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The Newsletter of the American Friends Volume 15 of the Jewish Museum Hohenems, Inc. May 2014 I N T OUCH
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NEWS FROM THE M USEUM D R . H ANNO L OEWY The Jewish Museum Ho- about both the dark and Friends for this major henems is reaching out bright sides of history, enterprise that also was www.afjmh.org in new dimensions with and the chances and sponsored by the Feder- our latest exhibit. We challenges of today. Our al government of Aus- Stephan Rollin are going back in time friends help make the tria. Founder and presenting 700 museum an inspiring years of Jewish history space for those who Based on a modern Con- Francesca Brunner-Kennedy in the Habsburg empire! want to preserve herit- tent Management Sys- [email protected] With the help of various age and those who want tem we are now able to President lenders of precious arti- to create the resources present all the activities facts and a load of spon- of the future. and exhibitions, educa- Claude Rollin, Esq. sors that so generously tional programs and re- Vice-President support our work, we The support we enjoy by sources, databases and Uri Taenzer, Esq. are able to look at the our growing association information, and the di- Secretary-Treasurer story of the “Habsburg in Hohenems and by rect links to the Ameri- Jews” – that in fact can you, the American can Friends and to our T RUSTEES be perceived as the Friends of the Jewish “Verein” in a fresh new Dr. Robert Amler “First Europeans.” About Museum Hohenems, is way. The online museum Nicole M. Angiel 450 visitors came to the most encouraging. Stay shop and the booking Ronald Bernell opening, many of them tuned! system for events now Doris Billes not even able to enter offer easy access even the overcrowded Salo- New Website is online! from a distance, and Nadia Follman mon Sulzer auditorium basic information is now Timothy L. Hanford in the old synagogue of It took a long time to also present in French, James Hirschfeld Hohenems. This was a work on this project be- Hebrew, Italian and Hon. Susan Shimer moving moment in the hind the scenes, involv- Turkish. Harry Weil, Jr. history of the museum. ing all the resources of You will find details the museum, Niko Please enjoy the new Monica Wollner about our new exhibit on Hofinger in Innsbruck website. And if some- pages 6 through 11. and our designers from thing might not work In Touch Editor: “atelier Stecher” in perfectly in the next Nicole Angiel Our growing numbers of Götzis. After more than weeks, please forgive In Touch Designer: visitors are a challenge 15 years, our website us. As always: such a Amanda Kennedy for us. We know we not only desperately giant enterprise has to have good friends all needed “renovation” but survive its "childhood Please send your In Touch over the world helping a complete re-launch. diseases." We welcome articles to us to make Hohenems a We are grateful for the your feedback, if [email protected] good place for learning support of the American (Continued on page 2) Page 2 Volume 15 NEWS FROM THE M USEUM (CONT)
(Continued from page 1) something goes wrong or could look better. You can enter the English site directly through: http://www.jm- hohenems.at/en/
Hohenems’ Photograph- ic Heritage
Thousands of photo- graphs, both from pri- vate and public sources, are kept in our archives, forming a visual heritage of the Jewish community in Hohenems, Vorarl- berg, Tyrol and Liechten- stein, their families and descendants and the Jewish quarter of Ho- henems.
With funds from the Rothschild Foundation (Hanadiv) Europe in Lon- The databases available on the new website http://www.jm-hohenems.at/en/ don we were able to dig- itize and preserve 4700 ing enriched step by see: sode 11 of the television photographs so far that, step with photographs www.hohenemsgenealo series House) according to individual and documents, now gy.at/en/ decisions of donors and comprising data about Is it only a stereotype or lenders, are integrated more than 20,000 indi- European Summer Uni- a social cultural reality step by step into the viduals connected to versity for Jewish Stud- that family has a partic- new online database Jewish families from Ho- ies, Hohenems July 6 – ular significance in Juda- “hohenemsphoto- henems, Vorarlberg, Ty- 11, 2014 ism and Jewish life? graphy” that went online rol and Liechtenstein. It all runs in the family … Since the destruction of with our new website. This ever growing re- Jewish relations the temple, domestic life Please have a look to source not only enables is a stronghold of tradi- search for photographs family members to get “Psychopaths always tion and identity: from of your family. We hope connected with their fascinate me. I think it’s the rituals of family puri- you find our new tool past, but also helps us their cultural literacy ty to the sanctity of helpful. find new descendants and strong family val- Shabbat. But also be- all over the world, with ues. Or is that yond of the realms of The Hohenems genealo- an eye to the upcoming Jews?” (Dr. House to Dr. religion, family – as a gy database is also be- reunion in 2017. Please Hadley, Season 6, Epi- (Continued on page 3) In Touch Page 3
NEWS FROM THE M USEUM (CONT)
