toward embracing German-ness and the other being Zionism. The choice is a personal one. Positive internationalism is characterized by a feeling of solidarity that overcomes national divisions. It does not want to negate one’s nation, but wants to see it take its place in the supra-national organism.

The author associates positive internationalism with socialism and sees elements of capitalism in the negative, materialistic internationalism. Ethical socialism is aligned with Judaism’s ethic of ideal union of nations and peoples. This Jewish ethic should be fertile ground for unifying a feeling of German nationalism with the belief in a supra-national entity.

“Of course, coldly calculating enemies have maligned us with holding pacifistic ideas as part of an antagonistic ploy. But the defamation of pure ideas characterizes the defamers, not on the ideas. Judaism is called upon to hold high the messianic ideal and to shield it from any misidentification with divisive internationalism even when surrounded by waves of hatred as we now are.”

Is There a Crisis in Liberal Judaism?

by Erich Bayer (Breslau), Chairman of the German Jewish-Liberal Youth Workgroup
Synopsis: A crisis in Liberal Judaism would consist of conflict between theory and practice, and one to such an extent as to one undermining the other. First, one must assess whether practice is formed by the theory or whether theory is influenced by practice. All directions in Judaism have the one goal of connecting Jewishness with Judaism. What does practice reveal of Liberalism’s essence?

The author describes two kinds of Liberalism: one is religious and scientific, the other practical and political. The first is represented by rabbis and the youth that study the origins and literature and build a Jewish family and congregational life based on this knowledge. The practical and political Liberalism dominates because of generational numbers. This type of Liberalism is engaged in battling Zionism, anti-Semitism, and prescribed religious tradition in congregational life. The older Jews see Zionism used as a weapon in the hands of the anti-Semites, which might be one reason they are so opposed to it. The author does not want to diminish the work of the Central Organization, but there is a danger that all of Liberalism is defined by this struggle against Zionism and anti-Semitism. Practical and political Liberalism is vulnerable to being judged by external appearance because of its apathy toward religion. It is more interested in opposing orthodoxy than in developing a vibrant, living Judaism. This has the outcome that Liberals have not formed liberal organizations and institutes within congregational life, other than serving on councils and as administrators. They have impeded any sense of community among liberals. The author sees the mission of Liberalism to further religious sensibility among Jews and thereby build a sense of community. Perhaps this mission is at odds with the Liberalism itself which is capable of fostering divisiveness, but not forging connections? One may not forget that Liberalism originated as a way to collect like-minded Jews. But the practical, political type has only succeeded in giving divisiveness the upper hand, with the result that there is indeed a serious crisis within Liberalism.

The youth movement is not experiencing such a crisis as it is focused on the religious aspects of liberal Judaism. Its goal is simply the transformation of the individual. The communal is grounded in the smallest circle of the family, in the organization built on common goals, and within the whole of Judaism. This communal sensibility will show itself in how the Eastern Jews are—as fellow believers that are being persecuted and who must be helped. There can be no question that Palestine will be a safe haven for many and must continue to be supported as a charitable cause. Palestine will be the origin of a strong religious impulse that Liberalism will benefit from. Liberalism must be more than just a German movement, for anywhere one finds Jews who live with a modern, scientific perspective, there is Liberalism, which attempts to make a living connection between religion and the individual.

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Aus dem Reich.

Berlin. Synopsis: The Liberal Association for the Affairs of the Jewish Community in Berlin held its annual meeting on February 28. A modest celebration of its 25th anniversary was held. Benas Levy looked back on its accomplishments. Among its founders were Hermann Veit, Hermann Makower, Karl Emil Franzos, and Karpeles. Since then, two new synagogues were built, schools, a hospital, a second orphanage, and a home for the elderly. Chairmen of the association were Hermann Veit Simon, Bernhard Breslauer, and Plonsker. The speaker called for the continued engagement of the liberal association and the liberal majority in the Jewish community, especially with the purpose of opposing Jewish nationalism. Counselor Plonsker was elected chair and the dentist, M. Lipschitz was elected vice chair. Eugen Caspary and Dr. Walter Breslauer were elected secretaries, and Richard Cassel and Albert Maaβ treasurers. 7 other members were elected, among them a woman for the first time, Mrs. Seligsohn.

Hamburg.Synopsis: When the Union of German Jews was asked whether it would continue its existence given the newly instituted Central Organization, it responded that it will continue until the new organization is legally formed under Section 137 of the Reich’s constitution.

Schwerin. Synopsis: In Plau, Mecklenburg, the former Jewish synagogue was purchased by a manufacturer, Paul Strauβ who has donated it to the Catholic parish. It has been renovated as an elegant chapel and last week a Catholic Mass was held there for the first time.

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Frankfurt a. Main. Synopsis: The Jewish community requested additional flour for Passover Matzoh given last year’s shortage. Ration card A will receive 4.5 pounds and card B 2 pounds. In exchange for this flour, bread rations will be reduced by the amount of Matzoh received. 1 pound of Matzoh will cost 5 Marks; 1 pound of Matzoh meal will cost 5.20.

From an Upper-Silesian Nest: Childhood Memories.

Die Stadt Düsseldorf ist sehr schön, und wenn man in der Ferne an sie denkt, und zufällig dort geboren ist, wird einem wunderlich zu Muthe. Ich bin dort geboren und es ist mir, als müsste ich gleich nach Hause gehn. Und wenn ich sage nach Hause gehn, dann meine ich die Bolkerstraße und das Haus, in welchem ich geboren wurde…“ – Heinrich Heine, 1827 (Das Buch Le Grand)

One doesn’t have to be the great Heinrich Heine, one can be a humble average person and still understand and share that same magical feeling here in such an immediate and lively fashion.

And one doesn’t have to have been born in the beautiful city of Düsseldorf to experience this feeling in just the same way. The Upper-Silesian town about whose seemingly monotonous life I’ll be telling you a thing here and there as images cross the threshold of my memory is not at all beautiful, as all contemporaries agree, but since I happened to be born there, I still get a wondrous feeling when I think of that dear nest. Indeed, all the more wondrous a feeling these days as we Upper Silesians “go home” to help protect our homeland from a dismal fate by gladly professing our loyalty to the German fatherland.

By the way, just so I don’t err, you don’t have to faithfully believe the negative judgment I just made. You can take the usually sarcastic reference, “Nest” in its different sense, and think it lovely when seen with an objective eye. The town has two unusual adornments: the wide band of the Oder which divides into two branches here and the green belt of wonderful promenades that surrounds the town.

Anyone who has grown up near a body of water knows what that means to the youth. Swimming, rowing, fishing in summer, ice skating in winter, — always new pleasures, against which the life of most urban children who live far from nature seems flat and hollow.

And then our promenades. They lie under tall, full trees that each seemed to look upon us with a trusted face. Generations of people, German people, have grown up and grown tall at the feet of these old ones, seen them bloom and fade. And now they must be shaking their heads in wonder that anyone can doubt whether the inhabitants of this land and this town are Germans. They know full well that the children, whose gleeful shouts and singing reaches them, the burghers who walk of a late afternoon with measured steps, and then the couples who come in the evening and whose language and means of communicating we can’t exactly describe…

Above all there are wonderful old oaks that we treasured, not just for their beauty or the mysterious sighs and rustlings of their crowns but for their material value. For when the real autumn winds came, then they threw off their hard, firm fruit. We zealously collected these acorns and sold them to a merchant who made them into pig feed. The money we turned around into candy, and then later into our first forbidden cigarettes. We ran off with those back to the protection of the broad oak boughs and played our forbidden Skat card games…

The promenades were named “Glacis” which hearkened back to their earlier military purpose and their historic role. In 1806/7, the former fort held fast courageously and stubbornly against the attacks of the French and their Bavarian allies. During my childhood larger and smaller bullets in houses and in the old barracks that had been converted to apartments and workshops recalled that time of German trouble vividly and visibly. We sometimes stood before them and let our childish dreams of olden times meander through the lovelier present and our brightly colored future.

