Hermann Schreiber
Hermann Schreiber (21 August 1882 in
Youth
Hermann Schreiber descended from a Jewish family which was settled in
Hermann was the youngest and the only son of their five children. After passing his Abitur examination in the High School in Śrem in 1901, he was studying at the Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau in Breslau, where he was ordained a rabbi, then at the University of Breslau, where he earned a degree of Doctor of Philosophy. In around 1910 he married Charlotte Neumann, with whom he had one son – Paul.
Activity in Germany
During the years 1912–1938, Hermann Schreiber lived in Potsdam. He wrote articles in newspapers (incl. Israelitisches Familienblatt), translated the Torah from Hebrew into German, for many years was the rabbi in the synagogue in Potsdam. He was the chairman of the Jewish Liberal Youth Association, which was established in Potsdam in 1921; he was also an active member of the Berlin Association of Schrimmers (Verein der Schrimmer zu Berlin), an organisation established in 1902 by people from Schrimm who had migrated to Berlin.
Emigration to Britain
When the
He also participated in the life of the Jewish community in
Memories
On 6 March 1927, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Association of Schrimmers, Hermann Schreiber delivered a lecture, which was later published in print as Schrimmer Jugenderinnerungen (Schrimm – Memories from Our Youth'). The memories are a valuable source for research on the history of Jews in the Province of Posen. Schreiber describes in the memories the daily life of his own family and other Jews living in Śrem, Jewish traditions, customs and festivals, but also the daily life of ethnic Poles and ethnic Germans who lived in Śrem. The memories were translated into English.[2] In 2008 the memories were also translated into Polish and published by Krzysztof Budzyń in the journal "Śremski Notatnik Historyczny" (Śrem Historical Notebook).[3]
References
- ^ See an article by Julius H. Schoeps, "Die Szene war schauervoll", in: Spiegel spezial, Issue 2/1993, 1000 Jahre Potsdam, [1]
- ^ They were published as Schrimm – Memories from Our Youth (transl. Werner S. Zimmt) in Issue 25 of the journal "Stammbaum", published edited by the Leo Baeck Institute in New York City, the text of the memories is available at [2][permanent dead link]
- ^ "Śremski Notatnik Historyczny", Issue 2/2008, pp. 37-73.
Further reading
- Hermann Schreiber, Schrimm – Memories from Our Youth, (transl. Werner S. Zimmt), in: "Stammbaum", Issue 25, 2004, pp. 10–19, [3][permanent dead link]
- Harold Reinhart, In Memoriam – Hermann Schreiber, in: "The Synagogue Review", volume XXIX, 1954, No 3, pp. 66–67
- Walter Riccius, Jacques Russ (1867-1930), Puma-Schuh-Spur, Verlag Dr. Köster 2021 Berlin, S. 128ff.
- Hermann Schreiber, Schrimmer Jugenderinnerungen, Verein der Schrimmer zu Berlin, Berlin, 1927
- Hermann Schreiber, Wspomnienia z mojej młodości w Śremie, transl. Danuta Banaszak, in: "Śremski Notatnik Historyczny", Issue 2, 2008, pp. 37–73 (Polish translation)
- Irene A. Diekmann, Jüdisches Brandenburg, Potsdam, 2008