CENTRAL EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY
Budapest CollegeDEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
MOSES SCHORR AND MEIR BALABAN
FORGOTTEN EASTERN EUROPEAN JEWISH HISTORIANS
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF ARTS
BY
ROMAN ZAKHARIISupervisors:
First supervisor: Prof. Yaroslav Hrytsak
Second supervisor: Prof. Viktor Karady
Budapest
June 1998
Page:CONTENTS
1. Introduction........................................................................ 1
Goals of study, general background and literature on the subject
2. Chapter one: M. Schorr, the outstanding rabbi, Assyriologist and historian of Eastern European Jewry............................ 11
Tragedy of an uncompleted life...................................... 11
M.Schorr, a pioneer of Polish Jewish historiography at the outset of Jewish historiographical science in Poland...... 17
M.Schorr as Orientalist and Bible scholar....................... 21
Schorr's unknown publications in newspaper "Chwila"... 25
3. Chapter two: M. Balaban: the prominent historian of Polish Jews........................................................................................... 28
Balaban's personality and brilliant career......................... 28
M. Balaban, the founder of the historiography of Polish Jewry
Review of Balaban's
scientific legacy and main works on the history of Jews in Poland..................................................
37
Balaban and "Chwila"....................................................... 43
4. Conclusions............................................................................. 49
5. Bibliography...........................................................................
51
6. Appendices.............................................................................
56
INTRODUCTION
The theme of the research is quite unique and never studied
in depth before in such a perspective. There is no biography or monograph
about Schorr or Balaban and some aspects of their tragic lives are still
unknown. Both scholars left a significant scientific legacy that is worthy
the most serious attention and study. Balaban's and Schorr's brilliant
and fruitful lives indicate the importance of their scientific heritage,
their works have not been studied and his publications in Jewish newspaper
"Chwila" are not even included in their bibliographies. Discovering and
systematising of them, and carrying out a critical historiographical analysis
of them are the purpose of this thesis. Thus, the thesis will attempt
to discover in a new light not only so little known biographies of both
historians but to reveal and demonstrate their huge and valuable contribution
to modern historiography, and equally to the history of Eastern European
Jewry.
M Schorr is unfairly forgotten prominent Biblical scholar, orientalist,
and Jewish historian, a person of extraordinary wisdom and
knowledge, diverse outlook and versatile interests. His fruitful life and
scientific activity as well as his huge scientific heritage clearly underline
the outstanding personality of Moses Schorr. He was born on 10th of May
in 1874 in Przemysl in Polish Galicia (Austria-Hungary at that time). Having
completed the local gymnasium in 1893, he studied theology in Jewish Theological
Institute in Vienna and, simultaneously, philosophy in Vienna and
Lwow Universities (1893-1898). In 1898 he was conferred the degree of the
Doctor of Philosophy and Medieval Studies in Lwow University and in 1900
he received also a
Rabbinical Diploma in Vienna. Afterwards in 1902-1903 Schorr studied
Semitic philology in Berlin and Vienna under the guidance of famous scholars:
Winkler, Delicz, Erman, Bart, Sachau, Muller, and others. In 1916 he was
conferred the title of Merited Professor of Lwow University in the
field of Semitic languages and the history of the Ancient East. In 1923,
he was called to Warsaw where he became the main Rabbi. Simultaneously
since 1926 Schorr was the professor of Warsaw University. He headed the
Institute of Judaic Sciences in Warsaw for 1928-1930 and 1933-1934 as one
of its founders. In 1938, Schorr was chosen as a member of
the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN). In 1935, he was chosen also
for the member of Finnish Oriental Society in Helsinki. In 1937, he was
conferred the degree of the merited Doctor of Sciences at the Jewish Theological
Seminary of America in New York. Schorr was also the member of the State
Council for Education of Poland.
The fate of Schorr was tragic. Trying to escape from the Nazis,
he left Warsaw on 6th or 7th of September, 1939. But having reached town
of Ostrog, he was imprisoned by the Soviet NKVD. He had to endure the prisons
of Lutsk, Rovno, and Lvov. In the first half of 1949 he was imprisoned
in Moscow's Lubianka prison and on 17th of 1941 he was condemned for "active
nationalistic activity and the fight against the revolutionary movement".
He was assigned 5 years of hard labour in a concentration
camp and being ill he was taken to the 5th concentration camp in
Posty in Uzbekistan and shortly afterwads, went to the camp hospital. He
died on 8th of August of 1941 and was buried in an unknown grave.
Polish government in exile unsuccessfully attempted to liberate
Schorr through the mediation of the US. State Department and the
Vatican. After establishing the diplomatic relations with the USSR,
these attempts were renewed, assigning him as the main military Rabbi of
Anders' Army, which was formed in the USSR. Unfortunately it was too late.
The main biographical sources about Moses Schorr himself are
two publications. The name of the first is "Prof. Dr. M.Schorr na nowej
placowce pracy" (Prof. Dr. M.Schorr at the new place of work). This long
article was published in 1923 in the mentioned Lwow Jewish newspaper "Chwila"
when Schorr was withdrawn from Lwow to Warsaw to become the main Rabbi
there. This article is a biographical review about the scholar. It is one
of the main sources about Schorr and the most important point is that it
has never been studied before and I am discovering new facts about
Schorr's biography and life. It was completely unknown and was never included
into the list of biographical materials about the scholar. Another important
source is the article about Schorr published recently in Polsky Slownik
Biograficzny (Polish Biographical Handbook) in 1994. This is a detailed
outline of his career. It is the main source of biographical data about
the last few months of his life, when he was imprisoned by the NKVD on
the 10th of September of 1939 in Ostrog after Soviet occupation of Polish
Western Ukraine. Among other biographical materials about his life are
two small articles in the Russian Jewish Encyclopaedia (1913) published
in Russian by the Brockhaus and Efron edition in Saint Petersburg
and in the Israeli Short Jewish Encyclopaedia (1988) also published in
Russian in Jerusalem. Small publications about M. Schorr are also at the
"Almanach szkolnictwa zydowskiego w Polsce" (Almanac of Jewish Science
in Poland, 1st volume, 1938) and at the Israeli Encyclopaedia of Jewish
Diaspora (series: Poland; volume: Lvov) published in Hebrew in 1956 in
Jerusalem.
The major works of Schorr which will be also the principal
base for writing the first chapter. In these works two major trends can
be defined. The first one is his works in the field of the history
of Polish Jews. Schorr started his scientific work in this while yet a
student of Vienna University in 1897. It was the investigation
entitled "Zur Geschichte des Don Joseph Nasi" (On history of Sir Joseph
Nasi). The doctoral dissertation of Schorr on "Organisation of Jews in
Poland" was published in Lvov historical magazine "Kwartalnik historyczny"
in 1899 and also translated to Russian in the scientific monthly "Voskhod".
In 1903, Schorr was conferred the award of Wawelberg for his work "Zydzi
w Przemyslu do roku 1772" (Jews in Przemysl until 1772). One of the latest
works of Schorr in this field was the investigation in written in German
entitled "Rechtsstellung und innere Verfassung der Juden in Polen" published
in Berlin in 1917.
Discovering and systematising of of his unknown publications
in Jewish newspaper "Chwila", and carrying out a critical historiographical
analysis of them are my scholarly goal and interest. After the first review
of the set of newspapers for 1918-1939, which is preserved only in the
Scientific Library of Lvov University, there are more than ten articles
of Schorr. The most important among them are: "Prawo Mojzesza na tle porownavczem
prawodawstv starozytnego wschodu" (Moses' Law in comparison with the Ancient
Middle Eastern legislatures, 1922); "Palestyna a Babylon w swetle najnowszych
wykopalisk" (Palestine and Babylon in the light of recent archaeological
excavations, 1923); "Kwestya zydowska w dobie Sejmu Wielkiego" (Jewish
question at the time of the Great Seim, 1920); "Samuel Hirsch Margulies"
(1922) and a few others. These primary sources are the main sources for
this thesis.
The second trend of Schorr's scientific activity were Bible studies
and oriental studies in a whole. One of the first investigation in this
field was work in Polish "Starozytnosci Biblijne w swietle archiwum egipskiego"
(Bible antiquities in the light of Egyptian Archive). In 1903 Schorr writes
intensive comments on the famous work "Babel und Bibel" of his former teacher
Delicz. This commentary's name is "Kultura Babilonska a starohebraiska"
(Babylonian and Hebrew culture). In 1905, he published another major work
in this field "Panstwo i spoleczenstwo babilonske w okresie t. zw. dynastyi
Hammurabiego" (Babylonian state and society in the period of Hammurabbi
dynasty). The greatest achievement of Schorr in this field is the work
in German "Urkunden des altbabylonischen Zivil-und Prozessrechts" (Documents
of Ancient Babylonian Civil and Court Law). This is an edition of sources
with large comments of Schorr. It was published in Leipzig in 1913. Schorr
is the author of the array of other works. The main among them are: "Altbabylonische
Rechtsurkunden aus der Zeit der I babylonische Dynastie" ('Ancient Babylonian
documents of the 1st Babylonian Dynasty); "Kodeks Hammurabiego a
owczesna praktyka prawna" (Hammurabbi's code and the legal practice of
its times, 1910); "Eine Babylonische Seisachtie aus dem Anfang der Kassitenzeit
ende XVIII vorschlistl. Jahrhunderts" (Babylonian Seisachtie from the beginning
of the dynasty of Kassites) published in "Sitzungsberichte der Heidelberger
Akademie der Wissenschaften" in 1915; "Waznejsze kwestyi z historyi semickiego
Wschodu" (The important issues on the history of the Semitic Middle East)
in "Muzeum", 1917; "Przyczynki do frazeologii psalmow biblijnych a babilonskich"
(Articles on the phraseology of Bible and Babylonian psalms) in "Rocznik
Orientalistyczny", 1914-1915; "Problem Chettytow" (The problem of Hettites)
in "Kwartalnik historyczny", 1916; "Assyrische rechtsurkunden im Umschrift
und Ubersetzung" (Assyrian Law documents in writing and translation); "Das
Sumerische Elemente in den Rechtsurkunden der Hammurabi-Periode" (The Sumerian
element in the legal documents of Hammurabbi period) published in "Hilprecht
Anniversary Volume" in 1909; "Die Altbabylonische Rechtspraxis" (The Babylonian
Law practice) which appeared in "Wiener Zeitschrift fur die Kunde des Morgenlandes"
in Vienna in 1910; "Dwa nowe fragmenty Kodeksu Hammurabiego" (Two new fragments
of the Hammurabbi Code) published first in "Rocznik Orientalistyczny" in
1915.
