The Unknown Benno Landsberger: A Biographical Sketch of an Assyriological Altmeister's Development, Exile, and Personal Life 3447111240, 9783447111249

Table of contents :
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Table of Contents
List of Figures
Abbreviations
Acknowledgements
Preface
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: BL’s Family and Cultural Background
Chapter 3: BL’s Early Education
Chapter 4: BL’s Motivation for the Study of Mesopotamia
Chapter 5: BL’s Early Years in Leipzig and WWI
Chapter 6: BL’s Interwar Personalia and Departure from Europe
Chapter 7: BL’s Concern for Endangered Relatives
Chapter 8: BL’s Relationship with His Leipzig Students
Chapter 9: Conclusion
Appendices
Appendix 1: Genealogical Chart of BL’s Family – The Landsbergers
Appendix 2: Genealogical Chart of BL’s Family – The Hitschmanns
Appendix 3: Gravestones of Selected Members of BL’s Family
Bibliography
Index
Personal Names
Geographical and Institutional Names

Citation preview

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Leipziger Altorientalistische Studien Herausgegeben von Michael P. Streck Band 10

2018

Harrassowitz Verlag . Wiesbaden

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Luděk Vacín

The Unknown Benno Landsberger A Biographical Sketch of an Assyriological Altmeister’s Development, Exile, and Personal Life In collaboration with Jitka Sýkorová

2018

Harrassowitz Verlag . Wiesbaden

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Cover picture: A rather gaunt BL apparently enduring a bout of depression, Ankara, 1940s. Source: NINO, Kraus Archive (courtesy of the Netherlands Institute for the Near East, Leiden).

Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.dnb.de abrufbar. Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de .

For further information about our publishing program consult our website http://www.harrassowitz-verlag.de © Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden 2018 This work, including all of its parts, is protected by copyright. Any use beyond the limits of copyright law without the permission of the publisher is forbidden and subject to penalty. This applies particularly to reproductions, translations, microfilms and storage and processing in electronic systems. Printed on permanent/durable paper. Printing and binding: Hubert & Co., Göttingen Printed in Germany ISSN 2193-4436 ISBN 978-3-447-11124-9 ISBN 978-3-447-19802-8

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................. VII Abbreviations ..................................................................................................

XI

Acknowledgements ......................................................................................... XIII Preface ............................................................................................................. XV Chapter 1: Introduction ...................................................................................

1

Chapter 2: BL’s Family and Cultural Background .........................................

5

Chapter 3: BL’s Early Education ....................................................................

13

Chapter 4: BL’s Motivation for the Study of Mesopotamia ...........................

19

Chapter 5: BL’s Early Years in Leipzig and WWI .........................................

43

Chapter 6: BL’s Interwar Personalia and Departure from Europe ..................

53

Chapter 7: BL’s Concern for Endangered Relatives .......................................

71

Chapter 8: BL’s Relationship with His Leipzig Students ...............................

87

Chapter 9: Conclusion ..................................................................................... 105 Appendices ...................................................................................................... 109 Appendix 1: Genealogical Chart of BL’s Family – The Landsbergers ..... 109 Appendix 2: Genealogical Chart of BL’s Family – The Hitschmanns ...... 110 Appendix 3: Gravestones of Selected Members of BL’s Family .............. 111 Bibliography .................................................................................................... 115 Index ................................................................................................................ 125 Personal Names ......................................................................................... 125 Geographical and Institutional Names....................................................... 128

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

List of Figures Identifications of Benno Landsberger, his mother and father in Figs. 1, 4–5, 22 go back to Eliška Landsberger (née Dziedziniewicz), apparently the last person who knew whom exactly those images depicted. She sent the photograph reproduced here as Figure 1 to F. R. Kraus in 1990. A variant of Figure 23, clearly taken on the same occasion but with H.-S. Schuster and F. R. Kraus looking into the camera, has been published in Schmidt 2010, 19. Cover image: A rather gaunt BL apparently enduring a bout of depression, Ankara, 1940s. Source: NINO, Kraus Archive (courtesy of the Netherlands Institute for the Near East, Leiden). Figure 1: Benno Landsberger, ca. 1892. Source: F. R. Kraus Estate (courtesy M. Stol) ........................................................................... Figure 2: Part of an invoice of Adolf Landsberger’s company depicting all the facilities, including the four-floored cotton mill, at the height of their prosperity. Source: Author’s archive ...................... Figure 3: BL’s aunt Josefine (née Hitschmann) and uncle Jakob. Source: PA EKL ........................................................................................... Figure 4: BL’s mother Hedwig (née Hitschmann), photographed in her hometown of Náchod. Source: PA EKL ......................................... Figure 5: BL’s father Leopold, dressed as a member of the liberal “Deutscher Verein.” Source: PA EKL ............................................ Figure 6: The synagogue and Jewish elementary school in Friedek after 1900. Source: SOkA FM, f. Sbírka fotografií, fotonegativů a filmů, sig. P010/018-2 .................................................................... Figure 7: Title page of an annual report of the grammar school in Friedek, with an image of the building. Source: Silesian Digital Library in Katowice (https://www.sbc.org.pl) ............................................ Figure 8: The gravestone of the cantor in Friedek and BL’s primary school teacher of Judaism (Jewish cemetery Frýdek-Místek). Source: PA EKL.............................................................................. Figure 9: The rabbi in Friedek and BL’s secondary school teacher of Judaism (1906). Source: PA EKL ................................................... Figure 10: Part of a newspaper clipping that provides a clue to BL’s motivation for the study of Mesopotamia. Source: LAJ, No. 20 (courtesy N. Wasserman) ............................................................... Figure 11: BL (standing, 3rd from the right) and Heinrich Zimmern (far right) with other members of the “Semitistisches Institut” at Leipzig, ca. 1920. Source: NINO, Kraus Archive (courtesy of the Netherlands Institute for the Near East, Leiden) ..................

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

5

8 9 10 12

13

15

20 21

27

34

VIII Figure 12:

Figure 13a:

Figure 13b:

Figure 13c:

Figure 13d: Figure 14:

Figure 15: Figure 16: Figure 17: Figure 18:

Figure 19:

Figure 20:

Figure 21:

Figure 22: Figure 23:

List of Figures

The first page of BL’s transcript (see the signature “Landsberger, stud. phil.”) of the course by Erich Bethe on “Griechische Religionsgeschichte” in the fall semester 1909 at the University of Leipzig. Source: LAJ, No. 85 (courtesy N. Wasserman) ............................................................... A page from BL’s student notebook with Sumerian verbal bases and prefix chains from the Stele of the Vultures and other inscriptions. Source: LAJ, No. 74 (courtesy N. Wasserman) ......... A page from BL’s student notebook with notes on “Assyrische Vokabelb.” (i.e., Assyrian word formation). Source: LAJ, No. 81 (courtesy N. Wasserman) ............................................................... A typical page from BL’s early notebooks with notes on Akkadian words and bibliographical references. Source: LAJ, No. 67 (courtesy N. Wasserman) ................................................... An example of BL’s notes on and in Arabic. Source: LAJ, No. 67 (courtesy N. Wasserman) ............................................................... BL’s citizenship record from April 1919 still on an Austrian form but with a Czechoslovak stamp. Source: SOkA FM, f. Archiv města Frýdek, inv. č. 764, ka. 210 .................................. BL’s father in 1913. Source: PA EKL ............................................ BL’s cousin Otto Landsberger, MD after graduation. Source: PA EKL ........................................................................................... The young full Professor of Oriental Philology at Leipzig. Source: AoIL (courtesy M. P. Streck)............................................. BL’s letter to Bedřich Hrozný regarding BL’s relocation to Ankara. Source: NpM, f. Hrozný Bedřich (1879–1952), Konvolut přijaté korespondence: H–O, ka. 2, Landsberger B., sig. ar. Hroz. 2/1-278 ...................................................................... BL with the group of his students and collaborators at the Faculty of Languages, History, and Geography, Ankara, July 1, 1940. Source: NINO, Kraus Archive (courtesy of the Netherlands Institute for the Near East, Leiden) .................. The police registration card of BL’s mother with the sinister euphemism “umgesiedelt” on the reverse. Source: SOkA FM, f. Městský národní výbor Frýdek-Místek, inv. č. 346, kartotéka 246 .................................................................................. The signboard of BL’s cousin’s medical practice (“only on weekdays”) at the main square in Místek, with the ominous addition beneath it (1939). Source: SOkA FM, f. Sbírka fotografií, fotonegativů a filmů, sig. F058/102 .............................. BL’s mother Hedwig (née Hitschmann) after her marriage to Leopold Landsberger. Source: PA EKL ......................................... BL with his students Hans-Siegfried Schuster (lower left),

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

46

47

48

49 49

54 59 60 64

68

71

77

78 83

List of Figures

Figure 24:

Figure 25:

IX

Karl Friedrich Müller (upper right), and Fritz Rudolf Kraus (lower right) at Café Felsche, Leipzig, early 1930s. Source: NINO, Kraus Archive (courtesy of the Netherlands Institute for the Near East, Leiden) .............................................................. 92 Fritz Rudolf Kraus, Johannes Friedrich, and Lubor Matouš (right) at the staircase of the Museum of the Ancient Orient in Istanbul, early August 1939. Source: L. Matouš Estate (courtesy O. Matouš) ...................................................................... 99 BL on a train, leaving Ankara for Chicago, late September 1948. Source: NINO, Kraus Archive (courtesy of the Netherlands Institute for the Near East, Leiden) ................................................ 104

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Abbreviations Assyriological abbreviations follow the Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie (http://www.rla.badw.de/). Abbreviations used in references to archival sources: AMZV

Archiv ministerstva zahraničních věcí, Praha (Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prague). AoIL Altorientalisches Institut, Fakultät für Geschichte, Kunst- und Orientwissenschaften, Universität Leipzig. AUK Archiv Univerzity Karlovy, Praha (Archive of Charles University, Prague). AŽM Archiv Židovského muzea, Praha (Archive of the Jewish Museum, Prague). LAJ Benno Landsberger’s Archive Kept by Nathan Wasserman, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (for the catalogue, see http://altorient.gko.uni-leipzig.de/landsberger.html). NpM Národní muzeum – Náprstkovo muzeum asijských, afrických a amerických kultur, Praha (National Museum – Náprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures, Prague). ÖStA Österreichisches Staatsarchiv Wien. PA EKL Private Archive of Ms Eva Kučerová-Landsbergerová, FrýdekMístek. SOkA FM Státní okresní archiv, Frýdek-Místek (State District Archive, Frýdek-Místek). SOkA Náchod Státní okresní archiv, Náchod (State District Archive, Náchod). UAL Universitätsarchiv Leipzig. UBL Universitätsbibliothek Leipzig. ZAO Zemský archiv v Opavě (Provincial Archive in Opava). f. fond (archival collection). fs. fascikl (dossier). inv. č. inventární číslo (inventory number). ka. karton (box). sig. signatur(a) (call number).

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Acknowledgements The present work could not be completed without the support and help of a number of institutions and individuals. Funding for the research resulting in this book was provided by the Czech Science Foundation (GA ČR) in the framework of L. Vacín’s junior grant No. 15-04166Y pursued at the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Hradec Králové, Czechia. Our warmest thanks go further to the staff of the State District Archive in Frýdek-Místek, the State District Archive in Náchod, the Náprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures in Prague, the Archive of Charles University in Prague, the Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Prague, and the Jewish Museum in Prague for their kind assistance with the retrieval of documents. The Netherlands Institute for the Near East in Leiden kindly provided digital copies of unique photographs from its F. R. Kraus Archive and permitted their publication in this book. Concerning individual acknowledgements, we wish to express our gratitude first and foremost to: Michael P. Streck, for accepting the work for publication in the “Leipziger Altorientalistische Studien” series and for putting all archival material kept at the Altorientalisches Institut Leipzig at the author’s disposal, as well as for useful suggestions and references; Eva Kučerová-Landsbergerová, for providing unique family photographs, documents, reminiscences, insights and – last but not least – excellent photographs for Appendix 3; Olga Mateášová, for careful checking of the holdings of the State District Archive in Frýdek-Místek and providing digital copies of relevant documents; Nathan Wasserman, for granting the author access to the part of the Landsberger archive kept by him at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, for providing scans of some additional items at the last moment and for permission to publish images of selected pieces; Netanel Anor, for taking photos of selected documents in the Landsberger archive in Jerusalem, for drawing the author’s attention to and translating parts of a relevant Hebrew article, as well as for inspiring discussions, insights and bibliographic references. Many thanks go also to the following people, who answered questions, provided materials, photos, links, and support on various issues related to this work: Tomáš Adamec, Daniel Baránek, Helen Beer, Petra Berská, Michal Chocholatý, Květa Částková, Alena Čtvrtečková, Sebastian Fink, Uri Gabbay, Mark Geller, Corry Guttstadt, Hannes Leonhardt, Ondřej Matouš, Sasha Meyer, Jakub Mírka, Pavla Neuner, Strahil Panayotov, Jaromír Polášek, Nadezda Rudik, Libuše Salomonovičová, Jack Sasson, Jan Schmidt, Aleksander Spyra, Janusz Spyra, Marten Stol, Carolien van Zoest. Needless to say, the responsibility for all errors, omissions, or inaccuracies rests solely with the author. This book is dedicated to the memory of our teacher, a student of Benno Landsberger’s disciple Lubor Matouš (*1908): Blahoslav Hruška (†2008) was the first to tell both of us who Landsberger was and what his work meant for the science

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

XIV

Acknowledgements

of Assyriology; not to speak of the anecdotes about Landsberger which he narrated (and possibly doctored) with his unmistakable storyteller’s charisma. Luděk Vacín and Jitka Sýkorová Hradec Králové and Prague, August 2018

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Preface Originally intended as an article in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Benno Landsberger’s death, this work has evolved into a book, which often happened to Landsberger himself. When I began writing, I estimated the scope of the paper at 10 pages. The idea was to find an answer to the question that has always been lingering in my mind with regard to Landsberger: How does it happen that a youngster from a provincial town on the fringe of the then Habsburg Empire chooses Assyriology as his mission? Additional questions followed while more and more new information on his (early) life, career, and personality kept emerging along the way. In the end, the work has about 10 times the page count originally estimated. As the title suggests, it is not a comprehensive scientific biography of Benno Landsberger, though. Such a work would have to be the product of a much larger project. Yet, considering that merely a single research article devoted solely to the life and work of the “Altmeister” is available (Oelsner 2006), a detailed biographical sketch covering selected stages and aspects of his scholarly development, work, and personal life should do no harm. The focus of the present book is determined by the sources and their accessibility. Czech archives and libraries, as well as Czech and Polish on-line repositories of historical print material, such as newspapers and school annual reports, kept revealing new details on Landsberger’s family, early education, his teachers and their influence on him, etc. The same applies to oral and written testimonies, private correspondence and other valuable items from the family archive. A number of books and research articles in Slavonic languages proved to be indispensable for the contextualization of the primary source material. I heartily acknowledge the merit of my colleague Jitka Sýkorová, who collected, organized, and carefully checked most of those sources and literature. More than that, she put at my disposal her specialist knowledge of the “Babel-Bibel-Streit” and its repercussions in Central European society of the day, an immensely important contribution to the genesis of this book. Speaking of the “Babel-Bibel” controversy, which will be shown to have had critical influence on Landsberger’s decision to devote to Assyriology and his early scholarly work, a vital piece of evidence supporting my point was found in the Landsberger Nachlass kept in Jerusalem. In general, the Landsberger archives guarded by Nathan Wasserman in Jerusalem and Michael P. Streck in Leipzig yielded a number of interesting and important facts about Landsberger’s study years, early work, military service, career prospects and disappointments, personal life, relationship with his students, etc. Regarding Landsberger’s relationship with his Leipzig students but also his troubled existence in exile, marked by painful worries for his relatives, the large body of published correspondence with one of his former discip-

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

XVI

Preface

les (Schmidt 2014) was of particular importance. Many thanks go again to J. Sýkorová for combing the hundreds of letters for relevant information. Hopefully, the result of my work with the knowledge from all those diverse and often piecemeal sources fulfills the intended purpose of the publication: to describe and account for Benno Landsberger’s origins, development, character, and conduct as a scholar, teacher, and human being in the context of the cultural discourses and historical events that determined his scholarly outlook, career path, and personal life in his European and Turkish periods. The chronologically arranged narrative should thereby fill a substantial gap in Landsberger’s biography both as the first book-length tribute to the “Altmeister” and as a contribution to the historiography of the discipline which until recently has only seldom reflected on her roots, progress, and achievements. Luděk Vacín Hradec Králové, August 2018

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Chapter 1: Introduction “Meine Lieben, … Weiss nicht ob Ihr von Bennos Tod vor circa 3 Monaten hörtet. Er wurde an Cancer operiert u. starb in der Narcose … Ein grosser Geist, ich sagte immer: ‘Das Licht der Familie.’”1 This is how Benno Landsberger’s cousin, Margarethe, announced to the relatives in BL’s birthplace the passing of one of the most brilliant and influential Assyriologists of the 20th century, who died on April 26, 1968 in Chicago.2 BL directly shaped the development of the discipline in Central and Western Europe, Turkey, and the United States while the results of his research and teaching have been absorbed by Assyriologists worldwide to such an extent that nowadays they are universally taken as a matter of course without which the academic study of Mesopotamia would be inconceivable anywhere in the world. To name only a few of such major achievements, BL’s works on Sumero-Akkadian lexicography, his concept of “Eigenbegrifflichkeit” of Mesopotamian culture, his contributions to the CAD, and his discoveries in the field of Akkadian grammar which he passed on to his students – e.g. the “Landsbergersche Tempuslehre,” the categories of meaning for fientic weak verbs in Semitic, or the classification of word classes in Akkadian – have become the fundamentals for further research on the cuneiform cultures.3 As “a larger-than-life figure,”4 a penetrating scholar, captivating teacher and enthralling personality – “ein Original,”5 BL became the synonym for an “Altmeis1 2

3

4 5

Letter from Markéta Müller (i.e., Margarethe, née Landsberger), Praia de Botafogo 518, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Eva Kučerová-Landsbergerová and her parents in Frýdek-Místek, Czechoslovakia, December 29, 1968; kept in PA EKL. Since Benno Landsberger’s name will be ubiquitous in this work, I will use his initials only, as appropriate. In order to facilitate orientation in BL’s family relations, genealogical charts are provided in the appendices. Family members mentioned in the book are highlighted in the charts. The charts are based on relevant sections in the magisterial work by Georg Gaugusch (2016, 1745–1750, 3033–3034), combined with information from Ms Eva Kučerová-Landsbergerová. On the Hitschmanns, see Čtvrtečková 2010, 303–308. So far, BL’s research and teaching have been studied by Manfred Müller (1979, 76–80), Joachim Oelsner (2006, 273–284), Michael P. Streck (2009, 356–358). The on-line version of Streck’s paper contains a complete list of courses that BL offered in Leipzig (pp. 35–38). For lists of BL’s lexicographical contributions, see Geers et al. 1950b; Foxvog and Kilmer 1975. On BL as a lexicographer, see Reiner 2002, 5–9. For an analysis of the “Eigenbegrifflichkeit” and its limitations, see Sallaberger 2007. For a critical assessment of BL’s ideas on the Akkadian system of tenses and his conclusions regarding the worldview of the Mesopotamians, see Streck 2003. The full bibliography of BL’s works was published by Anne Draffkorn Kilmer and Johannes Renger (1974). “Festschriften”: the April 1960 issue of JNES entitled Studies Presented to Benno Landsberger on His Seventieth Birthday; Güterbock and Jacobsen 1965. Reiner 2002, 5. Merzbacher 1990, 1. Eugen Merzbacher was BL’s personal secretary in Turkey during 1943– 1947. He read the full text of his memoir at the AOS meeting commemorating the centenary of

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




2

Chapter 1: Introduction

ter,”6 or doyen of 20th century Assyriology about whom numerous anecdotes continue to be transmitted within the guild. Some of the stories may even not go back to BL or his disciples but may be the products of the imagination of the next generation, proud of having BL in their academic ancestry.7 BL is among the very few, if not indeed the only Assyriologist who acquired such a legendary status.8 In view of this, I decided to look at “Landsberger – the man.” Specifically, I am concerned with BL’s family background, early education, cultural influences and intellectual incentives, his motivation for the study of Mesopotamia, and his early development as a student and scholar. Additionally, I will discuss BL’s relationship with his family, his efforts to rescue endangered relatives, and his steady concern for his Leipzig students. When reading the numerous appreciations and obituaries,9 it becomes clear that the points mentioned above constitute the greyest area in BL’s biography. Very little has hitherto been known about his youth and personal life,10 and even the few pieces of information published by people who knew him well must be carefully examined because it turns out that some of them are inaccurate.11 From the viewpoint of the history of science in general, and the historiography of Assyriology in particular, the methodology chosen for this work is what has been called the “biographical approach.” While this method is prone to a number of pitfalls, e.g. the “great man complex” or uncritical appreciation of the respective individual, it has recently yielded important results in general historical research.12 The

6 7 8 9 10 11

12

BL, a recording of which can be viewed at http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/xmlui/handle/1803/4342 (accessed August 15, 2018). See, e.g., Müller 1990. E.g., Hruška 1995, 117: “Particularly Landsberger, who used to smoke cigars and drink beer even in class, attracted students from all over Europe.” Thorkild Jacobsen in his Introduction to the English edition of BL’s “Eigenbegrifflichkeit,” Landsberger 1976, 4: “… no present personality in the field is genuine enough, controversial enough, and striking enough to be worth telling anecdotes about.” Geers et al. 1950a; Güterbock 1968–1969; Güterbock 1991; Kienast 1970; Martin 1968; Oppenheim 1968; Petschow 1970; Reiner 1969; von Soden 1965; von Soden 1970; von Soden 1980–1983; von Soden 1982; Tadmor 2007. Summarized by Oelsner (2006, 269–271, 284–285). E.g., von Soden 1970, 2: “Welchen Einfluß auf seinen späteren Lebensweg das Elternhaus und das Gymnasium in Mährisch-Ostrau hatten, ist mir nicht bekannt. Jedenfalls ging er zum Studium nach einem Semester in Prag 1908 nach Leipzig, …” As noted already by Oelsner (2006, 270), there is an error in each of the two sentences. The “biographical approach” has been very popular in the historiography of 20th century dictatorships. Schmidt (2007, 9) describes the concept as follows: “A book about a single individual in the context of the Third Reich and the Nuremberg war crimes trials obviously involves a number of methodological and conceptual risks. … Recent biographical approaches, however, have proved to be fruitful in enhancing our understanding of the leadership structure, generational patterns, ideological driving forces and rationalization strategies. Ian Kershaw’s extensive treatment of Hitler’s life, Ulrich Herbert’s compelling analysis of Werner Best, and David Cesarani’s study on Eichmann’s life and crimes have all shown the value of examining a single individual who shaped the character of Nazi genocidal policies and culture. Their work has de-

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 1: Introduction

3

concept has been successfully applied also in the historiography of exact sciences, as demonstrated for instance by the monographs about physicists Wolfgang Pauli and J. Robert Oppenheimer, or a collective volume about Albert Einstein.13 While the historiography of Cuneiform Studies is still in infancy, the “biographical approach” is not entirely alien to her either. Yet, there are only a few more substantial works using this method and those deal largely with the beginnings and early development of Hittitology.14 Thus, even though the general trend in the history of science, including Assyriology, may be the focus on concepts, ideas, large-scale projects, international networks and the like, instead of writing biographies of individual scholars, I believe that the “biographical approach” can come in useful for the historiography of Assyriology. Considering the current state of research on the discipline’s past, I would even argue that the “biographical approach” should come first in order to lay the “material foundations” for further (and no doubt methodologically more sophisticated) research. As for the present work, the observation of BL’s background and early intellectual development in the local milieu and broader historical context will contribute to the elucidation of some of the central issues of the discipline’s genesis. For instance, the motivation of some founding fathers for the study of Assyriology and the ways in which it determined her research agenda and methodology back in the day. Similarly, much light will be shed on the origins of the constitutive text that has set the discipline on her own feet but is nowadays held responsible for the apparently neverending tension and lack of collaboration between Assyriology and Biblical scholarship. New knowledge on BL’s personality will help explain his appeal as an academic teacher, uncover the inner dynamics of the “Leipziger Schule” at its peak and after its dispersion, as well as enable a better understanding of the reasons for the domination of BL’s disciples in post-war Assyriology. Documents of personal nature also betray many seemingly marginal details, such as glimpses on BL’s and his students’ prewar involvement in the CAD project, or ample evidence of incessant collaboration, support, and willingness of senior Assyriologists to help younger colleagues in interwar Central Europe across the boundaries of language, nationality, or religion. The latter point is important not only for further research on the social networks of Assyriologists in a bygone era of the discipline but also for deliberations about her future.

monstrated that a biographical approach can overcome the tension between depicting ‘everyday normality,’ on the one hand, and unprecedented levels of violence and ‘political criminality’ in the Third Reich, on the other.” See further Küpper 2010; Rees 2012 with methodological considerations in the introduction. 13 Enz 2002; Bird and Sherwin 2005; Renn 2005. 14 Oberheid 2007; Velhartická 2015a; Raulwing, van den Hout, and Petersen, forthcoming.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




4

Chapter 1: Introduction

Additionally, it will be shown in some detail on the example of BL’s career path that Assyriology was always a Cinderella of the Humanities, clever and diligent but miserable without an enthusiastic princely (or better imperial) supporter, and that even a scholar of BL’s stature was almost constantly worried about his future (at times even about bare life) well until he was nearly sixty years old – a disturbing observation bearing on the issue of the discipline’s future in a globalized world with entirely different priorities.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Chapter 2: BL’s Family and Cultural Background Benno Landsberger was born on April 21, 1890 in Friedek.15 The region where he came to the world frequently changed lords in the Middle Ages until early in the 14th century when it became part of the Corona regni Bohemiae, or the domains ruled by the king of Bohemia, the medieval state of the Czechs, as established by John the Blind and particularly his son, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. Following the incorporation of the Kingdom of Bohemia into the Habsburg Empire in the 16th century and the war with Prussia in mid-18th century, the province became known as Austrian Silesia (Österreichisch-Schlesien). From early on, the area was inhabited by a mixed population of Czechs, Germans, Poles, and Jews. Born into a Jewish family, BL learnt German as his mother tongue, which was usual in that part of the diaspora. However, at least passive knowledge of the Czech language was acquired by many Jews residing in the Czech Lands and BL was no exception. He retained this knowledge apparently for the rest of his life.16 At the time of BL’s birth, Friedek Figure 1: Benno Landsberger, ca. 1892. was the hub of quickly developing textile Source: F. R. Kraus Estate (courtesy M. Stol). industry and rich cultural life in the region.17 The Landsbergers were very much involved in both. The family can be traced back to BL’s grandfather Philipp Landsberger from Wilamowice near Skoczów 15 The date and place are confirmed by available archival documents. The earliest preserved item is the “Anzeigezettel zur Zählung der Bevölkerung und der wichtigsten häuslichen Nutzthiere nach dem Stande vom 31. Dezember 1890” in SOkA FM, f. Archiv města Frýdek, inv. č. 1744, fs. 346. Geers et al. 1950a, 1, give erroneously April 20 as BL’s birthday. 16 The last known piece of evidence is the following statement from a letter to F. R. Kraus: “Durch beiliegende tschechisch geschriebene Postkarte avisiert mein Vetter Dr. Otto L. seine Durchreise in Istanbul.” Schmidt 2014, 635: Landsberger an Kraus, 106, February 6, 1941. Note in this respect what BL’s sister Hilda wrote in a postcard from the UK dated April 15, 1947 to their cousin Otto: “I can understand Čzech but hardly can write it.” The postcard is kept in PA EKL.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