(Continued from page 2) sixth year, is a joint pro- Since 2009, the format present the names and relational space of mi- ject of the universities of of the summer universi- dates right in front of gration and diasporic Munich, Basel, Salzburg, ty has followed the mod- the last homes of the networks – is charged Vienna and Zurich to- el of the successful victims in Hohenems. with meaning, influenc- gether with the Jewish summer courses estab- ing both Jewish history Museum Hohenems. It lished in Munich in The ceremony will be and its interpretation. offers a specialized pro- 2005. Seminars, lec- organized by the munici- Marriage relations and gram for students of tures, language courses pality together with the family structures not on- Jewish studies, in the and hands on work- Cologne based artist, ly secure the physical fields of history and cul- shops fit into a dense Gunter Demnig, who has reproduction but also ture, literature and lin- program, exploring a installed many thou- maintain a community guistics, religious stud- crucial subject (such as sands of of tradition that cannot ies and anthropology. “migration,” “physical "Stolpersteine" in 500 part from both its tribal Applications have to be culture,” or “family”), towns in Germany and foundations and its uni- sent to the University of allowing a multifaceted various European coun- versal pretensions. Munich. The one-week engagement with the tries since 1992. School interdisciplinary pro- most recent research classes from Hohenems The Summer University gram provides the stu- and paradigms in Jewish will also participate, 2014 will study the dents the possibility to studies. Participants thereby encouraging the meaning of family in Ju- deepen their knowledge write papers, and can be young pupils to engage daism from various per- and to discuss ideas re- awarded with credits in the process and to spectives and disci- lated to a certain topic towards a degree from remember the biog- plines: their formation in of Jewish studies with their respective raphies. For more infor- biblical and historical an international group of university. mation about the narratives, their function scholars and in commu- Stolpersteine, please as a social network and nication with fellow stu- Stolpersteine in visit: http:// a safeguard of the exist- dents from various Ger- Hohenems www.stolpersteine.eu/ ence of a minority, as a man-speaking countries. en/home/ space of generational On June 30, 2014, nine conflict and struggle be- By joining the resources "Stolpersteine" (stumblin New publications tween forces of tradition of the five participating g blocks) will be in- and change. At the universities the students stalled to commemorate The First Europeans. same time, the Summer are offered possibilities the last Jews of Hohen- Habsburg and Other University will explore that go far beyond the ems who were deported Jews - A World before the popular attribution, scope of the single insti- between 1938 and 1914 self-perceptions and tutes and faculties. The 1941: Hans Elkan, Hele- role projections (like the former Jewish Quarter of ne Elkan, Theodor English Edition | Edited “yiddishe mame” or Jew- Hohenems and the Jew- Elkan, Gisela Figdor, by Felicitas Heimann- ish mother) in various ish Museum offers an Clara Heimann- Jelinek und Michaela media but also in the inspiring setting for this. Rosenthal, Frieda Nagel- Feurstein-Prasser | discourse of Jewish The summer university berg, Markus Silber- Mandelbaum Verlag: studies itself. also encourages collab- stein, Sophie Steingra- Wien 2014 | 184 pages oration between schol- ber-Hauser, and Louis | 30 × 23 cm | ISBN The summer university ars and the museum on Weil. The little cobble- 978-3-85476-440-3. Hohenems, now in its various levels. stone-sized memorials (Continued on page 4) Page 4 Volume 15 NEWS FROM THE M USEUM (CONT)
(Continued from page 3) appointed, abused, but scape and lively center. ceivable in today’s city- With contributions by still vibrant European Ever since the opening scape. Fritz Backhaus, J. Frie- hope are reflected. of the Jewish Museum drich Battenberg, Mark Catalog accompanying in 1991, a process of Visitors to the Jewish H. Gelber, Erik Petry, Di- the exhibition in the Jew- revitalization has set in. Museum and the city, ana Pinto, Joshua Tep- ish Museum Hohenems Numerous buildings, natives and immigrants, litsky, and others. from March 25 to Octo- architectural evidence of they all are hereby of- ber 5, 2014. Edition Mu- the former Jewish com- fered a gateway to the seumstexte 03 munity, were restored center of Hohenems, and, with new functions, which has always been The Jewish Quarter. A have become bridges characterized by polari- Walk around Hohenems between past and pre- ties, between palace sent. With this city guide and market, between English Edition | Bucher as part of our Muse- commoners and counts, Verlag | Hohenems umstexte series, it is our between Jews and Chris- 2013 | Broschur | 26 intention to introduce tians, between those Seiten | 17 x 24 cm | € visitors not only to the who are already here 2,90 history of the Quarter and those who have and its buildings, but newly arrived. Hohen- also to its dynamic de- ems has once been the velopment. Here, the only community in Eu- One hundred years after introduction of some of rope whose main streets the outbreak of the First its inhabitants and their were called “Christians’ World War, the Jewish paradigmatic history is Lane” and “Jews’ Lane.” Museum Hohenems an integral part. Nowadays, other immi- looks back in an exhibi- grants and minorities tion on the world of the A walk around the Jew- are at the fore of public “Habsburg Jews:“ on ish Quarter and along interest and leave their their experiences, their Christians’ Lane, pass- own mark on the urban hopes for a European ing synagogue and center. This guide unification, and their church, the count’s Re- through the Jewish illusions about the multi- naissance palace, and Quarter and the historic ethnic Habsburg Empire. Gründerzeit structures city center is meant to Their connections from around 1900, enhance the ability to across borders and their The Jewish Museum Ho- leads us through 400 better navigate through mobility rendered them henems is part of a years of history and the these spaces, to better active mediators be- unique urban setting. present: a time span manage in every con- tween cultures and re- This market town’s for- that has been marked ceivable sense. gions, a dynamic ele- mer Jewish Quarter — by migration and ment of European devel- Hohenems was granted coexistence, conflicts The Grüninger Dossier opment. In their life sto- city status only as late and prejudices, success ries, represented in the as 1983 following an and persecution, up- Since January 2014, selected objects, all as- initial attempt in 1333 — heavals and departures. Alain Gsponer’s movie pects of a past and dis- is both memorial land- Their traces are still per- (Continued on page 5) In Touch Page 5
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much as a reference to current debates in Eu- rope about refugees and asylum.