But daydreaming was naturally not our main occupation – playing is when the child comes to life. And where could anyone play better than in our hometown? We played in the ruins of the old robber baron’s castle, that rose so ghostly behind the old trees, in the space around the old fortifications’ mounds and ditches that were made for games of cops and robbers, on the modest “Witch Hill” down whose slops our sleds raced, in the birch forest where we stealthily built fires to roast the new fall potatoes (which were naturally stolen). What does the average city kid know of these heavenly pleasures?

One more thing gave life in our town, and our childhood, its uniqueness: it was a garrison town with two infantry battalions. There were 1500 soldiers in a town of seven or eight thousand inhabitants. No wonder that the bright uniform almost completely dominated the town’s streets and our childish imagination! We experienced the whole year on a military schedule. The military year began around the time of our religious New Year, with the arrival of the recruits. During the high holidays, the congregation’s sons that had just been recruited were the objects of our admiration and attempts at befriending them. But their glory faded when other uniforms appeared in the synagogue such as that of a sub-lieutenant that had come in for military manoeuvers (it never got any more senior!) or of a staff doctor…naturally “d. R.”

On clear autumn days we watched the new recruits being drilled and we developed a much higher degree of enthusiasm than the objects themselves had for this not always so gentle training.

The secular New Year brought quite a military show: The Great Wake Up, that is reveille, that went through the streets at seven in the morning and brought out the pointed caps. Every boy ran to the window and watched full of admiration as they moved through the morning gray—first the lieutenant with his sash, then the musicians, the drum, the band, and then our friends, the musketeers. Of course we had our own special relationship to them—not least because of the Kommiβ bread. These relationships were tightest in the weeks before the Kaiser’s birthday. Because then we were after invitations to the individual companies’ displays, or at least to go to the public rehearsals, where there was so much to see, and hear, to laugh about and sometimes to cry over. I still remember quite well how moved we were when a soldier (who might well have been a talented actor) recited the Julius Wolff poem, “The Flag of the Sixty-first.” When he got to the end:
“…If we return without our flag,
Our brothers one and all – pardon us!
We did lose it,
But it was not taken from anyone yet living.”

we cried as though we were trying to outdo the girls…

The day before the great day, our illuminated town was like out of a fairy-tale. Today’s youth that is growing up in the time of expensive candles has no idea how beautiful, in a purely aesthetic sense, a see of candlelight can be and what a magical atmosphere it creates. That’s over with now—so much is over with—that which is beautiful, but externally so, must now be replaced with things of interior worth…

Then came the holiday itself. Again, an early reveille. Then the school celebrations, at which Jewish pupils were often enough selected to recite patriotic poems. There was no anti-Semitism that would have prevented that from happening at the integrated elementary school, which I first attended, or at the college preparatory school which accepted me later.

After these celebrations there came more pleasures. The military displays: the ceremonial reception of those who were housed in the commandant’s quarters, the honorably displayed regimental flags, the troops on parade, the commandant’s speech which sounded as far as the marketplace, and then the parade. The commandant could be as harsh a critic as might be—we were harsher. Our hearts beat high when the country’s veterans’ associations marched after the troops. From veterans from three wars, whose iron crosses were reverently admired to the soldiers who had just become reservists, all competed with the military bearing of the active soldiers. And yet, amongst the older ones were many who could not have given a comprehensible German answer to a German question because Polish was their mother tongue and their daily language. But if anyone had dared say anything inappropriate about the meaning of the day or about Germany within earshot, then those Polish hands would have returned a German enough answer. For we who grew up in Upper Silesia must affirm and emphasize against the deceptive propaganda of these times: May the Prussian bureaucracy and Prussian militarism in the bi-lingual areas been too forceful, may those that came from the west and didn’t understand the people and thus made harmful missteps, all in all this soft, Slavic people did not feel unsafe under this rigid control that brought peace, order, and wealth. That is why during my childhood one never felt opposition between the two nations—opposition has been created gradually by the arts of sedition. The German side made a grave mistake for not having fought against these sentiments. Despite all this, Germans an Poles were not so bitter towards each other until recent years as this example shows: During the 15 years I served as an attorney in the Upper-Silesian courts, I have never seen trials for beatings or assaults, or civil proceedings in which conflict between Germans and Poles played any role whatsoever. Compare that with today’s times, and there is no doubt who bears the blame for the bitter turn of events.

Relations between us Jews and the rest of the population were characterized by a peaceful and friendly tone. I never heard an insulting word spoken about Jews at school—not by teachers or pupils. Certainly, many things had to come together to create such favorable conditions. Everyone knows that in Upper Silesia the people’s mentality is largely shaped by Catholic religiosity. The old town priest—he still serves today—was always a man of God who performed his duties as Lessing urged “with gentleness, with sincere tolerance, with charity, with heartfelt submission to God.” With the same peaceful sensibilities the protestant pastor, the state council, the mayor—all strictly conservative men, who have as much in common with today’s swastika wearers as a noble hound has with a yapping mutt.

Naturally the preservation of these friendly relations between us Jews and the others was made much easier by the character of the man who served as cantor and preacher. In the small red house next to the synagogue whose inhabitants were close family friends, in the garden at the rear of the house and on the green area around the temple I spent the happiest hours of my childhood. But this isn’t what forms my judgment of the good-hearted old man, at whose feet I was allowed to sit and who applied such enthusiasm and love to teaching us the sacred meaning of prayers and the spirit of the language in which they were passed down t o us. Oh, how often we rewarded his efforts so poorly! Hebrew lessons took away our Wednesday afternoon, one of the two afternoons during the week when we didn’t have school. They took away Sunday mornings when our comrades were allowed to play outside. We were all too often aware of that and let it distract us. When the old man, whom we all loved, struck the table with his thick cane and began the lesson, always with the same words, “Look, be quiet, school has started,” the boys and girls in the room grew quiet but our thoughts didn’t let themselves be controlled as easily as our busy mouths—they fluttered freely around the room and away from the seven prayers and the other holy things out to the blossoming meadows and our schoolfriends’ ballgames [“Klippe” and “Knetschenball”].

Even though the resulting positive knowledge did not equal his untiring efforts, he did root the essentials deep in our hearts: the love of Judaism; because he possessed it himself in such endless measure and because he was such a good man and of such pure will. That’s why former pupils visited with him and his angelic wife in his home with such pleasure when they came back for vacation or were travelling through. During these days, when the town’s sons and daughters, now living abroad, return to their home, the old woman, who is still mentally alert and physically lively, will receive many guests and reap a bit of the immeasurable love she sowed over the decades. In these days during which is taking place something that has never taken place before on such a scale: coming together with the people with whom we enjoyed the happiness of those golden early years which gave way to the unspeakably difficult experience of war and revolution. At first, feeling our way through hesitatingly and unsure and then full of joy at finding and recognizing each other on the earth of our passionately loved, deeply threatened homeland. In these days when the dice roll…

With that, I must think of one of my hometown’s Jewish hucksters who gathered the people around his booth for throwing dice on the Pentecost fairgrounds with loud speeches that always ended with the words, “und quietsch und quatsch und querimonia, und jacta est alea …”

Now it’s “jacta est alea” [the die are cast] in all earnestness. The die will fall and determine the fate of this country and this city, and your fate, my home on the Oder, about which I’ve said nothing here and don’t want to.

When we first became concerned that Upper Silesia could be lost to us, my little girl started ending her bedtime prayer: “Dear God, don’t let us become enemies.” How a seven-year-old mind worked that out, whether she truly believed that shifting the country’s border would mysteriously change the people—I’m not sure. But I take those childish words a different way. Upper Silesians will have to prove whether they are their own enemies. If they are not,–and we have the utmost confidence that they are not—then we’ll see a wave of rejoicing sweep through our Germany on a level never before experienced, and nowhere will it echo more loudly than in my homeland, in my beloved Upper-Silesian nest. Erich Spitz
[Translator’s Note: The German Bundesarchiv lists Erich Spitz as having been born in Cosel, (PL Koźle) Upper Silesia.]

From the Province.