6

Chapter 2: BL’s Family and Cultural Background

in the Polish part of Silesia,18 who by the mid-1840s moved to Koloredov,19 a hamlet with mostly Jewish inhabitants near Místek, quite close to Friedek. Having been an owner of an inn and several houses in Wilamowice, Philipp leased an inn in Koloredov and traded in agricultural implements and foodstuffs. In 1851 he bought two buildings in Friedek and changed them into a “Cottonfabrik.”20 At that time, the textile industry just began to flourish in Silesia and Philipp was quick to catch the upswing. Apart from his business success, Philipp was very active in the local Jewish community immediately after he had come to Koloredov. In autumn 1845, the authorities interrogated him regarding illegal possession of the Torah, because the Prayer Community (“Minjanverein”) founded in 1823 was not officially registered.21 According to the statutes issued after the legalization of the Prayer Community at the end of 1845,22 “Reb Josef Munk and Reb Isaak Lichtenstern, the founders of the local Beth ha’knesseth, own the Torah scrolls and their cover with the exception of a ‘book’ and its attire [eines Sefers und seiner Bekleidung] that belong to Mr. Landsberger, and except the curtain which belongs to Dr. Ziffer.”23 It seems that BL’s grandfather did indeed purchase a Sefer Torah for the community. In 1861 Philipp became the chairman of the preparatory committee set up to change the existing Prayer Community into a Jewish Religious Association (“Israelitischer Cultusverein zu Friedek”) and to build a synagogue.24 Yet, shortly thereafter his company experienced serious problems when police investigation of one of his associates revealed frauds which the apparently innocent Philipp had to pay for.25 The resulting debts threatened to topple the company but Philipp was able to save it by stepping down and transferring the factory to his wife and son Adolf, who had already run a textile workshop of his own in Friedek since 1860. Philipp’s standing in the community was affected, though, and he had to resign the post of the committee chairman in 1863.26 Thus, the synagogue was finished and opened in September 1865 seemingly without Philipp’s involvement but he and Adolf were nevertheless mentioned in the first group of the “founders of the synagogue” on a memorial plaque in its an17 Since the establishment of Czechoslovakia in 1918 it has been officially called Frýdek. The town was occasionally mentioned together with nearby Místek already before 1918 but both were joined in a twin-town only in 1943. They have remained so as Frýdek-Místek up until the present in Czechia. 18 For a possible earliest documented ancestor, Jakob (born around 1736), see Spyra 2008, 289. 19 As indicated by the birthplaces of his children in Gaugusch 2016, 1746–1749. 20 See Lipovski 2006. Cf. Zářický 2005, 105. 21 Baránek 2015, 38–39. 22 “T’kanoth w’hinhagoth für das Beth ha’knesseth im Dorfe Kolloredow”; see Baránek 2015, 40– 46. 23 Baránek 2015, 44–45. 24 Ibid., 53–54. 25 Lipovski 2010. 26 Spyra 2008, 291; Lipovski 2010, 52; Baránek 2015, 54.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 2: BL’s Family and Cultural Background

7

techamber.27 Having settled the debts incurred by the machinations of his erstwhile partner, Philipp was elected member of the Association’s steering committee twice but died during his second election period.28 In addition to providing the community with a proper place for liturgy, the committee was also concerned with securing the education of their children. Although religious classes were offered even before the opening of the synagogue, a school was established in 1870, when Philipp was member of the steering committee again. While the committee approved the plans for the construction of a school building, the institution had to work in hired premises even after it was recognized by the authorities and enlarged five years later.29 It received a representative building only in 1900,30 when BL was already finished with elementary schooling. Clearly, BL’s grandfather very much cared for the development of religious life in Friedek and the transmission of Jewish cultural tradition to the next generations. Even though he suffered a severe professional setback, he was able to restore his reputation and actively work for the community until his death. This was facilitated by the abilities of his son Adolf, the most capable entrepreneur in Friedek. Between 1868–1878 BL’s eldest uncle bought several more factories and made his textile production ever more efficient by introducing mechanical weaving looms imported from England and by purchase of well equipped facilities from his competitors. In 1882, Adolf began his most ambitious project, the construction of the very first mechanical cotton mill in Austrian Silesia. Alhough the building was badly damaged by fire in 1894, Adolf was able to have it restored in merely a couple of years, even an additional floor was added. In the following two decades he constantly introduced more facilities, technologies and modes of production, so that his company finally encompassed each and every aspect of textile manufacture, in the end producing everything from packaging cloth to top quality cotton and linen fabric.31

27 Baránek 2015, 59–60. After the occupation of the Czech Lands by the Third Reich, the synagogue was burnt out in June 1939 and eventually torn down in December 1940. See Baránek 2015, 145–146. 28 Spyra 2008, 291; Lipovski 2010, 56; Baránek 2015, 62–63. 29 Baránek 2015, 63–65. 30 Its official name was “Jubiläums-Schul- und Gemeindehaus.” See Baránek 2015, 97–99. 31 See Zářický 2005, 105–106. For details about the products, see Berská 2013, 31. The historically and architectonically very valuable building of the cotton mill was demolished in 2014 apparently to make room for a shopping center. The archive of the company is kept in ZAO, f. Landsberger A., první slezská přádelna bavlny, tkalcovna, bělidlo a úpravna, Frýdek, inv. č. 7– 70.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




8

Chapter 2: BL’s Family and Cultural Background

Figure 2: Part of an invoice of Adolf Landsberger’s company depicting all the facilities, including the four-floored cotton mill, at the height of their prosperity. Source: Author’s archive.

Not surprisingly, Adolf Landsberger was regularly elected member of the town council in Friedek.32 He supported charitable projects, such as the construction of a hospital.33 In recognition of his merits for the town, he became an honorary citizen of Friedek in 1888. His business successes won him the membership in the provincial Business Chamber (“Handel- und Gewerbekammer”) in Opava, the title of imperial and royal business counselor (“k. k. Kommerzialrat”), and the decoration with the Order of the Iron Crown 3rd class.34 Generous gifts to the charitable organization taking care of war veterans eventually helped him to join the ranks of aristocracy. Emperor Franz Joseph I knighted him in a decree effective from May 8, 1913 as Adolf Landsberger Edler von Freideck,35 which BL’s uncle celebrated by donating a substantial sum to the hospital in his hometown.36 While Adolf was not as active in the Jewish community as his father, he supported it financially and his wife Mari32 33 34 35 36

Baránek 2015, 105–106. Spyra 2008, 294 with fn. 34. Baránek 2015, 106; Spyra 2008, 295–296. Gaugusch 2016, 1745; Spyra 2008, 296; Krejčík 2003, 163; Županič 2012, 457–458. Spyra 2008, 296.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 2: BL’s Family and Cultural Background

9

anne was an activist of the local Jewish Women’s Charity Association (“Kaiser Franz Josef Israelitischer Frauen-Wohltätigkeits-Verein für Friedek, Mistek und Koloredov”).37 An important detail from the private life of Adolf’s family is the passion for horses and horse-races which became evident in the sport career of his daughter Marie Therese who excelled in many show jumping races and by the mid-1930s belonged to the elite of European equestrians.38 The Imperial Royal Priviliged First Cotton and Flax Spinning, Weaving, Bleaching, and Finishing Factories Adolf Landsberger employed by 1888 in total 775 people,39 among them also the owner’s three younger brothers who sooner or later started their own textile business or became associates in Adolf’s enterprise. While we have seen care for Jewish traditions, quest for excellence, perseverance, capability to build and manage large technical business, organizational skills, and considerable generosity so far, intellectual gifts and inclinations were to enter the Landsberger family with the weddings of the youngest brothers. The first one was Jakob, “Fabrikant in Friedek-Mistek,” who in October 1886 married Josefine Hitschmann from Náchod in East Bohemia.40 She was the eldest daughter of Hermann Hitschmann, a textile entrepreneur.41 While this can be regarded as a sort of “dynastic marriage,” Hermann’s company was only modestly successful in comparison to what the Landsbergers had achieved in Friedek. In fact, Figure 3: BL’s aunt Josefine (née Hitschmann) and uncle Jakob. according to the meSource: PA EKL. moirs of his grandson Otto, Hermann “came to Náchod from his in those times customary wandering during which, it was said, he learned seven languages. He was rather an intellectual 37 Spyra 2008, 294–295 with fn. 41; Baránek 2015, 102. 38 Berská 2013, 36. Marie Therese should have competed for Austria in the 1936 Olympics but that was not to happen. Her father once owned altogether 16 horses but those were apparently draught animals used in his factories. See Slezáčková and Lipovski 2007, 221. 39 Baránek 2015, 71. At the turn of the century, Adolf employed about 1500 workers, in 1907 about 2000. See Spyra 2008, 292–293. 40 Gaugusch 2016, 1748. 41 See Čtvrtečková 2010, 306–307.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




10

Chapter 2: BL’s Family and Cultural Background

and like his masculine descendants without much talent for commerce in contrast to his capable wife.”42 Additionally, “among the Hitschmanns’ ancestors there was a Chief Rabbi of a large Jewish diecese. Students of specific schools had to pass obligatory examinations in religious instruction in his presence,” and “a certain Hitschmann was librarian at the local nobleman’s residence.”43 All this would not have much to do with BL, were it not for the wedlock in 1889 of Josefine’s sister Hedwig and Jakob’s brother Leopold.44 Hedwig and Leopold welcomed Benno in less than a year after their wedding. Particularly the reminiscence that BL’s maternal grandfather spoke seven languages vividly brings to mind the statements of BL’s students and collaborators that “Landsberger hatte eine außerordentliche Begabung für alles Sprachliche und ein phänomenales Gedächtnis, das ihn zeitlebens ohne ‘Zettelsammlung’ auskommen ließ.”45 BL’s father Leopold was doing well in his brother’s enterprise. Although in the census of 1890 he was registered merely as a “Magazinsleiter,” his household at Bahnhofstrasse 470 comprised not only his wife Hedwig and son Benno but also a servant (“Diener”), a cook (“Köchin”), and a nurse (“Amme”).46 Later he became Adolf’s associate, and in the census of 1900 was Figure 4: BL’s mother Hedwig (née Hitschregistered as a “Fabrikleiter,” whose famann), photographed in her hometown of mily had grown in 1892 with the birth Náchod. Source: PA EKL.

42 43 44 45

Hitschmann 1998, 2. See also Sádlo 2000, 98. Hitschmann 1998, 2. Gaugusch 2016, 1748. Güterbock 1968–1969, 204. Güterbock 1991, 270: “He had a great gift for languages and a phenomenal memory which enabled him to write his many lexicographical studies without the help of files; he remembered where a given word occurred in other texts.” Oppenheim 1968, 368: “… he had little regard for those he called ‘Zettelkasten Leute’ and ‘Buchhalter’ – he relied on his phenomenal memory …”; von Soden 1982, 516: “Er hatte eine ganz ungewöhnliche Sprachbegabung und ein phänomenales Gedächtnis.” 46 SOkA FM, f. Archiv města Frýdek, inv. č. 1744, fs. 346, Sčítací arch z roku 1890.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 2: BL’s Family and Cultural Background

11

of BL’s sister Hilda.47 By 1910 Leopold assumed the title “Fabrikant” and his household was home not only to his family and two servants but also to his nephew Oskar, a successful businessman in his own right.48 The apartment consisted of seven rooms, a lobby, a kitchen, a room for the servants, and a bathroom.49 Having been materially well secured, Leopold indulged in cultural activities. He was a talented musician, just like other members of the Landsberger and Hitschmann families. He replaced one of his brothers as the choirmaster of the “Gesangverein,” later the “Verein der Musikfreunde für Friedek, Mistek und Umgebung.”50 The choir performed on important occasions, such as the visit of a Cardinal Prince Bishop to Friedek: “… Hierauf wurde ein Ständchen vom Friedeker Gesangvereine Sr. Eminenz veranstaltet, wobei unter Leitung des Vereinsobmannes Herrn Leopold Landsberger drei Chöre und zwar ‘O wundersel’ge Frühlingszeit’ von Fr. Abt, ‘Die Kapelle’ und ‘Nachklang und Sehnsucht,’ beide von Kreutzer, würdevoll zum Vortrag gebracht wurden.”51 His wife Hedwig took music lessons and performed publicly as well: “An öffentlichen Musikdarbietungen fanden am 25. Februar im Schullocale ein Vortragsabend, bei dem die Werke: … 8. Mozart: ‘Duett aus Figaro,’ für Sopran und Baryton, Frau H. Landsberger, Herr H. Munk … 12. E. Meyer-Helmund: ‘Zauberlied,’ Frau Landsberger … zu Gehör gebracht wurden…”52 The gift of music and cultural influence of his parents made BL a passionate music connoisseur and amateur pianist, as testified by one of his students: “Er war hoch musikalisch, ein regelmäßiger und kritischer Besucher von Symphoniekonzerten. Wohl nur wenigen war bekannt, daß er gern und gut vierhändig spielte.”53 “At our house he would often play piano four hands with my wife. … He had a remarkable knowledge and understanding of music. He would write letters to the newspapers with his criticism of some performances of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.”54 47 SOkA FM, f. Archiv města Frýdek, inv. č. 1746, fs. 358, Sčítací arch z roku 1900. 48 SOkA FM, f. Archiv města Frýdek, inv. č. 1748, fs. 372, Sčítací arch z roku 1910. The document contains several mistakes in dates of birth, including BL’s (April 22, 1890). BL was registered as a “Hochschüler” in this census. By then he spent most of his time in Leipzig. 49 SOkA FM, f. Archiv města Frýdek, inv. č. 1748, fs. 372, Sčítací arch z roku 1910; Slezáčková and Lipovski 2007, 222. 50 Spyra 2008, 293. Anne D. Kilmer, American Oriental Society: Centenary of Benno Landsberger, http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/xmlui/handle/1803/4342 (accessed August 15, 2018), from 1:03:49 says that BL’s father had been an amateur actor in a Yiddish stage and that BL often rehearsed for her some of the acts that his father played. Since this reminiscence is the only piece of evidence available, it is possible that some confusion with the “Gesangverein” has occurred. 51 “Cardinal Fürstbischof Dr. Georg Kopp in Friedek und Teschen,” Troppauer Zeitung 120/1893 (May 27): 4. 52 “Musik-Schulen Ludwig Grande Jägerndorf – Troppau – Friedek Jahres-Bericht 1893/94 Vorbericht 1894/95 und Organisations-Statut,” Troppauer Zeitung 206/1894 (September 8): 4–5. 53 Güterbock 1968–1969, 206. 54 Güterbock 1991, 275. Cf. Merzbacher 1990, 6: “He told me about his work and his frustrations with the Chicago Symphony.” See also Reiner 1969, 188. Kilmer, Centenary of Benno Lands-

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




12

Chapter 2: BL’s Family and Cultural Background

In addition to developing his artistic inclinations, Leopold was also active politically, though not in the Jewish Religious Association. He became co-founder and functionary of the local German Union (“Deutscher Verein”), a branch of the German liberal party that was on the rise in the region since the late 19th century. In terms of improving the accessibility and quality of education in Friedek, Leopold collaborated with his brothers on the foundation and organization of the “Communal-Obergymnasium,”55 the secondary school where his son was to gain the “classical” education as was usual in Central Europe of the day.

Figure 5: BL’s father Leopold, dressed as a member of the liberal “Deutscher Verein.” Source: PA EKL.

berger, from 1:00:28 says about BL’s sister “… in his youth he’d play chess with Hilda and he’d play piano four hands with her … and when she was there (i.e., in Chicago) we also did four hands, and Hilda played the violin so there were some very pleasant evenings when we all made music together.” After her marriage in 1914, Hilda moved to Vienna and befriended the music theorist Heinrich Schenker with whom she kept regular correspondence and was frequently mentioned in his diaries, an on-line edition of which is available at http://www.schenkerdocumentsonline.org/profiles/person/entity-000739.html (accessed August 15, 2018). Her son Karl Leopold Rothberger was a professional musician. On BL’s musicianship during his exile in Turkey, see Möckelmann 2013, 92: “… neben dem großen Ansehen, welches der Orientalist Benno Landsberger als hervorragender Vertreter seines Faches unter türkischen Kollegen und Studenten genoss, erfreute sich der Musikliebhaber Landsberger unter Türken und Exildeutschen als ausgezeichneter Pianist großer Beliebtheit.” 55 Spyra 2008, 293. He was even elected to the committee of the “Gymnasial-Verein in Friedek” which since 1882 aimed for the establishment of a grammar school in town. See Baránek 2015, 76.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 3: BL’s Early Education Benno Landsberger began his schooling at the “Israelitische öffentliche Volksschule” in Friedek, co-founded by his grandfather Philipp.56 As required by the then valid law, the following subjects were taught at the school: language (German), arithmetic, natural history, geography, history, writing, geometry, singing, gymnastics, and housework (for girls only). The last obligatory subject was religion which in this case was obviously Judaism. In addition, pupils learned Hebrew: reading and translating prayers and Biblical passages, writing in the Aleph Bet.57 On top of that, BL also improved his knowledge of Czech which he might have picked up already earlier, for even though the language of instruction was German, pupils were taught the Czech language for two hours per week.58 According to the single preserved document, BL entered the school on September 15, 1895 and left on July 15, 1899 for “V. Cl. Friedek,” i.e. for the fifth grade at

Figure 6: The synagogue and Jewish elementary school in Friedek after 1900. Source: SOkA FM, f. Sbírka fotografií, fotonegativů a filmů, sig. P010/018-2.

56 Baránek 2015, 63. Cf. Slezáčková and Lipovski 2007, 213. 57 Baránek 2015, 64; Spyra 2001, 298. During the years of BL’s schooling, lessons in Judaism and singing were given by cantor Salomon Weiss, the remaining subjects were taught by director Bernhard Kraus and teacher Jakob Pollak. Baránek 2015, 64–65; Spyra 2001, 300, 307. 58 Spyra 2001, 300.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




14

Chapter 3: BL’s Early Education

the German primary school in his hometown.59 It is important to point out that while a number of Jewish parents preferred to send their children to German public schools immediately or after a merely short stay at the Jewish school,60 BL completed all four grades of the Jewish school and went to the German elementary school only for the final year necessary before entering a grammar school. His sister Hilda, who had been initially instructed at home, completed her primary education at the Jewish school.61 This shows that Leopold, true to the tradition of the Landsbergers, saw to it that his children received education in Jewish religion and culture from early on. BL entered the “Communal-Obergymnasium” – since 1903 the Imperial Royal Crown Prince Rudolf Grammar School in Friedek (“k. k. Kronprinz Rudolf-Gymnasium”) – in fall 1900. The school provided rigorous training in the humanistic tradition. Compulsory courses included Latin, Greek, German, History and Geography, Mathematics, Natural Science (Zoology, Botany, Mineralogy, Physics), and Religion. There was a number of optional subjects on offer as well, e.g. “Böhmische Sprache” (i.e. Czech), French, Stenography, Singing, or Gymnastics. The curriculum was very demanding and would easily compare with a university syllabus today. Detailed information on the teaching staff, the curriculum of the key subjects with long lists of passages from, e.g., Greek, Latin, and German literature that were read in each class in the respective years, topics of homework reading assignments and essays, library holdings, lists of students in each grade and much more, including details on financial support of the school by BL’s uncles Adolf and Jakob, aunts Sophie and Josefine, as well as father Leopold, can be found in the annual reports available on-line at the website of the Silesian Digital Library in Katowice under the tag “Kronprinz Rudolf Gymnasium.”62 For instance, classes in “Israelitischer Religionsunterricht” in BL’s third and fourth grades (tertia and quarta), comprised the following topics: a. Nachbiblische Geschichte: Vom Untergange des Reiches Juda bis zur Zerstörung des zweiten Tempels; b. Pentateuch: Ausgewählte Stücke aus Deuteronomium; c. Grammatik: Vom Verbum; d. Sittenlehre: Pflichten gegen Gott, die Nebenmenschen und gegen uns selbst; e. Liturgie: Der Gottesdienst am Sabbat (tertia);63 a. Biblische Geschichte: Von der Teilung des Reiches bis zu

59 SOkA FM, f. Obecná škola židovská (německá) Frýdek, inv. č. 1, ka. 1, Hlavní katalog, Třídní výkaz, No. 355. 60 Baránek 2015, 66, 101, with statistics. See also Spyra 2001, 308. 61 SOkA FM, f. Obecná škola židovská (německá) Frýdek, inv. č. 1, ka. 1, Hlavní katalog, Třídní výkaz, No. 429. Hilda entered the school on September 15, 1899 and on July 10 she passed an examination for admission to the 3rd grade. She left the school on February 20, 1900. 62 Go to https://www.sbc.org.pl and enter the tag in the search box (accessed August 15, 2018). 63 VIII. Jahresbericht des öffentlichen Kommunal-Obergymnasiums in Friedek. Veröffentlicht am Schlusse des Schuljahres 1902/1903 (Friedek: Franz Orel & Sohn, 1903), 40.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 3: BL’s Early Education

15

seinem Untergange; b. Pentateuch: Ausgewählte Stücke aus Leviticus und Numeri; c. Grammatik: Vom Verbum (quarta).64

Figure 7: Title page of an annual report of the grammar school in Friedek, with an image of the building. Source: Silesian Digital Library in Katowice

In BL’s third grade, the subject was taught by Dr Juda Bergmann, “Rabbiner u. Prediger der israel. Kultusgemeinde in Friedek und Mistek, prov. isr. Religionslehrer,” and for a while by Bernhard Kraus from the Jewish elementary school.65 Next year, all classes in Judaism were taught by the new rabbi Dr Jakob Drobinsky,66 and among the books used were the standard works for instruction in Judaism at secondary schools throughout the Danube monarchy: “Wolf, Kurzgefaßte Religions- u. Sittenlehre; Kayserling, Die 5 Bücher Moses; Wolf, Geschichte Israels; Brann, Lehrbuch der jüd. Geschichte.”67 It does not come as a surprise that BL was a top student. He was listed among the “Vorzugsschüler” already in the first grade and remained so until the “Maturitätsprüfung,” the final exam proving a student’s readiness to enter a

(https://www.sbc.org.pl).

64 IX. Jahresbericht des k. k. Kronprinz Rudolf-Gymnasiums in Friedek. Veröffentlicht am Schlusse des Schuljahres 1903/1904 (Friedek: Franz Orel & Sohn, 1904), 54. 65 VIII. Jahresbericht, 31. 66 IX. Jahresbericht, 45. 67 IX. Jahresbericht, 85–86. Wolf 1870; Kayserling 1890; Wolf 1856; Brann 1904–1911.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




16

Chapter 3: BL’s Early Education

university.68 The preserved “Classenkataloge” for BL’s third and fourth grades show that he excelled in all the compulsory subjects. As a businessman’s son, he must have chosen stenography from the optional courses.69 The catalogues contain abbreviations for excellent and commendable (“vorzüglich” and “lobenswert”) only, the highest possible marks.70 BL’s final examination consisted of a written and an oral part. The only available record of the written examination are the marks but the corresponding annual report provides information on the topics: Der schriftlichen Maturitätsprüfung, die in der Zeit vom 3. bis einschließlich 5. Juni 1908 abgehalten wurde, unterzogen sich sämtliche 30 Schüler der VIII. Klasse. Die Examinanden hatten folgende Themen zu bearbeiten: 1. Deutsche Aufsätze zur Auswahl: a) Oesterreich, ein Bollwerk gegen die Barbarei des Ostens. b) Was verdanken wir unseren Klassikern? c) Der Mensch im Kampfe mit den Naturgewalten. 2. Übersetzung aus dem Lateinischen: Ovid. met. XIII. 439–476. 3. Übersetzung aus dem Griechischen: Demosth. Aphob. I. 3–7 (teilweise). Die mündliche Prüfungen finden in der Zeit vom 13.–16. Juli unter dem Vorsitze des Herrn k. k. Gymnasialdirektors Dr. Franz Prosch vom k. k. Staatsgymnasium in Weidenau [Vidnava in Czech] statt.71 The preserved “Hauptprotokoll über die Reifeprüfungen” shows that BL’s written examination was excellent in German and commendable in both Latin and Greek. More importantly, the document records the course of his oral examination, taken on July 15, 1908 afternoon. Mündliche Prüfung: Deutsche Sprache Hauptmann, Aus “Hanneles Himmelfahrt.” Andere Dramen Hauptmanns. Traum ein Leben.72 Das Traum-Motiv. / 68 See VI. Jahresbericht des öffentlichen Communal-Obergymnasiums in Friedek. Veröffentlicht am Schlusse des Schuljahres 1900/1901 (Friedek: Franz Orel & Sohn, 1901), 83–84, and the lists of students in subsequent annual reports. 69 The lack of evidence from Czech archives is compensated by BL’s transcripts of lectures he attended in Leipzig which are kept at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Large sections are written in shorthand. See, e.g., LAJ, No. 66, “Transcript of a course by Kittel on ‘Urgeschich. & Archäologie des Volkes Israel.’” See http://altorient.gko.uni-leipzig.de/landsberger/jerusalem/j66 (accessed August 20, 2018). 70 SOkA FM, f. Gymnázium (německé) Frýdek, inv. č. 12, Třídní katalog 3. třída 1902–1903, sub Landsberger Benno; SOkA FM, f. Gymnázium (německé) Frýdek, inv. č. 19, Třídní katalog 4. třída 1903–1904, sub Landsberger Benno. 71 XIII. Jahres-Bericht des k. k. Kronprinz Rudolf-Gymnasiums in Friedek. Veröffentlicht am Schlusse des Schuljahres 1907/1908 (Friedek: Franz Orel & Sohn, 1908), 82–83. 72 A drama by Franz Grillparzer, first staged in 1834.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 3: BL’s Early Education

17

Lateinische Sprache Horaz, ad IV. 15. / Vaterlandskunde Das Zeitalter der Lützelburger73 u. ihre Beziehungen zu den Habsburg. u. den Angiowinen. Die Weltstellung der Monarchie mit bes. Berücksichtigung der Beziehungen z. Osten. Der Wirkungskreis des Reichsrates verglichen mit dem der Landtage. / Mathematik 1.) Eine Rente, welche 20 Jahre läuft und zu Anfang eines jeden Jahres fällig ist, steigt in der arithmetischen Progression 100 K, 200 K, 300 K u. s. w. Wie groß ist ihr Barwert, wenn 5 % Zinseszinsen gerechnet werden? 2.) Ein Dreieck zu konstruieren aus einer Seite, dem ihr gegenüberliegenden Winkel und dem Winkel, welchen die gegebene Seite mit der sie halbierenden Transwersalen bildet. Anmerkung gewählter Beruf: Philosophie.74 BL passed the examination with distinction and was duly declared “reif mit Auszeichnung.”75 He was ready to commence his university studies. But why Assyriology?