Exhibition cooperation and travelling
Again one of our exhibi- tions is travelling. Our show Entirely Pure! Total Immersion. Jewish Ritu- al Baths with photo- graphs by Peter Seidel is now shown in Catalonia, Spain. The Jewish Muse- The Grüninger Dossier ©C-films, Zurich um of Girona is not only hosting our exhibition (Continued from page 4) ments and photographs. combined with guided until September, it is about Paul Grüninger is Together with the munic- tours along the border also proudly presenting being shown in the cine- ipality of Hohenems, we on the old Rhine, orga- the beautiful medieval mas in Switzerland had the pleasure to host nized by the Jewish Mu- mikvah of the town, that and Austria. Paul Grün- the Austrian premiere in seum Hohenems. The was just recently identi- inger, Swiss police of- the Cineplexx theatre in educational department fied. ficer in St. Gall until Hohenems, with 350 of the museum now of- 1939, helped more than guests, among them the fers a new guided tour Our exhibition, a cooper- 3000 Jews in 1938 to director and the produc- program, inviting groups ation with the Jewish escape into Switzerland, ers, various actors, the to learn more about the museums of Frankonia, acting against the or- cameramen and set de- story of escape both in Frankfurt and Vienna, ders he received from signer of the film, and the permanent exhibi- has successfully been Bern. Producer of the Ruth Roduner- tion and on location travelling for more then film is c-films in Zurich, Grüninger, the grand- along the border be- three years, and was headed by Peter Reich- daughter of Paul Grün- tween Austria and Swit- shown already in Hohen- enbach, a descendant inger. It was a remarka- zerland, only 20 minutes ems, Frankfurt, Fürth, of both the Hohenems’ ble opening event that by foot from the muse- Vienna, Erfurt, Ander- Reichenbachs and Bret- helped the film to have um. Confronting biog- nach, Zülpich, Crail- tauers, and member of a good kick-off in Vorarl- raphies of refugees and sheim and Rosenheim. our academic board. berg. helpers, some of them Further venues in Augs- risking their own future burg, Speyer and other The Jewish Museum Cinemas in Vorarlberg in this enterprise, we locations are already consulted the film now offer screenings for help to make the sub- planned. production with histori- school classes. These ject of escape and ref- cal information, docu- performances often are uge a vivid memory – as (Continued on page 6) Page 6 Volume 15 NEWS FROM THE M USEUM (CONT)
(Continued from page 5) gether with Angelika Pu- composed of the State News from the staff rin, she is now organiz- News from the board of Vorarlberg, the munic- ing the guided tours, and the “Verein” ipality of Hohenems and In February 2014, Judith workshops, educational the Association. The As- Niederklopfer-Würtinger programs and materials Jutta Berger, president sociation is growing and joined our staff part- of the Museum – while of the “Association for offering various services time in the education Tanja Fuchs takes a the Promotion of the to their members. In the department. She is a break of a year, due to Jewish Museum Hohen- fall the association will studied archeologist and her second baby. Hello ems,” was elected chair- organize an excursion to worked for several years Magda! Congratulations woman of the Morocco and its histori- in museum education in to Tanja and you and “Trägerverein,” the legal cal and contemporary various museums. To- your family! body of the Museum traces of Jewish life.