The Plebiscite in Upper Silesia. Synopsis: We are certain that the 20th of March will bring an overwhelming victory for Germany. What it would mean to our fellow Jews in Upper Silesia if the region were to be ceded to Poland needs hardly be mentioned. But for a more important reason than that, the Jews of Upper Silesia gladly cast their vote for our German fatherland because of how firmly they belong to the German culture. At Breslau’s increasingly busy train stations, fellow Jews are receiving kosher meals as organized by the banker, Löwy. The atmosphere was dampened however when some volunteers helping with the transportation of voters displayed the swastika. The newspaper’s editors were assured that measures were immediately taken against these displays.
Rybnik, Upper Silesia. Synopsis: Kosher meals are available for voters. Contact Rabbi Dr. Nellhaus.

Press Roundup.

Synopsis: In the official journal of the Central Union of Jewish Craftsmen of Germany, “Craftsmanship and Industry,” Alfed Vogelsang (Dusseldorf) writes about the belief that even the Jewish community has that Jewish craftsmanship is inferior which leads to congregations often hiring non-Jews. One way to counteract that is to make every effort to be a trustworthy advisor and spare the customer unnecessary expenditures.

In the “Israelitsches Familienblatt” Dr. Margarete Pinner
writes about the career choices of Jewish girls. Only in the case of some individuals is the choice of career determined at the outset by a special talent. In the majority of cases of our girls traditional considerations influence the decision to take up one career or another.

While the Jewish woman of course went into homemaking until just a couple of decades ago, a career in business is now the dominant choice. It seems to be a foregone conclusion that Jewish parents now send their daughters to a business school after completing their basic education or have them go into a business apprenticeship.

A thorough study of the question of career advice reveals that this situation is damaging to the life of our community. Being seated impedes the natural development of women’s bodies, and the one-dimensional activity leaves the intellectual and emotional strengths of our girls undeveloped. Our women have grown more nervous from the hectic life of commerce; the task of raising and feeding our children is done less lovingly and less carefully than in the past. And the Jewish house now only rarely has the calm beauty for which it had been praised earlier.

In our unquiet times the affinity of many women for the orderly and calm work of homemaking has already reawakened. It is important that we strengthen this affinity by emphasizing to our girls that homemaking is a real “career” through which value can be created such that the domestically occupied woman is not to be respected less than the commercially engaged one. It seems to us that working towards this is one of the most essential goals of career counseling.

The fact that our girls are educated only scientifically, and are not exposed to the domestic or agricultural occupations, is a serious shortcoming of our educational system. Only when they have had a chance to practice all types of work as children can they choose one career over another. If this were the case, it seems certain that a significantly larger percentage of girls would choose domestic or agricultural careers. One way to close this gap immediately would be to offer homemaking evening courses and to install school gardens. The costs for these are not unmanageable and could be supplied by private donors, organizations, and congregations. While these are being put in place, Jewish parents who are at all in the position to do so could let their children work in another household for a year before a career is decided upon. In addition to the urban and rural domestic apprenticeships of which the employment officials are already aware of, an exchange of children could be organized, as is currently being planned by the lodge. This would free up some apprenticeships and give young girls the opportunity to educate themselves more broadly without it costing too much. This year-long apprenticeship should take the place of the boarding-school year that used to be common.

Hopefully the coming years will be marked by progress in the education of our girls brought about by cooperation among concerned parties and that the career choices of Jewish women become healthier and strengthen Jewish families.

Synopsis: An article appearing in the “Illustrowany Kuryer Codzienny” (Krakau) connects Lloyd George’s anti-Polish policies to his supposed pro-Jewish stance and support of international Jewish financiers, especially those now responsible for moving the world’s financial center from London to Wall Street.

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Local Events.

Central Organization of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith, Breslau chapter, Synopsis: reports that the attorney, Dr. Dütschke (Zobten) has written Counselor Landsberg (Schweidnitz) that he will not accept a retainer from him because he does not accept retainers from Semitic lawyers on principle.

Erna Bial Dance Recital.

Synopsis: The young Breslau native gave a modern dance recital, notably to Scriabin’s Prelude where she perfectly combined music and movement to give expression to the subtle nuances of interior emotion. Even more impressive were three dances performed without music which revealed her keen creativity.

Assemblies and Associations.

Synopsis: The Liberal Union of Synagogue Congregations hosted a “Bierabend” with speeches by Alfred Bielschowsky, John Levi, and Rabbi Dr. Vogelstein. The highlight of the evening was a talk by Counselor Heilberg that explored the relationship of Jews to the press and focused on the goals of Jewish publications which are love of truth, commitment to duty, and conscientiousness. Speeches were followed by singing, raffles and an auction.

The Association for Jewish History and Literature will sponsor a lecture on “The Rhine in Jewish History” by Rabbi Dr. Adolf Kober (Cologne) on March 22.

Family Announcements.

Engagements: Ruth Schutz (Glatz) with Dr. Lothar Markiewitz (Breslau), Hermine Hauβmann (Breslau) with Dr. Paul Mayer (Charlottenburg), Alice Friedländer (Mikultschütz, Upper Silesia) with Rudolf Caro (Breslau), Elly Groβmann (Frankenstein, Silesia) with Georg Bernstein (Seeburg, East Prussia).

Marriages: Paul Ries with Felicia Feibelsohn (Breslau), Paul Mottek with Erna Jaentke (Breslau), Curt Wittenberg with Charlotte Fischer (Breslau), Max Lewin with Lisbet Tockuβ (Breslau), Curt Süβmann with Suse Lustig (Breslau).

Births. Son: Josef Manneberg and Erna nee Rahmer (Breslau), Georg Bujakowski and Gertrud nee Grün (Waldenburg, Silesia), William Heumann and Mally nee Klindworth (Breslau).
Daughter: Dentist Richard Engel and Alice (Breslau). Dr. Paul Ledermann and Elisabeth nee Freter (Breslau), Walter Weiβ and Philipine nee Bileski (Breslau), Bernhard Lob and Aenne nee Schmitz (Breslau).

Deaths: Geheimer Justizrat Dr. Ludwig Cohn (Breslau); Adolf Lustig (Breslau), Oscar Freund (Breslau), Hertha Pick nee Süβmann (Breslau), Michael Weiβ (Berlin), Bruno Lomnitz (Breslau), Fanny Markus nee Wittenberg (Breslau).

Posted in German Jewish History, German Jewish Newspapers, German Jewish Women | 1 Comment

Jewish-Liberal Newspaper, March 11, 1921

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Lis Strenger

Religious Liberalism.

by Rabbi Dr. Vogelstein (Breslau).
Partial translation: Dr. Vogelstein had recently seen the term “liberal Judaism” used in contrast to “positive Judaism.” The label “liberal” has been adopted from political life, and liberal Judaism does share some traits with liberal politics. Granted that “liberal” is the wrong label for the religious movement, but so are “orthodox,” “observant,” and “conservative” for their respective directions.

There seems to be a notion that one should simply be Jewish, but how can that be? Communal lives must always be lead from a certain perspective lest confusion reign. Liberal Jews view Judaism from a liberal perspective. It is not less positive nor less Jewish than any other perspective. Liberal Judaism does not seek to “subtract” from Judaism. Those who think that liberal Jews are less religious are wrong. Liberal religiosity takes different external forms. Liberalism is not merely the “comfortable” form of Judaism.

Revelation and progress are the two fundamental concepts of Liberalism. The Bible is God’s word the expression of revelation and imbued with divine spirit. The process that revelation took is not something we claim to understand. But we do know that the wonderful, ethical monotheism is not something that is meticulously interpreted. Rather it is revelation that has come to life through religious genius. This revelation is not a one-sided action of God’s. Instead its characteristics are determined by the prophets. The holy scriptures are not only written for man, but by man. The words of the Bible are sacred to us, but more sacred is the divine spirit that imbues them. We are of the belief that the slavish literal interpretation of the bible does not do justice to its wonderful poetry and actually destroys its deep religious and ethical content.