73 The Luxembourgs under whom the medieval Czech Lands experienced a “Golden Age,” beginning with the coronation of John the Blind in 1311 and culminating with the rule of his son Charles IV, founder of the University of Prague. 74 SOkA FM, f. Gymnázium (německé) Frýdek, inv. č. 66, Protokol o maturitní zkoušce, No. 18. I thank Jakub Mírka for helping me decipher the “Kurrentschrift” of this document. 75 The statement of von Soden 1970, 2, repeated in von Soden 1982, 516, that BL studied at the “Gymnasium in Mährisch-Ostrau,” is conclusively disproved by the evidence presented above.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Chapter 4: BL’s Motivation for the Study of Mesopotamia While BL told the examination committee that he wanted to continue his studies in “Philosophy,”76 he must have been already determined to devote specifically to Assyriology, for when he applied for “Habilitation” in December 1919, he stated: “Seit Beginn meiner Studien entschlossen meine Lebensarbeit der Assyriologie zu widmen, habe ich mich in alle Zweige der Keilschriftphilologie eingearbeitet…”77 It is hard to believe that the decision to fully devote to Assyriology came as a sort of epiphany at the beginning of his studies in Leipzig. Considering that from Friedek he went straight to Leipzig where he would study with Heinrich Zimmern, one of the leading Assyriologists of the time, the desire to study the cuneiform cultures had apparently been lingering in his mind for some time already. For if BL wanted to study Semitics in general, there was another, and logistically more convenient, possibility. He could enrol at the German University in Prague, where he could study with Max Grünert and Isidor Pollak, Professors of Semitic Languages and Literatures at the Faculty of Arts, and participate in the courses of Josef Rieber, Professor of the Old Testament and Semitic Languages at the Faculty of Theology. Yet, none of these scholars taught Akkadian and the only one who ever did so at the German University in Prague, Franz Xaver Steinmetzer, began teaching Akkadian at the Theological Faculty in the summer semester of 1908, while in the fall semester he was working on his Assyriological dissertation supervised by Friedrich Delitzsch. He offered his Akkadian course only irregularly that whole year (“nach Übereinkunft”).78 Although at the time of BL’s graduation from the secondary school, Prague was a good place to study Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac, Arabic or Ethiopian, it was not yet possible to acquire thorough Assyriological education there. The same applies to the University of Vienna, whose only cuneiformist, the young Czech “Privatdozent für semitische Sprachen mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Keilschriftforschung” Bedřich Hrozný, had to make his living in the university library and could not offer a full-fledged Assyriological syllabus.79 Thus, BL’s decision to bypass Prague and Vienna altogether and enrol at the university that could boast with great Assyriological achievements already, supports the idea that he was well informed and clear in his mind about which scholarly path he wanted to take.80 76 See also XIV. Jahres-Bericht des k. k. Kronprinz Rudolf-Gymnasiums in Friedek. Veröffentlicht am Schlusse des Schuljahres 1908/1909 (Friedek: Franz Orel & Sohn, 1909), 51. 77 UAL, Personalakten, sig. PA 676, leaf 5. The leaf numbers for this document refer to the sequence of available scanned images starting with the cover page as leaf 1. 78 On the history of Semitics in general and Assyriology in particular at the German University in Prague, see Vacín and Sýkorová, in press. 79 See Eichner 2015, 108–110. 80 At this point, it is important to clarify the confusing remark published simultaneously by von

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




20

Chapter 4: BL’s Motivation for the Study of Mesopotamia

This reasoning is confirmed by BL’s own statement related by his Chicago student Hayim Tadmor: “Wie von ihm selbst berichtet, hat er sich schon in jugendlichen Jahren für die Assyriologie interessiert und sich noch vor seinem Studium in Leipzig die Grundlagen der Keilschrift angeeignet.”81 But what could be strong enough to incite such an eager interest in a particular discipline from so early on? Joachim Oelsner, working without access to sources available to us, pondered that BL may have been attracted to Assyriology because of his Jewish background.82 As we have seen above, BL went through schooling in Judaism both on the primary and secondary levels.83 The upbringing in an emancipated Jewish milieu informed by German humanistic tradition and liberal politics, combined with the awareness of the role of his family in the religious and social life of the Jewish community in his hometown, certainly contributed to the development of what one of his students called “sein eigenes, innerliches Verhältnis zur jüdischen Tradition, das alle ApoloFigure 8: The gravestone of the cantor in Friedek and BL’s primary school teacher of Judaism (Jewish cemetery Frýdek-Místek). Source: PA EKL.

Soden (1970, 2) and Petschow (1970, 371) that BL had spent a semester at the University of Prague before he went to Leipzig. This claim has been subsequently taken over by other scholars as well. See Müller 1990; Hanisch 2001, 51. As pointed out by Oelsner (2006, 270), there was no semester between the date of BL’s final exam in Friedek (July 15, 1908; for new evidence see above) and the date of his enrolment at the University of Leipzig (October 15, 1908). The latter date occurs in UAL, Studentenkartei der Quästurbehörde, sub Landsberger Benno, also containing a field “Früher besuchte Universitäten” which was left blank. It is no surprise, then, that BL’s name does not appear in the catalogues of students enrolled at the German University in Prague, particularly AUK, f. Filozofická fakulta Německé univerzity v Praze (Philosophische Fakultät der Deutschen Universität in Prag), Spisový materiál (1857) 1882–1945, Katalogy posluchačů (Ordentl. Hörer/Philosophen). 81 According to Renger 2001, 253. As yet, I was unable to find any evidence of BL’s selfeducation in cuneiform during his time in Friedek. 82 Oelsner 2006, 271. 83 Cf. Güterbock 1968–1969, 205: “Das Alte Testament, Geschichte und Institutionen Israels waren ein Gebiet, auf dem er ebenfalls zuhause war und das er, für Vergleich und Kontrast, immer wieder heranzog.”

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 4: BL’s Motivation for the Study of Mesopotamia

21

getik aufs entschiedenste ablehnte.”84 Still, the question remains if there was anything specific in Friedek that could have instigated BL’s deep interest in the ancient Near East beyond reading relevant Biblical passages. In 1906, the cantor of the synagogue and one of BL’s teachers at the Jewish elementary school, Salomon Weiss, donated “2 Götterstatuetten und 1 Tierfigur (Aegypten)” to the library of BL’s secondary school. 85 A year earlier, the rabbi in Friedek, Dr Jakob Drobinsky, gave a lecture for the “Friedeker Gymnasialverein” entitled “Was berichtet uns die älteste Urkunde der Menschheit von der Urzeit.”86 Although it is difficult to decode from the title of his lecture what exactly he talked about, it may be assumed that his lecture touched upon the origins of the Hebrew Bible with comments on the hot issues of the “BabelBibel” controversy. Actually, the title of his lecture conforms well to the topic of his dissertation “Naturanschauung, Naturdienst und kosmogonische Poesie der alten Hebräer” which he wrote five years earlier under the supervision of Max Grünert at the German University in Prague.87 In addition, it should be mentioned in this context that the previous rabbi in Friedek (1900–1903), Dr Juda Bergmann, was a graduFigure 9: The rabbi in Friedek and BL’s secondary school teacher of Judaism (1906). Source: PA EKL.

84 Güterbock 1968–1969, 205. 85 XII. Jahres-Bericht des k. k. Kronprinz Rudolf-Gymnasiums in Friedek. Veröffentlicht am Schlusse des Schuljahres 1906/1907 (Friedek: Franz Orel & Sohn, 1907), 57. 86 X. Jahres-Bericht des k. k. Kronprinz Rudolf-Gymnasiums in Friedek. Veröffentlicht am Schlusse des Schuljahres 1904/1905 (Friedek: Franz Orel & Sohn, 1905), 56. 87 See Výborná, Havránek, and Kučera 1965, 14, no. 203. For details on Drobinsky, who moved from Friedek in 1914 to take up a rabbinate in Vienna, see Spyra 2015, 66–67. Note that in the XVIII. Jahres-Bericht des k. k. Kronprinz Rudolf-Gymnasiums in Friedek. Veröffentlicht am Schlusse des Schuljahres 1913/1914 (Friedek: Franz Orel & Sohn, 1914), 1–20, Drobinsky published an essay “Homer und die Bibel. Eine Studie,” in which he compared the Old Testament and Homeric poetry, arguing for the superiority of the former. The initial paragraph of the text shows vividly how this reformed rabbi perceived the relationship of the Jewish and Western cultures among which there was no place left for “Babel”: “Der Monumentalbau unserer heutigen Kultur ruht auf zwei gewaltigen Gedankenblöcken des Altertums: auf alt-hebräischer und altgriechischer Weltanschauung, jene als Heilsbotin der Religion, diese als Lehrmeisterin der Kunst von der Menschheit verehrt. Erstere wird durch die Bibel [A. T.] vertreten, während der älteste und populärste Repräsentant der letzteren Homer ist.”

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




22

Chapter 4: BL’s Motivation for the Study of Mesopotamia

ate in Philology and Oriental Studies from the University of Vienna.88 These clues suggest that the cantor and the rabbis guided the inclinations of their gifted pupil from very early on, which seems reflected in BL’s donation of one of his very first papers to the library of his high school that until then held no Assyriological literature at all: “Landsberger B, Babylonisch-assyrische Texte. Separatabdruck aus Ed. Lehmanns Textbuch zur Religionsgeschichte Leipzig 1911 (Geschenk des Herrn Verfassers).”89 However, was the influence of BL’s Friedek teachers enough to go study Assyriology with Zimmern straight away? Here we come to another logical conjecture by J. Oelsner, namely that BL was drawn to Assyriology by the “Babel-Bibel” controversy which attracted much publicity at the time of his secondary school studies. The following evidence, albeit indirect, not only confirms Oelsner’s idea but strikingly indicates that BL’s famous “Eigenbegrifflichkeit” had much earlier and deeper roots than previously assumed. The ebbs and flows of the “Babel-Bibel-Streit” were widely reported in the press of the German cultural area and the Czech Lands were no exception.90 The earliest news on the controversy that may have reached BL in Friedek appeared in the German newspaper published in Brno (Brünn), the capital of Moravia to the south-west of his hometown. Since the article is very illustrative of the discourse on the controversy current in BL’s native region, it is worth quoting in full: (Babel und Bibel.) Vor Kurzem hielt Professor Dr. Delitzsch in der Orientalischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin einen Vortrag, in dem er den Zusammenhang zwischen den zwei Worten Babel und Bibel darlegte. Ein großer erlesener Interessentenkreis hatte sich in der Singacademie eingefunden; auch der Kaiser mit einigem Gefolge von Prinzen und Herren des Hofes war erschienen. Der Vortragende führte aus: “Die Deutung der beiden Worte läßt sich kurz zusammenfassen: Babel wir[d] uns zum Interpreten und Illustrator der Bibel. So wußte man nicht recht Bescheid über den Ursprung des hebräischen Sabbaths. Jetzt besteht darüber kein Zweifel, daß derselbe in der Kultur am Euphrat und Tigris zu finden sei. Weiter ist eine Reihe von biblischen Erzählungen, die als hebräische Weisheit angesehen wurden, auf babylonischen Ziegeln gefunden worden. Auf die Sintfluth-Erzählung der Bibel paßt Zug für Zug eine Beschreibung auf der babylonischen Sintfluthtafel aus der Zeit 2000 Jahre vor Christus. Diese babylonische Ueberlieferung wanderte nach Kanaan, es wurde da aber vergessen, daß in der babylonischen Katastrophe das Meer die Hauptrolle spielte. Ein enger Zusammenhang zwischen biblischer und babylonischer Erzählung besteht auch in der Schöpfungsgeschichte und der Darstellung vom Werden des ersten Menschenpaares. Auch die 88 See Spyra 2015, 59–61. Cf. Brocke, Carlebach, and Jansen 2009, 69–70. 89 XVII. Jahres-Bericht des k. k. Kronprinz Rudolf-Gymnasiums in Friedek. Veröffentlicht am Schlusse des Schuljahres 1911/1912 (Friedek: Franz Orel & Sohn, 1912), 32. 90 On the controversy, see Lehmann 1994; Johanning 1988; Shavit and Eran 2007, 156–352.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 4: BL’s Motivation for the Study of Mesopotamia

23

Grundgebote des menschlichen Erhaltungstriebes und der Sittlichkeit wie das der Nächstenliebe zeigen uns babylonische Herkunft. Desselben Ursprunges ist die Sage von dem Sündenfall durch die Verführung der Schlange. An dem Relief auf einem uralten babylonischen Siegelcylinder sah man, durch den bekannten Baum getrennt, Mann und Weib einander gegenüber und hinter dem Weib die sich ringelnde Schlange.” Des Weiteren erörterte der Vortragende den Zusammenhang der babylonischen und hebräischen Vorstellungen von der Fortdauer des Menschen nach dem Tode, von der Strafe der Bösen in der Hölle und der Belohnung der Frommen im Paradiese. Die Hölle ist aus der babylonischen Darstellung von der Hitze in der Wüste entstanden, der Himmel der Frommen aus der Vorstellung von dem Labsal, welches das frische Wasser dem Dürstenden gewährt. Verschiedene Reliefs weisen uns auch auf den babylonischen Ursprung der Engel und Dämonen hin. Haftet nun so der Bibel manches Babylonische an, so geht doch aus dem Proceß bei den Hebräern die Religiosität gereinigt hervor. Die weltgeschichtliche Bedeutung des Monotheismus und der Gottesbegriff ist hier ausgeprägt und in der Tiefe und Hoheit erfaßt worden. Das Ziel freilich, zu dem der Mensch hinstrebt, ist von Babylon schon gezeichnet. “Jahve ist Gott,” so lesen wir auf einer Inschrifttafel, die der Zeit von 2300 vor Christus entstammt, 900 Jahre vor Moses!91 Characteristically, the article employs sensationalist phraseology, reducing Judaism to a mere decoction of Babylonian religion and culture. Such oversimplifying and rather aggressive depictions surely affected the sentiments of both the conservative and liberal Jews in the province, provoking some heated reactions. Indeed, a booklet on the topic was published by the rabbi from nearby Prostějov (Proßnitz) a year later.92 Another polemical booklet which may have gotten into BL’s hands at that time was the sharply phrased and at times sarcastic work by the Viennese Jewish journalist Bernhard Fuchs.93 To refute Delitzsch’s conclusions, Fuchs used philological argumentation of his mentor, Professor of Semitics at Vienna University David Heinrich Müller who was also Jewish and in the same year published a

91 Brünner Zeitung 22/1902 (Tuesday, January 28): 2–3. 92 Goldschmied 1903. See Shavit and Eran 2007, 311, 98. 93 Fuchs 1903. For Jewish reactions in general, see Shavit and Eran 2007, 277–293, particularly 286–293. Domestic polemical writings of Christian provenience were no doubt accessible to BL as well. See the 1904 paper by Josef Rieber, Professor of the Old Testament and Semitic Languages at the Theological Faculty of the German University in Prague, and particularly his 1905 inaugural lecture as Rector Magnificus. Delitzsch published his response to criticism from the Jewish milieu in a booklet (1904), where he reiterated his hypotheses about the derivation of the Old Testament from Babylonian culture and stated his perception of Judaism as national theism, characterized by the faith in Israel as a special chosen people, as well as by faith in divine promises and revelation, contrary to the universal notion of the Christian God.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




24

Chapter 4: BL’s Motivation for the Study of Mesopotamia

comparative analysis of Codex Ḫammurāpi with the Mosaic Law, complete with a translation of the former into Hebrew.94 Having belonged to the elite of educated emancipated Jewry in Austrian Silesia, BL seems to have found in Delitzsch’s presentations the decisive incentive for his own life-long commitment to the academic study of Mesopotamia. Moreover, he seems to have been quite emotional about it, as if Delitzsch’s conclusions had hurt “sein eigenes, innerliches Verhältnis zur jüdischen Tradition,” even though he “alle Apologetik aufs entschiedenste ablehnte,” and did not shy away from the use of Biblical material “für Vergleich und Kontrast” later on.95 BL’s perception of his Jewish heritage, marked by the dichotomy of an “inner relationship to tradition” and “strict rejection of apologetics” developed at a time and place perfectly convenient for post-Enlightenment economic and social emancipation of the Jews. Following the reforms of Emperor Joseph II, the Jewish population of the Danube monarchy gradually “shed their Asian being and carriage.”96 BL’s grandfather came from a shtetl and cared for religious and social life of the Jewish community in his new hometown. The statutes of the Prayer Community legalized in 1845 were still written “with Hebrew characters in the German language with the admixture of many Hebrew words,”97 i.e. in Yiddish. Initially, Philipp Landsberger kept an inn for traders from Galicia passing through but he soon changed trade and clientele, having become a textile manufacturer. In 1860, the emperor abolished all restrictions on Jewish possession of property and the Jews were finally declared equal rights citizens of the Austro-Hungarian empire in the Constitution issued in December 1867. Following these changes, the Jewish Religious Association was founded, a synagogue built, and a school established in Friedek.98 Philipp’s sons fully utilized the possibilities of economic, social, and political emacipation of Jews in the region. There is no evidence that anybody in the family spoke Yiddish anymore. Even though the Landsberger “Fabrikanten” brothers financially supported the “Kultusgemeinde,” they did not show much interest in religious life. Instead, they were elected to boards of public institutions, were active in local German political parties, charitable projects and cultural associations. One of them even obtained an aristocratic title.99 They became integrated, having met “the de94 Müller 1903. Müller makes no reference to the “Babel-Bibel” controversy in this work. 95 See above with fn. 82–84. 96 See Aschheim 2010, 8. Reference courtesy Netanel Anor. Aschheim (2010, 5–42) defines the salient points of modern Jewish experience within the “Orientalist” and “Occidentalist” discourses, relevant to the present discussion. For references to the voluminous literature on Orientalism and the “Westernization” of European Jews, see the notes ibid., 30–42. 97 According to Bernhard Kraus, director of the Jewish elementary school in Friedek. See Baránek 2015, 40. 98 Note that the synagogue was designed as the so-called “Tempel,” adapted for reformed liturgy, with the reading desk near the tabernacle, not in the middle of the nave as in traditional synagogues. See Baránek 2015, 51, 53, 59. For a pertinent concise overview of the history of the Jewish community in Friedek, see Baránek 2012, 140–145. 99 See Baránek 2015, 76, 106.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 4: BL’s Motivation for the Study of Mesopotamia

25

mand that their alien Jewish traditions, their exclusive ghetto mentality and ugly disposition and manners undergo radical reform and regeneration in a manner consistent with progressive modern standards and the moral and aesthetic refinements of Bildung.”100 The Landsberger brothers are a good example of how the “internalization of cultivating ‘Westernizing’ attitudes became a systematic self-conscious project of integration (made all the easier and powerful by the fact that they emerged from the mainstream of that putatively liberating force, Enlightenment humanism).”101 Nonetheless, the integration of the Landsbergers into the German cultural milieu did not mean that they wanted to suppress or forget their identity. The brothers not only wanted to belong to German society but also to sustain their by then “Westernized” Jewish identity. Thus, unlike many other Jewish parents in Friedek, they sent their children to the primary school where the next generation acquired basic knowledge of Jewish religion and culture. Those who continued their education at the grammar school in Friedek, were further instructed in Judaism there. Either institution was no yeshiva, though. Particularly the secondary school which was open to students of any religion cultivated trends current in contemporary German society, such as the “West versus East” discourse, which is not much of a surprise considering the location of Friedek on the fringe of the German cultural area. This is well reflected in the topics of BL’s final examination: “Oesterreich, ein Bollwerk gegen die Barbarei des Ostens” and “Die Weltstellung der Monarchie mit bes. Berücksichtigung der Beziehungen z. Osten.” Thus, despite additional education in the Jewish tradition by a reformed rabbi, the grammar school further “Westernized” the next generation of the Landsbergers well beyond simple “Bildung.” Consequently, while BL and his cousins knew the order and meaning of liturgy, festivals, and customs, religious observance meant almost nothing to them, as if it were just an irrational, obsolete superstition of their “peies and caftan” ancestors. According to Eva Kalinová, daughter of BL’s cousin Oskar: Once a year we went to that “temple” of ours, on Yom Kippur. … Father went there for something called “schnudern,” which was when the rabbi or someone asked them how much they had given to the “kehillah,” so he told him the amount and that was written down. … I know that he went saying: “I’ve got to go there because I must take part in the schnudern.”102 …

100 101 102

Aschheim 2010, 7. Ibid., 8. AŽM, Sbírka Rozhovory s pamětníky, transcript of interview with Eva Kalinová (née Landsberger) from 1994, “Kazeta 379” (Czech), 12. “Schnudern” comes from Hebrew ‫שנדר‬, and actually refers to an auction of the invitation to read from the Torah (‫ )עלייה לתורה‬on High Festivals, which constituted a traditional source of income for the Jewish Religious Association in Friedek. See Baránek 2015, 43.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




26

Chapter 4: BL’s Motivation for the Study of Mesopotamia

We celebrated Christmas and Easter because there was good food and drink, people gave presents to each other. … we were assimilated and we only observed the “seder” because it was bound to be fun. … mom (i.e., Johanna, née Behrend) had no idea how to prepare it. The only one who knew something about it was my granny (i.e., Sophie, née Herz). She knew it all, so she taught my mom. A very famous member of our family was invited, Benno Landsberger who was an Assyriologist. An Assyriologist known all over the world. … Benno was bachelor and had crazy sense of humor, just like my father. Therefore the seder was celebrated. … When she (i.e., the granny) got angry … it was bad … it meant that Benno and my father fooled around too much. When they argued which one of them would drink prophet Elijah’s wine because he would not come anyway… So it was great fun because the two were amazingly witty and governed the table.103 While these are memories from the 1920s, there is no reason to assume that BL’s relationship to Judaism as religion was any different a decade or two earlier. In this context, one can better understand what BL’s “strict rejection of apologetics” meant. The religious component of his Jewish heritage (including food restrictions, see below) did not appeal to him at all. On the other hand, the Hebrew language with the body of canonical and learned literature which he studied in Friedek (and continued to study in Leipzig, see below) formed the core of his Jewish identity. The sense of being bound to ancient Israel through the writings transmitted since antiquity, and the appeal of exploring the language and intellectual lore behind them apparently informed his “inner relationship to tradition” the most. A clue from a few postcards sent to BL by his sister Hilda in 1932 supports this point. She calls him “Lieb(st)er Ahu.”104 Every Assyriologist will recognize the Akkadian word for “brother” in the address Hilda used. Considering that Hilda had no idea about Akkadian, that there is an almost identical cognate of the Akkadian word in Hebrew (‫)אח‬, and that familial nicknames usually originate in childhood, it may be argued that as a youngster BL liked when Hilda called him with the Hebrew word for brother, while he instructed her to add the Akkadian nominative ending when he began to study as a “Babylonian talmid,” having turned his intellectual focus from “Bibel” to “Babel.”

103

104

AŽM, Sbírka Rozhovory s pamětníky, transcript of interview with Eva Kalinová (née Landsberger) from 2009, “PW 5” (Czech), 10–11. Cf. AŽM, Sbírka Rozhovory s pamětníky, transcript of interview with Eva Kalinová (née Landsberger) from 1994, “Kazeta 379” (Czech), 7–9. The part of BL’s Nachlass kept at the AoIL has recently been digitized and put on-line. See http://altorient.gko.uni-leipzig.de/landsberger/leipzig/l-20, 21, 22 (accessed August 20, 2018).

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 4: BL’s Motivation for the Study of Mesopotamia

27

Such a turn actually makes good sense for an academically inclined lad from an elite emancipated Jewish family. Whereas the Hasidim of Eastern Europe could not be bothered by the statements of a Berlin Professor of Assyriology, the “Westernized” Jews perceived his hypotheses as very dangerous to their integrationist effort. Generally speaking, “Westernized” Jewry, no matter if conservative or liberal, feared that by stripping the Hebrew Bible of its originality, Delitzsch would undermine its universal value as a declaration of morality and a cornerstone of Western culture into which they just integrated. Such a scenario was unacceptable because it threatened to justify besides other things the widespread Antisemitic cliché of Jews as harmful cunning tricksters who had to be excluded from Western society once and for all. All the more so that Delitzsch was no theologian.105 He supported his shocking conclusions with solid philology. This must have been very unpleasant to those who backed up their emancipation with humanist education and the use of modern science and technology Figure 10: Part of a newspaper clipping that which helped them to become fullprovides a clue to BL’s motivation for the study of fledged members of the German Mesopotamia. national polity. BL came from Source: LAJ, No. 20 (courtesy N. Wasserman). precisely such a background. While it is not known if he entertained the above sentiments, I would argue that De105

Note that in those days “much of Christian theology was bent on severing the threatening connections between ‘Oriental’ Mosaic law and Jesus’s Christianity,” anyway. Aschheim 2010, 8.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




28

Chapter 4: BL’s Motivation for the Study of Mesopotamia

litzsch’s contesting of the primacy of Old Testament ethical monotheism, of the origin and meaning of God’s name, the Decalogue, the Sabbath, the circumcision, and his critique of the Pentateuch, rejection of the Prophets and in the end of the entire Old Testament, must have been too much also for the Friedek “Gymnasiast” with strong relationship to Jewish intellectual heritage. Thus, it appears that BL’s Assyriological adventure began with the quest to defend the written tradition of his people against the attacks from a prominent representative of the culture into which his family had become integrated, and using the tools that culture encouraged him to employ, those of humanist rationalism and positivist science. The most important piece of evidence supporting this claim is found in the Landsberger Archive kept by N. Wasserman in Jerusalem. It proves that the twelveyear old BL sought additional information about the “Babel-Bibel” controversy to what he may have read in the local press or heard from and talked about with his teachers of Judaism in Friedek. It is a newspaper clipping from “Die Post Nr. 199 v. 30. 4. 1902,” complete with a delivery note from the “Zeitungs-Ausschnitt-Bureau C. Freyer Söhne Berlin-Schöneberg.”106 The article reports on German excavations in southern Mesopotamia and Delitzsch’s participation in them: Bekanntlich bringt der Kaiser den Ausgrabungen, die der Leitung des genialen Archäologen Dr. Koldewey unterstehen, das lebhafteste Interesse entgegen. Jetzt ist auch der bekannte Assyriologe Prof. Dr. Friedrich Delitzsch in die Aktion eingetreten. Mitte Januar hielt der genannte Orientalist vor den Mitgliedern der Deutschen Orientgesellschaft und im Beisein des Kaisers einen orientirenden Vortrag über das Thema “Babel und Bibel” in der hiesigen Singakademie. … Nun hat Prof. Delitzsch Berlin verlassen, um sich über Konstantinopel, Alexandrette und Aleppo nach den Euphrat- und Tigrisländern zu begeben… Delitzsch’s name is marked with blue pencil. The fact that BL kept this clipping for the rest of his life speaks loudly as an indication that Delitzsch and his hypotheses not only motivated him for the study of Assyriology but that he may have perceived Delitzsch as a sort of adversary since his secondary school studies. With respect to the possible role of Delitzsch in BL’s decision to immerse in Cuneiform Studies, it should be mentioned that the famous Professor gave two lectures in Prague in 1905 and 1907. Of course, he talked about the relationship of Babylonian culture and the Bible, including his latest findings, such as the sequence of Assyrian kings but particularly the Mesopotamian beliefs in evil demons and magic. He could not resist comparing the latter with the medieval witch hunt, in addition to many other startling parallels. Both the German and Czech press reported about those lectures.107 106 107

LAJ, No. 20. “Herr Prof. Dr. Delitzsch.” Bohemia (Morgen-Ausgabe) 77/1905 (Saturday, March 18): 6;

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 4: BL’s Motivation for the Study of Mesopotamia

29

Unfortunately, it is not known if BL attended the lectures or at least read the newspaper articles about them. Yet, he may have been informed about Delitzsch’s lectures by Jakob Drobinsky, the rabbi in Friedek and a graduate from the German University in Prague (1900), where he had studied with Max Grünert who by 1905 became a supporter of Delitzsch. The rabbi’s presence at the first lecture actually seems almost certain, considering that Delitzsch’s presentation took place on March 18, 1905, while Drobinsky talked to the “Friedeker Gymnasialverein” about “Was berichtet uns die älteste Urkunde der Menschheit von der Urzeit” (see above), apparently a reaction to the “Babel-Bibel” controversy, on April 29 of the same year. This clue rounds off the context in which BL made up his mind about his scholarly future.108 Indeed, the seemingly banal detail that BL chose to study with Zimmern in Leipzig, not with Delitzsch in Berlin, acquires some significance considering that if intellectuals from the Czech Lands, regardless of nationality and religion, went to study Assyriology in Germany, they invariably chose Delitzsch as their mentor.109