THE FIRST EUROPEANS , H ABSBURG AND OTHER JEWS—A WORLD BEFORE 1914 D R . H ANNO L OEWY One hundred years after the outbreak of the First World War, Europe has plunged anew into a deep crisis. More than ever, the development of joint institutions and values seems contend- ed. Thus, the idea of Eu- rope is called into ques- tion both from within and without: While the acting European institu- tions take on a life of their own, a European public voice that might control those institu- A view of the exhibition “The First Europeans” ©Walser tions is still far away from materializing. more debatable is the Ideas that have not pre- 1914-1918 all the way While there is Europe- issue of whether Eu- vented Europe’s crises to the reality of Ausch- wide agreement among rope—at a time of more and catastrophes, but witz. populist detractors of reluctant than fervent have kept emerging “Europe,” friends of the coalescence—still repre- anew from these repeat- Post-1945 Europe was European project are sents those same uni- ed catastrophes—from informed by a “Never unable to find a com- versalistic ideas that the Thirty Years’ War again!” that at the same mon language. Even have shaped its history. through the war from (Continued on page 7) Page 7 Volume 15
THE FIRST EUROPEANS (CONT ) ”multiethnic empire” pop like a balloon. In this ”multiethnic em- pire,” Jews were present in all dominions and re- gions—and had been at home there for many centuries: not least, in particularly impressive numbers, in the em- pire’s more eastern provinces, in Galicia and Bukovina, which were gripped by competing national movements. The Jews’ lifeworlds had been shaped by their connections across all those European regions within the Habsburg Em- A view of the exhibition “The First Europeans” ©Walser pire, but also far beyond it through migration and (Continued from page 6) One hundred years after into the past. We unfold family relationships, time pitted two compet- the onset of the First an associative panora- through cultural ex- ing ideological and geo- World War, the Jewish ma of the Jewish world change, through educa- political camps against Museum Hohenems of the Habsburg Empire, tion and commerce. each other—a constella- counters this self- the empire that fell Thus, they were at the tion that ultimately righteous and compla- apart in 1914—with the same time local patri- handed the idea of Eu- cent refusal to contem- start of a war that had ots, ardent “Habsburg“ rope a paradox success plate a Europe for the its claim to be a just loyalists, Europeans, when it overcame the future with a look back and patriarchally ruled and cosmopolitans. “European division“ in 1989. However, the po- Hence, the First World litical success of the War thrust not only the “European project” is Europeans into point- accompanied by its in- less battles against tellectual impotence. each other, European Instead of answering to Jews now found them- the challenges of a glob- selves on all fronts of al economy with a no- this war. People who for tion of shared values, the longest time had with ideas of inclusion been connected through and openness, Europe family relationships reinvents itself as a for- across all nations and tress, as a project of Bernard Purin, the director of the Jewish Museum in Munich, empires, who had tried isolation and fear. discussing matters with collector Ariel Muzicant (the former to promote president of the Jewish community of Vienna) ©Walser (Continued on page 8) Page 8 Volume 15
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(Continued from page 7) sharpen the “sense of these past hopes and only by showing us a transnational political opportunity” (Robert illusions might give rise multitude of unknown ideas and utopias, and Musil’s to new fantasies about details and aspects, but who now served their “Möglichkeitssinn”). Europe before any pro- by enabling new intri- countries and armies as Such dimensions can be ductive contemplation is guing ways of looking at if there existed nothing revealed especially crushed between popu- it. With his architecture, but them—they, more through observation of list anti-European senti- Martin Kohlbauer has than anybody else, were objects related to the ments and “power con- cast the exhibition into torn between universal history of the “Habsburg centration,” bureaucrat- an enchantingly beauti- and particular affilia- Jews” between Lake ic routine and economic ful form. Roland Stecher tions. If it is, therefore, Constance and Bukovi- “realism.” and Thomas Matt have possible to talk about the Habsburg “multiethnic empire” only as an illusion, then this was still as fertile an illusion as few others have ever been. Jewish merchants and beggars, rabbis and inventors, peddlers and bankers, railway pioneers and artists, laborers and po- litical visionaries have moved in its contradic- tions—and across its changing territories. And they kept transcending these borders and con- tradictions, physically and mentally. Museum Director Hanno Loewy with curator Felicitas Heimann-Jelinek and the collectors All these tensions form Jemima and David Jeselsohn and Ariel Muzicant, who contributed to the exhibition the multifaceted image (from left to right) ©Walser of a transnational socie- ty on the eve of the First na, southern Germany Felicitas Heimann- skillfully designed the World War; a society and Italy. Hundred years Jelinek initiated this exhibition’s visual intro- that, as a reality, found- after the onset of the challenging project and duction to the public as ered on its contradic- “European Civil War,” all has created, in coopera- well as this catalog. On tions, and at the same aspects of a past, disap- tion with Michaela behalf of the Jewish time epitomizes a utopi- pointed, abused, and Feurstein-Prasser, an in Museum Hohenems, I an potential in current still vibrant European many ways surprising wish to thank them as debates around the fu- hope are reflected in the exhibition. Together, well as all the numerous ture of Europe. Its criti- history of these objects’ they have enriched our contributing authors of cal appraisal is not genesis, their use, and view of this sunken this volume. We also meant to evoke false their interpretation. We world and of its by no wish to express our nostalgia, but rather to hope that looking at means lost potential not (Continued on page 9) Page 9 Volume 15