Schorr also investigated the social-economic relations of the
Ancient Middle East and his main work on this is "Ruch handlowy w starozytnej
Babilonii" (The trade movement in Ancient Babylon). He is the author of
a lengthy article on Biblical law in Russian Jewish Encyclopaedia. There
are many other Shorr's works in the field of Biblical, Babylonian, Assyrian,
Hettite history and in particular its law systems. The Schorr's interest
in law is not surprising due to his Rabbinical background.
Another outstanding figure and prominent Jewish historian who
lived and worked in Lviv was M. Balaban. Balaban was born in 1874 in Lwow
(Lviv) in Austria-Hungary's centre of Ukrainian-Polish Galicia. He received
a traditional education at home and receiving also a traditional Jewish
schooling in a Heder School. He studied Law, Philosophy and History at
Lwow University. Accidentally he encountered the materials of history of
Jews in Krakow and being asked by Krakow Jewish kahal, he wrote the first
volume of "The History of Jews in Krakow and Kazimiria 1304-1655" (Krakow,
1912). It gave him some reputation in Lwow University and Dr.M.Balaban
won a high ministry scholarship, and departed for a long scientific trip
to Poznan, Berlin and Gdansk. He stayed for several months in Krakow collecting
there materials for the second volume of the history of Krakow Jews.
Simultaneously he started the publication "The history of Jewish system
in Poland" in "Evreiskaia Starina" magazine. He taught in different schools
in the Lwow region and Lwow combining studying with teaching and research.
He spent the first year of World War I in Vienna teaching at the
gymnasium for Galician refugees. The next three years, he spent in Lublin
as a referent (reporter) on Jewish matters by the Austrian General Government.
At these posts, he organised many Jewish kahals and gymnasiums. Together
with Dr. Tohn and Dr. M.Schorr, Balaban was one of the founders of the
Institute of Jewish Sciences in Warsaw. Here Balaban teached the Jewish
history and led the historical seminar which issued many works on the history
of Jews in Poland and in particular in the Polish kingdom. Balaban had
published also "The history of Jews in Galicia" in 1916. Since 1903
Balaban led the review of the bibliography of the history of
Jews in Poland in the Polish historical magazine "Kwartalnik historyczny".
During nine years Balaban had been administering the seminary "Takhkemoni"
(1920-1929) and for 1920-1921 he had been also the rector of the
gymnasium "Askola". The fate of Balaban was also tragic like Schorr's one.
He died in the Warsaw ghetto in 1941.
Balaban's main works which serve the base for writing the
second chapter.
He was the first outstanding historian of Polish Jewry and he is fairly
considered as the founder of the historiography of Polish Jews. Among
his works the most important ones are: "Jews of Lwow (Lemberg) on the eve
of 17th century" (1916); "History of Jews of Krakow" (2 vols, 1931) and
"Jewry of Lublin" (1919). He wrote also a detailed article about the Vaad
of four lands for the 11th volume of "History of Jewish people". He published
hundreds of articles which are devoted to the researches of rabbis', scholars',
community leaders' activities as well as the history of bloody pogroms,
about the Karaims in Poland and other topics. All they were published mostly
in German, Polish or in Yiddish. Balaban's researches written in Hebrew
on the history of movement's of Shabatai Zwi and Jakob Frank are especially
important to note. They are resumed in his book "Le toldot ha-tnua ha-frankit"
(The history of the Frank movement, 2 vols., 1934-1935). It was published
in Tel Aviv. Balaban had written also "The history of the progressive synagogue
in Lvov" (in polish original "Historia postepovej synagogi we Lwowie")
as well as "The Bibliography of the history of Jews in Poland during 1900-1930"
which encompasses more than 10.000 entries. Since 1906 he published many
scientific articles in the newspaper "Kurjer Lwowski". The first more essential
essays appeared in the almanac "Rocznik Zydowske" in 1902-1906: "Izak
Nachmanovicz, zyd Lwowski XVI wieku" (Izak Nachmanowicz. the Polish Jew
of the 16th century); "Josefus Flavius, "Charakterystyka czlowieka i historyka
na tle wspolczesnych wypadkow" (Joseph Flavius, the person's characteristic
based on specific cases and events, 1904); "Makabeusze" (Maccabians,
1905); "Lewko Balaban, burmistrz kahalny Lwowski z konca XVIII wieku" (Lewko
Balaban, the burgomaster of Lwow of the end of the 17th century). Some
of these articles became the preparation for the mentioned already Balaban's
work entitled "Zydzi Lwowscy na przelomie XVI i XVII wieku" (Jews of Lwow
in the break of the 16th and 17th centuries , 1906, 577 pages of
the text and 188 pages of the materials). Balaban was awarded the first
premium of Ipolit Wawelberg for this work. The work consists of 3 parts.
In the first part Balaban depicts the live history of the external events
of the community, discussing in details the clamorous deal of Lwow Jews
with Jesuits and the eager leaders of the community of the Nachman family;
the second part is devoted to the detailed contemplation over the community
self-administration and the Rabbinate and the last part consists of
a few essays about the trade, crafts, family life, and like that. Balaban
used rich archival data of the Archive of Bernardines in Lvov as well as
of the Lviv City Archive and the Archive of Jewish Community in Lvov.
The thesis itself consists of two chapters. The first chapter
will be devoted to the personality and historical legacy of M.Schorr as
the outstanding Galician historian of Eastern European Jewry. This chapter
is subdivided into three major subsections in which the first one tells
about his personality and life, and the second and the third deal with
his scientific legacy following two major trends in it: the works
in the field of history of Polish Jews and in the field of Babylonian,
Assyrian, Hettite and Biblical history law and history. Accordingly, the
second chapter is dedicated to another prominent historian to be discussed
- M .Balaban. In its first subsection I will touch the scholar's
personality and brilliant career with its tragic end and in the second
I will review Balaban's scientific legacy and main works.
Balaban's and Schorr's contribution into the historiography of
Polish Jewry was enormous. Balaban was the first one who udertook serious
research on this in Polish archives. Their works remain the main and primarily
sources for writing my thesis. There is no biography or monograph about
Schorr or Balaban and some aspects of their star-crossed lives are still
unknown. I will draw into the consideration also many completely unknown
publications of Schorr and Balaban, what makes this research very essential
and worth attention.
"Prof. Dr. M.Schorr na nowej placowce pracy" (Prof. Dr. M.Schorr at
a new place of work), Chwila, 18 November 1923;
Polski Slownik Biograficzny (Polish Biographical Handbook). Warszawa-Krakow:
Wyd. ogolne PAN. 1994.-vol. XXXXV/4, pp. 603-604;
Ibid.: pp. 603-604;
Ibid.: pp. 603-604;
Almanach szkolnictwa zydowskiego w Polsce (Almanac of Jewish
scholarship in Poland). Warsaw: Wyd. "Renesans", 1938, Vol. 1, p. 542;
Ibid.: p. 543;
Almanach szkolnictwa zydowskiego w Polsce (Almanac of Jewish
scholarship in Poland). Warsaw: Wyd. "Renesans", 1938, Vol. 1st, p. 542;
CHAPTER ONE
M. SCHORR, THE OUTSTANDING RABBI, ASSYRIOLOGIST AND HISTORIAN OF EASTERN EUROPEAN JEWRY
TRAGEDY OF UNCOMPLETED LIFE
Moses Schorr, Polish rabbi, one of the greatest Eastern European
Bible scholars, orientalists and historians of Jewry was born on 10 th
of May in 1874 in town of Przemysl in Galicia. After finishing the local
gymnasium in 1893, he studied theology at the Jewish Theological Institute
during 1893 - 1900 in Vienna and simultaneously he studied philosophy at
the Vienna and Lwow Universities (1893 - 1898). In 1898 he was conferred
the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and Medieval Studies at the Lwow University,
and in 1900 he received also a rabbinical diploma in Vienna. In November
of 1899 he became a lecturer in Jewish Teacher's Seminary in Lwow, as well
as at the Teacher's Gymnasium in Lwow keeping it till 1923, where he also
engaged in wider educational and social work.