The second concept, progress, was seen as equally important as revelation by the moderate theologian Güdemann and his conservative teacher Zacharias Frankel. This does not mean that tradition has no value—Judaism is a religion with history that spans “from the first word of the Bible to the last of the Talmudists, from the medieval philosophers to the laborious studies of a Darschau (?), from the casuist’s narrow interpretations to the free words of the modern sermon.” Thus did Abraham Geiger characterize the concept of progress. Liberals do not break with tradition, but they do not recognize a single moment in history as being the end of Judaism’s development. Liberals believe that only in this way does religion remain a living, life-giving force for all times. Whether or not one accepts the concept of development in theory, in the reality of life it remains dominant. Compare for example today’s orthodox with Judaism at the time of emancipation. One need only remember the struggles around allowing German sermons or singing from the congregation. Now sermons have been in German in orthodox synagogues for decades and the vestments of the rabbis and cantors have shed traces of cabbalistic appropriation–everything appears more natural. Liberals believe that the flow of progress can be halted as little as one can ignore history.

Youth and Anti-Semitism.

by Dr. Braubach, Attorney.
Synopsis: This article describes the anti-Semitism among university students, which used to be limited to the fraternities but is now more pervasive. For example, anti-Semitic groups won 2/3 of the votes in the recent local student election. These students will become the judges, teachers, and doctors and hold leadership positions among the Germans. The German fraternities played such a decisive role in the struggle for democracy which makes their current anti-Semitism all the more painful. Now they lower themselves to programmatically forbid members to have “Jewish or colored wives” with the exception of Indian women because India is the cradle of Aryanism according to Count Reventlow.

Dr. Braubach recalls standing in front of the Sistine Madonna thinking that this ideal woman, this mother figure was Jewish, and that the irresponsible leaders of this student movement have besmirched this woman, this mother of the noblest man the world has ever seen.

Braubach then speaks of the poverty of students, even those in fraternities, most of which live on less than 300 Marks a month. These conditions, combined with the fact that this impressionable youth is being educated by anti-Semitic professors explain why they are susceptible to anti-Semitic propaganda. The curriculum, which focuses on the war to the detriment of cultural, artistic, and scientific questions, is also to blame. The situation in schools is not much better, especially in the provinces. Many a father has considered pulling their child from public school because they are tired of having him suffer as a scapegoat and punching bag. It is time that a new spirit infuse German education that will educate young people to recognize the humanity in each other and work together for the good of mankind.
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Aus dem Reich.

Berlin. Synopsis: Fritz Mordechai Kauffmann, the director of the Workers’ Aid Bureau, died a few days ago at the age of 33. As you might recall, he had recently held a thorough report on “Problems of Eastern Jewish Aid in Germany” at the Central Aid Committee conference. His death signifies a heavy loss for the organization.

Berlin. Synopsis: A new political party has recently been founded under the leadership of the German nationalist publicist, Richard Kunze. It bears the name, “German-social Party.” Its stated goal is the destruction of Jewish hegemony in Germany.”

Görlitz. An Evening with Lewinsky. Synopsis: The local “Workgroup of Jewish Associations” held an evening of recitations from the works of Jewish authors by Siegfried Lewinsky of the Dresden Staatstheater. Among the pieces were “Schlaflied für Mirijam” by Richard Beer-Hoffmann, the prayer scene from “Dorfzaddik” by Shalom Asch, and Peretz’s “Reb Joschenen Gabaj,” and in closing, the humor of Shalom Aleichem’s “Rat.”

Königsberg. Synopsis: At a meeting of the Association for Jewish History and Literature, Berthold Lazar spoke on “The Cultural Works of Jewish Law” where he highlighted that Jewish law has a different foundation from the law of other peoples. It developed at the same time as the historical development of the people, determining its fate through centuries behind the ghetto walls to the threshold of the present and prevented the Jewish people’s moral decline. No other law has this longevity. Built on the laws of Sinai, its binding power results from the ability to harken back to God’s will as revealed to Modes. It has the principle of individual freedom such that parents don’t have absolute power over their children or their slaves. It was the first to emancipate women. In stark contrast to the laws of all other ancient peoples, Jewish law demonstrates strong social tendencies, an example of which is the lovely institution of the work-free Sabbath. It differentiates itself through the mild treatment of debtors. It held marriage highly. Its punishments were humane, the punishment being relative to the motives behind the deed. This thousands of years old culture is reflected in the Talmud, which today is still valid for the people of the East.

Tilsit. Ritual Sugar for Passover. Synopsis: The local German Nationalist Protection and Defiance Federation protests that Jews receive extra sugar rations at Easter time. However, Jews do not receive extra sugar. A portion of the region’s sugar rations will be prepared according to kosher regulations.

An anti-Semitic Convention. Synopsis: Representatives from Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Poland will hold a conference in Vienna (March 11 to 13) to speak about the position of Jews in their countries and the degree of their influence.

Professor Theodor Nöldeke, a renowned orientalist who specialized in ancient Semitic philology recently completed his 85th year. Highly respected by Jewish rabbinical scholars, he was a personal friend of Abraham Geiger. The editors wish him many years of good health and contentment.

From the Province.

Upper Silesian Plebiscite. Synopsis: Various organizations have consolidated under the leadership of Mr. Loewy (Bank Director) to assist Jewish voters in the upcoming election. Over 300 volunteers are prepared to offer assistance at all Breslau train stations where they will be distributing warm meals. For help with lodging, contact Bertha Kober. Interested volunteers should contact Miss Emmi Guttmann. Rabbi Dr. Cohn is responsible for religious matters. Since over half of qualified German Jewish voters reside in Berlin, Rabbi Dr. E. Munk will be participating as well. In Berlin, warm meals will be available at the Jewish Dining Hall (Auguststraβe 16). In Upper Silesia arrangements for kosher meals have been made in coordination with the German plebiscite committee. Those requiring kosher meals should register with the synagogue in the town where they will be voting. Contacts are Arthur Altmann in Beuthen, Paul Cohn in Gleiwitz, Rabbi Dr. Kaatz in Hindenburg, Bruno Altmann in Kattowitz, Rabbi Dr. Goldschmidt in Königshütte, Preacher Rawitscher in Kreuzburg, Rabbi Dr. Baβfreund in Myslowitz, Max Weisler in Nikolai, Joachim Simonsohn in Sandowitz, Cantor Getzow in Sohrau, and Rabbi Dr. in Tarnowitz.

On Death

A light conversation by Dr. Ludwig Davidsohn.
Synopsis: Countless books have been written about death; death is the most thought about subject, yet it is still so little understood. Davidsohn describes a few literary reflections on death by German-Jewish writers to support his thesis that thoughts of death cause the sensitive Jewish soul endless sorrow and paralyzing melancholy. He turns to the Epic of Gilgamesh and its pessimistic portrayal of death. This view of death distinguishes the Semitic culture from the other cultures of the time, which never depict death as terrible. Instead it often appears as the brother of sleep. In the book of Job and in the Kohelet one finds echoes of death’s portrayal in Gilgamesh, however without Enkidu’s pessimism. As Jewish literature distances itself from the Bible, it occupies itself more with the dark mystery of death, as shown in Talmudic writings and Hassidic ghost stories. Davidsohn explores non-Jewish literature for treatments of death as well, highlighting Maurice Maeterlinck.

Whether man’s thoughts and emotions are immortal, we do not know. However, we know that matter does not die as such, rather nature uses it to form new compositions. Death is never absolute annihilation; everywhere there is resurrection and renewal, as observed by natural historians. Why should man doubt that all rules of nature apply to him as well? To the poet in the Bible who wrote, “Dust you are and to dust you shall return,” we can say, “and what’s wrong with that dust since God (with respect to nature) uses it in a continuous creative process?
Just as matter is eternal so are ideas. Davidsohn reads the sayings of Lao-Tzu or the writings of the prophets and encounters their ancient wisdom reaching out over the centuries. When a writer like Barbusse writes that the horrors of war make him question the meaning of life, he takes a short-sighted and ego-centric view. Mankind needs these biological explosions to achieve a higher form of life. As Hegel maintains, all existence is an upward-moving spiral. Those who live in these dismal times must keep in mind that transitoriness has its good sides and the malicious foolishness of the entente diplomats will in the future elicit only a disdainful smile.