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(Continued from page 8) Rothschild Foundation deepest gratitude to the Europe (Hanadiv) in Lon- lenders, museums, ar- don, and the Jacqueline chives, and private col- and Marc Leland Foun- lectors as well as to the dation in London. sponsors, foundations, and donors who have made this exhibition possible through their generous support, among them the Ameri- can Friends of the Jew- ish Museum Hohenems, The David Berg Founda- Mayor Richard Amann welcoming guests in the packed tion in New York, the Salomon Sulzer Auditorium ©Walser
M Y SOJOURN TO VISIT WITH THE FIRST EUROPEANS U RI T AENZER It didn’t seem right. The as truly inspirational. I prospect of another cel- was deeply moved by ebration of the opening the warm reception, of a major JMH exhibi- which was extended to tion without the pres- me and, more im- ence of at least one portantly, by the appreci- AFJMH emissary. Still, it ation which was con- took some steadfast veyed by Hanno Loewy encouragement from and by the museum members of our re- staff and the many local energized Board of Trus- fans of the Museum for tees (and U.S. Airlines the support we, the convenient week-end American Friends, pro- The first visitors in the exhibition “The First Europeans” ©Walser schedule of direct vide to the Museum. My flights out of Philadelph- having made such an ia to and from Zurich) unexpected trip for this The new exhibition, aptly museums and private for me to decide to go. singular occasion on be- called The First Europe- collections in Europe, half of AFJMH was clear- ans, is quite impressive. England, Israel and the What I saw and what I ly welcomed by the very It features an extraordi- United States. Much experienced in Hohen- significant number of nary collection of 41 ra- thoughtfulness went ems from March 22-23 museum devotees I en- re Jewish historical ob- into the selection of can only be described countered. jects gathered from (Continued on page 10) In Touch Page 10
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(Continued from page 9) es of aggressive nation- World before 1914 pub- Heimann-Jelinek and each of the rare items alism that invariably lished in both a German Michaela Feurstein- represented so as to in- made Jews objects of and English version is Prasser, who created voke similarities be- prejudice and hatred. indispensable for a the exhibition, describe tween the heterogene- Efforts comparable with deeper understanding of the theme, which they ous community of Habs- the Habsburg era to in- the complexities of Jew- also reprised in their burg-era Jews, whose tegrate Europe took hold ish life, survival and ulti- talk to an overflow audi- ence at the Solomon Sulzer Hall on Sunday morning, March 23. Other scholarly articles by historians Diana Pin- to, Eric Petry, Joshua Teplitsky, J. Friedrich Battenberg, Fritz Back- haus, Mark H. Gelber and Martin Kohlbauer (who was the architect for the exhibition) round out these volumes. A catalog with explana- tions of the historical relevance of each object and its full-page photo- graph follows. The im- pressive task of translat- ing the enormous vol- ume of material from German to English (and Uri Tanzer, Richard and Anni Amann, Landesrat Harald Sonderegger, and speaker Anton vice versa) fell to Lilian Pelinka (from left to right) ©Walser Dombrowski (of Raa- nana, Israel). dreams of establishing post WW II with the crea- mate emancipation in a an integrated economy tion of the European Un- hostile environment The exhibition deals with and a more tolerant so- ion. This construct is yet which was central Eu- the culturally and eco- ciety were at least par- again being challenged rope, beginning with the nomically multifaceted tially realized, only to be by political and econom- Middle Ages until 1914. so-called “Habsburg dashed in 1914 with the ic strains, precisely one Hanno Loewy provides Jews” who were able to advent and tragic out- hundred years later. the reader with a suc- establish transnational come of the Great War. Examination of a beauti- cinct introduction to the networks by virtue of The Habsburg multi- fully written and illustrat- dramatic history which their economic mobility national state, in the ed 185-page book, The underlies the exhibition. and linguistic uniformity long run, did not prove First Europeans, Habs- Renowned Vienna- prior to WW I. able to restrain the forc- burg and Other Jews - A based curators, Felicitas (Continued on page 11) Page 11 Volume 15
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(Continued from page 10) a supra-national state, was among the most Europe was a bit more The opening program in like the European Union, overpowering. To get a unified and civilized. In the Salomon Sulzer Saal not succumbing to the better perspective on many ways the exhibi- (formerly the Hohenems forces of narrow-minded the exhibition and the tion also celebrates the Synagogue) also fea- nationalism, guarantees opening program please rich cultural and reli- tured prominent speak- freedom and safety for visit http://tinyurl.com/ gious legacy we inherit- ers including Dr. Hanno all, not least Jews. qcmqbtu. ed from these visionar- Loewy, Burgermeister ies. Richard Amann, Harald Although I found each of A visitor to this exhibi- Sonderegger, Landesrat the historical items in- tion cannot help but ad- for Culture, Bregenz and cluded in the exhibition mire the “Habsburg Dr. Anton Pelinka, Pro- to be uniquely meaning- Jews” whose success in fessor, Central Europe- ful, the huge 1832 por- commerce (e.g. rail- an University, Budapest. trait of The Baroness roads, commerce and Professor Pelinka’s Cecille von Eskeles by banking) stimulated a speech argued that only Friedrich von Amerling brief era when central