Having received the scholarship of the Austrian Ministry of Education,
Schorr left for studies to Berlin where during tow years he studied the
Semitic languages, Assyriology and the history of the Ancient Orient under
the guidance of famous scholars Delicz, Winkler, Bart, Sachaua, Leman-Gaupt
and Schtreck. In 1905 - 1906 he enlarged his knowledges studying the Arabic
philology in Vienna at the remarkable semitologist D.G. Muller.
In 1904 he was appointed* as a lecturer and in March of
1910 associate professor of Semitic languages and history of the ancient
Orient at Lwow (Lemberg/Lviv) University, a chair which he later held in
Warsaw.
In April of 1916 M. Schorr was conferred the degree of a merited
Professor of the University in the field of Semitic languages and
history of the ancient Orient, having combined this post with other
certain duties at the same University till 1923. In 1912 Schorr participated
in the International Congress of Orientalists in Athens, where He was assigned
the functions of one of the secretaries of the semitology section
and presented a lecture entitled "Sumerian and Semitic beginnings at the
Ancient Babylonian law", which was published later in Paris edition of
Revue Semitique. In 1918 he became the member of Oriental Committee at
the Krakow Academy, and in 1920 the member of the Polish Scientific Society
in Lwow, and finally one of the founders of Polish Oriental Society in
Lwow, which was founded in 1923, and called him also to its work.
In 1923 he was called to Warsaw to succeed S. Poznanski as preacher
at the moderately Reform Tlomacka Street synagogue, in which capacity he
was also a member of the Warsaw rabbinical council. Some of his preachings
were published.
He was also elected for the position of inter-regional rabbi
whose main duties and functions were to represent the Jewish community
in front of the State and Administrative authorities. Schorr was
also appointed as a member of city and regional School Councils by the
Board of Jewish community.
In 1926 Schorr becomes the professor of Warsaw University. Later
on, in 1935 he was elected to the Polish parliament.
In February of 1928 Schorr together with M. Balaban, Tohn and
Braud, founded the Institute of Judaic Sciences, which aimed the
researches of Judaic sciences and Judaism, in particular in Biblical subjects,
philosophy, religion, Talmud, sociology, semitic languages, Hebrew literature.
It was located in a house (nowadays it serves for the Jewish Historiacal
Institute in Poland) side by side with the Great Tlomacka Streeet Synagogue.
It functioned on the strength of a state budget receiving help also from
foreign Jewish institutions. The Institute retained the library which numbered
over 35 thousands books, handwritings, magazines etc. Professor Schorr
became the first rector of the newly created institution. He was
also the member of the State Council of education of Poland and many other
social institutions.
At the Warsaw University Schorr headed the Institute of Semitic
languages and history of the Ancient Orient . While working at the Institute
of Judaic sciences Schorr headed the department of Bible Studies and Hebrew
theology, and during 1928-1930 he was its rector, and in three years, in
1933, he took this position the second time, being at this post just one
year until 1934. In 1933-1934 he was elected for the member of the polish
Academy of Sciences (PAU), and in 1935 as a member of the Finnish Oriental
Society in Helsinki.
In 1937 Schorr received the title of a merited doctor from the
Jewish Theological Seminary in new York. He was also the member of the
State Council of Education of Poland and since 1924 he became the head
of the State Examination Committee for Jewish teachers of religion and
Judaic subjects in secondary schools, the member of the Ministerial Commission
for the evaluation of the school handbooks in the field of Judaica. In
1927 he initiated the creation of the Committee for building the Jewish
Library at the Great Synagogue in Warsaw and became its head (this building
was finished in 1936).
Speaking about the social-educational and cultural activity of
M. Schorr we should turn back for a few years and note that in 1904- 1905
he was the head of "Toynbeehali", the Society for the promotion of education
among Jews in Lwow (Lemberg). At the same time he was also one of the founders
and long-term members of "Opieka", a society to support the Jewish
Youth of the secondary schools. During his stay in Lwow, M. Schorr became
one of the founders and the first head of the "Society of the teachers
of Moses' religion of the people's of the secondary schools in of Galicia"
and at the same status he led the first teachers' congress in 1904 in Lwow.
Since the moment of the foundation the Jewish Community Library in Lwow,
he was the member of its Board and later on its head.
In 1917-1918 he headed the Jewish Rescue Committee in Lwow, and
from 1916 on Schorr was also a member the central committee over the Jewish
orphans in Lwow. The Society of Jewish national and secondary school, which
was established at the beginning of 1919, had chosen him its first head,
and in 1920 entitled him the merited member of the society.
From 1901 on, Schorr was a member of the humanitary society Bnei
Brith Leopolis (Sons of the Covenant, the Jewish Mason organisation) where
during a few years he led the Library and since 1921 headed the organisation
in Lwow. Since the creation of the Great Loge of the XIII th district
in Poland of the mentioned above society Bnei Brith, Schorr was elected
as the vice president of the loge. In 1924 he was also the president
of the loge Braterstwo (Brotherhood) in Warsaw. Besides of many other merits,
his initiative was the creation of the loge Montefiory in Lodz, as well
as the appeal of the Information Bureau of the loge Braterstwo about
the situation of the Jews in Germany and other countries after 1933. Schorr
was the committee, which managed the Bureau. His proper and evident goal
in the activity of Bnei Brith (the organisation which reminded the Mason
loges) was the unification of the national solidarity of Jews with the
ideas of the universalism.
In the political life, Schorr didn't take the active part. He
clearly defined his political position as for the Polish Jewish question
in the questionnaire campaign arranged in February of 1919 by the Governmental
Commission. In this questionnaire
campaign, Schorr participated as scientific expert (the protocols of
this questionnaire campaign were published in a separate book W sprawie
polsko-zydowskiej. Ankieta (Concerning the Polish-Jewish question. Questionnaire).
Schorr was devoted mostly to the scientific, teaching and social
activities being little active in the field of politics. In 1935 the president
Ignaci Moscicki called him for a senator position to join the parliament.
In his proclamations, as well as his publications in Jewish press, Schorr
expressed his concern about the growth of anti-semitic actions in Poland
and the passive conduct of authorities in this concern. He led the Jewish
emigrational-colonial committee, which aimed to make possible the emigration
of Jews to other countries than Palestine. In July of the same year, he
participated in the international conference in Evian, which was dedicated
to the problem of Jewish refugees from Poland.
After the beginning of the II World War, M. Schorr entered the
Jewish Civil Committee and on 6th or 7th of September he left Warsaw. The
Soviet intervention occurred when he was in Ostroh (little town in modern
Western Ukraine, former Poland) and on 10 th of September he was arrested
by the NKVD. He was kept in prisons in different towns in Western
Ukraine, first in Lutsk, then in Rovno, and later on in Lwow. In the first
half 1940 he was transferred to Moscow and was imprisoned in famous
Lubjanka and was kept in one room with the Bund activist Viktor Alter,
the poet Wladislaw Broniewski and the Polish senator of National party
(Stronnictwa narodowego-SN) professor Stanislaw Glabinski (as he
said: "We became so close relationships that slept together at one bench").
The attempts to liberate Schorr, which were undertaken by Polish Government
in exile with the mediation of Vatikan and the U.S. State Department didn't
succeed and on 17 th April of 1941 Schorr was assigned for 5 years
of mandatory labour. He was taken to the V th concentration camp
in Posty in Uzbekistan, where he got sick and died in a camp hospital on
8th of July, 1941 being buried at some unknown grave. Polish authorities
learned about his death only on the eve of 1942, after establishing the
diplomatic relations between the Polish London government and USSR's government.
Polish government tried to liberate him the second time planning to appoint
him as the main Rabbi of the Ander's Army, which was forming at that time
but it was too late already. Schorr was awarded the Golden Cross of Merit.
Schorr was married (since 1905) with Tamara Ben Jakob, the daughter
of a publisher and bibliographer Yitzkhak Ben Yakob; she died at the camp
of Fittel in Frankfurt in April of 1944. He had six children with her:
Sonja (died in 1961), wife of Arthur Miller, the prosecutor of the High
Court in Warsaw and the head of the of the Criminal law Department
at the Ministry of Justice of Poland; Deborah (died yet in Lwow in 1917);
Felicia, in marriage Kon-Lipets (died in New York in 1984); Ludwig (1918-1963)
the outstanding architect who settled in Tel Aviv; Esther, in marriage
Ben-Kohav (died in Jerusalem in 1991), and also Joshua (Otton), engineer
in Jerusalem.
There are streets named after his name in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv
and Holon.
There was also a scientific meeting devoted to M.Schorr and in 1993
the similar meeting took place at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Krakow.
SCHORR AS ONE OF THE MAJOR HISTORIANS OF POLISH JEWRY
The scientific heritage of M.Schorr is undoubtedly large and worth
of attention. In the next part of this chapter the main focus will be on
his scientific legacy and main works starting from his first articles till
the last written works. The special attention will be paid to his unknown
publications which appeared at the Jewish newspaper Chwila (means "wave"
in Polish), which was published in Polish in Lwow during the inter war
period.
Two main trends can be defined in his works. The first stream
of his scientific activity deals with the history of Polish Jews. Schorr
started his early scientific work in this field yet as a auditor of Vienna
University in 1987, writing his first serious work entitled Zur Geschichte
des Don Josef Nasi (Concerning the history of Don Joseph Nasi), which
was published in Monatschrift fur die Wiessenschaft des Judenstum. In this
work, the author analyses the relations of Joseph Nasi with a king Zygmont
August in the light of the situation of Jews in Poland at that time.