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Jubilee. Synopsis: Preacher and instructor Jakob Bähr celebrates his twenty-fifth year serving the congregation of Waldenburg. He was educated by Professor Brann and now leads the Union of Israelite Teachers in Silesia.

Myslowitz. Synopsis: Another announcement about registering for kosher meals during the election and a brief notice that head cantor and religion teacher, Sandau celebrated his 25th anniversary of service to the local community on March 1.

Local Events.

On the passing of Rabbi Dr. Rosenthal.

Rabbi Dr. Ferdinand Rosenthal died at the age of 83 after a brief illness. He was born into a respected scholarly family in Kenesa (Hungary) in 1838, attended preparatory school in Eisenstadt and Vienna, and studied philosophy, oriental languages, ancient history, and rabbinical literature at the University of Berlin. After receiving his Ph.D. in 1866 at the University of Leipzig, he became a rabbi Easter [“Ostern”] 1867 in Beuthen (Upper Silesia) where he served for twenty years as pastor and head of the Jewish elementary school. He was active throughout the Upper Silesian industrial region. In 1887 he was called by the Breslau congregation to serve as the lead pastor for the Old Synagogue on Wallstraβe where he served for 33 years before retiring merely half a year ago because of his advanced age.

What Dr. Rosenthal meant to his congregation, to Judaism at all, can be better validated by more worthy sources. With all those to whom he was dear, we too stand at his graveside realizing that he was one of the great figures in the Jewish world [“Israel”].

The memorial service took place on Tuesday in the Old Synagogue on Wallstraβe, the site of the departed’s activity. The large space was densely filled in which despite the bright sun shining in through the dome, was resplendent under the flames of the candelabra. At the sides of the coffin in front of the high altar stood the members of the Jewish student fraternity holding their flags stood watch.

The service began at 1 o’clock with the choir singing. Dr. Simonsohn stepped to the podium. In warm, deeply-felt words he painted a picture of the noble man, showing him in his deep piety, his sincere goodness and humility, his accomplished scholarship that had made him a leader and teacher of this great congregation, whose venerable pastor he had been for over a generation. After him spoke Dr. Hoffmann who had been elected as Dr. Rosenthal’s successor hastened to pay his last respects to his master and friend. He too emphasized the learned man’s unique ability to wear the three crowns—the crown of the Torah that made him a teacher, the crown of the royal priest, that he wore at the altar, and the crown of the good name, which he earned through his exemplary life. The part of him that is mortal will return to dust, but the divine that emanated from him will continue to have an effect and will live on forever.

Accompanied by the choir singing, the coffin was carried out followed by the procession of mourners. First were the university students, then the students and teachers from the religion school and behind the hearse came the rabbis and a countless number of mourners. They moved slowly through the streets until they arrived at the Lohestraβe cemetery hall where another choir greeted the coffin. There Dr. Vogelstein held the eulogy. He praised the exceptional pastor [“Seelsorger”] who was able to maintain unity and peace in the congregation and spoke words of comfort to the family members who could be justifiably proud to be able to call this precious life one of their own. After him spoke Rabbi Dr. Margolies from Florence who was the deceased son-in-law. Counselor Hirschberg and Professor Wohlauer spoke as representatives of the synagogue’s board of directors. Then followed speech after speech by representatives of other congregations and the many associations to which the deceased had belonged, and his students and friends as well as the B’nai B’rith Lessing Lodge of which he had once been president on whose behalf spoke Master Timmendorfer from Berlin.

The evening was sending out its shadows when the coffin was finally carried to the grave. The fraternity slowly lowered its flags over him once more; then he disappeared into the depths. The clumps of earth rained down to cover the earthly remains of a man to whom love had built a lasting monument in many hearts and whose memory will continue to live in his congregation and in all who knew him.

10-year celebration of the founding of the Jewish Craftsmen’s Association. Synopsis: The celebration took place in the Lessing Lodge accompanied by chorus and harmonium. Speeches were held by Master Butcher Grunpeter and Louis Wolff. The Jewish man, who in his own land had worked in every profession was banned from guilds in the middle ages. With the emancipation, exterior barriers fell, but Jews turned mostly to the intellectual careers for material reasons. Craftsmanship is now weakly developed mostly because of social reasons. But in the last decades there’s been a change where the accomplishments of Jewish craftsmen are being recognized. They have organized and have a common goal of attracting youth to the trades. Rabbi Dr. Vogelstein cited the passages from the Talmud and Mishnah that praised craftsmanship and noted that the great teachers and researchers had earned their keep and funded their studies through work in the trades. Ignaz Walsh represented the synagogue congregation’s leadership. Martin Fränkel spoke on behalf of the Israelite Hospital and Attorney Spitz on behalf of the Liberal Association. The veterans union and neighboring craftsmen’s organizations also expressed their congratulations. The celebration concluded with a dance and artistic entertainment.

An Evening of Arias, Ballads, and Lieder by Richard Rodek.

Synopsis: This aggreable young singer apparently still has a lot of development to undergo, although he performed Hermann’s “Salomo” and the shorter, lyrical Lieder quite well. The critic looks forward to hearing him again. The accompanist, Franz Czerny, technically adept and discrete, received a lukewarm review.
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Family Announcements.

Engagements: Grete Schindler with Hermann Goldberger (Breslau); Luzie Imbach (Gleiwitz) with Jacques Walter (Breslau); Käthe Halberstam (Berlin) with Dr. Heinrich Hepner (Berlin-Schöneberg); Delia Gerson mit Leo Dzialowski (Brelsau); Käte Müller with Curt Jacoby (Breslau); Else Pincus with Leo Eilenberg (Breslau); Frieda Forder with Gustav Süβmann (Breslau).

Marriages: Friederich Biller… with Edith Zepler (Breslau); Alfred Katz with Hedwig Banasch (Flatow in West Prussia); Lutz Juliusburger with Else Memisohn (Breslau); Curt Löwy with Frieda Stein (Breslau).

Births. Son: Engineer Alfred Fischer and Margarete nee Riesenfeld (Breslau); Bruno Lipschütz and Grete nee Echstein (Troppau); Dr. E. W. Müller and Käthe nee Staub (Berlin).
Daughter: Emil Fraenkel and Käthe nee Pätzold (Breslau); Adolf S.l.ts and Elly nee Samuel (Beuthen, Upper Silesia).

Deaths: Anna Fingerhut nee Peiser (Breslau); Abraham Raphael (Berlin); Balbina Schreiber (Schrimm); Luise Altmann nee Jeremias (Kattowitz, Upper Silesia); Mortiz Warschauer (Breslau); Bernard Ksinski (Breslau); Leo Lebram (Breslau); Paula Prinz (Berlin); Marie Schlesinger nee Berger (Breslau); Mathilde Glück nee Pick (Breslau); Mortiz Süβmann (Breslau); Elise Grünfeld nee Pinkus (Breslau); Mortiz Schnell (Breslau); Rosalie Sauer nee Ollendorff (Festenberg).

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Jewish-Liberal Newspaper, March 4, 1921

Posted on September 2, 2013 by Lis Strenger

On the Nationalist German Jew.

by Attorney Erich Spitz (Breslau)
Synopsis: Spitz opens by lamenting how sick the entire “civilized” society has been for the last six and a half years. The causes are many, but one thing that the “peace” of the Versailles Treaty has made clear is that one of the more significant ones is an exaggerated sense of nationalism. He goes on to contrast nationalism with the healthier sense of national identity or love of one’s country [“Nationalgefühl”] characterized by love of one’s own kind, the desire to compete with other countries, and the need to maintain honor while doing so and to be of use to all of mankind in parallel. Nationalism is a distortion of these sentiments: it strives for power and domination of other countries; it is brutal to the point of being nihilistic. Two things could heal a society made sick by nationalism: the cultivation of love of country and a healthy sense of internationalism that binds peoples together.