ANGELUS KAFKA P ETER B ARBER Peter Barber is a descend- of becoming a ty expecting to get value mountains from the lively ant of Angelus Kafka ‘Oberrabbiner’ or Chief for money and so a rabbi cultural life to which he through his daughter Elisa Rabbi, of Tirol. It came who would act as reli- had had access in his (1823-1896). The author at a high price, however. gious teacher as well as Bohemian homeland. of books on map history, diplomatic history, the histo- The community leaders leading services, while ry of London and the history were increasingly secular the authorities wished Yet Angelus overcame of Italian Swiss immigration, -minded and as a result for a person who would, these obstacles. Con- he has been Head of Carto- of unfortunate experienc- like a Catholic parish cealing his own feelings graphic and Topographic es with his predecessor priest, represent central from his community, he Materials at the British Li- they were cautious about authority. At a personal launched a charm offen- brary since 2001. him. They kept him on a level, Angelus himself sive. The community el- tight rein, even forbid- was unhappy at being ders were assuaged by Angelus Kafka is one of ding him to live in the separated from all but his good manners, his the lesser-known rabbis rabbi’s house. The Habs- the youngest of his eight readiness to combine his of Hohenems. He was in burg authorities in their children who were being religious duties with effect on probation turn were suspicious of boarded with relatives in those of teacher at the throughout his three him because he had ap- Bohemia because the Jewish school (which his years (1830-1833) and plied for the job and community had made it predecessor had refused he was unhappy there, been appointed behind clear it would not pay for to do) his outstanding though he tried not to their backs. Both sides their upkeep. Moreover talent as a preacher and show it. His ambition felt he had to prove him- he felt starved of intellec- the introduction of liberal had driven him to apply, self, but their expecta- tual stimulation in a very reforms to the liturgy, because he was probably tions of him were differ- provincial town, which notably a choir and the flattered at the prospect ent: the Jewish communi- was separated by high (Continued on page 12) In Touch Page 12
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(Continued from page 11) the Prachiner Circle, liv- lowed to live in the occasional sermon in ing in Breznice, close to increasingly pros- German. These changes where he had been born. perous town of Pil- also pleased the secular sen, instead of the authorities, who were Within two years he was country village of keen to elide Christian the Kreisrabbiner of Pil- Svihov, where the and Jewish religious sen and Klattau, perhaps district rabbis were forms. He pleased them the most important Jew- expected to reside, even more by composing ish position outside Pra- and to be paid by a Christian-style cate- gue itself. Until 1848 he the state so as to chism – an anathema to continued to reap the allow him to act in- orthodox Jews. This set rewards of his compli- dependently of the out the fundamentals of ance, using his elo- leaders of the Jew- the Jewish faith, in a way quence to persuade his ish community – that underplayed its im- coreligionists to accept and so as to earn portant differences from their lot in repeated ser- enough to provide Christianity, while at the mons praising the Em- for his ever- same time teaching civic peror, his family and the increasing family, virtues – above all, loyal- imperial authorities. which by 1837 had ty to the Habsburg dyn- While condemning what grown to 12 chil- asty. The same philoso- he considered to be the dren. At the same Title page of Angelus Kafka’s book phy also found reflection outrageous behaviour of time he laid out his in the stirring sermon Jewish revolutionaries thoughts on the proper tween the traditional and that Angelus delivered on such as Karl Marx he al- training and duties of a the new. His pious moth- the occasion of the Em- so firmly opposed what district rabbi. Though er brought him up in a peror’s birthday in 1831. he considered the obscu- some Habsburg officials traditional way in a Yid- rantism and superstition accused him of being dish-speaking environ- Both the sermon and the of the increasingly influ- self-serving, others rec- ment. To be a poor Jew catechism were printed, ential Chassidim who ommended that he in Bohemia was to live a the catechism proving looked to the rigid adher- should indeed be treated life hemmed in by re- quite popular and going ence to the detailed ten- as a state employee with strictions imposed by the through several revised ets of the Talmud to be a salary and status to authorities on almost all editions over the next 50 found in the Stettls (or match. aspects of one’s exist- years. They brought An- Jewish communities) of ence and enforced, with- gelus to the attention of Poland for their inspira- It would nevertheless be in the over-crowded the authorities as a tion. He clearly enjoyed wrong to dismiss Angelus street where Jews were Habsburg loyalist in tune his role at the centre of as being totally self- usually confined, by the with the ideology of an the community, conduct- serving with more than a wealthy communal lead- Austria dominated by the ing religious examina- whiff of insincerity. He ers. But his father reactionary Prince Met- tions for couples before was born in 1791 in the Markus seems to have ternich. Angelus never marrying them, leading small village of Oldrichov been something of a re- looked back. He left Ho- funerals and acting as just outside Pisek in Bo- bel. He had rejected his henems in 1833 to be- judge in civil and reli- hemia where the Kafkas traditional status as a come a district rabbi, or gious matters. had been the sole toler- Jew protected by the no- Kreisrabbiner, the Jewish ated Jewish family since bility, seeing his future equivalent of a bishop in All the while he begged 1648. From the start he as tied to the Emperor the Habsburg Empire, of the authorities to be al- lived on the cusp be- (Continued on page 13) Page 13 Volume 15