The doctor dissertation of M.Schorr entitled "The Organisation
of Jews in Poland" first appeared in Lwow at the Lwow magazine Kwartalnik
historyczny in 1899, and later on was also translated into Russian at the
Russian scientific monthly "Woschod". In 1903 Schorr was awarded the prize
of Wawelberg (the famous Polish-Russian banker and philantropist) for his
work Zydzi w Przemyslu do roku 1772 (Jews in Przemysl till 1772) . The
first mentioned above work, the doctor dissertation Organizacya Zydow w
Polsce (Organisation of Jews in Poland) is a serious attempt
to summarise the data about the kahal organisation of the central institutions
of Jewish self-administration Vaads and the workshops of Jewish craftsmen.
Another work, the monograph about the Jews in Przemysl, is precious not
only for its concise examination of the history of this remarkable community
but also for the numerous documents which are added in the end of the book
(the detailed review of this book is in "Jevrejskaja Starina" magazine
published in 1909, no. 1) Schorr published also "The Krakow code of Jewish
laws and privileges in Poland", having written in addition the article
about its significance and contradictory questions regarding the
main privileges.
Shorr is also the author of a large article about the Hebrew
language in Encyklopedya Polska (Polish Encyclopeadia, vol. III, 1915).
One of his last works in the field of Jewish history in Poland, is a research
Rechtsstellung und innere Verfassung der Juden in Polen (The legal situation
and internal organisation of Jews in Poland) published in German which
was published in Berlin and Vienna in 1917.
M. SCHORR AS ORIENTALIST AND BIBLE SCHOLAR
The second major stream of Schorr's scientific activity
concerns primarily the Bible Studies (in particular the researches of Biblical
Law), assyriology and the history of the Ancient Orient in general. Starting
from 1904 onwards all of Schorr's works are primarily focused on
this subjects.
One of his first works in this field was the investigation Starozytnosci
biblijne w swietle archiwum egipskiego (Biblical antiquities in the light
of the Egyptian archive). It was published in magazine "Przewodnik
naukowy i literacki" in 1901 and was published separately as well. In 1903
Schorr writes large comments on respected and famous book Babel und
Bibel (Babylon and Bible). This commentary is named Kultura Babilonska
a starohebrajska (Babylonian and Hebrew culture) which appeared firs time
in Kwartalnik historyczny, and later on as a separate edition.
As it was noted before, some of Schorr's works were written in and
published in German. One of such works is the investigation Die Kohler-Peisersche
Hammurabi Ubersetzung" (The Hammurabi Code translation of Peiser-Kohler),
where the author gives detailed analyses of this translation.
Schorr was also dedicated to the study of Babylonian history.
His main work on this subject is Panstwo i spoleczenstwo babilonske w kresie
t.zw. dynastyi Hammurabiego (The Babylonian state and society at the time
of Hammurabi dynasty) which first appeared as a separate edition in 1906
in Lwow and afterwards was published also in Kwartalnik historyczny
Another highly respected work of the scholar in this field is Eine Babylonische
Seisachtie aus dem Anfang der Kassitenzeit, ende XVIII vorchristl. Jahrhunderts
(The Babylonian Seisachtie of the times of the Kassites' dynasty, the end
of 18 th century B.C.) In this research Schorr discusses and presents one
of the newly discovered old Babylonian texts, which were published and
investigated by Oxford assyriologist Langdon.
He also made serious researches on the history of the social
and commercial life of the Ancient Orient and in particular the trade movement
in the ancient Babylon. The work's title is Ruch handlowy w Satorozytnej
Babilonii (The trade movement in the old Babylon). It was published in
1911 in a commemorative book while celebrating 25th anniversary of the
establishment of Lwow University.
Schorr had also translated and systematised the old Babylonian
legal documents, having written large commentary in addition to it. This
serious work entitled Altbabylonische Rechtsurkunden aus der Zeit der I
-ste Babylonische Dynastie (Old Babylonian legal documents of the times
of the I -st Babylonian dynasty).
The legal issues and the law history were of the main subject
of Schorr's researches. That's not surprising since the scholar was a rabbi
himself. He did lots of researches in the comparative studies of the law
history of the Ancient Orient and in particular trying to make the parallels
between the Biblical law and other legal systems of that time. Among them:
Kodeks Hammurabiego a owczesna praktyka prawna (Hammurabi Code and the
ancient oriental legal practices) which first appeared in Rozprawy of the
history-philosophy department of the Krakow Academy of Sciences and in
1907 was published separately .
The biggest achievement of the scholar in the field of Oriental
studies is considered the work Urkunden des altbabylonische Zivil-
und Prozessrechts (The documents of the Old Babylonian civil and criminal
law). This is the edition of sources with large comments of the author.
SCHORR'S UKNOWN PUBLICATIONS IN NEWSPAPER "CHWILA"
For a long time Schorr actively cooperated with the leading Jewish
newspaper of Poland Chwila , which was published in Lwow during the inter-war
period. In his numerous publications he popularised his old and initiated
the new themes and ideas. Those articles in their larger part, were neither
examined in the historiography of these problems, nor included in
his bibliography.
Discovering and systematising of his unknown publications in
Jewish newspaper Chwila, and carrying out a critical historiographical
analysis of them are my scholarly goal and interest. After the first review
of the set of newspapers for 1918-1939, which is preserved only in the
Scientific Library of Lviv [Lwow] University, there are more than ten articles
of Schorr. The most important among them are: Palestyna a Babylon w swietle
najnowszych wykopalisk (Palestine and Babylon in the light of recent archaeological
excavations, 1923); Samuel Hirsch Margulies (1922), which is dedicated
to the outstanding personality of the Italian Jewry , outcomer from Galicia
Samuel Hirsch Margulies (1858-1922), who became later the leader of Italian
Jewry. This publication is commemorated to the scholar due to his
death in the same year. As nekrolog to this article, Schorr writes:
"Italian Jewry undergone a big loss in the death of the Rabbi
of Florence and rector of local rabbinical seminary Dr. Samuel Hirsch
Margulies (died on 12 th of march), who had been the Rabbi for more
that three decades leaving a strong footprint on a life and culture
of the Jews of whole Italy. Margulies was of Polish [Galician] origin,
being born in Brzezany [current Berezhany] in 1858 receiving
a versatile Biblical-Talmudic education at home and after finishing
the gimnasium devoted himself to the study of theology in Wroclaw
(1881-1885). In 1890 he was called for the position of the Rabbi of Florence,
where managed to became the leader of whole Italian Jewry. He became
the spiritual leader in all the spheres of the civic life, on account
of his deep Judaic knowledge, organisational abilities and personal
favourite pursuits in the subjects of spirit and heart. Thanks to
him the indefferential religious life of Italian Jews started to
be a live artery filled with strong native Jewish traditions and
culture. He also initiated the centralized unification of all Jewsih
communities which created a new Collegio rabbinico italiano (instead of
old renown institution in Padova under the guidence of S.D. Luccatta)
in Florence, assigning him the administration and caring over it.
This seminary (where studied the Viennese Rabbi Prof. Chajes) produced
an array of young Rabbis, who started the spiritual Renessaince of
Italian Jewry"
Schorr's interest in spiritual subjects and religious life was
his distinct trait and attribute for he himself was the main Rabbi of Warsaw
and the first rector of the Institute of Jewish Sciences (Rabbinical seminary)
there, deeply sympathising the personality of S. Hirsch Margulies so similar
to his own.
His largest publication in Chwila is Prawo Mojzesza na tle porownawczem
prawodawstw Starozytnego Wschodu (The Moses' law in the comparative perspective
with the laws of the Ancient Orient). This is the large series of
articles where Schorr continues and develops his old scientific subjects
comparing the Biblical Law with Babylonian law in the first section of
the publication, following the comparison with the Assyrian and Hettite
legislatures in the second and third sections. Here Schorr is also referring
to his previous work about the Hettites Problem Chettow (The Hettites'
problem), published seven years before in Kwartalnik historyczny.
Furthermore, I will mention a few others newly discovered publications
of Schorr. Some of them deals with the history of the Polish Jewry as Kwestya
zydowska w dobie Sejmu Wiekiego (The Jewish question at the time of the
Great Sejm) Some are of the philosophical content like Radosna Chwila
(The joyful moment) and Pesach Micarim - Pesach le Atid. The last
one is the series of articles of the historical-philosophical character,
where the author talk about the Haggadah and escape of Jews from Egypt
in the light of this legendary collection of the legends and tales of the
Jewish people. He starts it with the words from Mishna (Pesach X.5)
: "In every generation and age man must be considered as a member of the
Escape from Egypt"... "The sublime flash in the mind of deep historiosopher,
who as intuitively grasped the greatness of this episode on the eve of
Israel's history..." continued by the author. Summarising the
biography and the scientific legacy of Schorr we may surely talk about
him as about the outstanding personality and famous historian, the person
of wide outlook and versatile interests, whose scientific heritage is deserving
the most serious attention and study.