Nationalism is on the rise, not only among the western, victorious countries, but it is also starting to creep into conquered Germany where it expresses itself in a hatred of Jews. The “Deutschnationale Volkspartei” has trampled on its conservative tradition and adopted as its slogan: “Down with Jews!”

While Jews have been noted for their conservatism, they are not typically nationalistic, perhaps because of innate skepticism, but certainly because of historical experience when they were the victims of nationalism. This does not mean, however, that Jews don’t have a sense of national identity with Germany, as has often been claimed in the last fifty years. Certainly, the fact that Jews have descended into the bloodbath of the war should prove otherwise. In recent years it was easy to earn the designation of “un-national”: anyone who criticized the war or taxation, didn’t wear their beard a certain way, was an aetheist or dissident, or voted socialist—and naturally, all Jews were “un-national.”

Spitz maintains that these accusations do not only stem from anti-Semites, but also from within the Jewish ranks as evidenced by a publication by the lawyer, Max Naumann, “On the national-German Jew.” Naumann divides Judaism into three groups: the Zionists, the middleground, and the national German Jews. He dismisses the Zionists because they are on their way to Palestine. The middle tier lives in a kind of purgatory between the Zionists and the national-German heaven. Naumann ascribes traits to them that resemble the claims of anti-Semites. Spitz’s criticism of Naumann’s idealization of the national-German Jew is harsh. Naumann apparently praises the Jew who is not ashamed of Judaism. He apparently contradicts himself by citing as a parallel example the French Huguenots who married into pure German families until their French heritage was but a dusty memory. Spitz maintains that this dusty memory is what Judaism is for Naumann. Naumann further angers Spitz by asserting that religion is no longer what should bind Jews together. This belief is revealed in Naumann’s description of the Eastern Jewish question—the Eastern Jew is a stranger, and nothing more than a stranger—in sympathies, in spirit, even physically. When a nation-German Jew hears of their misfortunes, they are struck with pity, as they would be when hearing of any peoples’ mistreatment, such as the lynchings in America.
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Spitz on the other hand claims the victims of these pogroms as his brothers and sisters. He wonders whether in the last fifty years many German Jews have been too quick to adopt German culture while throwing off their traditions. He believes the young generation will have to fight the ensuing rootlessness in that it becomes more Jewish and calmly and steadily integrates organically into the German homeland and its people.

Tzedakah.

by Dr. Leo Baeck (Berlin).
Synopsis: “Judaism discovered the concept of the fellow man.” In this piece, Dr. Baeck associates the concept of care for one’ s fellow man with justice. He asserts that it is God who made every man to be one’s fellow man, one’s brother, one’s neighbor—not our own will or inclination and not society or law. He closes by portraying the ideal society as one being based on tzedakah.

Luck.

An everyday story by Bidsche Hohnsalz (Zehlendorf).
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Aus dem Reich.

Berlin. Synopsis: At a meeting of the Liberal Association for the Concerns of the Jewish Community in Berlin, Rabbi Dr. Baeck explained in a very well-received lecture that all Jews must work together on the development of Palestine. Jewish Palestine is a fact, even if all German Jews failed to contribute. Germany’s 600,000 Jews could very well become isolated from the world’s 10 Million Jews. Rabbi Dr. Baeck expects that the renewal of Judaism in Palestine will enrich religious, liberal Jewish thought. From Palestine, Jewish ideas could be broadcast to the world with greater justification and authority.

München. Synopsis: The election committee of the liberal Jews of Bavaria, Munich chapter distance themselves from the newly founded Jewish “Volkspartei,” which they claim represents only the Zionist and orthodox points of view.

Braunschweig. Synopsis: A case of anti-Semitic vandalism of a veteran’s grave was reported—a swastika was painted on the tombstone.

Frankfurt a. M. The International League of Women for Peace and Freedom in Geneva made a request of the League of Nations that it take a stand against the persecution of Jews in the Ukraine. Authoritative Jewish organizations have accused Ukrainians of having committed the most horrific massacre that has ever taken place in modern times. Countless individuals have been killed, women raped, pogroms organized and conducted with official permission. As a measure against these horrors the International League of Women demands that the League of Nation denies the Ukraine membership until it guarantees that it will grant minorities the same security and rights as the majority.

Königshütte. Synopsis: Kosher meals will be available to all during the elections.

From Abroad.

Jewish Liberalism in Posen.

Synopsis: The Posen Jewish newspaper which is still being published in this formerly German region provides evidence that Jewish liberalism continues to thrive there.

Vienna. Synopsis: One of the largest Alpine associations has declared that from voted on a motion to allow only members that are Germans of Aryan descent. The vote was 1253 for and 653 against so the motion did not pass as it required a 3/4 majority.

Local Events.

The Liberal Association of Syngogue Congregations. Synopsis: A beer evening will feature good food, full-bodied beer, speeches and toasts, songs, an American auction, and a raffle.

Representatives Assembly. Synopsis: At the last meeting Dr. Klein (Chemnitz) and Davidsohn (Berlin) were elected as religion teachers.

Synopsis: The German Jews’ Central Aid Committee has begun publishing instructive essays about important charitable initiatives under the title “Tzedakah.” The piece by Rabbi Dr. Beck published in this issue is an example of this worthwhile content. A subscription to “Tzedakah” is recommended.

Synopsis: A few more companies have asked to be removed from the notorious list created by the German Nationalist Protection and Defiance Federation.

Colorful Evening

Arranged by the Union of Eastern Jews.
Synopsis: The evening was held as a fundraiser for Jewish refugees. Joseph Halpern started the entertainment by reciting three poems and later performing a comedic routine. Marga Dannenberg sang an aria from “Samson and Delilah,” Grieg Lieder, and a duet from “Tosca” with Adolf Löltgen who went on to sing Schumann Lieder and some cabaret pieces. Hans Faber, dressed in a Pierrot costume performed comedy. Miss Knepel sang duets from the operettas “Geisha” and the “Loyal Farmer.”

Associations and Assemblies.

The Jewish-Liberal Youth Organization. Synopsis: On February 7, Emil Waldstein reported on the recent founding of the Central Organization of German Jewry, the challenges that were faced, especially around the question of allowing foreigners the right to vote. On February 14, Rabbi Dr. Vogelstein spoke on the theme of “God and Man,” the central concept of the Jewish religion being the relationship between God and man, ethics being a more important source than the idea of monotheism. The ethical is sustained by justice and love, both being attributes of God. The human soul is created pure with the capability for good as well as for evil, unlike the Christian teaching that mankind is born with original sin and saved by Christ’s sacrificial death. On February 21, Dr. Fränkel spoke on German Jewry at the beginning of the 19th century and on February 28, Mr. Brienitzer began his lecture series on the Jewish question in Germany.
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League of Jewish Women, Breslau chapter. Synopsis: The chapter met on February 22. Miss Röschen Cohn greeted the assembly with a speech written by Miss R. Urbach. Then Mrs. Ollendorf described the league’s history and goals, warmly promoting its high ideals. With subtle sarcasm she touched upon the tendency toward materialism of some Jewish circles. The article’s author wanted to point out the Breslau chapter’s initiatives such as founding a home for Jewish children born out of wedlock.

Central Organization of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith. Synopsis: On February 17 Professor Goldstein (Darmstadt) spoke on “Modern Racial Theory.” Important Christian fellow citizens had been invited to attend. See issue 10 for a thorough report on this topic.

The Association of Independent Jewish Craftsmen, Breslau chapter celebrated its 10th anniversary.

Association of Poseners. Synopsis: An evening of entertainment was held on February 23 at which Dr. Teichmann presented slides of Italy.

Family Announcements

Engagements: Edith Cohn (Charlottenburg) with Walter Horwitz (Berlin); Gisela Cohn with Manfred Metzner (Breslau); Berta Levy with Leo Berger (Loslau, Upper Silesia).

Marriages: Heinrich Golden with Luise Koch (Obernigk); Viktor Mannheim with Käthe Dobschützer (Dyhernfurth); Hans Neuländer with Erna Lust (Danzig); Hans Rothstein with Toni Dressel (Breslau); Berthold Riesenfeld with Helene Freund (Breslau); Salvador Hopp with Margot Badrian (Guatemala); Harmann Salinger with Frieda Bergmann (Neumarkt, Silesia); Arthur Kahl with Gertrud Sklarz (Breslau).