108

109

Grünert 1905. In the latter article, the Professor of Semitics at the German University in Prague explains the substance of the “Babel-Bibel” controversy to the general public, recounts the three lectures by Delitzsch, gives his short biography, including a personal reminiscence from his own time in Leipzig, and generally agrees with all Delitzsch’s conclusions, considering them as “gesichert”; “Die Wiedererweckung von Assur und Babylon. (Vortrag von Prof. Dr. Friedrich Delitzsch),” Bohemia (Morgen-Ausgabe) 78/1905 (Sunday, March 19): 4. An obsequious account of the lecture replete with compliments about Delitzsch’s ability to communicate complex scholarly issues to the general public, containing an overview of Mesopotamian literary genres and calling for a revision of religious dogmas; “Prof. Delitzsch in der Urania,” Prager Tagblatt (Morgen-Ausgabe) 31/1907 (Thursday, January 31): 4–5; “Professor Delitzsch opět v Praze [Professor Delitzsch again in Prague],” Čech: politický týdenník katolický [The Czech: A Political Catholic Weekly] 35/1907 (Tuesday, February 5): 3. A criticism of Delitzsch’s statements about the popes, the clergy, the medieval inquisition, and that Delitzsch tried to present the medieval Church reformer Jan Hus as a victim of the witch hunt, Delitzsch’s interpretation of Mesopotamian visual art is also criticized; Stěhule 1907; Hurdálek 1907. The latter report points out that Delitzsch “still professes his doctrine about the influence of Babylonian culture on our spiritual life, trying to underpin his assertions as scientifically as possible. He wanders through the history of Western peoples and shows to the astonished listener parallels between the moldered Babylonians and Copernicus, Hus, Melanchthon, Luther, Waldstein, and the philosophers of the 18th century. He is so much buried in Nineveh, Sargon (i.e., Khorsabad), Nimrud, Sip

ar, Nippur, that to him everything that has lived and lives is merely a reflection and reiteration of the wonderful life of those cultural centers of extinct peoples.” Hurdálek 1907, 171: “… Delitzsch has appeared already for the second time before the German and Jewish elite of Prague society.” Considering the specification of the audience, the possibility that the rabbi or the 17-year old grammar school student from Friedek or both attended (also) Delitzsch’s second lecture cannot be ruled out. Oelsner (2006, 272) argues “Es ist nicht auszuschließen, dass der Ruf, den Leipzig zu jener Zeit als Lehr- und Forschungsstätte der Orientalistik besaß, die Wahl des Studienortes bedingt hat.” However, Delitzsch was equally – if not more – famous and pupils came flocking to him from all over Central Europe. From BL’s perspective, though, he was rather infamous. Thus, apart from Leipzig the only convenient choice left was to study with Bruno Meissner

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




30

Chapter 4: BL’s Motivation for the Study of Mesopotamia

BL did not and twenty-four years after his first encounter with Delitzsch’s work, the “Panbabylonism” and the “parallelomania,”110 he made a major step in coming to terms with it by publishing his program of how to approach Babylonian culture – the “Eigenbegrifflichkeit.”111 For, as Erica Reiner put it, “his most interesting work was written against someone.”112

110

111

in Breslau, the closest chair of Assyriology to BL’s hometown. In this case, the fame and achievements of the “Leipziger Schule” seem to have proven more important than the short distance. Cf. Renger 2001, 253: “Er studierte … in Leipzig, das damals neben Berlin mit F. Delitzsch das bedeutendste Zentrum altorientalistischer Studien war.” The fact that H. Zimmern was also Jewish (see Niefanger 2001, 265 with references) may be relevant in this context, although one may ask how BL could know that before coming to Leipzig. BL’s teacher, like almost all other contemporary German Assyriologists a disciple of Delitzsch, initially embraced Panbabylonism but became more and more critical of the theories put forward particularly by the most prominent Panbabylonist Hugo Winckler. See Parpola 2004, 238, fn. 7 and 10, quoting Zimmern’s call for a middle course and some of his critical remarks to Winckler’s ideas. For a discussion of BL’s paper from the perspective of the history of science, see Sallaberger 2007. While BL stressed that interdisciplinary collaboration was necessary for the implementation of his proposed method, the proposed method itself was what mattered the most in the subsequent development of Assyriology and her relationship to other disciplines. Landsberger 1926, 358: “Die … Methode war heuristisch, d.h. sie tritt nicht, von einem stabilen System der Bezugsbegriffe ausgehend, an den fremden Geist heran und untersucht, inwieweit die Fremde Kultur auf jenes beziehbar ist. … Der Maßstab der für die von mir zu enträtselnde Geisteswelt gilt, muß vielmehr aus dieser selbst abgelesen werden.” This is well illustrated in recent assessments of the discontinuation of the comparative approach and the severing of the links between Assyriology and Biblical Studies, attributed to the allegedly allpowerful influence of BL’s essay. Bill T. Arnold (2005) writes: “Landsberger was an effort to reverse the lineage of ‘Babel und Bibel,’ and his paper was almost the opposite of Delitzsch’s approach. … Assyriologists today are often isolated and tend not to consider comparative issues… Perhaps in this way, Assyriology has not overcome the controversies of the Delitzsch and Landsberger years.” In an earlier study, Arnold (1994, 129–130) stated: “Landsberger insisted that any culture is ‘conceptually autonomous’ and will be misunderstood when approached through the concepts of another culture. Few Assyriologists today question this assertion, and it has become something akin to an unwritten credo. Without question, scholars have had difficulty steering safely between a mania for parallels on the one hand and isolated specializiation on the other.” In the opening passages of his recent introduction to the Old Testament, Arnold (2014, 2) highlights Delitzsch’s hypotheses, certainly an interesting way how to begin a book on the Hebrew Bible. Thus, Assyriologists are conveniently presented as either “parallelomaniacs” or secluded “isolationists” with Delitzsch and BL epitomizing either standpoint. They are the only party responsible for the tense relationship between their discipline and Biblical Studies. Some have recently conceded the guilt, identifying BL as the primary culprit. Thus, even though Parpola 2004, 240 (see also 243, fn. 28), does mention that BL emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary evidence, his assessment of the “Eigenbegrifflichkeit” is unambiguous: “… Landsberger distanced himself from the work of his predecessors and outlined his own research programme, which stressed the ‘conceptual autonomy’ (Eigenbegrifflichkeit) of the Mesopotamian civilisation and insisted that it should be reconstructed in its own terms and basically with recourse to the cuneiform evidence only. Although Landsberger by no means denied the value of comparative studies, the subsequent almost exclusive implementation of his heuristic method in Assy-

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 4: BL’s Motivation for the Study of Mesopotamia

31

The suggestion that the earliest and deepest roots of the concept of “Eigenbegrifflichkeit” were personal and emotional and had something to do with BL’s background and upbringing in the “Westernized” Jewish milieu seems disproven by the following sentences from the famous article itself: In ihrer Entdeckerfreudigkeit trugen die ersten Entzifferer oft allzu viel von ihrem eigenen Geiste in die schlichten Denkmäler und brachten die Assyriologie in den Ruf der Phantastik. FRIEDRICH DELITZSCH schlug diese frei nachgestaltende Phantasie in die Fesseln einer gesunden Methodik und schuf durch ruhige, ausdauernde Arbeit, unbeeinflußt durch das Sensationsbedürfnis, die Grundlagen unserer Philologie.113 What else could be expected from the introduction to an inaugural lecture by a 36-year old “Extraordinarius” than a seemly and correct praise of his worthy predecessors? Moreover, Delitzsch’s philology was fundamental and could not be ignored by any serious Assyriologist.114 Accordingly, beginning with this passage, philology would be the only part of Delitzsch’s work that BL was ever ready to acknowledge in his own writings. An important exception is the obituary that BL wrote five years later for his mentor, Heinrich Zimmern. Although Delitzsch is only seldom mentioned, the whole obituary is clearly permeated with BL’s effort to highlight the difference between his teacher and Delitzsch. Even though BL admits that Zimmern himself belonged to the Panbabylonists, he emphasizes that Zimmern’s work was qualitatively much better than that of the other scholars with similar approach:

112 113 114

riology effectively paralysed interdisciplinary study of Mesopotamian religion for several decades.” Cf. Hallo 2004 and fn. 129 below. For a penetrating case-study of the relationship between Biblical scholarship and Assyriology at the time of the latter’s nascence, see Machinist 2009, here particularly 511–515 and 522–524. Reiner 2002, 6. Cf. Schmidt 2014, 635: Landsberger an Kraus 105, February 1, 1941: “Wenn ich den von mir immer gesetzten äusseren Antrieb habe, so arbeite ich noch mit anerkennenswerter Hingabe.” Landsberger 1926, 356. Shavit and Eran 2007, 241, fn. 143 are surprised that “the renowned Jewish Assyriologist” assessed Delitzsch thusly. But they also note, quite appropriately, that “Landsberger chose only to mention Delitzsch’s great contribution to philology.” BL went on to praise Heinrich Zimmern and the Marburg Assyriologist Peter Jensen who, even though counted among the Panbabylonists by some, actually was on hostile terms with them but was possessed by the “parallelomania” anyway. See Lehmann 1994, 46. Thus, Landsberger 1926, 356–357, added: “… gerade diejenigen Männer, denen unsere Wissenschaft am meisten verdankt, suchen außerhalb ihres Gebietes dankbarere Forschungsprobleme. Sie versuchen – und dies ist der Impuls, der die Assyriologie ins Leben gerufen hat – die toten Dinge dadurch lebendig zu machen, daß sie angeknüpft werden an Ideen, die noch bei uns oder in uns nahestehenden Kulturen bedeutsam sind.” Note that Parpola 2004, 240, fn. 14, considers these passages about BL’s predecessors as ironical in view of what follows in the essay.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




32

Chapter 4: BL’s Motivation for the Study of Mesopotamia

Mag auch Z. als Kind seiner Zeit den Wert genetischer Kulturerklärung überschätzt, die Motive und Ideen oft allzustark isoliert haben, so wird seine Arbeit doch auch für den anders orientierten Betrachter nicht an Wert verlieren, da die von ihm aufgestellten Reihen von Parallelen als Paradigma für jede geisteswissenschaftliche Anthropologie verwertet werden können.115 He insists that Zimmern avoided judgement about the borrowings and relationships between similar motifs from different cultures. He praises Zimmern’s systematical approach to the parallels and his ability to find the really central motifs without the “use of force” on the cuneiform sources.116 While it is certainly true that Zimmern’s approach was far more sober than that of the (other) Panbabylonists,117 the fact that BL felt the urge to repeat this time and again is noteworthy: Ein Vorzug seiner Methode ist es ferner, daß er, wie schon erwähnt, die Parallelen unverbindlich nebeneinander stellt und fast stets nur von der Möglichkeit, nicht von der Wirklichkeit der Entlehnung spricht, wie er überhaupt die Darstellung des Helldunkel unklarer Zusammehänge meisterhaft beherrscht.118 In the end, BL praises Zimmern for having never overstepped the boundaries between historical and theological approach, and taken restraint in the “Babel-Bibel” controversy. Again, the comments on the matter published by Zimmern, “the most competent referee,” were “merely orienting, not deciding.”119 In view of these passages, the obituary may be read not only as a praise of Heinrich Zimmern but as a critique of Friedrich Delitzsch as well. In fact, there is only a single positive remark about Delitzsch in the entire text, namely that he was responsible for attracting Zimmern to Assyriology!120 While the fact that Delitzsch supervi115 116

117 118 119

120

Landsberger 1931, 140. Ibid., 138–139: “Die aneinander anklingenden Motive der verschiedenen Kulturen werden zwar nur locker und unverbindlich aneinander gereiht, meistens wird auch über Entlehnung oder Verwandtschaft nicht entschieden, aber in ihrer Gesamtheit enthalten diese Motivreihen doch das Wesentliche der Religion. Durch diese implicite vorhandene Systematik der Parallelisierung, aber auch durch das Aufsuchen der wirklich zentralen Motive hebt sich Zimmern aus den zahlreichen Forschern heraus, die um die Jahrhundertwende die Ergebnisse der Assyriologie für die allgemeine Geistesgeschichte nutzbar machten; ferner durch sein unausgesetztes Bemühen, ohne Gewaltanwendung aus den Keilschriftquellen das Letzte herauszuholen…” See fn. 110 above. Cf. Müller 1979, 73. Landsberger 1931, 139. Ibid., 140: “In diesen teilweise für die Theologie aktuellen Fragen hat Z. niemals die Grenze zwischen historischer und theologischer Betrachtungsweise überschritten. Als vollends die von Z. in seinem KAT erschöpfend untersuchten Probleme zum Gegenstand allgemeiner Diskussion gemacht wurden, in dem Babel-Bibel-Streit und dem Streit um die Christusmythe, hat Z. vornehme Zurückhaltung geübt. Die Broschüren, in denen er, der kompetenteste Beurteiler, dazu Stellung nahm …, waren lediglich orientierend, nicht entscheidend.” Ibid., 135: “… ihn schon im zweiten Semester Friedrich Delitzsch für die Assyriologie ge-

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 4: BL’s Motivation for the Study of Mesopotamia

33

sed Zimmern’s doctoral dissertation is not mentioned at all, the influence of his father, Franz Delitzsch, a theologian famous for his commentaries on the Old Testament and his translation of the New Testament into Hebrew, is highlighted instead.121 The obituary even contains an explicit attack on Friedrich Delitzsch: “… erschloß Jensens Scharfsinn das Eigengepräge des akkadischen Wortschatzes, den Delitzsch nur erst in etwas verschwommener Weise bestimmt hatte.”122 In the rest of the text, Delitzsch is mentioned merely as Zimmern’s predecessor in Leipzig and Breslau, from where Zimmern soon went back to Leipzig and his most productive period both in terms of research and teaching began. A biting remark, again a praise of Zimmern and a criticism of Delitzsch at the same time, occurs just two sentences after the last mention of the latter scholar: “Auch verstand es Z., ohne die leidige Sensationslust weitere Kreise für die Bedeutung der Assyriologie zu interessieren.”123 In one of the evaluations of Zimmern’s scientific method BL even provides a glimpse on the development of the “Eigenbegrifflichkeit”: “Wir müssen ihm bezeugen, daß seine Resultate wirklich aus den Quellen heraus- und nicht erst in diese hineininterpretiert waren…”124 Such attitude to the material must have had significant impact on BL’s scholarly growth, and eventually on the making of his own decisive conceptual framework. Yet again, the statement has a scathing touch to it, since one can feel Delitzsch on the other side of the Assyriological continuum, as BL constructed it in the obituary. BL concluded that while Zimmern was an academic of immensely broad scholarly interests and expertise, specialization within Assyriology was necessary at the time of his death, and one had to beware of empty pedantry, unfruitful polemics, and idle speculation – a final blow to Delitzsch: Wenn wir nun sein Werk ergänzen und vertiefen, müssen wir zwar notgedrungen das Odium des Spezialistentums auf uns nehmen, der Gedanke an Zimmern möge uns aber wenigstens davor bewahren, uns in leere Schulmeisterei zu verlieren, unsere Kraft in unfruchtbarer Polemik oder müßiger Spekulation zu erschöpfen.125

121 122 123 124 125

wann.” Emphasis original. Ibid., 134: “Franz Delitzsch war ihm vom Beginn seiner Studien bis zu seinem Bruche mit der Theologie ein warmer Förderer…” Emphasis original. Ibid., 135: “… folgte Z. zunächst dem Rate von Franz Delitzsch, eine Habilitation für Altes Testament ins Auge zu fassen…” Ibid., 136. Ibid., 137. Ibid., 139. Ibid., 143. Note that in his obituary for Delitzsch, H. Zimmern used very cautious phraseology when writing about his mentor’s comparative research, in order not too criticize him openly but at the same time to make it clear that he did not agree with Delitzsch’s “Babel-Bibel” quest. See Zimmern 1923, 124: “… Delitzsch mit der Zeit immer mehr außer lebendiger Berührung mit dem laufenden Strome der von ihm selbst erst in die richtigen Wege geleiteten lexikalischen, grammatikalischen und mehrfach auch sonstigen assyriologischen Forschung

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




34

Chapter 4: BL’s Motivation for the Study of Mesopotamia

Figure 11: BL (standing, 3rd from the right) and Heinrich Zimmern (far right) with other members of the “Semitistisches Institut” at Leipzig, ca. 1920. Source: NINO, Kraus Archive (courtesy of the Netherlands Institute for the Near East, Leiden).

Additionally, in an obituary for the Professor of Old Testament Exegesis at Würzburg, Johannes Ferdinand Hehn, who wrote his Assyriological dissertation under Delitzsch, BL confirmed his respect for scholars who departed from Delitzsch’s way of comparing the Babylonian and Biblical material: Hehn … hat auch durch die klare Herausarbeitung der Parellelen aufgrund gediegener Kenntnis sowohl des babylonischen wie des biblischen Materials und feiner Philologie zur Klärung der zwar verwandten, aber doch stets tief gegensätzlichen Ideen der Babylonier einerseits, der Israeliten andererseits beigetragen.126 On the other hand, if BL spotted signs of Panbabylonism, he was quick to reprimand it and assert his own concept, as he did in a report on the candidates for the

126

kam.” For more apologetic passages, see Zimmern 1923, 125–126. Delitzsch’s last work (1921a, 1921b) is characterized as “leidenschaftlicher Kampf um weitreichende Weltanschauungsfragen” (Zimmern 1923, 127). In his RlA entry about Delitzsch, F. H. Weißbach (1938) merely refers in passing to the controversial writings as works for the general public: “Das volgende Verzeichnis enthält nur die wichtigsten in Buchform erschienenen Schriften D.s ohne die mehr populären Vorträge zum Thema ‘Babel und Bibel’ (1902ff.) und einige kleinere Arbeiten.” Landsberger 1933, 302.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 4: BL’s Motivation for the Study of Mesopotamia

35

chair of Semitic languages at Uppsala University, written more than two decades later: The old pan-Babylonianism of Zimmern, regarded as dead and superseded by structural analyses and the doctrine of Eigenbegrifflichkeit, is still quite alive in the school to which Mr. Haldar adheres. … The oldest merchandise is brought forth once more to make of the Semites a cultural unity, and to reduce to a common denominator the thousands of years old Sumerian culture with the desert spirit of the Arabs and the original religion of Israel. … he distorts facts by his devotion to the thoroughly antiquated pan-Babylonistic and Frazerian schools.127 Interestingly, BL’s respected teacher is referred to as the Panbabylonist, while Delitzsch is mentioned as an “excellent copyist” earlier in the report. Having shown no hesitation to refer to the results of Delitzsch’s philological work, BL apparently did not regard his Panbabylonism of the “Babel-Bibel-Streit” period as worth mentioning at all.128 Finally, with respect to the personal and emotional aspect of BL’s “Eigenbegrifflichkeit,” rooted in the complexities of his Jewish identity, it may be worthwhile to look briefly at the perception of BL’s concept in the contemporary Jewish milieu in Germany. A substantial and significant reaction to BL’s methodological separation of Assyriology from Biblical Studies occurs in a large overview of Jewish approaches to the study of Biblical texts after Enlightenment, written by lawyer, editor, author and brother of a famous writer Ludwig Feuchtwanger for the journal “Der Morgen: Monatsschrift der Juden in Deutschland.”129 In the second section of his 127 128

129

Letter from BL to Torgny Segerstedt, dated Chicago, February 15, 1956. See http://altorient.gko.uni-leipzig.de/landsberger/leipzig/l-24 (accessed August 20, 2018). It may be worth noting in this context that BL’s disciple Wolfram von Soden mentions Heinrich Zimmern, Bruno Meissner, and François Thureau-Dangin as the most important Assyriologists of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Delitzsch is not mentioned. See von Soden 1994, xvii. Reference courtesy Michael P. Streck. Shavit and Eran (2007, 367) reckon the journal as orthodox. Among the authors who often contributed to the journal was the philosopher Franz Rosenzweig, whose works are referred to in Feuchtwanger’s paper too (1929–1930, 179, 182, 613). Feuchtwanger (1929–1930, 267) also mentions the works of Rosenzweig’s close associate, Rudolf Hallo, father of William W. Hallo, the late Professor of Assyriology at Yale University, who strove for a revival of scholarly interest in the similarities and intertextuality of Biblical and ancient Near Eastern literatures. See particularly the three-volume collection of texts providing the “context of Scripture” (Hallo and Lawson Younger 1997–2002). Note that Hallo’s introduction to the work contains no reference either to Delitzsch and the “Babel-Bibel” controversy or to BL and the “Eigenbegrifflichkeit.” In an introductory paper to the third volume, David Weisberg (2002, xliv) does mention Delitzsch, Winckler, and Jeremias as “the foremost scholars representing the Pan-Babylonian position,” yet no reference to BL and his concept is made. This issue is taken up in the immediately following paper by Hallo, in response to criticism of the “Bible-centric” focus of the collection. Hallo (2002, liii; 2004, 173) states: “My personal response to Landsberger’s ‘conceptual autonomy’ is the ‘contextual approach,’ which I

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




36

Chapter 4: BL’s Motivation for the Study of Mesopotamia

paper entitled “Aus dem Problemkreis ‘Die altorientalische Umwelt der Bibel,’” Feuchtwanger first hints at the strict separation of Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies as desirable also from the viewpoint of Biblical scholarship, while at the same time he dismisses the approach of the Panbabylonists in general terms: Vom bibelzentrischen Standpunkt gingen diese Fragen im 19. Jahrhundert aus; heute ist auch für die Erkenntnis der Urkunden des Alten Testaments am meisten dann zu erwarten, wenn die ägyptische und vorderasiatische Altertumskunde in strengster Selbstbeschränkung ihre eigenen Wege geht und sich Aufgaben und Methoden nur aus der ihr eigentümlichen Begriffs- und Stoffwelt heraus vorschreiben läßt. Lotungen der Volksseele, des religiösen spezifischen Gewichts, dann Prioritätsfragen, Urteile über kulturelle Höhenlagen, “Bestätigungen” werden besser auf den Kanzeln der Synagogen und Kirchen zelebriert.130 On the following pages, he gives a positive overview of some of the then available research tools for Assyriology, including Delitzsch’s “Assyrische Lesestücke,” and compares the beginnings and development of Egyptology and Assyriology as scholarly disciplines with the advances of science and technology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries: Nur mit dem Werden der größten Erfindungen der Technik vergleichbar ist schon allein die Entzifferungsgeschichte der Hieroglyphen und der Keilschrift. Dazu kommt nun das persönliche Erlebnis der grammatikalischen Präzision und der vollkommenen sicheren Lesbarkeit einer umfassenden, in den letzten Jahrzehnten neu aufgefundenen Literatur. Damit erst stellt sich das Sicherheitsgefühl des “Wissen-Könnens” ein und wird der kontrollierbare und in jedem Augenblick regulierbare Prozeß der eigenen Urteilsbildung ermöglicht, die allein zu sicheren Forschungsergebnissen führt.131 Already in that paragraph, he stresses philological precision and scientific methodology as necessary preconditions for a plausible understanding of Mesopotamian culture. Further on, Feuchtwanger argues that writing a general history of the Near East and integrating the Old Testament material into it is pointless as long as Assyriology is occupied with specific issues, particularly with the painstaking analysis of the numerous texts. With a little exaggeration it may be said that the situation he has described prevails to this day:

130 131

have defined in various venues as being made up in equal parts of comparison and contrast, and of setting the biblical evidence both in its vertical dimension as the product of historical kinship with precedents, or intertextuality, and in its horizontal dimension as an expression of the geographical context in which it is set. But even this broad basis does not exhaust the possible analogies that can usefully be drawn from the evidence.” Hallo’s approach has found approval among Biblical scholars, see e.g. Arnold 1994, 130. Feuchtwanger 1929–1930, 185. Ibid., 187.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 4: BL’s Motivation for the Study of Mesopotamia

37

Daß ohne geschulte sprachwissenschaftliche Vorarbeiten ein Gesamtbild der politischen und kulturellen Geschichte Vorderasiens und die Eingliederung der Urkunden des Alten Testaments im Rahmen dieser Geschichte noch nicht möglich ist, zeigt mit aller Deutlichkeit der gegenwärtige Stand der Forschung. Diese Forschung ist über archäologische, philologische und historische Spezialprobleme noch kaum hinausgekommen. Beschreibung, Analyse und Deutung von einzelnen Denkmälern oder zusammengehörenden Urkunden oder Inschriften muß noch vorläufig Mittelpunkt der wissenschaftlichen Tätigkeit bleiben.132 This line of Feuchtwanger’s reasoning culminates in the passages about “the most recent programmatic explications of Benno Landsberger, the most important German Assyriologist”: Näher muß hier dagegen über die jüngsten programmatischen Ausführungen Benno Landsbergers, des bedeutendsten deutschen Assyriologen, berichtet werden, die vor kurzem unter dem Titel “Die Eigenbegrifflichkeit der babylonischen Welt” … veröffentlicht wurden. Die altorientalische Kulturwelt bedarf einer Erklärung aus sich selbst heraus, nicht als “Vorstufe” einer nur in der Vorstellung des Betrachters “gültigen” Kultur. … Landsberger zeigt … anschaulich, zu welchen Irrtümern die Betrachtungsweise einer Kultur wie der babylonischen als einer Vorstufe eines uns geläufigen komplizierten Gebildes führen muß. … Man dürfe also Babylonien und Ägypten nicht als unsere geistigen Väter oder als die Vertreter des Typus einer sogenannten Halbkultur ansehen. Die humanistische Betrachtung eines alten babylonischen oder ägyptischen Textes – und genau so eines Textes aus dem Alten Testament – zum Zwecke des tieferen Verständnisses des eigenen Lebens und der Gegenwart führt also direkt ins Finstere und verhindert gerade das Verständnis des Fremden.133 Feuchtwanger readily embraces the emancipation of Assyriology as declared by BL, and emphasizes the refusal of the previous approach to ancient Near Eastern civilizations as spiritual and cultural forerunners of the so-called Judeo-Christian tradition informing the Western world. Moreover, in those passages he argues for the application of the “Eigenbegrifflichkeit” to the Old Testament and other classical Hebrew literature as well.134 After the appreciative description of BL’s recipe for approaching the cuneiform cultures, Feuchtwanger goes on to point out the still prevailing arbitrariness in the scholarly treatment of Biblical and ancient Near Eastern material:

132 133 134

Ibid., 190. Ibid., 191–192. See ibid., 192–193.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




38

Chapter 4: BL’s Motivation for the Study of Mesopotamia

Aus der außerordentlich großen Anzahl der Einzelarbeiten der Assyriologen und Ägyptologen, Forschungen, die sich allmählich zur vollen Eingliederung des Alten Testaments in die Welt des Alten Orients zusammenschließen, sollten die wenigen angeführten älteren und neueren Beispiele aus der Literatur und den Texten nur die Art zeigen, wie heute oft nach zufälligen Funden wissenschaftliche Fragestellungen gewählt und behandelt werden.135 It is hardly surprising that the “Babel-Bibel” controversy is never mentioned explicitly, if only because nearly three decades have passed since then already. Nevertheless, Feuchtwanger’s reproachful statements about the choice of research agenda on the basis of accidental finds, and the attempts to write summarizing works on ancient Israel in the context of ancient Near Eastern history supported by fragmentary information, indicates that the Delitzschian way of treating the Biblical and Mesopotamian material was not to be tolerated among German Jewry: Wenn trotz des angedeuteten Forschungsstandes Synthesen, allgemeine zusammenhängende Darstellungen einer Geschichte Israels in seiner Umwelt … immer wieder gewagt werden, so treten hier auf Schritt und Tritt grobe wissenschaftliche Unzulänglichkeiten auf, und was der Stoff noch nicht hergeben kann, wird häufig durch Annahmen ersetzt, die von zufälligen, isolierten, in ihrer Deutung oft unsicheren Funden oder Einfällen schwach gestützt werden.136 Feuchtwanger shows his contempt for those who kept coming up with “unproven statements” particularly when he criticizes contemporary Protestant Biblical scholarship, represented in the works of Benzinger, Kittel, and Hölscher: Man hat bei derartigen typischen unbewiesenen Behauptungen immer wieder Ursache, sich darüber zu wundern, daß im Schrifttum der protestantischen Vertreter der alttestamentlichen Wissenschaft so oft statt der einfachen Feststellung der Lückenhaftigkeit des Stoffes, die einen sicheren Schluß nicht gestattet oder statt der Abwägung von Wahrscheinlichkeitsgraden oder gar an Stelle von vagen Möglichkeiten, um die es tatsächlich vielfach geht, strikte und uneingeschränkte Affirmationen gesetzt werden.137 Feuchtwanger’s open and positive response to BL’s concept makes it clear that the emancipation of Assyriology as a discipline preoccupied with uncountable scholarly issues arising from the steadily growing body of published texts, whose “Eigenbegrifflichkeit” needed to be clarified first, was welcomed among emancipated German Jewry. While providing Assyriology with a theoretical basis as an independent modern scientific discipline, BL’s concept would also protect the Hebrew