CHAPTER TWO
M. BALABAN: THE PROMINENT HISTORIAN
OF POLISH JEWS
Subsection 1:
BALABAN'S PERSONALITY AND BRILLIANT
CAREER ENDED UP IN WARSAW GHETTO
Meir Balaban was born in 1877 in Lwow (Lviv), in a family of of
Hebrew printer and traders. The Balaban family had been active in Lwow
and Zolkiew (Zhovkva) as Hebrew printers from 1830 to 1914. The geneology
of this family goes back to the second half of the 17 th century. His ancestors
occupied the kahal positions in Lwow, and one of them, named Lewko, was
the Senior of the Jewish community of the city, and after buying the stown
house out of the Jewish ghetto, he was in the judicial process with the
municipal hall concerning the privatization of the house till the end of
his life. Meir Balaban has devoted to him the historical essay "Lewko Balaban,
burmisrz kahalny Lwowski" (Lewko Balaban, the kahal burgomeister of Lwow),
Lwow, 1904. Lewko's son Zusman Balaban was also the member of the
Kahal Council in Lwow and together with another Lwow rabbi signed the oath
regarding the Hassidic butchers in 1792. Since that time Balabans were
the adherents of Misnagdim and Meir's grandfather Jozef Jehuda (rabbi Leiba
Balaban) fought against the hassidism on the side of rabbi Jakow Orenstein
(Jeshua Jakow) and this tradition passed through to Meir's father Alexander
Zusman, who was the progressive and very pious man.
One of Balabans, Leobel Balaban had founded Balaban printing
shop and publishing house in Lwow in 1830. It was one of the main Jewish
printing shops in Lwow, which published and printed almost exlusively only
the books of the religious-scientific and liturgical character. Leobel
Balaban was the member of kahal , being very renown in the city.
After his death in 1848 the bussiness inherited his son Moses Pinkhas Balaban,
and finally the wife of the latter Pessel (1860). The firm became
famous in Galicia, Polish kingdom and Russia. Among its publications: Shulkhan
Arukh with numerous comments; Orakh Haim, 1880; Yore Dea, 1887; Khoshem
Mishpat, 1882; Eben ha ezer, 1880; an array of the editions of the Bible,
the most renown one is so called Mikrat Gadol (1885) with 18 commentaries;
the prayer-books with comment. Furthermore, the printing hose published
only Bibles and prayer-books according to the testament of its founder
Leobel:
"Only Moses and men of the Great Congregation are worth printing
their books. The firm ignores the modern Jewish literature and contemporary
Jewish science"
This is how Balaban describes the printing traditions of its
family in one of the articles in Jevrejskaja Entsiklopedija (Russian Jewish
Encyclopeadia) where he published many of his investigations. It indicates
also the importance of the religous tradition in his family.
In such a family he received the traditional education and the
tradition Jewish schooling in heder. In young age he was given to the Czacki
primary school and later on to the gimnasium. Simoltaneously he was learning
the Jewish science himself either in the mornings before the school or
during the long nights (going at 6 a.m. to heder). In 1895 after the passing
of the Abitur exam (the certificate of matureness) in the 4th gimnasium
in Lwow, he entered the law faculty in Lwow university but after a while
he interrupted his studies having occupied the teaching position at the
Baron de Hirsch's school in Hlyniany, and afterwards in Holohory. It was
in 1898, 40 years of life were still in future. For further teaching
at this school he had to add the pedagogical subjects (the seminary ceratificate)
to his gimnaisum certificate, since Baron de Hirsch's school hadn't yet
the civic rights and Balaban had to pass the practice in a civic
school, where the Ukrainian was the main language of instruction. It was
a pure province in Galicia and the second form, where Balaban teached,
numbered 117 children and the instruction was going at the village hall.
Balaban liked the school and youth since the beginning of his
teaching career and the children liked him. It should be noted also that
Balaban teached also the singing besides of the general subjects and founded
the choir which singed at the sionistic evenings. He established there
the society Zion where teached the Jewish history, preaparing from the
handbooks of Kasl, and Graetz, which was published in Yiddish at that time.
Balaban wrote diaries being very interested in history since the gymnasium
years and childhood since Meir's father was very fond of history and this
family devotion to this subject revealed itself later in Meir's career.
While teaching in Hlyniany, Balaban read every historical book found and
put
in order by him at the library of the owner of the town. In January of
1900 he was transferred to the school of Baron de Hirsch in Holohory but
here, at the remote province he didn't find any activity for himself and
alredy in November of the same year he returned to Lwow, where he occupied
the teaching position at the Czacki primary school, where once he was a
pupil. The teaching at thi school was hard since the forms numbered from
65 to 85 pupils. The first form where Balaban teached had 87 boys aged
from 6 to 13.
Having settled in Lwow, Balaban passed so called "qualification
exam" and alredy in spring of 1902 returned back to the university studies.
He didn't study the law further but philosophy and history. Simoltaneously
he started to work for the Zionist weekly Wschod, which he left a few years
before when going to Hlyniany. He also wrote articles for the Zionist
magazine Przyszlosc (means future in Polish).
The combination of teaching and university studies wasn't so
easy and especially his archive work under the guidence of two his professors
Ludwig Finkel and the law historain Oswald Baltzer. Since that time he
started to work on the history of Lwow Jews, starting from the researches
of legends about so called "Golden Rose". In the same time he studied the
bibliography of the history of Jews in Poland and in 1903 published "The
review of the literature and history of Jews in Poland for 1899-1903".
Meanwhile, he also passed the exam for the teacher of religion and was
trasferred from Czacki school to the whole array of other primary schools,
where he was assigned teaching the religion.
In 1904 he finished his work on theme Zydzi lwowscy na przelomie
XVI-XVII wieku (The Jews of Lwow at the turn of the 17th century)
having recieved the award of from the philosophy faculty of the university
as well as the costs for publishing from the Foundation of Hipolit Wawelberg
and was transferred from the primary schools to the 4th gimnasium assigning
him to teach the Jewish religion there. The above mentioned work was recommended
by Prof. Michail Bobzynski (who was later the Governer General of Galicia)
for the award of Barczewski of the Polish Academy of Arts. In this work
Balaban displayed a thorough grasp of his subject, scholarly meticulousness,
and capacity for presenting lucidly the various aspects of life in great
detail.
The publication of such serious work, which the historical critics
accepted and appreciated very highly promising him a great future, opened
him the way to the scientific institutions, making also easier his
work in secondary school. After the doctoral defence at the univrsity
and passing the teacher's exam on general history and geography, Balaban
received the teaching position in Sokal with the simoltaneous appointment
to the 6th gimansium in Lwow. Since that time Balaban intensively works
in the scientific sphere. He continued the researches of the history of
Lwow Jews and in 1909 published his work Dzielnica zydowska, jej dzieje
i zabytki (The Jewish ghetto, its history and remembrances) at the "Biblioteka
Lwowska" and Spis Zydow i karaitow ziemi halickiej z r. 1765 (The list
of Jews and Karaims of the Galician land since 1765) published in the same
year at the Academy of Arts in Krakow.
Independently from this, Balaban continued "The Bibliography
of the history of Jews in Poland" in Kwartalnik historyczny in Lwow, and
later on (starting from 1909) in Przeglad Historyczny in Warasaw.
During 1905-1906 Balaban was a chief editor of the monthly Haor,
the magazine of the union of the teachers of the Jewsih law in Galicia.
When in 1909 Dubnow had started to publish magazine Jevrejskaja
Starina, Balaban not only was sending his works for every issue but made
every effort seeking for Starina the works of young Galician historians
(Schipper, Heckerow etc.) In Starina Balaban also led the bibliographical
section similar to his bibliographies in Polish magazines. Accidentally,
Balaban encountered the documents and materials reagarding the history
of Jews in Krakow and being asked by the Krakow kahal accomplished
the first volume of The History of Jews in Krakow and Kazimiria, 1304.
It made him the reputation In Lwow University and with the assistence of
Prof. Finkel, Balaban received one-year vacation in a secondary school
and high ministerial scholarship making a long scientific trip to Poznan,
Berlin and Gdansk. He also stayed for a few months in Krakow collecting
the materials for the second volume of The History of Cracow Jews. Simoltaneously
he started to publish in Starina the extensive work entitled The History
of Organisation of Jews in Poland.
The war had interrupted all the intentions of Balaban.
He spent the first year of the war in Vienna, where he teached in gimnasium
for Galician refugees as well as leading the courses organized for the
teachers of Jewish religion from Galicia.. The next three years he spent
in Lublin serving as a reporter on Jewish matters at the Austrian General
Governer office and later on as a field rabbi of the Austrian army in the
occupied areas. Serving at these posts Balaban organized the new kahals
in the Polish kingdom, attended the Jewish schools and co-operated at the
organizing the Jewish gimnasiums. He had organized the educational courses
for melameds in Lublin, Kelce, and Chelm ans other places, serving
also as a teacher at some of them, for instance in Radomsk.
Besides this intricate work which demanded the permanent moves,
Balaban didn't neglect the historical work nad started the another investigation
Die Judenstadt von Lublin (The Jewry of Lublin) which was based on pure
but interesting archive materials. During his travelings he collected the
materials about Jewish antiquities and historical monuments in Polan, photographing
them saving by this from the oblivion.