Births: Son: Kurt Budwig and Margarete nee Philipp (Breslau); Richard Wiener and Annie nee Müller (Breslau).
Daughter: Arthur Leβheim and Herta nee Fleischer (Breslau); Siegmund Günzberger and Else nee Jenderkoy (Breslau); Bruno Wechselmann and Paula nee Leβ (Breslau); Attorney Dr. Kurt Weiβ and Grete nee Bab (Breslau); Kurt Schweitzer and Margot nee Stein (Kattowitz).

Deaths: Ella Friedmann (Breslau); Abraham Cohn (Breslau); Bernhard Guttmann (Breslau); Salo Licht (Breslau); Heinz Kohn (Katscher, Upper Silesia); Martin Guttmann (Breslau); Salo Weiβenberg (Breslau).

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Jewish-Liberal Newspaper, February 25, 1921

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Lis Strenger

Israel.

by Rabbi Dr. B. Gottschalk (Posen).
Synopsis: Gottschalk explores what binds liberal Jews to Judaism. He points to the meaning of the name “Israel,” one who has fought with God, as what distinguishes liberal Jews from other Jews. All Jews can say of themselves that they live and die “with God,” but liberal Jews can say that they have “fought with God and won.” The difference is that other Jews feel bound to God and wish only to do what he commanded. Liberal Jews, however, struggle with God, just as Moses, the prophets, and Maimonides did, into our modern times. Liberal Jews do not feel bound to God and do not bring sacrifices of intellect, insight, or piety—they bring their hearts as a sacrifice. They do not allow what and how they feel to be prescribed. Only when their innermost being says “yes” to God does he become their God.

Steinthal recognized that the hesitance to engage critically with the concept of God marked a childlike stage in belief which persisted until the previous century when Cohen tried to bring God closer to us by describing him as the God of morality, the power behind goodness, the God of reason. Cohen did not convince many. This image of God could warm only those who shared his intellectualism. What lives now in thousands of hearts is the “God-feeling” [“Gottesgefühl”]. Their reason has dismissed the legend of heaven; their knowledge has revealed the power of nature and with that dethroned the old God. But the heart was left empty. In these hearts the struggle for an anchor, a focus, or a goal takes place which then takes the form of a search for God. Finding him is the liberals’ revelation and their burning bush.

Liberals are not trying to intellectualize God by shedding traditions but by recognizing that he fills their hearts and souls and from their guides everything—how they honor, love, and worship him.

In that struggle, liberals go beyond Judaism, but there is no thought to leave Judaism. They see that the essence of Judaism is not what God has taught, but to test what they have learned from God. For them, the essence of the prophets and the psalmists are not that they speak of God, but that God has spoken from them.

The pains and joys of the other Jews are still felt by liberal Jews. Their religious experiences are profoundly Jewish, which is why they love the holidays and customs and the Bible and support institutions that foster Jewish religious life. This is why they fight for Jewish honor and decry baptism.

The liberal Jews do want to create a synthesis between Judaism and culture, but not sacrifice Judaism to culture. They do not want to merge it with other religions, but they do want it to shine as a beacon for other religions that have lagged in developing their concept of God. They see the time of the Messiah not as erasing all religious differences but as bringing all religions closer. Gottschalk distances liberalism from the free-religionists and the non-denominational movement and concludes that liberals are indeed religious Jews, Jews that fight for, with, and about God and thus indeed now and always “Israelites.”

“The Truth about Russia.”

The Horror in Ukraine
Synopsis: This article details horrific massacres of Jews. The official reports of a Red Cross committee document that tens of thousands of Jews have been murdered and hundreds of thousands have been abused, raped, or robbed.
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Aus dem Reich.

After the Elections.

Synopsis: The most anti-Semitic party, the “Deutschnationale Volkspartei,” did well throughout Prussia in the state parliamentary elections. The article calls for unity among Jewish groups—liberal, orthodox, Zionist, centrist, or German nationalist.

Berlin. Synopsis: The liberal faction of the Representatives’ Assembly responded to a proposal that a committee representing all groups be formed to consider the question of Jewish schools by declaring that they would consider Jewish schools only if it were impossible to address the religious educational needs of Jewish children in state schools.

Berlin. Synopsis: Pastor of St. Simeon’s, Hermann von Wicht spoke on “Equal Rights or Sedition” at the local chapter meeting of Central Organization of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith. He lamented the rise of anti-Semitism after the war and how the masses are easily influenced by slogans.

Berlin.Synopsis: 1919-1920 was a successful year for the Berlin Free School for Continuing Education with 5,000 attending circa 100 courses taught by rabbis, professors, and professional men and women. Courses covered the Bible and Talmud, religion and history, literature and art, economics and current events.

Berlin. Synopsis: 6,000 (50%) voted in recent student union elections. Of the 100 available seats, the German folkish groups won 56. The liberal Jewish group won 4, and the Zionists won 5. Socialists and other left-leaning groups won the rest.
Berlin.Synopsis: Professor Julius Guttmann spoke on Spinoza’s relationship to Judaism at the Institute for the Scientific Study of Judaism.

From My Notebook.

by Ludwig Davidsohn.
A selection of aphorisms.

Jews in China.

Synopsis: Professor Dr. Stübe (Leipzig) reported on Judaism in China in the “General Newspaper” which this article republishes excerpts. Stübe cites as his main source the work of Bruno Schindler who recently journeyed to China to study these communities.

Jews settled in China as merchants and while they have retained their religion, they often look very Chinese in their costumes, manners, and attitudes. There are two major settlements: near Beijing and Kaifeng (Henan province). Kaifeng was the capital of the Song dynasty (960-1278) and suffered heavily from wars and catastrophic flooding during the Ming dynasty. Kaifeng’s downturn caused many to leave the city, including much of its Jewish community which dispersed throughout the empire. Only the poorest stayed and today only about 1,000 remain in a community with a charismatic, albeit violent, leader.
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Leipzig. Synopsis: Investiture of a Rabbi. The newly elected Rabbi, Dr. Cohn, formely of Krotoschin was ceremoniously installed. He was escorted into the synagogue by his colleague, Rabbi Dr. Goldmann and the board members in a procession accompanied by organ music. He was welcomed at the podium and gave his first sermon.

Stuttgart. Synopsis: Obituary for Nathan Levi, lawyer and notary, and founding member of the democratic party in Württemberg in 1864 with Julius Hauβmann, Karl Mayer, and Ludwig Pfau with whom he remained close friends.

Allenstein. The General Assembly of the Association of Jewish Congregations in East Prussia made the following declaration on February 6: The exemplary peaceful mutual understanding of the congregations of our province is being greatly threatened by abuse aimed at Jews. The Association as elected representatives of East Prussian Jews makes the strongest appeal. This abuse is marked by religious strife and a race war that severely damages the reconstruction of the fatherland and must call on the sense of justice of all citizens.

Myslowitz. Synopsis. Chief cantor and religion instructor, Jakob Spandau, celebrates 25 years of service.

Press Roundup.

Hepp, Hepp, Hurrah!

Excerpts from Ignaz Wrobel’s [one of Kurt Tucholsky’s pseudonyms] article that appeared in “Welt am Montag.”

Anti-Semitic paranoia in Germany reminds one of the romantic excitement of French nationalists who found the Boche and his spies behind every wrong in the world. Here, nothing can go wrong without the monocled faces of those who are too big for their britches blaming Jews for everything. Films are bad because Jews made them; groceries are expensive because Jews are cheating; the press is run by Jews, and we lost the war because Jews were secretly undermining the Front. Now Ludendorff was not a Jew, and I didn’t know that many Jews were in the German diplomatic corps as Germany lunged into the war. These upstanding men have even figured out that in Wilhelm II’s veins flowed some Jewish blood which is why rabble was elected and the world fell into misfortune. Hepp, hepp, hurrah!