135 136 137




Ibid., 272. Ibid., 273. Ibid., 278.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Chapter 4: BL’s Motivation for the Study of Mesopotamia

39

Bible from all sorts of exegetical excesses in the future by discouraging the search for analogies between ancient Israel and Mesopotamia. Additionally, the concept of explaining an ancient culture from within that culture alone was seen as a new impulse for Jewish Biblical scholarship as well. Feuchtwanger eagerly adopted BL’s term and used it to praise Jewish scholars who worked on Biblical texts without resort to the ideas of their Christian colleagues, as if he wanted to make the “Eigenbegrifflichkeit” a standard which the modern Jewish study of the Bible should comply with.138 Thus, BL’s departure from that part of Delitzsch’s Assyriology which he had apparently found himself very uncomfortable with since his high school times in Friedek, came to be enthusiastically appreciated, even exaggerated, by those who shared the same cultural identity that had once triggered off the process eventually leading to one of the most constitutive texts in the history of Cuneiform Studies. Looking at the evidence presented above to illustrate and explain the motives behind BL’s decision to study Assyriology from the start, and to do so with Heinrich Zimmern, the crucial findings can be summarized as follows: 1. Having come from an integrationist Jewish environment, BL did not care about religious observance, yet was firmly attached to Jewish literary and learned tradition. His first real encounter with Assyriology was the “Babel-Bibel-Streit” and the fuss it provoked (among “Westernized” Jewry), which seems to have hit a sensitive vein in his identity.139 138

139

For instance, when writing about Martin Buber’s Königtum Gottes, Feuchtwanger (1934– 1935, 54) stated: “Aber er läßt sich seine Wege und Ziele nicht von fremden Tendenzen vorschreiben; die Eigenbegrifflichkeit der jüdischen, der biblischen Welt wird durch ihn wieder hergestellt.” In an earlier assessment of the same work, Feuchtwanger (1932–1933, 223) wrote similarly: “Verläßt Buber … in dem vorliegenden Kommentar ‘Königtum Gottes,’ den Bereich des Eigenlebens des Textes? Trifft er den vom Redaktor gemeinten Sinn? Die fremden Tendenzen der alttestamentlichen Forschung protestantischer und auch katholischer Färbung sind natürlich beseitigt, die Eigenbegrifflichkeit der jüdischen, der biblischen Welt ist wieder hergestellt.” In the next two sentences, he paraphrased statements from BL’s essay almost verbatim: “Aber Buber geht in seinem Eindringungselan doch weiter als es an sich mit Hilfe der Philologie und der vergleichenden Religionswissenschaft möglich wäre, eine alte, fremd gewordene Kultur ohne die Stütze einer bis auf den heutigen Tag fortdauernden Tradition lebendig und treu wiederherzustellen. Der Entwicklungsbegriff und der Vorstufenbegriff ist wohl bei Buber abgeschafft.” Cf. Renger 2001, 260: “… Landsberger und Oppenheim … meines Wissens ihr Judentum nicht praktiziert haben. Hayim Tadmor (Jerusalem), ein Schüler Landsbergers, schreibt mir dazu: ‘As far as I know, all three of them [Landsberger, Lewy und Oppenheim] were highly assimilated in the German culture and had little, if any, Jewish involvement. As a result, I doubt if there was any conscious effort on their part ‹to look for their own past› via Assyriology.’ Ich kann keine Äußerungen Landsbergers und anderer Altorientalisten finden, in denen sie ihre jüdische Herkunft thematisiert hätten.” Renger 2001, 260, fn. 37 quotes a letter from Hans G. Güterbock: “… für die meisten jüdischen Orientalisten ihre eigene Religion [hinsichtlich der Zuwendung zur Orientalistik, J. R.] nicht bestimmend war. Landsberger war gegen die Forschung, die sozusagen die Bibel bestätigen sollte, vom jüdischen wie vom christ-

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




40

Chapter 4: BL’s Motivation for the Study of Mesopotamia

2. The agent of that encounter was Friedrich Delitzsch, the central figure of the controversy, whose claims about the relationship of Mesopotamian culture and the Old Testament BL knew from newspapers at least, and whom he may even have met in person if he attended one of Delitzsch’s Prague lectures. 3. As a result of Delitzsch’s “sensationalism,” as BL seems to have perceived his public presentations, BL developed a certain aversion to Delitzsch already several years before the beginning of his university studies. 4. Even though his opinion of Delitzsch undoubtedly underwent some changes during the years of his in-depth engagement with cuneiform philology including Delitzsch’s strictly Assyriological works, he seems to have never been able to overcome the ambivalent first impression that attracted him to the field and that seems to have planted in his mind a desire to “purify” the discipline from Panbabylonism and “parallelomania,”140 which may be understood as the personal and emotional background of his concept of “Eigenbegrifflichkeit.”141

140

141

lichen Standpunkt aus ablehnend.” As demonstrated above, the situation had been much more complex in BL’s formative years, decades before H. G. Güterbock, H. Tadmor, and J. Renger first met him. On BL’s perception of his Jewish identity in his later years, see Chapter 7 below. In fact, BL’s animosity towards Delitzsch may have been intensified by the latter’s Die grosse Täuschung (1921a, 1921b). In it, Delitzsch summarized his theories on the origins of the Hebrew Bible and concluded that the Old Testament was a product of the alleged Jewish drive for cultural exclusivity, and was entirely useless to Christianity. Both publications contain a number of clearly Antisemitic statements, conforming to the political climate in Germany of the day, in which Jews were frequently blamed for the defeat in WWI. Statements like “Beruht doch, für jeden Nicht-Blinden erkennbar, Deutschlands Niedergang und trostlose Gegenwart nicht zum wenigsten auf der ungehemmten Entfaltung jüdischer Eigenart auf deutschem Boden!” (Delitzsch 1921a, 126) would surely have hurt BL who fought in the allied Austro-Hungarian army, was wounded and highly decorated. A mysterious isolated quotation from the Babylonian Talmud (Sukkah 21b and Abodah Zarah 19b) found in BL’s notebook LAJ, No. 95, “notebook from 1925/6 (see calendar) with minor notes on scientific and non-scientific matters,” coming precisely from the time of the “Eigenbegrifflichkeit,” confirms BL’s attachment to Jewish learned tradition: “(Even) a mundane conversation of scholars requires study (‫)שיחת חלין של תלמידי חכמים צריכה למוד‬.” I thank Uri Gabbay for the identification and translation of the phrase. On the theoretical background of the “Eigenbegrifflichkeit,” see now Fink, in press. For an analysis of the concept in the context of contemporary theories about the relationship between language and thought, see Sallaberger 2007. A postcard with best wishes for the new year 1926 sent by BL to H. Zimmern from Friedek offers an interesting glimpse on the genesis of the “Eigenbegrifflichkeit,” which BL presented to his mentor as a mere attempt to prove the value of a refined grammatical method for the study of ancient cultures: “Hochverehrter Herr Geheimrat, … Ich skizziere hie[r …] die Antrittsvorlesung, die ich bestim[mt? …] diesem Semester abmachen will. Es soll nur ein Versuch sein, den Wert verfeinerter grammatischer Methode, an sich und für die Kulturforschung, zu beweisen. Die Gleichung Sprache = Kultur ist oft ausgesprochen worden, aber sie positiv auszuwerten, ist keineswegs einfach. Trotzdem glaube ich, dass hier die semitischen Sprachen weiter führen als die indogermanischen.” UBL, Nachlass Heinrich Zimmern, sig. NL 144/L/34; 34, dated December 29, 1925. See the description of the content at http://kalliope-verbund.info/de/ead?ead.id=DE-611-HS-2804627 (accessed August 15,

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 4: BL’s Motivation for the Study of Mesopotamia

41

5. Only after having taken over the scepter from the late H. Zimmern, BL included in the obituary for the mentor a kind of final showdown with the almost ideological foe, mostly disguising it in a praise of Zimmern which at the same time was undoubtedly genuine.142

142

2018). Cf. Renger 2001, 254: “Richtungsweisend war v. a. die Schrift ‘Die Eigenbegrifflichkeit der babylonischen Welt.’ Landsberger bereitete damit einerseits dem sogenannten Panbabylonismus ein Ende und stellte andererseits das z.T. unreflektierte Übertragen von alttestamentlicher Begrifflichkeit auf religiöse Phänomene Mesopotamiens in Frage. Um es verkürzt zu sagen: Die Vorstellungen über das alte Mesopotamien und seine Kultur waren – ganz anders als die Auffassung des alten Ägyptens im Bewußtsein des 20. Jahrhunderts – von der christlich-abendländischen Begriffswelt (Bußpsalmen, Sünde etc.) und von ihr geprägten Erklärungskonzepten und -modellen bestimmt. Er wies den Weg, wie die der mesopotamischen Kultur eigenen Denkkategorien und Wertvorstellungen auf methodisch stringente Weise zu erschließen seien. Er nahm damit auch die Diskussion um Eigenbegrifflichkeit und Wissenschaftsbegrifflichkeit vorweg, die später in Linguistik und Sozialanthropologie unter dem Begriffspaar ‘emisch/etisch’ Bedeutung erlangte.” Fink, in press, fn. 21, interprets the statements about the previous generation of Assyriologists in Landsberger 1926, 356–357, and Landsberger 1931 as “a side-blow toward his teacher Heinrich Zimmern, who had a strong tendency to compare and connect Mesopotamian religion with Christian religion.” However, in view of the evidence and analysis presented above, the conclusion that BL’s criticism did not aim at H. Zimmern seems unavoidable.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Chapter 5: BL’s Early Years in Leipzig and WWI The records of the University of Leipzig show that BL studied there from October 15, 1908 until May 2, 1913, defending his dissertation on the cultic calendar of the Babylonians and Assyrians on July 24. The thesis was declared ready for print in November 1914, and BL was awarded his doctorate on January 15, 1915. According to his preserved CVs which he wrote for official purposes, his primary teachers were the Assyriologists Heinrich Zimmern, Franz Heinrich Weißbach, and the Arabist August Fischer. He also took various other classes in Philosophy and Philology. So much has been known about BL’s study years in Leipzig.143 The Landsberger Archive kept by Nathan Wasserman in Jerusalem allows us to take a closer look at this period. Yet before providing an overview of available material from BL’s own hand, the authorship and origin of an important dossier in the archive must be clarified, in conclusion of my discussion of BL’s peculiar relationship to Friedrich Delitzsch. The lot LAJ, No. 20,144 contains a couple hundred loose pieces of paper covered with densely written notes on various Akkadian words and phrases, their Hebrew and Arabic cognates,145 cuneiform texts,146 sign forms and values,147 numerals, grammatical categories, transliterations and translations of passages from different texts,148 etc. There are also a few pages and plates from published works by Meissner, Delitzsch, and Jeremias with numerous corrections and notes.149 While the explicit dating of one snippet, “Winter-Sem. 1908/1909,” matches the time of BL’s enrolment at the University of Leipzig and thus does tempt one to con-

143 144 145

See Oelsner 2006, 270–273, with references to primary sources. See http://altorient.gko.uni-leipzig.de/landsberger/jerusalem/j-20 (accessed August 20, 2018). E.g., on šārtu “hair” (see Gilg. I 105) with related Hebrew and Arabic expressions; notes on the writing of the name Gilgameš; CH III 7–8: ri-mu-um ka-ad-ru-um; … šá nu-ba-lu-šú kima ú-ri-(in)ni eli ma-ti-šú šú-pár-ru-ru-ma (= “whose wings were spread like an eagle’s over his land,” RIMA 2 A.0.87.1 vii: 57–58, Tiglath-pileser I; cf. CAD Š/3 318 b); a note on Šamḫat “zieht sie ihr Kleid aus und er …, dessen …, und macht(?) ihre Feilheit, der Weiberwerk er … sein … wie sie früher” (cf. Gilg. I 162–64), followed by notes on the word ḫarīmtu “prostitute” and šam-ḫat at the bottom of the page. 146 E.g., passages from Rawlinson 1861–1875, the Hebrew Bible, CḪ, etc., notes on Akkadian and Hebrew words and phrases; quotations from, e.g., Enūma eliš III 135, the vocabulary Sb 159–60 (= MSL 3, 111); snippet with a few text quotations and notes on Gilgameš, Uruk and the gipāru entitled “Mythologie: Das Gilgamesch-Epos mit der Sintfluterzählung.” 147 E.g., notes on Early Dynastic sign forms; references to the inscriptions of Eannatum in de Sarzec 1894. 148 E.g., the inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II, Nbk. 19 A iii: 47–58; A v: 19–44; A vii: 29–53. 149 Several hand-copies from Meissner 1898 with corrections; pages from Delitzsch 1887; title page of Meissner 1902; plates from Jeremias 1891 with corrections and additions, followed by more snippets with philological notes related to the Gilgameš Epic.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




44

Chapter 5: BL’s Early Years in Leipzig and WWI

clude that BL took those notes in classes, this does not seem to have been the case for the following reasons: 1. The notes are too advanced for a first year student, even if BL’s genius is taken into account; to argue that the notes were his own would require to assume that the other snippets come from (much) later years, rendering the date on one of them irrelevant. 2. A number of the snippets contain pencil remarks about their original location, e.g. “Lag in Haupt N.E.,” “Lag in VAS XI 170,” “Lag in Strassm Darius Nr. 358,” “Lag in Price Gudea,” “Aus Del. Entstehung,” etc., meaning that the snippets were taken out of books.150 3. One of the snippets looks like a title page for notes on “Sonstige Babylonische Beeinflußung des A. u. N. T. Engel und Dämonen. Konsequenzen. Eschatologie.” While the notes are not in the dossier, the title unmistakably points to Delitzsch. 4. The handwriting of notes in ink is not BL’s but matches the handwriting in LAJ, No. 71, classified as “Notebook with bibliography on ‘Assyrische Literatur,’ starting with 1816, ‘Van-Inschiften’ and ‘Susiana-Inschriften,’ containing extract ‘Aus einem Briefe von [Herrn] von Lemm,’ dated 5.10.1880. The notebook probably originally belonged to F. Delitzsch.” 5. According to M. P. Streck, LAJ, No. 71 is related to LAJ, No. 97 (non vidi), classified as “Notebook with Assyriological bibliography. Contains a letter by Menant to F. Delitzsch in French, dated Paris 22 mai 1892, which mentions many bibliographical items. The notebook probably originally belonged to Delitzsch.”151 6. Comparing the handwriting of the notes in LAJ, No. 20 and entries in LAJ, No. 71 with the handwriting of an example from Delitzsch’s correspondence,152 it becomes clear that the author of those items was undoubtedly Friedrich Delitzsch. 7. Much of the material in LAJ, No. 20, as well as some of the books where the notes were originally inserted, conform well to the topics of Delitzsch’s classes in

150 151 152

Haupt 1884; Schroeder 1915, No. 165: Abdiḫiba von Jerusalem an den König; Strassmaier 1892; Price 1899; Delitzsch 1897. Uri Gabbay has informed me in an e-mail of March 5, 2018 that this item is currently missing. A scan of the letter from Menant is available at http://altorient.gko.uni-leipzig.de/landsberger/jerusalem/j-97 (accessed August 20, 2018). American Academy of Arts and Sciences Archives, Series I-B-1: General records. Letterbooks. Bound letterbooks. Volume 12, 1901–1905, 12-34a, Letter from Friedrich Delitzsch, 1902 February 20; Charlottenburg, Germany. Viewable at http://www.amacad.org/archive/images/002896.001.jpg; http://www.amacad.org/archive/images/002896.002.jpg (accessed August 15, 2018).

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 5: BL’s Early Years in Leipzig and WWI

45

the academic year 1908/1909, particularly “Erklärung des (babylonischen) Gilgamesch-Epos,” and “Erklärung sumerischer Texte.”153 Thus, it turns out that the notes in LAJ, No. 20 were made by Delitzsch (for his classes in the fall semester 1908/1909 and later), and subsequently found by BL in books that he got from Delitzsch or his Nachlass (via Zimmern?) together with the bibliographical lists LAJ, Nos. 71 and 97.154 The fact that the newspaper clipping about Delitzsch from 1902 discussed above is found among the snippets in LAJ, No. 20 only underlines the mixed nature of BL’s relationship to Delitzsch.155 As already suggested, that relationship certainly changed over the years, taking on much respect for Delitzsch’s academic work, but the initial acrimony seems to have remained. BL’s own notes can be divided into two groups. On the one hand, there are longer transcripts of lectures on Greek and ancient Near Eastern literature, history, religion, and archaeology, as well as on modern philosophy, which BL attended in the first two years of his studies. These include “Die altägyptische Religion” by Georg Steindorff (spring semester 1909), “Einleitung in die homerischen Gedichte nebst Erklärung von Ilias Buch B” by Karl Brugmann (spring semester 1909), “Geschichte der neuesten Philosophie (seit Hegel)” by Raoul Richter (spring semester 1909), “Griechische Geschichte II. Teil” by Ulrich Wilcken (spring semester 1909), “Urgeschichte und Archäologie Israels auf Grund der neueren Ausgrabungen” by Rudolf Kittel (spring semester 1909), “Erklärung von Jesaja 1–39” by Hermann Guthe (fall semester 1909), “Grie-

153

154 155

Verzeichnis der Vorlesungen an der Königlichen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Berlin im Winter-Semester 1908/09 vom 16. Oktober 1908 bis 15. März 1909 (Berlin: Gustav Schade, 1908), 101. Available at https://www.digi-hub.de/viewer/image/DE-11-001812070/5/ (accessed August 15, 2018). Verzeichnis der Vorlesungen an der Königlichen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Berlin im Sommer-Semester 1909 vom 16. April 1908 bis 15. August 1909 (Berlin: Gustav Schade, 1909), 99. Available at https://www.digi-hub.de/viewer/image/DE-11-001812076/5/ (accessed August 15, 2018). Cf. fn. 145–147, 149–150 above. Another item belonging to this group is LAJ, No. 21, “Letter of D. Prince to F. Delitzsch, 21. 3. 1904.” See http://altorient.gko.uni-leipzig.de/landsberger/jerusalem/j-21 (accessed August 20, 2018). The possibility that the clipping belonged to Delitzsch himself seems ruled out by the delivery note from a Berlin company specializing in sending out newspaper articles, as well as by the pencil mark over Delitzsch’s name in the clipping (see Fig. 10). It would have made no sense for Delitzsch, who could get the newspaper at any newsstand in Berlin, to have ordered a clipping from it and marked his name in the article. Moreover, it would have made no sense for BL to keep the clipping if it had no meaning to him personally. In fact, while Delitzsch liked to collect news and polemics on the controversy (see Delitzsch 1904, 3), he eventually destroyed them, at least according to Delitzsch 1921a, 5: “Die ‘Babel-Bibel-Zeit’ ist vergangen. Fünfzehn große Faszikel von Zeitungs- und Zeitschriftartikeln und Broschüren konnten nach ihrer Durchsicht dem Feuer übergeben werden…”

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




46

Chapter 5: BL’s Early Years in Leipzig and WWI

chische Religionsgeschichte” by Erich Bethe (fall semester 1909), “Geschichte der griechischen Rhetorik” by Wilhelm Süß (spring semester 1910).156 On the other hand, there is a number of pocket notebooks on Assyriological as well as mundane and personal matters. Only a few can be classified as student notebooks and tentatively assigned to specific courses and years.157 For instance, LAJ, No. 71a, contains charts of Sumerian verbal bases and prefix chains from Early Dynastic royal inscriptions introduced by the abbreviation SAKI,158 and its title “Sum. Gramm. Inschr. Forts.” betrays its relation to Zimmern’s course “Sumerisch (Fortsetzung)” (fall semester 1909) or “Sumerische Königsinschriften” (spring semester 1910). Similarly, LAJ, No. 74 contains Sumerian Figure 12: The first page of BL’s transcript (see the verbal bases and corresponsignature “Landsberger, stud. phil.”) of the course by ding prefix chains from the Erich Bethe on “Griechische Religionsgeschichte” in the Cylinders of Gudea and the fall semester 1909 at the University of Leipzig. Stele of the Vultures (Ean. 1). Source: LAJ, No. 85 (courtesy N. Wasserman). LAJ, No. 70 (non vidi), contains “minor notes on a course ‘Assyrische Lektüre’ and notes on Sumerian contracts,” which indicates its possible relation to Zimmern’s course “Lektüre sumerisch-babylonischer Texte” (fall semester 1910), or to his “Assyriologische Gesell-

156

157

158

LAJ, Nos. 88, 83, 87, 81, 66, 85 (vidi Nos. 81, 66, 85). Cf. the LAJ catalogue at http://altorient.gko.uni-leipzig.de/landsberger.html (accessed August 20, 2018). Course titles and names of lecturers are taken from the historical lecture directories available at http://histvv.uni-leipzig.de (accessed August 15, 2018). See the LAJ catalogue at http://altorient.gko.uni-leipzig.de/landsberger.html (accessed August 20, 2018), Nos. 70, 71a, 74, 75, 82, 103(?) (vidi Nos. 71a, 74, 75). Assyriological notes also occur in the notebooks with lecture transcripts, e.g., LAJ, No. 81, “Assyrische Vokabelb.” (for “Assyrische Vokabelbildung”); No. 87 (vidi No. 81). Thureau-Dangin 1907.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 5: BL’s Early Years in Leipzig and WWI

47

schaft … a) Erklärung ausgewählter schwierigerer babylonisch-assyrischer und sumerischer Texte…” (fall semester 1909 and spring semester 1910). The rest of the pocket notebooks seem to have been used for extended periods of time, as indicated by the dates and bibliographical references. Some of them reach back to BL’s study years but in general it is impossible to determine the chronology of the notes. All notebooks I have seen are written mostly in pencil, which was typical of BL.159 The entries remain isolated witnesses to his scholarly interests at the time, testifying to his ability to penetrate into every detail of an enormously diverse range of topics. There are numerous notes on Akkadian words and phrases with bibliographical references, e.g. “taknū ‘lecker’ KB VI 435; Ūru K. 257; Stellen aus neubab. Kontr. … m. Hilfe von Meissner MVAG 1905, 268. Neub. s. Tallqvist, Sprache der Kontr. 50,160 altbab. CT VIII 23 b 12,”161 “Berufsnamen: kāpiru, aluzinu, dāmu = Klug(?), nablu,”162 Figure 13a: A page from BL’s student notebook “Zimmern. Namraṣīt = aš-im-babbar with Sumerian verbal bases and prefix chains in cuneiform -ra IMki Th.-D., RA 9, 119 from the Stele of the Vultures and other 163 …,” “lišānu mitḫurtu.”164 Notes on inscriptions. culture and grammar generally, e.g., Source: LAJ, No. 74 (courtesy N. Wasserman). “Stellung vom Akkad. zum Kan. und 159 160 161 162 163 164

Anne D. Kilmer and Miguel Civil, American Oriental Society: Centenary of Benno Landsberger, http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/xmlui/handle/1803/4342 (accessed August 15, 2018), from 55:10 and 1:28:00. Tallqvist 1890. LAJ, No. 67, “student notebook from 1912 with notes on cuneiform texts and non-scientific matters.” LAJ, No. 69, “notebook with minor notes on cuneiform texts and non-scientific matters.” Contains a reference to “Meissner OLZ 1917.” LAJ, No. 92, “notebook with minor notes on scientific and non-scientific matters, dated after 1915.” LAJ, No. 76, “notebook with minor notes on cuneiform texts and non-scientific matters.”

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




48

Chapter 5: BL’s Early Years in Leipzig and WWI

Aram. spez. Assyrischen, Sumerer Kulturell; Winckler’sches System, astraler Charakter der Götter; Chammurapi OLZ; Chronologie Kugler(?); Dynastie des Meerlands; Sum. Verbum,”165 and specifically, e.g., “… Prekativ luddiš X 111; Perm. sehr instruktiv Cyl. B. IV 16 ṭābtu lā ḫassu … Permansiv 3. fem. nadāta IX 115; alāku (ina) kirib Rm. 162; ina idiia illiku II; Rel. Satz ēpussunūti 119, 133; ipqiduš (Sg). II 16 …,”166 “Šaf’el-Permansiv ’ul šūḫuzat AJSL 29, 162, 8.”167 Transliterations of texts, e.g., from Nesbit 1914, Nos. 5, 9, 12, 17,168 a medical text “AJSL 36, 80–84.”169 Since the topic of his dissertation as well as the “Habilitationsschrift” were the calendars, it is not surprising to find a wealth of notes on calendrics, cultic festivals and related philological material, such as “Kulte von Lagaš und Umma …; Ebeling, MDOG 47, zwei Texte zum Neujahr; Lexikon … Mondfinsternis Talmud, Jahreszeiten … HAOG 148,170 … Torzeremonien,”171 “Photographien aus London K. 738 Vir. Bab. IV 1081: K. 12177. K. 1362 Opfer an assyr. Götter mit Tagen. erst nachsehen …,”172 a long list of BM (particularly Kuyunjik) tablets related to astrology and calendrics with the note “Forecast for the various months.”173 Of course, there is plenty of abbreviated references to (precise spots in) books and articles he consulted or Figure 13b: A page from BL’s student notebook intended to consult, some of them quite intriguing, like “Cohen, Le parlé with notes on “Assyrische Vokabelb.” (i.e., Arabe des juifs de l’Algier.”174 Assyrian word formation). Source: LAJ, No. 81 (courtesy N. Wasserman).

165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173

LAJ, No. 68, “notebook with notes on cuneiform texts and non-scientific matters, including a letter by Ehelolf to B. L. dated 27.1.1921.” LAJ, No. 69. LAJ, No. 73, “notebook with minor notes on cuneiform texts and non-scientific matters.” LAJ, No. 68. LAJ, No. 76. Jeremias 1913. LAJ, No. 100, “notebook with minor notes on scientific and non-scientific matters.” Dates in this notebook show that BL used it between 1911 and 1919. LAJ, No. 77, “notebook with minor notes on cuneiform texts and non-scientific matters.” LAJ, No. 69.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 5: BL’s Early Years in Leipzig and WWI

49

Figure 13c: A typical page from BL’s early notebooks with notes on Akkadian words and bibliographical references. Source: LAJ, No. 67 (courtesy N. Wasserman).

Figure 13d: An example of BL’s notes on and in Arabic. Source: LAJ, No. 67 (courtesy N. Wasserman).