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(Continued from page 12) cheder, or Jewish reli- death in 1816 and prob- limited, action to curb who in the course of the gious school, but also to ably compelled by finan- such excesses and Ange- 1780s had enacted a a state primary school cial necessity, he may lus and many of his con- series of liberalization where he became the unsuccessfully have temporaries regarded measures for Jews and first of his family to learn tried his luck as a busi- Joseph’s successors as Protestants within his correct and fluent Ger- nessman until his mid- the only barrier against dominions. It seems to man. He may well have thirties when from 1823 widespread pogroms. have been Markus who displeased his father by he worked for four years Though he dreamed of decided that his oldest studying to be a rabbi in as a teacher in Osek. greater tolerance, Ange- son should be known by Prague in around 1810, Here he lived a few lus firmly believed that the officially, authorized, successfully obtaining a doors away from the an- the price of such relative semi-Christian form of rabbinical diploma with cestors of Franz Kafka, security as he and the his name rather than as the approval of the lead- who were almost certain- Jewish community en- Anshel, the name with ing rabbi of Prague, ly cousins. Indeed one joyed had to be uncondi- which Angelus signed Samuel Landau. of his children was born tional loyalty to the au- himself in Hebrew. His in the house of Franz thorities, which would be father was also probably He married Marie Le- Kafka’s great grandfa- forfeited by any sign of the driving force in send- derer, who came from a ther while Angelus was dissent or demand for ing Angelus, in obedi- community in a small away working as rabbi in greater toleration. ence to a law that most village near Pilsen, in the small community of Jews largely ignored, not 1814. It seems that, Wällisch-Birken (Vlachovi This approach had kept only to the traditional following his father’s Brezi) in Southern Bohe- his community safe and mia in 1827. This enabled Angelus to pros- branch of the family was per to a limited extent to take pride in the rab- until the revolution of bi’s success and one of 1848-9 briefly brought Franz Kafka’s uncles full emancipation to the was named Angelus af- Jews of the Habsburg ter him. Empire. Though person- ally welcoming some as- Undoubtedly the young pects of increased liber- Angelus continuously ty, this new world of ap- experienced a venomous parently unfettered free- anti-Semitism from the dom unsettled Angelus majority Christian popu- as much as it did the lation. Less than 50 Catholic conservatives in years before his birth, Vienna. If the the entire Jewish popula- conservatives scented tion had been expelled republican chaos, Ange- from Prague at short no- lus sensed religious cha- tice and his own lifetime os and atheism. He fore- was punctuated by saw the end of the cen- spates of anti-Semitic turies-old rural communi- mob violence. Only Em- ties – such as Hohen- peror Joseph II, who died ems – and the abolition a year before Angelus’s of district rabbis as the The former synagogue of Hohenems ©Peter Barber birth, had taken firm, if (Continued on page 14) In Touch Page 14
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(Continued from page 13) ably contented. He inau- fitting from the rapid in- ants were scattered newly-liberated Jews gurated a new syna- dustrialization under- through the world. Three threw off the chains of gogue and school in Pil- gone by Pilsen in those of his children, including religion and the sen, where he was now years. Mathilde, immigrated to restrictions of communal permitted to live, in the USA where one of her life in the Czech villages 1859. His wife Marie Angelus Kafka died in sons, somewhat improb- and emigrated to the an- died in 1861. The Jews May 1870 and was given ably, became a photogra- onymity and better-paid of the Habsburg Empire a grand funeral and an pher in Honolulu. The jobs of industrializing received full and lasting imposing tomb. Perhaps descendants of his son cities like Prague, Brno emancipation in 1867 because he was the only Simon (b. 1821- 1895) and above all Vienna. and the next year Ange- rabbi to be buried in Pil- flourish throughout the lus finally retired as dis- sen, he acquired a some- USA. Of his European Once the conservatives trict rabbi. He continued what unjustified reputa- descendants, another had re-asserted them- to live in comfort in the tion for piety and his grandson, Hugo Salus selves over the revolu- rabbi’s house, looked tomb became a place of (1866-1909), was a tionaries later in 1849, Angelus persuaded the authorities to summon a general assembly of rep- resentatives of the Jew- ish communities of Bohe- mia in 1850. Though offi- cially intended to discuss future organization of the Jews of Bohemia and Moravia, the authorities hoped it would restore as far as possible the struc- tures if not all the re- strictions that had pre- vailed before 1849. There was vigorous de- bate in which, character- istically, Angelus did not take part, preferring to work behind the scenes. At first the reformers seemed to be success- ful, but within months the old structures, with The Sulzer House in Hohenems where Angelus Kafka lived (as photographed in 2013): the district rabbis, were rein- rabbi’s house occupied the space in the foreground of the picture ©Peter Barber stated. after by his widowed sanctuary and prayer for leading German-Jewish Angelus’s last years daughter, Mathilde the dwindling and fearful poet in Franz Kafka’s were tranquil, freed from Mandl, amidst a commu- Jewish community of Pil- Prague and his son, the pressure to maintain nity that was growing by sen during the Second Vaclav Salus (1909- his children and presum- leaps and bounds, bene- World War. His descend- (Continued on page 15) Page 15 Volume 15 ANGELUS KAFKA (CONT)