By the end of the war Balaban entered the Polish Army (Lublin,
commander gen. Smigly Rydz), but after a few months of the military service
he was assingned by the Ministry of Education to head the women Jewish
gimansium in Czenstochowa, having occupied also one of the position at
the local synagogue. He pent lots of energy at the position of the gimnasium
directorsettling and putting in order both the gimasium and synagogue,
having compiled the statute for them (the first in Poland), plus selectid
the highly qulified teaching staff, which furthermore became the permanent
and effective, but after half a year of work at this position he was forced
by the Ministry of Religious Confessions and Civil Education to move to
Warsaw in order to head the first School of Rabbis of a new style
"Takhkemoni". This school was designed as synthesis of full a full eight-years
gimnasium with a Yeshivot with a complete instruction of Talmud consisting
of 8 hours of classes per week, besides of teaching of the Bible, Hebrew,
philosphy of religion etc... This program demanded two kinds of teachers
who problematically coped between themselves in the ways of methodological
and educational issues. Balaban made lots of effots to overcome these contradictions
having the positive results in a few years.
Balaban headed the Seminary "Takhkemoni" for nine years
(1920-1929) being also the director of the gimnasium "Askola" in 1920 -
1921 and afterwards teaching the general history the for many years. While
free from the educational work Balaban continued his historical researches.
The product of this research was the 4 volumes handbook "The Jewish history
and literature with a detailed review of the history of Jews in Poland".
The handbook was used at all Jewish schools in Poland and was partly translated
into Hebrew being used at the Jewish schools in Palestine too. Besides
this Balaban published in war and inter-war period "The History of Jews
in Galicia" (1916), a few volumes of historical research. The first one
is completely new and changed edition of the first volume of "The
History of Jews in Cracow" (1931) and the second one presents the
history of Jewish community in Cracow till 1868 (1936). Both volumes number
over 1400 pages and 80 tables with illustrations and pictures.
During this time Balaban also had written Historia postepowej
synagogi we Lwowie 1840-1936 ("History of the progressive synagogue in
Lwow 1840-1936", Lwow, 1937) as well as Bibliografija historyi zydow w
Polsce za 1900-1930 ("A bibliography of history of Jews in Poland for 1900-1930").
It encomposses over 10.000 entries.
From 1927 Balaban teached at the Warsaw University of J. Pilsudski
being the Associate Professor there and from 1936 as professor teached
the Jewish history heading also the Seminary of the history of Jews in
Poland at the same university. Since 1928 Balaban teached also at the Free
Polish School.
Together with Schorr, Tohn and Braud, Balaban had organised the
Institute for Jewish Sciences in Warsaw in 1928. It was opened in February
of the same year in a house nearby the Greatt Tlomacka Street Synagogue.
It was in fact a Rabbinical Seminary of Poland and Balaban served there
as lecturer in Jewish history leading also the historical seminar at the
Warsaw University which produced lots of works in the field of Jewish history
in Poland and in particular in Polish kingdom. Balaban's seminar
at the Warsaw Unniversity became the most yielding and productive center
of Jewish historical school in Poland, despite of the fact that at
the Seminary teached many eminent historians. Balaban's students both from
the university and the institute occupied teaching positions throughout
Poland proclaiming everywhere the science of their maestro, many of them
became the outstanding scholars too. Among them: Artur Eisenbach, Jozef
Kermisz, Izajasz Trunk.
Besides the scientific and pedagogical work Balaban was also
largly engaged in organisational work leading for 5 years the Institute
for Jewish Sciences. It should be noted too that for 40 years he also was
the co-worker of numerous scientific magazines as Monatschrift fur
Geschichte und Wissenschaft Judentums, Zeitschrift fur die Geschichte der
Juden in Deutschland, Kwartalnik dla historii zydow w Polsce, Nowe Zycie
(the magazine which was led and published by himself in 1924), Ha- tkufa
and so on.
From the outset of his scholarly career Balaban applied himself
to collecting a bibliography on the history of the Jews in Poland; his
first prizewinning publication in this field appeared in Polish in 1903.
The first part of his own bibliography for the years 1900-30 appeared in
1939.
Balaban like all the spiritual leaders of Polish Jewry, notably
the numerous rabbis assured his anxious followers, during summer of 1939,
that there would be no war. At the end of August he replied to questioners:
"I do not believe that war is imminent."
When he was reminded of this some three years later in the ghetto
of Warsaw, he confessed:
"This was the greatest mistake in all my life."
When the Nazis overran Poland, Balaban refused to flee. He died
in Warsaw in November 1942 before the liquidation of the ghetto and was
thus vouchsafed burial in the Jewish cemetery.
M. BALABAN: THE FOUNDER OF THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF POLISH JEWRY
(THE REVIEW OF BALABAN'S SCIENTIFIC LEGACY AND MAIN WORKS ON HISTORY OF JEWS IN POLAND)
Balaban published about 70 historical studies and about 200 short
papers and reviews in various periodicals. He was justly considered the
founder of the historiography of Poish Jewry, especially of its communal
life.
Scholar started his literary-scientific activity in 1897 publishing
little essays in the Zionist magazine Przyslosc (Polish: "future"), and
later on in a weekly Wschod (Polish: "East"). From 1903 on Balaban led
a permanent bibliographical review of history of Jews in Poland and Russia
in Kwartalnik historyczny, and from 1906 on he publishes the scientific
treaties in newspaper Kurjer Lwowski. Here he wrote an array of treaties
and articles on the history of Jews in Poland and on the Jewish history
in general. The first serious works of Balaban appeared in almanac Rocznik
zydowske in 1902-1906: Izak Nachmanowicz, zyd lwowski XVI wieku ("Isaak
Nachmanowicz. the Lwow Jew of the 16 th century," 1904); Josephus Flavius,
Charakterystyka czlowieka i historyka na tle wspolczesnych wypadkow ("Joseph
Flavius, the characteristic of man in the light of specific cases and stories",
1904); Z przemyskich dziejow ("On the Przemysl history", 1904); Zycie prywatne
zydow lwowskich na przelomie XVI i XVII wieku ("Private life of Lwow Jews
at the turn of the 16 th and 17 th centuries," 1905); Makabeusze ("Maccabians,"
1905); Lewko Balaban, burmistrz kahalny lwowski z konca XVIII wieku ("Lewko
Balaban, kahal burgomeister of Lwow of the end of the 18 th century," 1905).
Some of these articles became as preparatory works for the main, already
mentioned work of Balaban Zydzi lwowscy na przelomie XVI i XVII wieku
("The Jews of Lwow at the Turn of the 17th Century," 1906). This work numbers
577 pages of text and 188 pages of different materials. Balaban was awarded
the first prize of Ipolit Wawelberg for this work. In this work he demonstrated
a thorough knowledge of his subject, scholarly erudition, and a capacity
for presenting clearly the various aspects of life in great detail. The
book consists of three parts; in the first chapter Balaban gives a live
picture of the external events of the community, resting in detail on the
renown process of Lwow Jews with with the Jesuits and on the energetic
leaders of the community from the family of Nachmanowicz and others. The
second part is devoted to the detailed consideration of the communal self-administration
and rabbinate, and the third one consists of a few essays on the trade,
crafts, family life, land lending etc. Balaban used a rich archival material
primarily from the archive of Bernardines' in Lwow, Lwow city archive and
the archive of Jewish community in Lwow. The great number of illustrations
(types of Lwow Jews, synagogue utensil, synagogues and houses, rare
grave stown plaques, plan of the old ghetto, stamps of Jewish traders etc.)
gives a special historical-cultural interest to the book.
Balaban researched the history of other Jewish communities as
well: Zalmaw, burmistrz kahalu w Drohobyczu w pol. XVIII wieku ("Zalmaw,
the Jewish community mayor of Drohobych in the second half of the 18th
century"); Cieniom Stanislawa Zolkiewskiego (...of Stanislaw Zolkiewski).
Some works are devoted to the history of educational movement among Jews:
Herz Homberg i szkoly jozefinskie dla zydow w Galicyi w r. 1787-1806 ("Herz
Homberg and Josephian Schools for the Jews in Galicia in 1787-1806," Lwow,
1907); and Historya projektu szkoly rabinow i nauki religii mojzeszowej
na ziemiach polskich ("The History of the Project of the School for the
Rabbis and Jewish Religion in Polish Lands," Lwow, 1907).
In his book Przeglad literatury historyi zydow w Polsce, 1899-1907
("Review of the Literature on the History of Jews in Poland, 1899-1907,"
Lwow, 1908) Balaban listed the works on the history of Jews in Poland and
Russia which appeared 8 years before publishing the book with lots of critiques
about many historical publications.
Collections of his articles and treatises, containing the biographies
of rabbis, doctors, and communal leaders, and the history of printing houses,
blood accusations, and the Karaites in Poland, were published in German,
Polish and Yiddish.
Balaban contributed over 150 articles to the Russian-Jewish Encyclopedia
Yevreyskaya Entsiklopediya. He wrote a great deal of articles in his field
in Yevreyskaya Entsiklopediya, Judisches Lexicon, Enzyklopedia Iudaica,
Polski Slownik Biograficzny of the Polish Academy of Arts, Enzyklopedii
Polskiej etc. Besides that published the historical and literary-critical
articles almost in the whole Polish press. (Kurjer Lwowski, Slowo Polskie)
as well as in Polish-Jewish, Jewish,and Hebrew newspapers recording the
works in the field of Jewish history in popular debates and book critiques
articles.
Balaban together with Natan Szwalb, Jozef Opatoszu and Bernard
Singer was also among the chief editors and co-workers of the moderate
Zionist daily Nasz Przeglad, which was published in Warsaw from 1923 till
20 IX 1939.
Particularly significant are his studies written in Hebrew on
the Shabbatean and Frankit movements, summarized in his Le-Toledot ha-Tenu'ah
ha-Frankit ("History of the Frankist Movement", 2 vols., 1934-35). It was
published in Tel Aviv.