There are many notes on and in Hebrew and Arabic in most of the notebooks I have seen, sometimes of a playful kind like the Arabic for “geschlechtl. Liebe” and the remark “Ein Deminutiv eines Feminin hat immer -atum,” followed by a mention of medieval Arabic scholars like the poet and lexicographer Ibn Duraid and the grammarian Ibn Wallâd.175 The intellectually stimulating and productive early period in Leipzig was interrupted by the call to participate in the inferno of WWI where BL almost lost his life. Basic information on BL’s fortunes at the front is given in his personal file kept in the archive of the University of Leipzig. The file also contains the note that “Als Frontkämpfer nach dem Gesetz zur Wiederherstellung des Berufsbeamtentums ge174 175

LAJ, No. 99, “notebook with minor notes on cuneiform texts and non-scientific matters.” LAJ, No. 67.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




50

Chapter 5: BL’s Early Years in Leipzig and WWI

schützt,”176 testifying that as a Jew who had contributed to German and Austrian war effort, he was protected from being fired after the Nazi takeover in 1933. But not for long. The so-called front-line fighter’s privilege was no longer respected between the passing in 1934 of Paul von Hindenburg, former general and President of Germany, who had championed it, and the promulgation of the “Nuremberg Laws” in September 1935, after which it was entirely abolished. Thus, already on April 29, 1935, BL received a letter on behalf of the governor of Saxony that he was “pensioned off”.177 Some protests followed,178 which forced the authorities to look into the matter more closely. Their activity left behind a document refining the hitherto known information on BL’s service in WWI. Since BL was Czechoslovak citizen for several years after WWI, his military records were kept in Czechoslovakia. On July 31, 1935 the German embassy in Prague filed a verbal note to the Czechoslovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asking for confirmation and details on BL’s service at the front. The answer contains the following: Assentjahr 1915 / Stammtruppenteil Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 100 / eingerückt zum Kriegsdienst am 28. 8. 1915 / zum Truppenteil Inf. Reg. Nr. 100 in Piotrkow / folgenden Truppenteilen während der Kriegszeit zugeteilt gewesen: bis zum Kriegsende dem Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 100 / Verwundungen und Lazarettbehandlungen: verwundet am 10. Juni 1916 und im Spital “Rudolfinerhaus” in Wien behandelt / Auszeichnungen Verwundeten Medaille, goldenes Verdienstkreuz, kleine silberne Tapferkeitsmedaille. / letzter Truppenteil in der tschechoslowakischen Wehrmacht: čs. p. pl. č. 8 (Mistek).179 A month after his injury on the battlefield, BL wrote a letter to his Leipzig mentor, in which he informed him about his gradual recovery from a clean gunshot through a thigh which should heal quickly but it would take several weeks until he would be able to join his unit again. He sorely missed scholarly work and often visited the Department of Oriental Studies at Vienna University to read new publications.180 176

177 178 179 180

UAL, Personalakten, sig. PA 676, leaf 4 also states: “Juli 1915 zum K. u. K. Inf. Rgt. Nr. 100 eingezogen, Juni 1916 schwer verwundet, Dienstleistung als Leutnant bis Kriegsende, sodann entlassen; Österreichisches Verwundetenabzeichen, kl. silberne Tapferkeitsmed., goldenes Verdienstkreuz.” UAL, Personalakten, sig. PA 676, leaf 88. For more details, see Chapter 6 below. AMZV, f. V. sekce 1918–1939, jmenná spisovna, Landsberger Benno. Abbreviations in the last entry stand for “Czechoslovak infantry regiment No. 8.” UBL, Nachlass Heinrich Zimmern, sig. NL 144/L/18; 18, dated July 13, 1916. See the description of the content at http://kalliope.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/de/ead?ead.id=DE-611-HS-2800461 (accessed August 15, 2018). Reference courtesy Nadezda Rudik. Apart from the documents presented here, some more evidence on BL’s fortunes during WWI may be found in the only additional

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 5: BL’s Early Years in Leipzig and WWI

51

According to the letter of March 28, 1917, BL had been serving in the hinterland for several months already and was supposed to return to the front in two months time. Yet, the military doctors declared him unable to serve on the battlefield anymore, so he would be transferred to the rear or hinterland instead.181 The former was what actually happened. BL was promoted to lieutenant,182 joined his unit at the Eastern front again and served until the end of the war in the rear.183 Isolated snippets of evidence from that time are found in one of his pocket notebooks, containing notes about the Red Cross, Moscow, Odessa, “Betten,” and “Wache,” in addition to Russian street names, notes on food and furniture supplies (“Erhalten 17. April 1918”) and the address of a Russian lady, Nina Acerova.184 The years at the Eastern front were very difficult for him, not only because he nearly died in the trenches but also because he could not work scientifically, which he intimated in another letter to H. Zimmern.185 True to character, however, he would make only fun of it later on: “Das Kriegsende erlebte er in der Ukraine, und die glückliche Rückführung seines Truppenteiles einschließlich der Kasse bis zur ostpreußischen Grenze bildete noch lange ein beliebtes Thema seiner Reminiszenzen.”186

181 182 183 184 185

186

dossier preserved, the diaries of BL’s unit, Infantry Regiment No. 100, specifically the records from June 10, 1916, the day of BL’s injury. The diaries are kept in ÖStA, Kriegsarchiv, Archive der Truppenkörper (18. Jh.–20. Jh.), Infanterie, Infanterieregiment Nr. 100, ka. 697–705 (non vidi). UBL, Nachlass Heinrich Zimmern, sig. NL 144/L/20; 20. See the description of the content at http://kalliope.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/de/ead?ead.id=DE-611-HS-2800737 (accessed August 15, 2018). See fn. 176 above and SOkA FM, f. Archiv města Frýdek, inv. č. 764, ka. 210, Spis o propuštění ze státního svazku, leaf 7. UAL, Personalakten, sig. PA 676, leaf 35: “… war er nach seiner Wiederherstellung vom Frühjahr 1917 bis zum Schluß des Krieges wieder im Felde bezw. im Etappendienst.” Cf. ibid., leaf 72: “… nach einer Verwundung im Etappendienst.” LAJ, No. 96, “notebook with minor notes on non-scientific matters.” UBL, Nachlass Heinrich Zimmern, sig. NL 144/L/22; 22, dated Friedek, August 12, 1918. BL thanks for the shipment of a text on the Babylonian New Year festival and states that his own manuscript on the topic has been lying in the drawer of his desk for three years (perhaps a reference to his “Habilitationsschrift”). He complains that because he has been enlisted into the military, he could not carry on with his research. In the meantime, he has become unsuitable for active military service and asks if the Leipzig institute could propose that he be discharged from the army earlier. At the moment, he is stationed at Odessa in the Ukraine, whereto he must return from a short leave in a few days. See the description of the content at http://kalliope.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/de/ead?ead.id=DE-611-HS-2801500 (accessed August 15, 2018). Güterbock 1968–1969, 203.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Chapter 6: BL’s Interwar Personalia and Departure from Europe While BL undoubtedly spent most of his time in Leipzig after his return from the war, his official home was still the town of his youth which by that time lay in the newly formed Czechoslovak Republic.187 Thus, he became citizen of the new state and was enlisted in its military reserve, which was apparently very formal, and he was discharged from the Czechoslovak infantry regiment No. 8 in December 1920.188 It seems that he visited Frýdek regularly at the time but his relationship with the more business branch of the family, particularly with the father, was deteriorating. Even though he obtained the “Habilitation” in July 1920 with a never published thesis “Die babylonisch-assyrischen Kalendarien für den privaten Gebrauch,”189 and continued working in Leipzig, his financial situation was insecure and his professional prospects still unclear, albeit very promising. BL’s father was certainly happy that his son had survived the war but he was not pleased with BL’s chosen career path. He “looked askance at him, taking so long to get his first job, … Landsberger would say his father had told him he had a ‘brotlos’ profession, … was not earning.”190 Leopold was able to marry off his daughter Hilda to Alfred Rothberger, son of a Viennese clothing manufacturer and “k. u. k. Hoflieferant” of garments, already in March 1914.191 The prospect of continuity of the textile business in his only son was steadily fading away, though. Considering that BL’s cousin Oskar, whom Leopold supported from early on and who had lived together with Leopold’s family for a while, built and expanded his own quite successful textile factory in the economically favorable conditions of the new republic, 187

SOkA FM, f. Archiv města Frýdek, inv. č. 1750, fs. 383, Sčítací arch z roku 1921; SOkA FM, f. Archiv města Frýdek, inv. č. 1708, ka. 312, Evidence domovských příslušníků města Frýdku, Leopold Landsberger. 188 SOkA FM, f. Archiv města Frýdek, inv. č. 764, ka. 210, Spis o propuštění ze státního svazku, leaves 5 and 7. 189 For the “Habilitation” files, see UAL, Personalakten, sig. PA 676, leaves 5–20. Note that BL’s characteristic self assuredness was not yet that pronounced in those early years. According to a letter to H. Zimmern of July 11, 1920, he suffered from a neurotic condition which made him restless and difficult for others, while he regarded his “Habilitation” lecture as “not good.” UBL, Nachlass Heinrich Zimmern, sig. NL 144/L/28; 28. See the description of the content at http://kalliope.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/de/ead?ead.id=DE-611-HS-2801576 (accessed August 15, 2018). 190 Samuel Greengus, American Oriental Society: Centenary of Benno Landsberger, http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/xmlui/handle/1803/4342 (accessed August 15, 2018), from 1:20:30. 191 See Gaugusch 2016, 3033; Nimeth and Weidinger 2010, 55.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




54

Chapter 6: BL’s Interwar Personalia and Departure from Europe

Figure 14: BL’s citizenship record from April 1919 still on an Austrian form but with a Czechoslovak stamp. Source: SOkA FM, f. Archiv města Frýdek, inv. č. 764, ka. 210.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Chapter 6: BL’s Interwar Personalia and Departure from Europe

55

BL must have felt as a kind of black sheep of the family. This is illustrated by his statement from two decades later, describing Oskar as “a cousin entirely unlike myself.”192 It seems to have been difficult for BL’s aging father to come to terms with his son’s “brotlos” existence, and he retired as an active businessman at about the time of BL’s return from the front, having kept a share in the company of his deceased brother Adolf, as well as a modest share in the company of his wife’s relatives, the Hitschmanns in Náchod.193 Perhaps in an attempt to get closer to his family and vindicate his academic identity but certainly in an attempt to stabilize his professional as well as financial situation BL showed keen interest in the chair of Semitic Philology which had become vacant at the German University of Prague in 1922. Since the selection committee was looking specifically for an Assyriologist, Bedřich Hrozný, Professor of Cuneiform Studies and History of the Ancient Orient at the Czech University in Prague, suggested to BL that he apply for the position. This is clear from a letter BL sent to the decipherer of Hittite on January 25, 1922. In it, he thanked for the suggestion, sought advice and support from Hrozný, and informed him that he had written in that matter to Mariano San Nicolò, Professor of Roman Law at the German University in Prague and one of the pioneers of Cuneiform Law History, while his teacher Heinrich Zimmern had sent a letter to Max Grünert, Professor Emeritus of Semitic Languages and Literatures. Moreover, BL indicated to Hrozný that he wanted to visit Prague and talk to the members of the selection committee. It also appears from the letter that BL had tried to get a position in Prague already a few years earlier, even before he got his “Habilitation” in Leipzig, and that Hrozný supported him already then.194 BL’s intention to negotiate directly with some members of the selection committee is confirmed by the entries in one of his notebooks which give the names and addresses of “Grünert Kgl. Weinb. Puchmayerstr. 31, Winternitz II Opatovitzerstr. 8, Svoboda Malteserpl. 6,” as well as of “Hrozný Bubenec Manesová 173.”195 Yet, there is evidence that although H. Zimmern sent a letter of recommendation to Prague, he was hoping to get the funds necessary for keeping the brilliant young Assyriologist in Leipzig. Already in December 1921, Zimmern tried to persuade the Saxon Ministry of Education to remunerate BL’s classes. A salary of 3000 M was fi-

192 193 194 195

Schmidt 2014, 654: Landsberger an Kraus, 112, March 18, 1941. However, cf. the conflicting testimony by Eva Kalinová above with fn. 103. See the documents of the inheritance proceedings drawn up after Leopold’s death in 1926, SOkA FM, f. Okresní soud Frýdek, unprocessed, pozůstalostní spis Leopold Landsberger, where Leopold is designated as “former manufacturer.” The letter is kept in NpM, f. Hrozný Bedřich (1879–1952), Konvolut přijaté korespondence: H–O, ka. 2, Landsberger B., sig. ar. Hroz. 2/1-275. LAJ, No. 68. For Max Grünert see above, the other two scholars were Moriz Winternitz (1863–1937), Professor of Indology and Ethnology (1911–1934), and Heinrich Swoboda (1856–1926), Professor of Greek Antiquity and Epigraphy (1899–1926).

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




56

Chapter 6: BL’s Interwar Personalia and Departure from Europe

nally approved on February 9, 1922 and raised to 5000 M a month later.196 Thus, BL was given a paid “Lehrauftrag f. Assyriologie” and was promoted to “Assistent am Semitistischen Institut Leipzig” in June of the same year.197 While BL clearly considered the Prague Professorship as attractive, his Leipzig teachers and colleagues tried to discourage him from further negotiations with Prague. Leastwise, that is what a postcard from April 5, 1922 addressed to “Herrn Prof. Dr. F. Hrozný PragStřesovice Vořechovká 258” relates: Leipzig, Südstr. 3. 5/4 Hochverehrter Herr Professor, Man hat mir von meinem vor ca. 1 Monat beabsichtigten Besuch in Prag abgeraten. Nun will ich mich aber doch gelegentlich der Durchreise nach Friedek für 1 Tag dort aufhalten und mir gestatten, Sie am Freitag, zwischen 6 und 7 Abd., in Ihrer Wohnung aufzusuchen, nachdem ich gegen 5 dort angekommen bin. Verzeihen Sie den etwas ungeschickten Zeitpunkt, doch muss ich mir die Zeit sehr einteilen. Mit allerbestem Dank Ihr ganz ergebener B. Landsberger198 Still determined to find out about his chances of getting a Professorship in Prague, BL did stop by there, just as he had indicated in the postcard to Hrozný. One of his notebooks contains notes on the practicalities of his visit but he also reported about it to H. Zimmern in a letter sent from Friedek on April 10, 1922.199 In it, he states that the Faculty was looking for an Assyriologist, three scholars including himself were shortlisted for the position and Zimmern might be asked for a report about BL in the following weeks. However, he heard that the Czechoslovak Ministry of Education would prefer rather an Islamic scholar with knowledge of Hebrew and Aramaic.200 Looking at the official documentation issued by the Faculty of Arts of the German University, it becomes clear that the German academics in Prague were simply pulling BL’s leg. His name does not appear in the documents at all. The Ministry was not concerned with keeping Semitics at the German University in the hands of 196 197 198 199 200

UAL, Personalakten, sig. PA 676, leaves 21–30. Ibid., leaf 3. NpM, f. Hrozný Bedřich (1879–1952), Konvolut přijaté korespondence: H–O, ka. 2, Landsberger B., sig. ar. Hroz. 2/1-274. LAJ, No. 68. Apart from the addresses mentioned above: “Kleinseite, Malteserring, [Am] Graben Nationalstr. Národní tř. … Stěpanska 22 …; Dr. Karl Krasa [Am] Graben 17 Hotel Stefan Wenzelsplatz … Koffer zurückschicken.” UBL, Nachlass Heinrich Zimmern, sig. NL 144/L/29; 29. See the description of the content at http://kalliope.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/de/ead?ead.id=DE-611-HS-2801588 (accessed August 15, 2018).

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 6: BL’s Interwar Personalia and Departure from Europe

57

Islamic scholars, that was rather the concern of the Islamic scholars already among the faculty, specifically Max Grünert and Adolf Grohmann. Had they suggested BL for the job, the Ministry would have certainly approved, since BL was Czechoslovak citizen, hence perfectly suitable for the post also from the administrative point of view. They prevented this by not mentioning BL to the Ministry at all, while at the same time they told him that he had been shortlisted. Considering that the political climate in the German academic community in Prague was not favorable towards Jewish scholars at that time, the obvious explanation of their strange behavior is prejudice, to put it mildly. The affair with the Professorship of Assyriology continued until 1924, when it was settled in favor of the Institute’s preferred focus on Arabic and Islamic Studies.201 A letter from BL to H. Zimmern of April 4, 1924 indicates BL’s unceasing interest in the Prague position which he had no chance of getting from the beginning of his negotiations with the German University, though.202 While BL had to wait until March 1925 to obtain the chair of an “Extraordinarius” in Leipzig,203 he certainly did not regret that his effort to move to Prague had not worked out.204 He could continue his collaboration with Heinrich Zimmern and Paul Koschaker, further develop his scholarly abilities, and eventually formulate his concept of “Eigenbegrifflichkeit” in the intellectually stimulating environment of the “Semitistisches Institut,” which would have been hardly possible had he moved to the provincial and hostile German academic enclave in Czechoslovakia. Another opportunity similar to Prague arose exactly in 1925. This time it was not BL who made the inquiry but a university was keenly interested in him. It was none other than the young Hebrew University. Josef Horovitz, Professor of Oriental Studies in Frankfurt a. M. and member of the Hebrew University Board of Trustees, met BL and told him about the intention of the university to hire him. BL was not sure what to do but apparently toyed with the idea of coming to Palestine. At any

201

202

203 204

For a detailed analysis of the episode and its context, based on documents from the Prague archives and including an edition of BL’s letter to Hrozný of January 25, 1922, see Vacín and Sýkorová, in press. The sources used in the present work were not known to us when submitting that article for publication. UBL, Nachlass Heinrich Zimmern, sig. NL 144/L/30; 30. In this letter, BL reports about his 1-day long stay in Prague, where he visited scholars from the German University again. He could not meet with B. Hrozný, who was excavating in Syria. BL states that the appointment of a Professor of Assyriology had not yet been resolved. See the description of the content at http://kalliope.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/de/ead?ead.id=DE-611-HS-2801593 (accessed August 15, 2018). See UAL, Personalakten, sig. PA 676, leaves 32–45. BL may have mentioned the episode to his Leipzig students later on, which may have been responsible for the confusing remark about BL’s “semester” in Prague in the obituaries by von Soden (1970, 2) and Petschow (1970, 371). Or, did the inaccurate reminiscence of Prague originate from BL’s narration of his possible encounter with Delitzsch at the latter’s lecture(s) in that city? See above with fn. 80, 107–108.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




58

Chapter 6: BL’s Interwar Personalia and Departure from Europe

rate, while the university generally wanted to create a position for an Assyriologist and to send an official invitation to BL, there proved to be insufficient funds.205 Thus, Yehudah Leib Magnes, one of the founders of the Hebrew University and her first chancellor, sent a letter to BL on April 18, 1926, apologizing and explaining that even though the university would have liked to offer BL a position, there was not enough money available. Nevertheless, he expressed sincere hope that the financial situation would improve soon and the university would be able to make an official offer shortly.206 Several months later, there was a meeting of the Hebrew University Board of Trustees, including e.g. Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Martin Buber, and Hayim Weizmann, at which it was resolved that a position in Assyriology should be established and reserved for BL because of his exceptional scholarly qualities. But Y. Magnes could address BL officially only on June 6, 1928: “The Hebrew University Board of Trustees decided to create a position of Lecturer in Assyriology and ask you whether you would be interested. In 1925 … it was not possible to invite you because of lack of funds…”207 Now the Hebrew University would give BL the highest salary possible. But he would not get assistants, hence it would be a position without a department. BL got his first full Professorship at Marburg shortly afterwards, as we shall see below, and the Hebrew University realized that he would hardly accept a mere lectureship in Jerusalem. He officially declined the invitation next year.208 Back to 1925, when BL sealed his professional future as an academic by becoming an “Extraordinarius” in Leipzig. Not only BL himself but also his family was relieved that his existence would not be “brotlos” anymore,209 but BL’s father did not enjoy his son’s new status very long. Leopold died on July 8, 1926, leaving behind assets worth 354,595 Kč (i.e., Czechoslovak crowns). According to the documentation of the inheritance proceedings drawn up in Czech in July and September 1926 in BL’s presence and signed by him, the widow Hedwig received one quarter, while the children Benno and Hilda received three eighths each.210 205 206 207 208

209

210

According to the summary of pertinent documents from the archives of the Hebrew University in Tadmor 2009, 115–116. Reference courtesy Netanel Anor. Tadmor 2009, 117 with fn. 9. Ibid., 117–118 with fn. 11. Ibid., 118. I thank Netanel Anor for paraphrasing the relevant passages for me. See also Renger 2001, 253, based on a letter from H. Tadmor: “In den frühen zwanziger Jahren wurde ihm angetragen, sich der Gruppe von Gelehrten anzuschließen, die sich anschickte, das Department of Oriental Studies an der Hebrew University zu Jerusalem zu gründen. Ganz offensichtlich hat er dieses Angebot nicht angenommen.” See the letter UBL, Nachlass Heinrich Zimmern, sig. NL 144/L/32; 32 of April 10, 1925 where BL thanks Zimmern also on behalf of the family for his mentor’s personal intervention in his appointment. See the description of the content at http://kalliope.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/de/ead?ead.id=DE-611-HS-2804535 (accessed August 15, 2018). SOkA FM, f. Okresní soud Frýdek, unprocessed, pozůstalostní spis Leopold Landsberger.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 6: BL’s Interwar Personalia and Departure from Europe

59

Thus, BL inherited 132,973 Kč. Considering that in 1929 a factory worker earned between 510 and 590 Kč per month, a clerk 1,550 Kč per month, while 1 kilogram of bread cost 3.40 Kč, a liter of beer 2.90 Kč, and a pair of shoes 100 Kč in 1928,211 BL’s share of the inheritance was rather handsome. This could no doubt be helpful after he was dismissed and had to relocate to Ankara a decade later. Following the death of his father, BL’s relationship with the business branch of the family seems to have been almost entirely cut. As if in need of a symbolic action shortly after his father’s death, BL renounced Czechoslovak citizenship on November 3, 1926 because of his long-term stay in Germany and acquired the citizenship of Saxony.212 However, he kept visiting both Frýdek and Náchod after that date, apparently to nourish his relationship with members of the more intellectual branch of the family. The person he cared for the most Figure 15: BL’s father in 1913. was his mother, as shown by eviSource: PA EKL. dence from earlier and later periods.213 He seems to have been very close with her sister Josefine as well. This is suggested by BL’s stopovers in Náchod,214 the hometown of the Hitschmanns, whe-

211 212 213 214

Leopold’s assets were shares in the companies A. Landsberger and H. Hitschmann and BL kept an eye on them in the difficult years of the Great Depression also for his mother and sister, as shown by a few notes in his notebook LAJ, No. 76, mentioning “Stand 29. 3. ’27,” followed by “Hedwig, Hilda, Benno” and numerals; “April 1929 Hyp, Papiere,” followed by abbreviations and numbers, then “Hedwig, Hilda, B” with numbers; “Nachod” and “Hitschmann” with amounts of “Kč” are mentioned too. Information on the wages and prices is taken from http://www.ptejteseknihovny.cz/dotazy/prumerne-ceny-1918-1938 (accessed August 15, 2018) with references. SOkA FM, f. Archiv města Frýdek, inv. č. 764, ka. 210, Spis o propuštění ze státního svazku. See the notebooks LAJ, Nos. 73 and 84, containing the notes “Mama Geburtstag 23” (thickly circled, the numeral stands for September 23), and “Mama Finanzen: 1. 9. 1937: ca. 50000.” For evidence from the time of WWII, see Chapter 7 below. The only presently known pieces of written evidence are: 1) a timetable of trains from Frýdek to Náchod via Choceň and from Náchod to Dresden via Choceň, Prag Mas. (i.e., Masaryk

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




60

Chapter 6: BL’s Interwar Personalia and Departure from Europe

reto Josefine moved back from Frýdek after the untimely death of her husband Jakob.215 Even though I could find no evidence that BL visited his sister Hilda in Vienna, later correspondence and Hilda’s visit in Chicago indicate that the siblings had a close relationship throughout their life.216 During his sojourns in Frýdek, BL would have looked for the company of aunt Josefine’s children, his cousins Margarethe, Magda, and Otto. While both sisters moved to Vienna at some point and opened a firm “Schwestern Landsberger” making gobelins and petit point embroidery,217 Otto graduated from the Crown Prince Rudolf Grammar School two years before BL and went to study medicine in Vienna, whereupon he returned to his home region and opened a medical Figure 16: BL’s cousin Otto Landsberger, MD after graduation. Source: PA EKL.

215

216

217

railway station in Prague), Aussig (i.e., Ústí nad Labem), Bodenb. (= Bodenbach, i.e. Podmokly), and from Prag Wilson Bf. (i.e., Main Station in Prague, at that time called Wilson Station) to Tetschen (i.e., Děčín) in the notebook LAJ, No. 95 from 1925–1926; 2) a postcard UBL, Nachlass Heinrich Zimmern, sig. NL 144/L/44; 44 sent by BL on September 8, 1929 from Náchod. See http://kalliope.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/de/ead?ead.id=DE-611-HS-2806255 (accessed August 15, 2018). Apart from Josefine, BL’s three other aunts from Náchod likely were in town during the (first half of the) interwar years: two more sisters of his mother in addition to Elsa Hitschmann (née Klein), the wife of his uncle who died in 1931. Interestingly, BL’s visits to Náchod proved to be vital for the development of Czech Assyriology. See Chapter 8 below. Jakob Landsberger died on January 11, 1904. Josefine appears among the supporters of the “Kronprinz Rudolf-Gymnasium” in Friedek for the last time in 1907. See XII. Jahres-Bericht, 73. This suggests that she moved back to Náchod at about the same time when BL left for Leipzig. Her residence in Náchod in the interwar period is further suggested by the fact that on December 17, 1942 she was deported to Theresienstadt from Hradec Králové (Königgrätz), the gathering place for Jewish population from East Bohemia, including Náchod. See Gaugusch 2016, 1748; Čtvrtečková 2010, 22–23, 27, 306–307. Josefine was the only member of the Landsberger and Hitschmann families who survived the Shoah in the “Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren.” See Chapter 7 below. See Chapter 7 below. The postcard of April 15, 1947 from Hilda to cousin Otto (she calls him “My dear Oitikel”) kept in PA EKL shows continuous contacts of Benno, Hilda and their cousins Otto, Margarethe, and Magda (see below); Kilmer, Centenary of Benno Landsberger, from 1:00:28. See also fn. 54 above. Gaugusch 2016, 1748. The sisters left for Brazil shortly before WWII, yet remained in touch with their brother Otto, as well as with cousins Benno and Hilda. See the letter of December 29, 1968 from Margarethe, kept in PA EKL: “… von unserer Generation, nur noch Hilda, Magda u. ich, die sehr mit Benno verbunden war.”