(Continued from page 14) tus. Israelitischer Kultus 1831 (Innsbruck: Wagner, Genteam- http:// 1953), became a found- Karton 4 1831) www.genteam.at (Vienna er of the Trotskyite party Jewish records; obitiuaries of Czechoslovakia, a sec- Patrick Markus Gleffe, ‘Von Angelus Kafka Derech Emu- in Neue Freie Presse and Ullmann bis Popper. Ein na (1st ed. Innsbruck, Prager Tagblatt) retary to Trotsky and one Beitrag zur Hohenemser 1832; 5th ed. Prague, of the last victims of Rabbiner- und Rab- 1857) Jewishgen- http:// Stalin. Other grandchil- binatsgeschichte zwischen www.jewishgen.org (Jewish dren led less spectacular 1760 und 1872’. Diplomar- Michael Laurence Miller, funeral records) lives as teachers, art beit aus Geschichte zur Rabbis and Revolution: The dealers, journalists, ac- elangung des Magistergar- Jews of Moravia in the Age Jaroslav Polak-Rokycana tors and writers, as well des and der philosophisch- of Emancipation [Stanford Pisek: Contribution to the as successful business- historischen Fakultät der Studies in Jewish History history of Jews in the Czech men in Vienna and Pra- Leopold-Franzens Universi- and Culture: Stanford Uni- countryside [Special edition tät Innsbruck, 2005 versity Press, 2011 of the Czech Jewish calen- gue. dar, 1931]: English internet Printed Frantisek Roubík, ‘Zur Ges- translation available from chichte der Juden in Böh- Infocentrum Pisek (http:// Michael Brocke, Julius men im neunzehnten www.icpisek.cz/docs/cz/ Primary sources Carlebach and Carsten Jahrhundert: III Die Ver- atr77.xml) Wilke (eds.), Die Rabbiner handlungen über di Rege- Hohenems: Jewish Muse- der Emanzipationszeit in lung der jüdischen Kultus- um: Letters of Angelus Kaf- den deutschen und gross- und Schulverhältnisse in ka to Aaron Chorin, Ho- polnischen Ländern 1781- Böhmen im Jahre 1849’, henes, 20 March 1832; to 1871 (Berlin & New Jahrbuch für Geschichte Jewish community of Ho- York, 2004) der Juden in der Cechoslo- henems, Bresnitz, July vakischen Republik 7 1833. Hugo Gold, Die Juden und (1935), 331-5 Judengemeinde Böhmens London: Barber family ar- in Vergangenheit und Aaron Taenzer, chive: Certified copy (1845) Gegenwart (Brno, 1934) Die Geschichte der Juden in of Pilsen Fremdentabelle, Hohenems (Merano, January 1843; Gustav Bon- Ivo Cerman, Rita Krueger 1905) di, genealogical tree [1940]. and Susan Reynolds (eds.), The Enlightenment in On-line sources Prague: Nardoni Archiv: Fa- Bohemia: religion, morality miliantenbuecher; Marriage and multicultural- Ancestry.com (U.S. census and Death registers of Jew- ism (Oxford: SVEC, 2011) and immigration record) ish community, Pilsen (now Badatelna- http:// available on Badatelna). Angelus Kafka, Rede zur www.badatelna.cz (Jewish Feier des Geburtsfestes community registers for Bo- Vienna: Staatsarchiv: Ver- Seiner k.k. Maiestät Franz I hemia) waltungsarchiv, Alter Kul- Gehalten am 12 February
Save the Date: Hohenems Descendants Reunion July 2017 at the Jewish Museum Hohenems In Touch Page 16
The Newsletter of the The Jewish Museum of Hohenems, as a regional museum, remembers the rural Jewish com- American Friends of the munity of Hohenems and its various contributions to the development of Vorarlberg and the Jewish Museum surrounding regions. It confronts contemporary questions of Jewish life and culture in Eu- Hohenems, Inc. rope, the diaspora and Israel - questions of the future of Europe between migration and tradition. I N T OUCH The museum also deals with the ISSN: 1559- 4866 end of the community of Hohen- ems, the regional Nazi history, the expulsion or deportation of the last members of the community, anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. Along with these fragmented lines of regional and global history, it is also devoted to the people and their histories and maintains a relationship to the descendants of Jewish families in Hohenems around the world.
The permanent exhibition in the Heimann-Rosenthal Villa, which was built in 1864, documents the history of the Jewish community in Hohenems which existed for over three centuries until its destruc- tion during the era of the Nazi re- gime. The museum offers annually changing exhibitions and an exten- sive program of events. Please visit us on the web - J OIN U S . . . Jewish Museum B ECOME A M EMBER AND L ET’ S K EEP I N T OUCH ! of Hohenems http://www.jm-hohenems.at
American Friends of the Jewish Museum Hohenems http://www.afjmh.org
During the first meeting of Annual dues are $25. We thus enable the American the descendants of Jewish hope to count on you to Friends to continue to families from Hohenems in join today. make important contribu- 1998, the idea to found the tions to the Museum at American Friends of the Dues can be sent to: Hohenems as well as to Jewish Museum Hohen- PO Box 237 other endeavors designed ems, Inc. emerged. The Moorestown, NJ 08057- to contribute to knowledge association unites the nu- 0237 of the Hohenems Jewish merous descendants living Community as it was when in America and supports Any additional contribution our ancestors lived there. the Jewish Museum of Ho- you could make would be henems in various ways. very much appreciated and