What’s going on here is the worst kind of dumbing down of the masses. Roda Roda’s old saying fits like a glove here: “Anti-Semitism. . . a nice thing, but nothing will come of it until the Jews get involved!”

What these sad-faced knights would do if they didn’t have Jews is almost unthinkable. They live off of them! And hardly a single one of their arguments works.

A mixed people like the Germans that are a peculiar blend of Vandals, Kashubians, Poles, and a shot of Lowland Saxons that never formed a unified Germanic race has no right to complain about racial mixing.
Nothing works. The accusation that Jews are in charge of public life is an admission of weakness. The French illustrator, Caran d’Ache once drew a country lane on which a Jew and a Frenchman met. In between them lay a franc. Both were bending toward it at the same time. “Mais c’est le juif qui aura le franc!” (But it’s the Jew who’ll get the money.”) Accusing the Jews of price-gouging in the face of the behavior of German agriculture that is systematically sabotaging the large cities is an absurdity.
For every Schmuhl there are ten Piesekes and what the Grenadier Street can do on a small scale, Herr Stinnes do on a large one.

Without the Jews, the elections are no fun at all for the German nationalist. Without the Jews, he couldn’t lead them! He only leads them because there are a whole lot of people who differ from parrots only in that they aren’t so pretty to look at. The petit bourgeois Hausfrau, many mid-level civil servants, the small-town social elite—all have a lumpish anger at the mentally nimble Jew and are ecstatic at the chance to score one against their irritating competitors. No one senses how bad he makes his fatherland look if he admits that the ghastly influence of its Jews can destroy a whole country. The worst proponents of the war weren’t the Jews; rather they were the stakeholder officers and civil servants, the Teutonic professors and women who with their loud mouths brought this country into this misfortune. A misfortune that one now wants to ascribe to the Jews.

If the German Nationalist Party weren’t so brainlessly dumb to be anti-Semitic, a large segment of the Jews with natural conservative tendencies would have joined it; yes, I even know some instances of Jews who forgot honor long enough to vote German Nationalist.

But folkish students, foresters, and physical education teachers don’t think that deeply. The chest of German men swells, the beard speckled with lentils blows in the wind, heroic German songs trill in the air, that put the Welsch [?], the Jews, and the Blacks on the same level, just because they’re not German. Overemphasizing national uniqueness has always been a weakness.

“Don’t buy from Jews!”—Now that’s a campaign slogan for the thinking man. It creates a trusted unitied front, and the Bavarian beerlover, the East Prussian schnapps distiller, the Rhineland industrialist—suddenly they all fight loyally together, shoulder to shoulder. I have nothing against collective judgements, that are always unjust and yet sometimes just. “The Jew”…that’s right and wrong, because one doesn’t mean the individual, but the stereotype. It’s a judgement about the whole, for example like, “The German officer was useless in the war; the German judge isn’t trusted by the people in political trials; the Prussian bureaucrat tends to value his writing apparatus more than the common good.”

“Don’t buy from Jews!” But they buy. This anti-Semitism melts away when it comes to doing business, and no German Nationalist grafter is embarrassed by doing a deal with some Jew from Lodz in the export trade. If during the war the officer had been embarrassed to get help from the residents of Galician towns to help him smuggle his three hundred eggs as a “radio,” maybe the humble Jews could have learned something from him. He wasn’t embarrassed.

That’s what lost a war. We still don’t know today that a world which used to do so with hatred, now simply shrugs its shoulders with disdain and steps over traits that are stood up as virtues to the children here.

Reconstruction of the Economic Life of Russia’s Jews

Synopsis: Excerpts of a report published in the “Israelitisches Familienblatt.” Over 1 million Jews are among the living victims of war in Russia. International aid organizations are now receiving cooperation from local authorities so that raw materials, tools, credit, and funds can be used to create jobs. Signs of progress are visible and the labor market has become more stable. New leaders promise that they will not tolerate pogroms. In the agricultural sector, similar progress is being made. For example, in Lithuania the number of Jewish farmers has risen from 5% to 11%. Jewish refugees from White Russia have been forming communes. Much of this growth can be traced back to the work of the JCA (Jewish Colonization Association) from 1899 to 1918.

From the Art Collection of Berlin’s Jewish Congregations.

Synopsis: Albert Wolf’s collection (Dresden) forms the core of the exhibit. The most interesting pieces were paintings from Poland and Russia: Genre paintings, important personages, locales, and historical paintings, including Samuel Hirszenberg’s painting, “Colus.” Etchings by Mundlack, Struck, Budko, and Friedmann hung amid drawings and paintings of other artists. The exhibit also included Jewish furnishings and religious art: curtains, Torah bands, Hanukkah lamps, Purim plates, and spice boxes. One case holds Haggadah illustrations and other calligraphic art, including that of Isidor Rothziegel, which are displayed in public for the first time. There is also a “Berlin Room” with a series of pieces on Moses Mendelssohn and his circle. This room also holds a valuable rug from 1590 on loan from the Old Synagogue and a menorah from 1713.
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Local Events.

Synopsis: An evening of arias, art songs, and ballads will be presented by Richard Rodek, accompanied on the piano by Franz Czerny, on March 2.

Synopsis: A few weeks ago, the German Nationalist Protection and Defiance Federation started publishing the “Schlesische Volksstimme,” which is distributed for free, especially at train stations.

An interesting and instructive lecture on “The Nibelungenlied in German Literature with an Emphasis on Richard Wagner’s ‘Ring des Nibelungen’” will be held by the well-known Breslau writer, Maria Renee Daumas… Maria Renee Daumas, although now completely German, comes from an old French noble family from Marseille with Jewish blood in its veins and which distinguished itself with its sympathy for the sad fate of Jews. When Jews were expelled from Marseille in the 15th century, a Pascal, Duke de Daumas was responsible for letting the victims keep their trading rights for an additional 110 years.

The Liberal Association of Synagogue Congregations named its long-serving, highly deserving board member, who as reported recently passed away, Hugo Jacobson, to perpetual membership. – On Thursday, March 10, the Liberal Association is holding a gentlemen’s beer evening as a pre-celebration of Purim and to foster personal relationships among its members.

Engagements. Elfriede Fink, nee Schlesinger, Neisse, with Pharmacist Berhard Ucko, Groβ-Strehlitz, Upper Silesia; Alice Landsberger, Charlottenburg, with Hugo Goldmann, Berlin; Ilse Wolff, Dobrzyoa (Posen), with Paul Jacob (Printing Press Owner) Wüstegiersdorf; Alma Stoβmann with Leo Neumann, Breslay; Rose Rosenthal, Breslau, with Oskar Wagner, Militsch.

Marriages. Franz Behmack, Bunzlau, with Berta Preuβ, Löwenberg, Silesia; Sigmar Weiβ wwith Flora Borchardt, Breslau; Attorney Dr. Ernst Marcus with Lucie Ritter, Breslau.

Births. Son. Curt Lisser and Hanni nee Haller, Breslau; Max Centatver and Cläre, nee Pollack, Königshütte Upper Silesia; Fritz Wechselmann and Charlotte, nee Drescher, Breslau; Siegbert Zacharias and Lotte, nee Austerlitz, Bremen.
Daughter: Dentist Arthur Schüfftan and Sophie, nee Schüfftan, Breslau; Assessor Dr. Hans Gabriel and Lotte, nee Kohn, Breslau.

Deaths. Hulda Kochmann, ne Tischler, Breslau; Julius Kareski, Kattowitz; Berthold Marcousy, Landsberg, Upper Silesia; Johanna Böhm, nee Flichter, Breslau; Berta Efrem, nee Katz, Hamburg; Julius Salomon, Breslau; Helene Gotthilf, nee Jacoby, Breslau; Berta Schreuer, nee Glaser, Berlin; Berthold Spanier, Berlin; Siegismund Münzer, Breslau; Moritz Fuchs, Breslau; Baruch Colkt, Breslau; Alfred Berliner, Ratibor; Sally Altmann, Breslau.

Announcements and Adverisements.

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