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 6: BL’s Interwar Personalia and Departure from Europe

61

practice at the main square in Místek.218 Apart from BL, Otto was the only member of the Landsberger family with a degree other than from a law or business school. In later correspondence, BL wrote about Otto: “Mein Vetter ist ein ungewöhnlich tüchtiger Arzt, aber in mancher Hinsicht wunderlich,”219 and remained in touch with him and his family long after WWII.220 Following his appointment as Professor in Leipzig, BL’s research focused on the Sumero-Akkadian lexical lists and his teaching covered an astonishingly rich and diverse range of topics.221 The famous interdisciplinary collaboration with Paul Koschaker was reflected in classes taught jointly by both scholars since the fall semester 1927.222 Yet, when there was an opportunity of becoming a full Professor in sight, BL did not hesitate to go for it. While still very young, he was no doubt well aware of his qualities and the fact that he had been considered for the “Extraordinariat” in Jena already in 1919.223 Thus, having been continuously praised by his mentors, colleagues, and university officials, he may have expected to rise to the rank of full Professor in Leipzig soon after obtaining the “Extraordinariat” there. Since by the fall of 1928 this did not happen, BL accepted the offer from Marburg and began teaching there as a “personal Ordinarius” in early November 1928.224 University officials in Leipzig were not happy about it but they let him go.225

218

See the report on the final exams for 1906 in XII. Jahres-Bericht, 72; Čtvrtečková 2010, 306– 307. 219 Schmidt 2014, 642–643: Landsberger an Kraus, 108, February 15, 1941. 220 Otto rejoined his family in Frýdek-Místek after the war. Unfortunately, the letters BL had sent to them have been either destroyed because of fear of the Communist regime whose authorities opened and checked many of them before passing them on to the addressees, or lost in the past five decades (according to Otto’s granddaughter Eva Kučerová-Landsbergerová). 221 See in general Oelsner 2006, 273–277; Müller 1979, 76–80. For BL’s classes, see Streck 2009, 357–358. 222 Streck 2009, 358. 223 UAL, Personalakten, sig. PA 676, leaf 9 (Zimmern’s report of February 18, 1920): “Auch der Umstand, daß er im vorigen Sommer bei der Erledigung des Jenaer Extraordinariats für semitische Philologie … sicherem Vernehmen nach ernstlich bei der Aufstellung der Vorschlagsliste in Betracht gezogen worden ist (obwohl er noch nicht einmal an einer Universität habilitiert war), läßt erkennen, einen wie guten Klang sein Name durch seine wissenschaftliche Arbeiten im Kreise der engeren Fachgenossen bereits besitzt.” Note that Velhartická (2015b, 27) claims without source reference that already in 1913 BL was considered along with Bedřich Hrozný and Gerard J. Thierry for the “Extraordinariat” in Leiden. This is very unlikely, considering that BL passed his viva in mid-1913 and was officially awarded the doctorate only in January 1915 (see Chapter 5 above). 224 The files concerning BL’s stay in Marburg are kept in UAL, Personalakten, sig. PA 676, leaves 48–49, 117–34. The title meant that while BL was full Professor, his salary was that of an “Extraordinarius” (6,500,- RM p.a.). Ibid., leaf 121. The dossier of received correspondence in the Nachlass Zimmern contains seven letters on scholarly matters sent by BL from Marburg between January 17, 1929 and August 21, 1929. UBL, Nachlass Heinrich Zimmern, sig. NL 144/L/37; 37–43; 43. 225 UAL, Personalakten, sig. PA 676, leaves 46–47.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




62

Chapter 6: BL’s Interwar Personalia and Departure from Europe

The somewhat impatient move to Marburg may actually have been helpful for BL’s candidature to H. Zimmern’s chair after his mentor retired less than a year later. Relevant documents show that while other big names, such as Arthur Ungnad, Hans Ehelolf, or Arno Poebel were considered, BL was unequivocally regarded as the best choice.226 Accordingly, he was appointed full Professor of Oriental Philology and co-director of the “Semitistisches Institut” at Leipzig from October 1, 1929. The comparatively short period between this high point in BL’s Leipzig career and his dismissal in 1935 is widely regarded as the climax of pre-WWII history of the Leipzig School of Assyriology. Although most of the following reminiscences refer to earlier and later periods of BL’s life, they fittingly testify to the characteristic traits of his personality often mentioned in the obituaries and appreciations that must have been tremendously visible during those years of feverish activity and no doubt contributed to his charisma as a scholar and teacher: the incisive brilliance and eager zest for life. As the Arabist Werner Caskel wrote about the “Semitistisches Institut” in the early 1920s: Die Insassen standen unter dem Einfluß des genialen Assyriologen Benno Landsberger. Ein schwerer Riese, ganz unsentimental, von sprühender Lebenslust und von drastischem Witz. Nach dem Essen pflegte er im Grünen Baum mit Bräunlich und einem Dritten Skat zu spielen. Am Sonntag ging er – nicht allein – zum Rennen. Zuweilen sah man ihn die schwarze Tafel eilends mit Ziffern bedecken und man wußte dann nicht recht, ob es die Maße der Arche des babylonischen Noah waren oder die Tips für das nächste Rennen. Sonst lebte er ganz in seiner Wissenschaft; so las er einem vor ihm in der Bank sitzenden Schüler, der ein neues Keilschrifttäfelchen nicht entziffern konnte, den auf dem Kopf stehenden Text vor.227 The reminiscence of BL’s passion for horse-races is eloquently confirmed in his student notebooks. Although BL apparently never rode a horse himself, unlike his cousin Marie Therese, this family influence clearly cast a spell on him and became his favorite pastime.228 Amazingly, a notebook also confirms the Assyriological part of Caskel’s story, because one entry contains transliteration of lines 1–3 of “Winckler Unters. 156, 6” on the same page as a chart of bets for August 1912 and a calculation of the total loss of 15.50.229 226 227 228

229

UAL, Personalakten, sig. PA 676, leaves 50–82. The latter two scholars were considered aequo loco with BL for the position at Marburg. See also Müller 1979, 77 with fn. 50. Caskel 1968, 14. According to UAL, Studentenkartei der Quästurbehörde, sub Caskel Werner, he studied at Leipzig in 1919–1924 with a break in 1920. Hans G. Güterbock, American Oriental Society: Centenary of Benno Landsberger, http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/xmlui/handle/1803/4342 (accessed August 15, 2018), from 11:23 says that BL loved to bet on horses. Note that Güterbock 1991, 275 adds: “In Germany he also loved to bet on horses. … Neither in Ankara nor in Chicago did he find the races interesting.” LAJ, No. 67. The bibliographical reference is Winckler 1889. A chart of “Gewinn” and “Ver-

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 6: BL’s Interwar Personalia and Departure from Europe

63

“He was a human being in the full sense of the word. … He loved good food, drink, and women.”230 Since BL was nearly forty and still unmarried at the time of his appointment as full Professor, it may be assumed that the pressure particularly from the formidable female suite in his family would have risen to frequent queries about when he would finally find a wife and settle down. According to family tradition, he liked to brush off such questions by quoting an anecdote attributed to dancer Isadora Duncan and playwright George Bernard Shaw: Miss Duncan wrote Mr. Shaw as follows: “My dear Mr. Shaw: I beg to remind you that as you have the greatest brain in the world, and I have the most beautiful body, it is our duty to posterity to have a child.” Whereupon Mr. Shaw replied to Miss Duncan: “My dear Miss Duncan: I admit that I have the greatest brain in the world and that you have the most beautiful body, but it might happen that our child would have my body and your brain. Therefore, I respectfully decline.”231 BL’s reluctance to marry is as proverbial as his appetite for food. His reputation as an epicure is well illustrated in a story related by his cousins Margarethe and Magda. According to them, BL once experienced a police raid in his Chicago apartment on the suspicion that he ran an illegal night club. The investigators came to that conclusion because it was noticed that BL had regularly ordered such quantity of sausages, ham, and beer that a single person could not possibly consume. But unfortunately for the officers, BL was able to eat up the contents of a whole package right in front of them with no difficulty whatsoever, proving that all the food was for his personal consumption. Another reason for the suspicion of the authorities may have been that BL ordered the delicacies from Czechoslovakia,232 by that time belonging to the Soviet bloc.

230 231 232

lust” for September contains locations of horse-races, names of horses and their jockeys with the amounts of BL’s bets, e.g. “Grunewald, Frisch (Speer) 10,-; Hoppegarten, Poltergeist (F Dulloch) 3,-” with the total gain of 23.10. Güterbock 1991, 274. For the various versions and protagonists of this anecdote, see https://quoteinvestigator.com/ 2013/04/19/brains-beauty/#note-6063-2 (accessed August 15, 2018). The stories about BL’s attitude to marriage and epicurism were related to me by Ms Eva Kučerová-Landsbergerová in an e-mail of January 22, 2016. BL intimated his earnest opinion on love and marriage to his former student F. R. Kraus in a letter from May 4, 1941: “Was das Liebesproblem in dieser Problemschürzung betrifft, so war es mein Lebensgrundsatz, dass derlei für uns, wenn wir uns nicht selbst aufgeben (was aber zeitweise wieder ganz nützlich wäre) nicht entscheidend sein darf. Freilich habe ich nie solch ein Opfer von einem Weib erhalten oder auch nur verlangt.” With a note on the margin: “Trotzdem schon viel angerichtet.” Schmidt 2014, 676: Landsberger an Kraus, 119. The latter point is supported by the letter AoIL, Nachlass Benno Landsberger, Briefe, No. 74, dated December 23, 1934, sent to BL (although the name of the addressee is missing) by an unknown lady. Clues in the text suggest that she was a performing artist and the phraseology shows that BL must have been a veritable Don Juan: “Nie hab ich vorher gewusst, dass man so krank sein kann nach einem Menschen. Krank bin ich nach Dir, möchte still und stumm bei Dir sitzen, nur Deine Nähe

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




64

Chapter 6: BL’s Interwar Personalia and Departure from Europe

But there was no politics involved on BL’s part, just nostalgia. BL could never quite overcome that he had been forcefully uprooted from Central Europe and he sorely missed the goodies of that region.233 Fortunately, he could get at least some of them anywhere in the world. For instance, while he liked to explore different beer brands,234 the hallmark lager from Plzeň (Pilsen), Bohemia, remained his favorite beer until the last moments of his life.235 At the height of his Leipzig period, “he ate his noon meal in the restaurant ‘Die Feuerkugel’ in its backroom with bare wooden tables, while Kraus and I (i.e., H. G. Güterbock) sat in the front room at tables covered with white tablecloths – the price was the same.”236 For dessert, he frequented the Café Felsche, a top coffee house in town, also often accompanied by his students. But it was not only the cuisine, Figure 17: The young full Professor of Oriental beer, and lifestyle of the region of his Philology at Leipzig. youth which BL missed later on. He Source: AoIL (courtesy M. P. Streck). was deeply affected by the forced end of his scholarly work and teaching in an exceptionally collaborative environment that had made Leipzig the hub of contemporary Assyriology, and he seems to have never fully recovered from that injustice.237 His happy days in Central Europe with

233 234 235 236 237

atmen, nur wissen, dass Du da bist bei mir! … Mein Lieben zu Dir ist so grenzlos, so mich auflösend, mich unterwerfend, dass die starke energische Frau, die ich war, die ich noch immer gegen andere bin, sich in Gedanken an Dich zum schwachen hilflosen Wesen wandelt, ganz Dir, Deinen Wünschen verfallen. In Ewigkeit, Liebster, will meine Seele dem Glück Deiner Seele bedienstet sein. … Sei froh, wo Du auch seiest, zu Haus oder hier, aber schick Deine guten lieben Gedanken, einmal zu mir, wie ich Dir meine atemraubende Zärtlichkeit schicke, in aeternum!” See http://altorient.gko.uni-leipzig.de/landsberger/leipzig/l-74. Cf. Güterbock 1991, 274: “He favored hearty dishes like pig’s feet and veal hocks.” Greengus, Centenary of Benno Landsberger, from 1:15:00. Kilmer, Centenary of Benno Landsberger, from 1:08:13: “Every year at birthday I bought him his favorite beer, which was Pilsner Urquell. I always got him a basket full of that. … He spent his last birthday in a hospital and for that occasion I sent him a case of Pilsner Urquell.” Güterbock 1991, 274. Streck 2009, 358; Müller 1979, 84: “Landsberger ging – die Vertreibung von seiner blühen-

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 6: BL’s Interwar Personalia and Departure from Europe

65

its interwar ethos of extensive cultural exchange and creativity were counted when the Nazis came to power and began implementing their racial policy. The final blow came in April 1935 when BL was “put into retirement” along with several of his Jewish colleagues.238 This action of the government provoked rather feeble protests of some academics.239 Among BL’s students, the Swiss Johann Jakob Stamm was the most concerned and inquired with the dean and rector about the future of Assyriology at Leipzig and the organization of teaching in the next semester.240 University officials attempted to point out to the authorities that several doctoral students of the dismissed Professors were (almost) finished with their dissertations and that it would be in the best interest of those students if the respective academics would be allowed to examine them. In mid-June, the Ministry of Education in Dresden denied even that.241 Thus, the shaken BL spent the summer pondering over his future and he gradually arrived at the decision to take up a Professorship at the Faculty of Languages, History, and Geography which would be established at Ankara in December under the auspices of the President of the Turkish Republic Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The school was intended to explore the ancient cultures of Anatolia, in accordance with Atatürk’s notion of modern Turkey as a secular nation state. The key positions were to be filled mostly with refugee academics from Germany, and the institution would be organized according to German system of higher education. Additionally, BL was able to negotiate the purchase of H. Zimmern’s personal library, thus creating good conditions for Assyriological teaching and research at his new workplace. So much has been known from the obituaries and appreciations.242 Yet, how does it happen that an outstanding Assyriologist dismissed in Germany, but with a safe haven of his birthplace in Czechoslovakia, at that time still a free country, decides to make a comparatively quick step into the unknown? A few let-

238 239

240 241 242

den Arbeit in Leipzig nie verwindend – an die im Aufbau befindliche Universität Ankara…” Borger 1997–1998, 591: “Die Vertreibung aus Leipzig war für Landsberger schwer zu überwinden, und er war in Ankara nicht heimisch geworden.” Renger 2001, 254: “Landsberger hat schwer unter seiner Entlassung aus der Leipziger Universität gelitten, was sein Leben in diesen Jahren in vielerlei Hinsicht belastet hat.” For the relevant document see UAL, Personalakten, sig. PA 676, leaf 88. BL’s dismissal and the ensuing protests have been discussed by Müller 1979, 84; Müller 1985; Hanisch 2003, 119, 134 fn. 474, 140, 144–145; Oelsner 2006, 277 with fn. 38. For a transcript of the faculty meeting of May 21, 1935, see UAL, Personalakten, sig. PA 676, leaves 90–94, e.g., leaf 93: “Heisenberg: Diese Massnahme hat bei vielen von uns Bestürzung hervorgerufen, weil sie das Gefühl hatten, dass sie dem Sinne des Gesetzes nicht gerecht werde. Dieser ist: Frontkämpfer gehören mit zur Volksgemeinschaft! Es ist unsere kameradschaftliche Pflicht, ihnen in jeder Weise zu helfen, zumal sich schon ihre Schüler für sie eingesetzt haben. Es ist nötig, dass die Fak. ausspricht, dass es sich hier um Menschen handelt, die ihr Leben für uns eingesetzt haben.” For his letters, see UAL, Personalakten, sig. PA 676, leaves 101–103. According to UAL, Studentenkartei der Quästurbehörde, sub Stamm Johann, he studied at Leipzig in 1934–1936. UAL, Personalakten, sig. PA 676, leaves 98–99, 104–105. See Güterbock 1968–1969, 204; Güterbock 1991, 268.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




66

Chapter 6: BL’s Interwar Personalia and Departure from Europe

ters kept at the Altorientalisches Institut Leipzig provide insight into BL’s state of mind and decision making during that troubled period. The letter of July 3, 1935 to an unknown addressee vividly illustrates his feelings bordering on despair: .

Wenn ich auch leider auf die von Ihnen in so rühmender Weise hervorgehobene Unterrichtstätigkeit werden (sic) verzichten müssen, so hoffe ich doch, daß mir wenigstens die Möglichkeit zu ruhiger Arbeit bleibt. Im übrigen ist es noch völlig unsicher, wie sich meine nächste Zukunft gestalten wird.243 The letter indicates that in early July 1935 BL had not yet been contacted regarding his possible appointment in Ankara. But already a couple of weeks later, he wrote to his friend from Berlin Hans Ehelolf that he “only recently came to life again” and specified that: Hinsichtlich der Behandlung, die ich der türkischen Offerte zuteil werden lassen soll, bin ich noch unentschlossener als in anderen Dingen und würde dringend jemand brauchen, der mir die primitivsten Anweisungen gibt. Zunächst bitte ich wohl um 14 Tage Geduld.244 This letter shows that in mid-July 1935 BL got an invitation from Ankara, no doubt via the group organizing the emigration of refugee German academics to Turkey.245 He hesitated. At that point, he would have preferred an appointment in Jerusalem but some important person at the Hebrew University did not like the idea.246 In the end, Ankara remained the only place where he could go. Between mid-July and late October/early November, when BL signed the contract,247 he was able to find someone who could give him more than the “primitivsten Anweisungen,” which seems to have been the crucial moment in his considerations about going or not going to Ankara. That person was quite influential, knew the situation in Turkey 243 244 245 246

247

Quoted according to Streck 2009, 358. Sent from Leipzig. Quoted according to Oelsner 2006, 278. Dated Leipzig, July 19, 1935. On the “Notgemeinschaft deutscher Wissenschaftler im Ausland,” see Guttstadt 2013, 84–90; Hanisch 2003, 131; Hillebrecht 2000, 30–31; Möckelmann 2013, 39; Renger 2001, 254; Schwartz 1995; Widmann 1973, 287–288. On the other hand, the Hebrew University showed interest in BL during the war but it did not work out at that time either. BL related this to Hayim Tadmor, when the latter studied with him in Chicago in the 1950s. No documents backing up these reminiscences are available in the Hebrew University archive, though. See Tadmor 2009, 116. An unfinished draft of a job application to Columbia University whose chair of Semitics was vacant after the passing of Richard J. H. Gottheil in 1936 indicates that by that time BL (“forty-six years old”) was looking for a position in the USA but eventually dropped the idea. See also below with fn. 268. For the job application draft, see http://altorient.gko.uni-leipzig.de/landsberger/leipzig/l-5 (accessed August 20, 2018). Oelsner 2006, 279, points out that on October 17, 1935 BL wrote to the “Generalinspektion der türkischen Studierenden in Europa, zu Händen von Herrn A. Basman,” expressing his readiness to sign the contract, and “An das Auswärtige Amt, Abt. 6” regarding “Befürwortung der Genehmigung zur Einrichtung einer assyriologischen Professur in Ankara für Prof. Dr. Landsberger (Leipzig).”

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 6: BL’s Interwar Personalia and Departure from Europe

67

well, and thus urged BL to make up his mind, while providing him with essential practical advice. New evidence from Czech archives shows that it was the same scholar who had made BL interested in the vacant position at Prague thirteen years ago. As BL wrote to Bedřich Hrozný from Leipzig in a letter dated November 10, 1935: Wie Sie gehört haben dürften, habe ich Ihren Rat befolgt und mich zum 1. Dezember nach Ankara verpflichtet. Der Vertrag ist auf 3 Jahre, räumt aber beiden Teilen jederzeitige Kündigung ein. Außer der Lehrtätigkeit wird mir voraussichtlich, wenn auch nicht in Form der offiziellen Verwaltung, auch die wissenschaftliche Verwertung der Stambuler Sammlungen anvertraut werden. Ich wäre Ihnen sehr dankbar für eine Mitteilung darüber, was für Ziele ich im Stambuler Museum und sonst bei der türkischen Regierung verfolgen soll, auch über die Persönlichkeiten, die da maßgebend sind. Nach meiner bisherigen Information ist Cevat in Ankara der in diesen Dingen maßgebende Mann. … Wenn Sie eine persönliche Aussprache darüber für sehr wünschenswert hielten, könnte ich auf der Reise nach Frydek trotz meines Zeitmangels den Umweg über Prag nehmen.248 That Hrozný would advise his fellow countryman to go for a position in Turkey, and help him with the practicalities, actually does not surprise much. Both men were obviously on friendly terms since BL’s early thirties, while Hrozný was in the mid1930s regarded by Turkish academics, authorities, and politicians, including Atatürk himself, as perhaps the most prominent cuneiformist. As the decipherer of the Hittite language who had found the key to the textual treasures of the most important ancient culture on Turkish soil, and at the same time the first excavator of the center of Old Assyrian trade at Kültepe,249 Hrozný enjoyed considerable authority in Turkish learned and political circles. In July to November 1934 he was making facsimile copies of Luwian hieroglyphic inscriptions throughout the country. “During his travels, Hrozný gave lectures on the Hittites in Ankara and Kayseri. In Ankara, he met with the German scholars excavating the Hittite capital at Boğazköy, K. Bittel and H. G. Güterbock. He was even invited to an encounter with Kemal Atatürk…” 250

248

NpM, f. Hrozný Bedřich (1879–1952), Konvolut přijaté korespondence: H–O, ka. 2, Landsberger B., sig. ar. Hroz. 2/1-278. Emphasis mine. 249 Note that the Old Assyrian material had belonged to BL’s favorite research topics long before he moved to Turkey. See Landsberger 1925. 250 Payne 2015, 230.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




68

Chapter 6: BL’s Interwar Personalia and Departure from Europe

Figure 18: BL’s letter to Bedřich Hrozný regarding BL’s relocation to Ankara. Source: NpM, f. Hrozný Bedřich (1879–1952), Konvolut přijaté korespondence: H–O, ka. 2, Landsberger B., sig. ar. Hroz. 2/1-278.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Chapter 6: BL’s Interwar Personalia and Departure from Europe

69

Hrozný’s significant role in BL’s decision to move to Ankara is confirmed by two more pieces of correspondence in which BL “reported” to him on the situation at the brand new school, the latest archaeological discoveries in Turkey, his travels to sites of Hrozný’s interest, the purchase of Zimmern’s library, etc. The first postcard, dated December 27, 1935, shortly after BL settled at Ankara,251 reads: Bevor ich zur Besichtigung von Kaisari und Kültepe aufbreche, möchte ich Ihnen für die frdl. Auskünfte bestens danken. Einen Bericht kann ich Ihnen nach der kurzen Zeit nicht einmal stimmungsmäßig geben. Die “fakülte,” ein Lieblingskind des ausgezeichneten Cevat, ist noch nicht recht in Gang gekommen. Ich will Ihnen gern später berichten, auch über die neue Sensation, Hüyük! Ich selbst bin hier auch noch nicht ganz bei der Sache. Als Grundstock ist die Bibliothek Zimmern, d. h. der davon noch vorhandene Rest, angekauft. Prosit Neujahr! Ihr herzlich erg. B Landsberger252 In the other postcard of March 26, 1936, BL informed Hrozný also about the instruction of Hittite at Ankara which was just being introduced by BL’s student Hans G. Güterbock, who had no prospects of an academic career in the Third Reich either. Dank für frdl. Karte und Separata! Unsere Vorlesungen sind seit Jahresanfang im Gange, die Beteiligung ist rege; ich habe die “Sümeroloji” auch für Hethitologen obligat gemacht. Mein Dolmetsch ist der Ihnen bekannte Dr. Şükrat. Hethitisch lehrt Güterbock. Dr. Hamit bereitet die Ausgabe der Funde von Hüyük vor, aber bis zum Erscheinen dürfte noch Zeit vergehen. Die Metallgegenstände weisen frappante Ähnlichkeit mit den sog. protoskythischen auf, das Metall ist noch nicht untersucht. Den Kültepe habe ich besucht, neulich war auch Nuh hier, die Bauern liefern nur die obligaten Gegenstände, von einem Fragment mit Hieroglyphen abgesehen. Für den Aussendienst und gleichzeitig Unterricht an unserer Fak. ist Herr v. d. Osten engagiert, aber noch nicht da. Wie mir Matouš schreibt, erscheinen 2 Bde. Kültepe von Ihnen in Kürze. Wenn Sie mir Abzüge senden könnten, wäre ich sehr dankbar, aber zu ernster Arbeit daran komme ich in diesem Jahre nicht mehr, wie ich hier überhaupt mit technischen und psychologischen Schwierigkeiten zu kämpfen habe, woran aber meine Gastgeber unschuldig sind. Mit diesen hatte ich noch keinerlei Schwierigkeit. Von Kültepe interessieren mich auch die Siegel. Haben Sie welche gefunden? Und veröffentlichen Sie auch die Abrollungen? Eine Rezension über Gelbs Buch bereite ich vor. Das Se-

251 252

The earliest proof of BL’s residence in Turkey is the postcard he sent from Ankara on December 19, 1935 to his former student Karl Friedrich Müller. See http://altorient.gko.uni-leipzig.de/landsberger/leipzig/l-8 (accessed August 20, 2018). NpM, f. Hrozný Bedřich (1879–1952), Konvolut přijaté korespondence: H–O, ka. 2, Landsberger B., sig. ar. Hroz. 2/1-281.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




70

Chapter 6: BL’s Interwar Personalia and Departure from Europe

mester dauert bis 15. Mai, dann will ich in Stambul, Deutschland (und England?) arbeiten.253 In the quoted postcard,254 BL confided to Hrozný that he had “psychological difficulties.” He was more specific in a letter sent a few weeks later to K. F. Müller: Sie haben recht, es hat keinen Zweck zu klagen, und so will ich lieber an die Punkte Ihrer Briefe bzw. die mir durch Schuster übermittelten Punkte anknüpfen, die für die Zukunft uns wieder wenigstens einen matten Abglanz unserer früheren Arbeitskraft und Arbeitsfreude zu bringen versprechen. … Psychologisch bin ich immer noch nicht recht in der Lage, konkrete Entschlüsse ernsterer Art fassen zu können. Wenn alle diese Schwierigkeiten überwunden werden, bin ich natürlich gerne bereit mich Ihren Bedürfnissen und Wünschen anzupassen.255 BL was clearly enduring bouts of depression that seem to have begun in the wake of his dismissal from Leipzig and were to haunt him throughout the years in Turkey. Although nobody could know it in late 1935, the fact that BL followed Hrozný’s advice to quickly relocate to Turkey effectively saved his life. The feelings of resignation and sorrow from having been displaced from his home and family would become ever more tormenting after Nazi Germany swallowed Austria and the Czech Lands and began to threaten his relatives, whom he tried to help as he could. Not all of them were as lucky as he was.

253 254

255

NpM, f. Hrozný Bedřich (1879–1952), Konvolut přijaté korespondence: H–O, ka. 2, Landsberger B., sig. ar. Hroz. 2/1-273. Several more letters dated to 1936 and sent from Ankara, London, Leipzig, and Frýdek, as well as a letter dated to 1937 and sent from Ankara, are preserved among the correspondence addressed to Hrozný. Those concern mostly the seals from Kültepe, while one letter from Frýdek (of September 2, 1936) testifies to BL’s cordial relationship with Hrozný at the time: “Vor meiner Abreise aus der Čechoslovakei möchte ich Ihnen für die so überaus herzliche Gastfreundschaft noch bestens danken und hoffen, dass ich bald Gelegenheit haben werde, sie in der Türkei zu erwidern. … Zum Schluss möchte ich Sie bitten, Ihrer sehr verehrten Frau Gemahlin und den jungen Damen (i.e., Hrozný’s daughters Olga and Helena) meine herzlichsten Grüsse und den Dank für die so ganz besonders nette Aufnahme in Ihrem Hause zu übermitteln.” NpM, f. Hrozný Bedřich (1879–1952), Konvolut přijaté korespondence: H– O, ka. 2, Landsberger B., sig. ar. Hroz. 2/1-277. AoIL, Nachlass Benno Landsberger, Briefe, No. 27, dated Ankara, May 5, 1936 at http://altorient.gko.uni-leipzig.de/landsberger/leipzig/l-27 (accessed August 20, 2018). See also Streck 2009, 358.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 7: BL’s Concern for Endangered Relatives While at Ankara, BL brought up a number of Turkish students and published significant works, often related to the ancient history of Anatolia.256 Apart from his academic work, he was very much involved in rescue operations undertaken by the “Colony B,” the community of German emigres who did not maintain relations with the Embassy of the Third Reich, as opposed to the emigres informally known as the “Colony A.”257

Figure 19: BL with the group of his students and collaborators at the Faculty of Languages, History, and Geography, Ankara, July 1, 1940. Source: NINO, Kraus Archive (courtesy of the Netherlands Institute for the Near East, Leiden).