Like Schorr, Balaban also co-operated with the Polish Jewish
newspaper Chwila which was published in Lwow as a local Jewish publication
and daily newspaper. It was one among many numerous Jewish newspapers,
where Balban published his historical articles and critical-literary reviews
in the field of Jewish history. One of such reviews was his artcle reagrading
the book of Samuel Kraus "Die Wiener Geserah vom Jahre 1421", which was
published in the same 1920 year in Vienna. Article's title is Smutna rocznica
("Sad anniverssary"). Balaban writes:
"Viennese community celebrates its bloody anniversary of 50 years since the moment when Austrian princes Albrecht V (as emperor Albrecht II) ordered to close all the Jews of his lands in the prison where no one was allowed to leave alive. Two dates, 23 rd of May 1420 and 12 th of March 1421, the date of imprisonment of the Jews and the date of burning the victims are the bloody signs in the history of Viennese Jews, simultaneously in the Jewish history at all. A blaze of a burning haystack had been blazing for a long time lightening the bloody history of Viennese community. Shining of this blaze still could be seen today ... and professor of the Rabbinical School there wrote a wide work, in which he wants to honour and perpetuate the tragedy of history setting the memorial for the victims who where burned at the stack then. The German - Jewish chronicle is named : "Die Wiener Geserah..."
In the same 1920 year and in the same newspaper Chwila Balaban
publishes the next articles: Dr Emanuel de Jona, lekarz nadworny Jana Trzeciego
("Dr Emanuel de Jona, the court physician of Jan III"), which deals with
the history of Lwow Jews; Drukarnie hebrajskie w Zolkwie i Lwowie
("Jewish printing shops in Zolkwa and Lwow") concerning the history of
printing in Poland; Becal, celnik ziem ruskich ("Becal, the custom
officer of Rus' lands"), the historical essay of the 17th century.
Among other Balaban's publications in Chwila are the following:
Auto-da-Fe we Lwowie w r. 1728 ("Auto-da-Fe in Lwow in 1728"). Auto-da-fe
is the (the Portuguise form for French acte de foi (from Latin actus fidei)
which is the solemn declaration and thereafter the execution procedure
assigned by the Inquisition. The Jews were usually condemned for
the Judaism. The solemn declaration of the sentence commonly took place
in a church during the first week of the Christmass fast
Annotations for two chapters:
Prof. Dr. M.Schorr na nowej placowce pracy (Prof. Dr. M.Schorr at a
new place of work) Chwila, 18 November 1923, p.4;
Ibid.
Prof. Dr. M. Schorr na nowej placowce pracy (Prof. Dr. M.Schorr
at a new place of work). Chwila, 18 November, 1923;
J.Tomaszewski. Najnowsze dzieje zydow w Polsce w zarysie do 1950
roku (Contemporary History of Jews in Poland till 1950) Warsaw: Wydawnictwo
Naukowe PAN, 1993, pp. 252-253;
Almanach szkolnictwa zydowskiego w Polsce (Almanac of Jewish
scholarship in Poland), Warsaw: Wyd. Renesans, 1938, p. 104;
Polski Slownik Biograficzny (Polish Biographical Directory).
Vol. 25/4. Warsaw: PAN, 1994, p. 603;
Ibid.: p. 603;
Prof. Dr. M.Schorr na nowej placowce pracy (Prof. Dr. M.Schorr
at a new place of work). Chwila, November 18, 1923, p. 4;
Ibid.
Polski Slownik Biograficzny..., p. 603;
Ibid.: p. 603;
Prof Dr. M.Schorr na nowej placowce pracy...
Polski Slownik Biograficzny...p. 603.
Ibid.
Ibid.;
Ibid.;
M.Schorr. Zur Geschichte der Don Josef Nasi (Concerning the history
of Don Joseph Nasi) Monatschrift fur die Wiesenschaft des Judenstums, Vienna,
1897;
Prof. Dr. M.Schorr at a new place of work...
Jevrejskaja Entsiklopedija (The Jewish Encyclopeadia), St Petersburg:
The Publishing house for scientific Jewish publications and The Edition
of Brockhaus and Efron, 1913, p. 71;
Prof. Schorr na nowej placowce pracy...
M.Schorr. Die Kohler-Peisersche Hammurabi Ubersetzung (Hammurabi
Code translation of Kohler-Peisersche) Wien, 1907;
M.Schorr. Panstwo i spoleczenstwo babilonske w okresie t. zw.
dynastyi Hammurabiego (The Babylonian state and society at the time of
Hammurabi dynasty) Lwow, 1906;
M.Schorr. Ruch handlowy w Starozytnej Babilonii (The trade movement
in the Ancien Babylon) in "Ksiega pamiatkowa ku uczczeniu zalozenia Uniw.
Lwowskiego", Lwow, 1911;
M.Schorr. Kodeks Hammurabiego a owczesna praktyka prawna (Hammurabi
Code and the legal practices of the Ancient Orient) Krakow, 1907;
M.Schorr. Urkunden des albabylonischen Zivil- und Prozessrechts
(Documents of Old Babylonian civil and crimianal law) Leipzig: Vor der
Asiatischen Bibliothek, 1913;
M.Schorr. Samuel Hirsch Margulies (1858-1922), Chwila, 13 May
1922, p. 3;
M.Schorr. Prawo Mojzesza na tle porownawczem prawodawstw Starozytnego
Wschodu (Moses' law in the comparative perespective with the laws of the
Ancient Orient) Chwila, 3-7, 13, 17, 19-22, 24-29 November 1923;
M.Schorr. Problem Chettow (Hettites' problem) in Kwartalnik historyczny,
1916;
M.Schorr.Kwestya zydowska w dobie Sejmu Wielkiego (The Jewish
question at the time of Great Sejm) Chwila, 13-14 July 1920;
M.Schorr. Radosna Chwila (The joyful moment), Chwila, 9 November
1923;
M.Schorr. Pesach Micraim - Pesach le -atid. Haggadah do uzytku
Chwili (Haggadah for the use of Chwila) Chwila, 14 , 15, 17 April 1922;
Ibid.;
Almanach szkolnictwa zydowskiego w Polsce...p. 542;
Ibid.: p. 543;
Jevrejskaja entsiklopedija...Vol. 1, p. 414
Ibid.;
Almanach szkolnictwa zydowskiego w Polsce...Vol. 1, p. 543;
Ibid. p. 544;
Ibid. p. 544;
Ibid.;
The Encyclopaedia Judaica...p. 126;
Almanach szkolnictwa zydowskiego w Polsce...p. 545;
Yevretskaya entsiklopediya...Vol. 3, p. 703;
Ibid.;
Ibid. p.547;
Ibid.: p.548;
Ibid.: p. 549;
J.Tomaszewski. Najnowsze dzieje zydow w Polsce w zarysie do 1950
roku (Contemporary history of Jews in Poland outlined till 1950)
Warsaw: PWN, 1993, pp. 252-253;
J.Tomaszewski. Najnowsze dzieje zydow w Polsce w zarysie do 1950
roku (Contemporary history of Jews in Poland outlined till 1950)
Warsaw: PWN, 1993, p. 253;
J. Marcus. Social and Political History of the Jews in Poland,
1919-1939. Berlin: Mouton Publishers, 1983, p. 429;
Ibid.;
Polski Slownik Biograficzny...p. 603;
Yevreyskaya entsiklopediya...Vol. 3, p. 703;
M.Balaban. Zalmaw, burmistrz kahalu w Drohobyczu w pol. XVII
w. (Zalmaw, Jewish community mayor of Drohobych) Dziennik Polski, January
1900;
Encyclopeadia Judaica...p. 126;
Ibid.: p. 550;
J. Marcus. Social and Political History of the Jews in Poland,
1919-1939. Berlin: Mouton Publishers, 1983, p. 262;
Yevreyskaya entsiklopediya (Jewish Encyclopeadia). Jerusalem,
1988, Vol. 1, p. 77;
M.Balaban. Smutna rocznica (Sad anniverssary) Chwila, 30 April
1920;
M.Balaban. Smutna rocznica (Sad anniverssary) Chwila, 30 April
1920, pp. 3-4;
M.Balaban. Dr Emanuel de Jona, lekarz nadworny Jana Trzecigo
(Dr Emanuel de Jona, the court physician of Jan III) Chwila, 4 March 1920,
pp. 4-6;
M.Balaban. Drukarnie hebrajskie w Zolkwie i Lwowie (Jewish Printing
Shops in Zolkwa and Lwow) Chwila, 11 April 1920, pp. 5-9;
M.Balaban. Becal, celnik ziem ruskich (Becal, Celnik of Rus lands)
Chwila, 4 May 1920, p.3;
BIBLIOGRAPHY
PRIMARY SOURCES:
1.Balaban, M. Historja i literatura zydowska ze szczegolnem uwzglednieniem historji zydow w Polsce (Jewish history and culture with the detailed review of the history of Jews in Poland). Lwow-Krakow, 1921.
2.Balaban, M. Przewodnik po zydowskich zabytkach Krakowa z 13 rycinami z 24 rytograwjurami na oddzielnych tablicach z 2 planami (Guide on Jewish places and monuments of Krakow). Krakow: KAW, 1990.
3.Balaban, M. Smutna rocznica (Sorrowful annivessary), Chwila, 30 July 1920.
4.Balaban, M. Dr. Emanuel de Jona, lekarz nadworny Jana Trzecigo (Dr. Emanuel de Jona, court physician of John the 3 rd), Chwila, 4 March 1920.
5.Balaban, M. Z wczorajszego Lwowa (From the past of Lwow), Chwila, July - December 1925.
6.Balaban, M. Chassidica. Przeglad literatury o chasydyzmie z lat ostatnich (Hassidica. Review of recent literature about the Hassidism). Chwila, 7--9, 11, 12, 14, 16-19 July, 1932.
7.Balaban, M. Budowa i ornamentyka synagog w Polsce (Structure and ornamentation of synagogues in Poland), Chwila, 30 December 1925.
8.Balaban, M. Do dziejow Ormian lwowskich. Traktat o asymilacyi (Concernig the history of Armenians in Lwow. Treatise about the assimilation), Chwila 14 January, 1921.
9.Balaban, M. Napoleon a Zydzi (Napoleon and the Jews), Chwila, 30 December 1925.
10.Balaban, M. Zydzi polsko-litewski w pierwszym roku wojny europejskiej 1914-1915. Przeglad bibliograficzny (Polish Lithuanian Jews in the first year of European War 1914-1915. Bibliographical review). Chwila, August - September 1922.
11.Balaban, M. Auto da Fe w Lwowie w r. 1728 (Auto da Fe in Lviv in
1728).
Chwila, 14 January 1921.
12.Balaban, M. Drukarnie hebrajskie w Zolkwie i Lwowie (Hebrew printing shops in Zovkva and Lviv). Chwila, 11 April 1920.
13.Balaban, M. Nauka Zydowska w Golusie i jej dom w Ojczyznie (Jewish Science in the Dispersion and its House in Motherland) Chwila, 2 April 1925, pp. 9-11.
14.Balaban, M. Zydowska biblioteka gminna we Lwowie. Wspomnienie (Jewish Communla Library in Lviv) Chwila, 7 January 1922, p.2.
15.Balaban, M. Chassidica, przeglad literatury o chasydyzmie z lat ostatnich (Chassidica, the review of the literature on Chassidism from the last years) Chwila, August-September 1922.
16.Balaban, M. Korespondencja Lublinera z Lewelem (Correspondence of Lubliner with Lewel) Miesiecznik Zydowski, no. 4, 1933, pp. 289-321.
17.Balaban, M. Zalmaw, burmistrz kahalu w Drohobyczu w pol. XVII w. (Zalmaw, Jewish community mayor of drohobych) Dziennik Polski, January 1900.
18.Prof Dr. M. Schorr na nowej placowce pracy (Prof. Dr. M. Schorr at the new place of work). Chwila, 18 November, 1923.
19.Schorr, M. Kwestya zydowska w dobie Sejmu Wielkiego, (Jewish question at the time of the Great Seim). Chwila, 13-24 July, 1920.
20.Schorr, M. Palestyna a Babylon w swietlie najnowszych wtkopalisk, (Palestine and Babylon in the light of new archeological excavations,) Chwila, 27, 28, 30 January1922; 1-6 February 1922.
21.Schorr, M. Prawo Mojzesza na tle porownawczem prawodawstw Starozytnego Wschodu (Moses' Law in comparaative perspective with the legislatures of the Ancient Middle East,) Chwila, 3-7, 13, 17, 19-22, 24-29 November 1923.
22.Schorr, M. Radosna Chwila (Joyful moment,) Chwila, 9 December 1923;
23.Schorr, M. Samuel Hirsch Margulies, 1858-1922, (Samuel Hirsch Margulies, 1858-1922). Chwila, 13 May 1922.
24.Schorr, M. Archiwum zydowskiej kolonii wojskowej w Egipcie z V w. (Archiwe of Jewish military colony in Egypt of 5 th century). Lwow, 1912.
25.Schorr, M. Aus der Geschichte der Juden in Przemysl (History of Jews in Przemysl). Vienna: Verlag von R. Lovit, 1915, 28 p.
26. Schorr, M. Pomik prawa staroassyryjskiego z XII w. przed Chr. (Memorial of Old Assyrian Law of 12 th century B.C.). Lwow: Archiwum Towarystwa Naukowego we Lwowie, 1922.
27.Schorr, M. Problem Chettytow z powodu najnowszego odkrycia lingwistyczno-historycznego
(Problem of Hettites due to the newest lingustic-historical discovery).
Kwartalnik Historyczny, Lwow, 1916.
28.Schorr, M. Przyczynki do frazeologii psalmow biblijnych a babilonskich
( Articles concernig Biblical nad Babylonian Psalms), Rocznik
oryentalistyczny, Krakow, 1914 -1915.
29.Schorr, M. Jezyk hebrajski w Polsce (Hebrew language in Poland), Encycopedya polska (Polish encyclopaedia), Vol. 3 (1915).
30.Schorr, M. Kultura babilonska a starohebrajska (Babilonian and Hebrew culture). Lwow, 1903, 28 p.
31.Schorr, M. Panstwo i spoleczenstwo babilonske w okresie t. zw. dynastyi Hamurabiego okolo 2500 - 2000 pr. Chr. (Babylonian state and society in times of Hammurabi dynasty of 2500 - 2000 B.C.). Lwow: Drukarnia Ludowa, 1906.
32.Schorr, M. Organizacya Zydow w Polsce od najdawniejszych czasow do
r. 1772
(Organisation of Jews in Poland since the earliest times till 1772).
Kwartalnik Historyczny, 1899.
33.Schorr M. Kazanie inagauracyjne wygloszone w wiekiej synagodze na Tlomackiem dn. 7. 12. 1923. (Inaugurative message presented at the Great Tlomacki Synagogue on 2.12.1923). Warsaw: Druk. Kupenztocha i Kramaria, 1923, 28 p.
34.Schorr M. Kodeks Hamurabiego a owczesnaa praktyka prawna (Hammurabi Code and the ancient Middle Eastern legal practice). Krakow, 1907;
35.Schorr, M. Wazniejsze kwestyi z historyi semickiego Wschodu (The Important Issues on the History of the Semitic Orient) Lwow: Druk. Zwiazkowa, 1907, 60 p.
36.Schorr, M. Starozytnosci biblijne w swietlie archiwum egipskiego z XIV w. przed Chrystusem (Biblical Antiquities in the Light of Egyptian Archive of 17th cen. B.C.) Lwow: Druk. Zwiazkowa, 1901, 34 p.
37.To live with honour and die with honor. Selected Documents from the Warsaw Ghetto Underground Archives "O. S.' ["Oneg Shabbath"] Jerusalem: Yad Vashem, 1986.
SECONDARY LITERATURE:
38.Almanach szkolnictwa zydowskiego w Polsce (Almanac of Jewish scholarship in Poland). Warsaw: Wyd. Renesans, 1988, Vol. 1.
39.Albright, William Foxwell. Archeologia Palestyny (Archeology of Palestine). Warsaw: PWN, 1964.
40.Balaban, M. Prace naukowe Prof. Mojzesza Schorra," (Scientific Works of Prof. M. Schorr) In Ksiega Jubileuszowa ku czci prof. Mojzesza Schorra (Anniversary book in memory of Prof. M. Schorr). Warsaw, 1935.
41.Balaban, M. Wazniejsze prace naukowe prof. Mojzesza Schorra (Major scientific works of Prof. M. Schorr) In M. Schorr: Kazanie inaugaracyjne w Wielkiej Synagodze na Tlomackiem...dn. 7 grudnia 1923 (M.Schorr: Inaugurative presentation at the Great Tlomacki Synagogue on Dec. 7th, 1923). Warsaw, 1924.
42.Bilderman, M. Majer Balaban, Historian of Polish Jewry: His Influence on the Younger Generation of Jewish Historians, New York: Methuen, 1976.
43.Eisenbach, A. Jewish Historiography in Interwar Poland in "The Jews of Poland Between Two World Wars" Hanover: University Press of New England, 1991.
44.Kaufman, I. Biblejskaja epokha (Biblical Epoch) in Jevreiskaja istorija i religija (Jewish history and religion). Jerusalem: Lib. Aliya, 1990;
45.Kratkaja Jevrejskaja Entsiklopedija (Short Jewish Encyclopeadia). Vol. 4. Jerusalem, 1988.
46.Marcus, J. Social and Political History of the Jews in Poland 1919-1939. New York: Mouton publishers, 1983.
47.Ostersetzer, Israel. Prof. Mojzesz Schorr: W 60-lecie urodzin (Prof. M. Schorr: on the occasion of the 60th jubilee of his birthday) Miesiecznik Zydowski, 1934.
48.Polski Slownik Biograficzny (Polish Biographical Directory).Vol. 25/4. Warsaw: PAN, 1994.
49.Schulkin M. Prof. Majer Balaban: w stolecie urodzin (Prof. M. Balaban: on the occasion of his centennial anniversary) BZIN, 1977.
50.Tomaszewski, J. Najnowsze dzieje zydow w Polsce w zarysie do roku 1950 (Contemporary history of Jews in Poland outlined till 1950) Warsaw: PWN, 1993.
51.Trunk, I. Majer Balaban: den forsher fun der koolsher organizatye
un oytomye in amolikn Poyln (Meir Balaban: the researcher of the Jewish
self-administration system in Poland) in Yivo bletter, 1973.