During the War, he was chosen by consent of Colony B as the leader and the Treasurer of a self-help refugee relief and rescue mission organized by the German and Austrian emigres in Ankara. This wholly informal volunteer organization was known simply as “der Fond” and served as safety net for the 256 257

Oelsner 2006, 279–280; Hanisch 2003, 131–134; Widmann 1973, 273. Merzbacher 1990, 1. Cf. Möckelmann 2013, 88–93, 119, 122.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




72

Chapter 7: BL’s Concern for Endangered Relatives

less fortunate members of our community. Sustained by those who still had reasonably well-paying jobs with the Turkish government, the Fond was called upon to assist the many who toward the end of the War became unemployed, or transient refugees who were able to pass through Turkey, often from Central Europe, en route to other mid-East countries, especially Palestine. … It was never clear to me where all the funds managed by Landsberger during this time came from. Obviously, he was able to activate some American relief organizations to help the German and Austrian refugees… I have no doubt that frequently and quietly Landsberger donated substantial sums from his own pocket to help individual refugees.258 BL coordinated his efforts also with the representatives of the Jewish Agency in Istanbul that helped refugees from occupied Europe to get to Palestine.259 These activities “gave him a sense of contributing to the war effort,”260 and being true to his Jewish heritage and identity. The latter point is eloquently illustrated by a note appended to the relevant file in the registry of inhabitants of Frýdek in 1939 upon receipt of a notification from Ankara: “… as of July 15, 1939 Dr. Beno Landsberger adopted in addition to the surname also the name Israel and is now called ‘Dr. Beno Israel Landsberger.’”261 It is certainly of note that BL felt it was necessary to show to the authorities in his occupied homeland that he was proud of his belonging to the people called by the name “God fights.”262 BL was ready to fight particularly for those dearest to him. The published correspondence between him and his student Fritz Rudolf Kraus, who also lived in Turkish exile during the war, contains over forty letters concerning BL’s worries and aid, often with Kraus’ assistance, for the members of his family who needed logistical and financial support to be able to find a new home, or to survive on the occu258 259

260 261 262

Merzbacher 1990, 3, 6. Schmidt 2014, 36. Cf. Möckelmann 2013, 92–93: “In den Kriegsjahren in Ankara zeigte er darüber hinaus als Vorsitzender der örtlichen Zweigstelle des International Rescue and Relief Committee (IRRC), einer von US-Gewerkschaften gegründeten Flüchtlingshilfsorganisation, menschliche Größe. Zusammen mit Ernst Reuter, dem Mediziner Albert Eckstein und anderen Exilanten unterstützte er in der Türkei gestrandete Juden, die aus den von deutschen Truppen besetzten Nachbarländern geflohen waren. Ab August 1944 engagierte sich Landsberger darüber hinaus für die internierten Exildeutschen.” On the Jews in Turkey 1933–1945, the attitudes of Turkish authorities to the exiles, and the role of Turkey as a transit country for Jewish refugees to Palestine, see Guttstadt 2013, 56–138. Merzbacher 1990, 4. SOkA FM, f. Archiv města Frýdek, inv. č. 1708, ka. 312, Evidence domovských příslušníků města Frýdku, Leopold Landsberger. See Hillebrecht 2000, 191–192. The only hitherto known piece of evidence that BL actually used his new middle name (even before he made it official), occurs in the letter AoIL, Nachlass Benno Landsberger, Briefe, No. 71, from BL to K. F. Müller, dated Ankara, August 24, 1938: “Sie und Schuster herzlichst grüssend bin ich Ihr alter B. I. L.” The initials clearly stand for Benno Israel Landsberger. See http://altorient.gko.uni-leipzig.de/landsberger/ leipzig/l-71 (accessed August 20, 2018).

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 7: BL’s Concern for Endangered Relatives

73

pied territory. The first who came under Nazi rule were BL’s sister Hilda and her children Karl, Albert, and Agathe in Vienna after the annexation of Austria on March 13, 1938. Thus, BL wrote to Kraus on April 4, 1938: Mit Recht vermuten Sie, dass ich durch die Umwälzung in Österreich betroffen bin. Ich bemühe mich jetzt, mit Rat und Tat eine Übersiedlung meiner beiden Neffen nach Nordamerika zu unterstützen. Ich glaube jetzt, meine Schwester überzeugt zu haben, dass dies das Richtige ist, nicht Holland oder England.263 Both nephews were able to get to Haiti. Hilda with Agathe managed to move to England but Hilda felt insecure there, as she feared that Britain would not be able to resist for very long.264 Thus, she inquired with BL about a possibility to go to Bolivia but in the end decided to try emigration to North America together with Agathe or at least for the daughter alone.265 BL made a great effort to obtain an affidavit and arrange the journey for his sister and niece with the help of the Portuguese consul and others.266 In the meantime, they all had to get over two tragedies which befell the family in quick succession. BL’s younger nephew, Albert, died at the age of twenty on August 30, 1938 at Port-au-Prince.267 The older nephew, Karl,268 succeeded in getting to New York but he suffered a heart-attack and died at the age of twenty-four on December 31, 1939. BL was devastated: Das Jahr hat für meine Familie ganz furchtbar angefangen. Der ältere Sohn meiner Schwester ist – laut Telegramm Reilly’s – am Sylvestertag an einem 263 264

Schmidt 2014, 212: Landsberger an Kraus, 16. See Gschiel, Nimeth, and Weidinger 2010, 176; Schmidt 2014, 348: Landsberger an Kraus, 35, March 12, 1939; ibid., 533: Kraus an Landsberger, 72, August 8, 1940: “Ich höre mit Bedauern, daß sich die Familiensorgen für Sie wieder in den Vordergrund drängen. Hoffentlich können Sie die Auswanderung für Ihre Frau Schwester arrangieren. Muß sie denn aus England fort? Wie schade unter diesen Umständen, daß sie damals von der Möglichkeit hierher zu kommen keinen Gebrauch gemacht hat. Jetzt geht es offenbar nicht mehr.” 265 Schmidt 2014, 537: Landsberger an Kraus, 77, August 10, 1940: “… ob Sie in London bleiben oder eine Chance, nach Bolivia zu gehen wahrnehmen solle… Sie muss nicht weg aus London, hat aber Angst vor den kommenden Ereignissen und sucht den Weg ins Freie. Ich habe ihr keinen Rat geben können.” Schmidt 2014, 549: Landsberger an Kraus, 78, August 22, 1940: “Von Bolivien ist sie abgekommen, will nun die Tochter allein nach Newyork schicken. Diese weigert sich!” 266 Schmidt 2014, 562: Landsberger an Kraus, 81, September 29, 1940; ibid., 570–571: Landsberger an Kraus, 85, October 17, 1940; ibid., 599: Landsberger an Kraus, 95, December 5, 1940; ibid., 602: Landsberger an Kraus, 96, December 9, 1940; ibid., 607–608: Landsberger an Kraus, 99, December 23, 1940. 267 Gschiel, Nimeth, and Weidinger 2010, 167. 268 See Schmidt 2014, 364: Landsberger an Kraus, 37, April 20, 1939; ibid., 421: Landsberger an Kraus, 51, October 10, 1939. BL was even planning to relocate to the USA, also to be able to help his nephew more efficiently but he dropped the idea in the end. See ibid., 383: Landsberger an Kraus, 40, June 18, 1939.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




74

Chapter 7: BL’s Concern for Endangered Relatives

Herzanfall plötzlich gestorben. … dürfte diese vom Schicksal grauenhaft gemartete Frau von diesem neuen Schlag noch nichts wissen, und meine Besorgnis gilt jetzt der Schwester. Sie hat monatelang um den Jungen gebangt, endlich gelang es, ihn aus Haiti zu befreien, und nun scheinen doch die Folgen dieses mörderischen Klimas ihn ereilt zu haben.269 He could not recover from the shock for weeks, while he became very worried about Hilda who, quite understandably, showed signs of mental breakdown. Ich bin noch ganz verstört über die Familienkatastrophe, mit der auch alle “Aufbau-Hoffnungen” zertrümmert sind. Der schwere Choc, den ich für meine Schwester befürchtet hatte, ist zwar nicht eingetreten, sie zeigt vielmehr eine Ergebung und Ruhe, die mir überirdisch und unheimlich vorkommen.270 Hilda appears to have been in a disturbed state of mind during most of the war years, which contributed to BL’s anxiety and depression.271 … hat auch meine Schwester depeschiert, auch geschrieben (seitenlang über spiritistische Séancen, in denen sie mit ihren im Himmel weilenden Söhnen, ihrem verstorbenem Mann und unserem Vater sich in Verbindung bringt).272 In such circumstances BL attempted to arrange Hilda’s and Agathe’s emigration to North America, which he was also supposed to pay for, in addition to covering the costs for Karl’s funeral. Ich habe heute Nacht noch zwei kostspielige Telegramme nach Newyork zu verfassen, an deren Formulierung ich seit 3 Tagen kaue, wobei es sich nicht nur um den Wortlaut, sondern um die Entschlussfassung handelt: Der bewährte Sachverwalter meiner Schwester in N.Y. wünscht meine gesamten Auslandsersparnisse zwecks Tilgung einer Schuld für Begräbnis- etc. -Kosten, die er vorgelegt hat, und zur Finanzierung der Auswanderung meiner Schwester nach Kanada als Vorschuss. Deckung durch Schmuck meiner Schwester, dessen Verkauf vermieden werden soll.273

269 270

271 272 273

Schmidt 2014, 465–466: Landsberger an Kraus, 57, January 8, 1940. Schmidt 2014, 467: Landsberger an Kraus, 58, January 23, 1940. See also ibid., 475: Kraus an Samuel Kramer, 2, February 4, 1940: “Landsberger ist in schrecklicher Verfassung wegen des ungewissen Schicksals seiner Mutter, welche als tschechische Jüdin lange in Gefahr schwebte, nach Lublin exportiert zu werden, und wegen des Todes seines jungen Neffen in USA.” See Schmidt 2014, 478: Landsberger an Kraus, 59, February 26, 1940; ibid., 532: Landsberger an Kraus, 75, August 4, 1940; ibid., 673: Landsberger an Kraus, 118, April 27, 1941: “Ihr Brief zeigte Sie auch mit ‘Kopf oben,’ während ich recht depressiv bin.” Schmidt 2014, 818: Landsberger an Kraus, 142, May 3, 1942. Schmidt 2014, 635: Landsberger an Kraus, 105, February 1, 1941.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 7: BL’s Concern for Endangered Relatives

75

Eventually, his sister and niece stayed in the UK.274 They became British citizens in 1947 and remained in touch with BL, Hilda even visited him in Chicago. More worries, urgency of financial support, and direct calls for help came from relatives who stayed in the Czech Lands, occupied by the Third Reich since March 15, 1939 as the “Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.”275 The youngest daughter of BL’s cousin Oskar, Franziska, was active in the Zionist youth union “BlauWeiss” and managed to board an illegal transport to Palestine which, however, ran into trouble when the ship with 1,800 refugees was blocked for weeks by the British at Haifa. In order to avoid their deportation to Mauritius, and allow the refugees admission to Palestine if they would succeed to set foot on the country’s soil, the Haganah bombed the ship on November 25, 1940, killing 267 people.276 As BL wrote to Kraus on March 18, 1941: Um Ihrem Leben einen bescheidenen Zweck zu geben, habe ich heute wiederum eine Bitte. Die berühmte Axelrad Kiste F.L. 6993 wird seitens meiner “Nichte” (Tochter eines verstorbenen mir völlig unähnlichen Vetters) urgiert. Dieses 18 jährige Mädchen war von der Schiffskatastrophe gegenüber Haifa betroffen, wobei sie nur ihr nacktes Leben retten konnte.277 Franziska’s two boxes and a suitcase were shipped to Istanbul while she was on her way to Palestine. BL was informed about this by another daughter of Oskar’s, Marie (married Marburg), whose letter of September 9, 1940 BL sent to Kraus together with his first request that his student try to find the belongings and arrange their further shipment to Haifa.278 It took more than two years and a considerable effort from BL and Kraus until the belongings finally reached Franziska,279 although she 274

275

276 277

278 279

See Schmidt 2014, 618: Landsberger an Kraus, 102, January 11, 1941: “Auch von meiner Schwester erhielt ich Nachricht, nicht ganz klar. Die Tochter scheint vor der Abreise nach Newyork zu stehen.” Ibid., 665: Landsberger an Kraus, 114, April 8, 1941: “Meine Schwester darf nun mit der Tochter nach USA, kann aber trotz Protektion keine Schiffskarte bekommen.” See Schmidt 2014, 348: Landsberger an Kraus, 35, March, 12, 1939: “Nun ist nur noch die Sorge um meine Mutter in Friedek.”; ibid., 355: Kraus an Landsberger, 39, March 28, 1939: “Hochgeehrter Herr Professor … Mein letztes Schreiben an Sie fiel gerade mit der Eroberung der Tschechoslowakei zusammen, wie sich am Morgen nach seiner Absendung herausstellte … Haben Sie Nachrichten von Ihrer Frau Mutter?” Schmidt 2014, 654, fn. 64. Schmidt 2014, 654: Landsberger an Kraus, 112. The abbreviation is explained on the margin as “Franziska Landsberger.” More information can be found in the transcripts of interviews conducted by the staff of the Jewish Museum in Prague with Franziska Oberländer (née Landsberger) in 1994 and 2014, kept in AŽM, Sbírka Rozhovory s pamětníky, “Kazeta 371” (Czech) and “Rozhovor 0172” (English). See Schmidt 2014, 562: Landsberger an Kraus, 81, September 29, 1940, and fn. 115. See Schmidt 2014, 658–659: Landsberger an Kraus 113, March 25, 1941; ibid., 743: Landsberger an Kraus 133, November 6, 1941; ibid., 750: Landsberger an Kraus, 135, November 23, 1941; ibid., 755: Kraus an Landsberger, 99, November 26, 1941; ibid., 783: Landsberger an Kraus, 138, January 25, 1942; ibid., 804: Landsberger an Kraus 140, March 15, 1942;

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




76

Chapter 7: BL’s Concern for Endangered Relatives

may not have needed them any more.280 BL was relieved and satisfied with the happy end anyway.281 Unfortunately, there was no happy end for most of the relatives mentioned in the letter from Marie: Wie man uns sagte, soll auch unser Transport in kürzester Zeit abgehen, ob Mutti mit uns fahren wird wissen wir leider noch nicht. Von Eva haben wir seit 14/III überhaupt keine Nachricht und wissen auch nicht wo sie sich mit ihrem Mann befindet. Ich war vor 8 Tagen bei Grossmutti und allen Tanten geht es sehr gut.282 While the eldest sister Eva (married Kalinová) had succeeded in getting to Palestine already in spring 1939 and during the war lived in Britain,283 there were no more transports from Prague to Palestine after Franziska left, thus their mother Johanna, sister Marie, and brother-in-law Friedrich Marburg had no way of getting out of the “Protectorate.” In the summer of 1942, they were deported from Prague to the Theresienstadt ghetto and from there on September 8 to the killing site Maly Trostenets on the outskirts of Minsk, where they were murdered upon arrival.284 As shown by the preserved registry cards, the “Grossmutti,” Sophie (née Herz), who lived in Frýdek, was registered in the second census of Jewish population in the

280

281

282 283

284

ibid., 810: Landsberger an Kraus 141, April 4, 1942; ibid. 905: Landsberger an Kraus, 156, December 29, 1942. She inquired with BL apparently for the last time on October 15, 1941 after she was released from the quarantine camp at Atlit: “… ich bin gerade einigen Tagen aus Atlit entlassen worden und bin jetzt hier in Haifa. Ich war gleich beim Spediteur wegen des Koffers, er ist aber nicht angekommen. Bitte Onkel Benno, sei so gut und frage beim Istambuler Spediteur nach, ob er die Sache nicht urgieren kann. … Ich brauche nämlich die Sachen, da ich doch alle meine Sachen auf der „Patria“ verloren habe. Mir geht es jetzt hier sehr fein… Wenn man 11 Monate lang eingesperrt war, ist das sehr schön. … Von Mutti habe ich seit März keine Nachricht. Von Eva habe ich, hie und da, Post. Sie sind gesund und es geht ihnen gut. Ich werde jetzt auch noch nach Tel-Aviv fahren … dort werde ich mich auch mit Onkel Otto treffen. … Der Koffer ist gezeichnet: F.L. 6393.” Schmidt 2014, 737, fn. 164. Schmidt 2014, 855: Landsberger an Kraus, 150, July 30, 1942: “Das zwar noch nicht amtliche, aber doch sicher zu erhoffende happy end der Franzikoffer-Episode gibt Ihnen und mir das Gefühl, eine gute Tat getan zu haben. Ich danke Ihnen vielmals und bitte Sie, wenn Sie das nicht für überflüssig oder fehl am Platze betrachten, auch den Intrak-Leuten meinen Dank zu übermitteln.” Schmidt 2014, 562, fn. 115. See AŽM, Sbírka Rozhovory s pamětníky, transcripts of interviews with Eva Kalinová (née Landsberger) from 1994 and 2009, “Kazeta 379” (Czech) and “PW 5” (Czech). She also mentions BL (see above) and the Hitschmann sisters. See further an audio recording of an interview (in Czech) with her made in 2009 for the project “Memory of Nations,” http://www.pametnaroda.cz/witness/recording/id/1450?locale=en_GB (accessed August 15, 2018). Transport Bk, deportees 545 (Jana Landsbergerová), 851 (Bedřich Marburg), 852 (Marie Marburgová). For details on this transport, see the Yad Vashem website http://db.yadvashem.org/deportation/transportDetails.html?language=en&itemId=5091979 (accessed August 15, 2018).

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 7: BL’s Concern for Endangered Relatives

77

“Protectorate” in the fall of 1941 on the same day and place as one of the “Tanten,” BL’s mother Hedwig.285

Figure 20: The police registration card of BL’s mother with the sinister euphemism “umgesiedelt” on the reverse. Source: SOkA FM, f. Městský národní výbor Frýdek-Místek, inv. č. 346, kartotéka 246.

285

SOkA FM, f. Městský národní výbor Frýdek-Místek, inv. č. 346, kartotéka 245 and 246, Sofie Landsberger and Hedwig Landsberger.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




78

Chapter 7: BL’s Concern for Endangered Relatives

Figure 21: The signboard of BL’s cousin’s medical practice (“only on weekdays”) at the main square in Místek, with the ominous addition beneath it (1939). Source: SOkA FM, f. Sbírka fotografií, fotonegativů a filmů, sig. F058/102.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Chapter 7: BL’s Concern for Endangered Relatives

79

In the meantime, BL helped his cousin Otto who had fled at the last moment before the outbreak of the war. The physician travelled through Cracow, Kaunas, Moscow,286 arriving at Istanbul in early 1941. He reported his arrival in a postcard to BL, written in Czech, which was probably a precautionary measure, since while everybody could read the postcard, only the addressee would understand its contents. BL forwarded the postcard to Kraus together with the following explanation: Er ist Arzt, vor Hitler aus der Čechei nach Polen geflohen, von dort nach Kowno. Nun scheint er – deutlich geht das aus der Karte nicht hervor – in einen Transport, der nach Pal. geht, eingereiht worden zu sein; bzw. als Alleinreisender (via Odessa?) nach Pal. zu streben.287 Kraus was supposed to find suitable accommodation for Otto at Istanbul and to give him money from BL.288 He followed BL’s instructions precisely and welcomed Otto who came with a group of refugees in March 1941. He gave him a treat and provided him with some money, whereupon the group had to travel on: “Sie führen nicht über Ankara, er bedaure sehr, Sie nicht zu sehen, ich solle Sie grüßen, er schriebe aus Palästina, derweil warteten die anderen schon auf der Straße auf ihn.”289 From Istanbul, Otto went to Mersin in southern Turkey, from where he would continue to Palestine. Having thought of practicing his medical profession in Palestine, he had a special request for BL: Mein Vetter fühlt sich sauwohl in Mersin. Am Dienstag habe ich mit ihm telephoniert. Zwei Ansuchen meines Vetters übergebe ich Ihnen zu treuen Händen; ich glaube aber, dass in beiden nicht viel zu machen sein wird: … 2) Mein Vetter sucht ein Lehrbuch über Tropenkrankheiten in deutscher Sprache. Ich habe mich vergeblich bemüht, hier eines aufzutreiben. … Vielleicht finden Sie eines … bei dem dortigen Medizin-Buchhändler. Preislimit: 7 ½ Pfund. Bitte senden Sie es denn eingeschrieben an Dr. O.L., Mersin, poste restante, worauf ich Ihnen den Betrag senden werde. Allerdings ist es unsicher, wie lange O. in Mersin bleibe. Es hiess am Dienstag: “1–3 Wochen.”290 Kraus procured the textbook instantly and BL paid for it: “Dank für Ihren Brief von gestern und die glänzende Besorgung des gewünschten Buches. Ich sende ord-

286 287 288 289 290

Čtvrtečková 2010, 307. Schmidt 2014, 635–636: Landsberger an Kraus, 106, February 6, 1941. See also Schmidt 2014, 643: Landsberger an Kraus, 108, February 15, 1941; ibid., 645: Landsberger an Kraus, 109, February 28, 1941; ibid., 648: Landsberger an Kraus, 110, March 9, 1941. Schmidt 2014, 649–650: Kraus an Landsberger, 93, March 12, 1941. In this letter, Kraus gave a detailed report on how he had taken care of BL’s cousin in Istanbul. Schmidt 2014, 652–653: Landsberger an Kraus, 111, March 14, 1941.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




80

Chapter 7: BL’s Concern for Endangered Relatives

nungshalber noch 10,33. Ob das Buch meinen Vetter noch erreicht, fraglich.”291 Otto had already left Mersin for Jerusalem but just like in case of Franziska’s belongings BL showed a bulldog spirit and urged Kraus to forward the textbook to Otto’s Jerusalem address.292 Having spent the war in Palestine, Otto returned to Czechoslovakia in 1945 and reopened his medical practice in Frýdek-Místek,293 where his family lives to this day. During the war years, he ran a medical practice in Palestine,294 apparently with financial support from BL after he was denied entry to the military because of his age. With most of his surviving relatives in comparative safety in the summer of 1941, BL could write to Kraus: “Die meisten Briefe brachten relativ günstige Nachrichten, meine Angehörigen sind gesund, entferntere Angehörige sehr hilfsbedürftig, auch die jetzt sehr günstige Gelegenheit zur Versorgung meiner Mutter nütze ich nicht genügend aus.”295 This brings us to the as yet postponed question of the fate of the person for whom BL cared the most. Both BL and Kraus had sources of information occasionally bringing more and more disturbing news about the attitude of Nazi administration to the Jews in the “Protectorate.” Thus, BL became anxious about what might happen to his mother already in October 1939: “… eine neue Sorge ist aufgetaucht, um meine Mutter, da Friedek von Juden gesäubert werden soll.”296 While almost all the younger members of the Landsberger and Hitschmann families had emigrated by that time, the aging and elderly widows stayed in Frýdek and Náchod. Evidence that BL tried to get his mother out of the “Protectorate” from early on is not known to me but it may be assumed that he did so.297 Having been seventy-one at the time, Hedwig may have hesitated to move to Turkey, while the difficulties connected with arranging and carrying out such a journey were extreme, particularly for old people, already before the outbreak of the war and virtually insurmountable after September

291 292

Schmidt 2014, 654: Landsberger an Kraus, 112, March 18, 1941. See Schmidt 2014, 659: Landsberger an Kraus, 113, March 25, 1941; ibid., 666: Landsberger an Kraus, 115, April 10, 1941. 293 Cf. the reminiscence of one of the daughters of Otto’s cousin Oskar: “… my uncle Oyte … a physician… After he died, people from the hills continued to come for two years saying: ‘It’s not true that mister doctor Landsberger died, it’s not true, you just keep telling us, so that we stop coming to him.’ Thus, they had to switch off the doorbell for the night because people really kept coming for two or three more years. He was the only physician who immediately took off for the mountains regardless of the weather. He was much beloved.” AŽM, Sbírka Rozhovory s pamětníky, transcript of interview with Eva Kalinová (née Landsberger) from 1994, “Kazeta 379” (Czech), 14. 294 Čtvrtečková 2010, 307. 295 Schmidt 2014, 704–705: Landsberger an Kraus 122, August 25, 1941. With a note on the margin: “Darunter mein Vetter in Jerusalem, der wegen Alters nicht in die Armee genommen wurde.” 296 Schmidt 2014, 421: Landsberger an Kraus, 51, October 10, 1939. 297 See fn. 275 above.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 7: BL’s Concern for Endangered Relatives

81

1, 1939. As a result, BL became very depressed but made sure that his mother regularly received financial support from him throughout the next three years.298 The state of BL’s mind in the autumn of 1939 is movingly described in a letter from Kraus to J. J. Stamm, recounting Kraus’ visit to Ankara in November: Es war selten nett, so ein bißchen geordnete Emigranten-Bohême, nur leider L. tief verdrossen, müde und sorgengequält; es ist traurig zu sehen, wie diese Exilsjahre an ihm zehren, der für Leipzig und für den Leipzig geschaffen schien. Wenn man sich so fünf Tage lang Stunden und Stunden lang mit ihm über Gott und die Welt unterhält, fühlt man wieder den Reiz und die tiefe Wirkung seiner ungewöhnlichen Persönlichkeit. Ich neige jetzt zur Skepsis gegen unsere (vorhitlerische) Kultur, aber ein Mann wie Landsberger zeigt durch seine Werke und seine Person, daß diese Skepsis doch nur teilweise berechtigt ist.299 In autumn 1941 BL got alarming news about the plans of Adolf Eichmann’s “Zentralstelle für jüdische Auswanderung in Böhmen und Mähren” to carry out deportations of elderly Jews. He decided to use his most influential connections in order to finally bring his mother to Ankara: Seit ein paar Tagen bin ich ganz verstört durch die Nachrichten über die anscheinend teils sich vollziehende teils geplante Säuberung Grossdeutschlands und des Protektorats von allen nicht arbeitenden Juden. Ich habe zwar keine Nachricht über unmittelbare Gefährdung meiner Mutter (das Gebiet, in dem sie wohnt, ist schon gereinigt; nur Frauen und alte Männer hat man wohnen

298

299

See fn. 270 above, Kraus an Samuel Kramer, 2. Schmidt 2014, 538: Landsberger an Kraus, 77, August 10, 1940: “Zur Beurteilung meiner Finanzlage: Trotz meines ‘Bombengehalts’ ist es mir – nach 43/4 Jahren – nicht gelungen, mir hier irgendeine Reserve zurückzulegen. Grund: Auslandsfunden, dauernde Verwandtenunterstützung, Leichtsinn. Endlich war ich diesen Monat so weit, nun habe ich wieder 400 Pf. meiner Mutter zugewendet und 30 vertelegraphiert.” Ibid., 676–677: Landsberger an Kraus, 119, May 4, 1941: “Ich bin weder in materieller noch in moralischer Hinsicht gefestigt und stark. Vielleicht kann ich umgekehrt aus Ihrer besseren, jugendlicheren Konstitution etwas Halt und Haltung gewinnen. [Das bitte nicht so misszuverstehen, dass ich mich irgendwie gehen lasse; nach aussen ist die Haltung ausgezeichnet.] … Ich muss sparen, so wenig ich das auch kann. Ich muss meine Mutter versorgen, wofür ich allerdings in Deutschland befindliches Kapital verwenden könnte, falls meine Existenz strandet. [Wenn ich nicht ausgebürgert werde.]” Ibid., 843–844: Landsberger an Kraus, 146, July 5, 1942: “… psychologische Gehemmtheit, die mich hindert, Zukunftsfragen persönlicher oder wissenschaftliche Art mit Ihnen zu diskutieren… Entscheidend wird aber wohl mein mich aufs tiefste beschämender Geldmangel sein. Nachdem ich noch am 1/1 800 Pfund auf der Bank hatte, habe ich jetzt 0 und ich sehe mich gezwungen, bei Verspätung der Gehaltszahlung herumzupumpen. Das, nachdem ich bis dato 46800 Pfund in diesem Lande verdient habe. Wenn ich Ihnen sage, dass ich jeden Monat 100 Pf. meiner Mutter schicke und mindestens ebensoviel auf andere Unterstützungen wende, wird Ihnen diese beschämende Tatsache nicht so unverständlich vorkommen.” Schmidt 2014, 457–458: Kraus an Johann Jakob Stamm, 8, December 25, 1939.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




82

Chapter 7: BL’s Concern for Endangered Relatives

gelassen), aber nach den Erzählungen der unlängst aus Wien zurückgekehrten Frau Schönfeld und nach vielen hier eingetroffenen SOS-Rufen (Fälle Horowitz, Melchior etc.) ist es sicher, das Alter und Krankheit vor der Deportation nicht schützen. Ich muss versuchen, meiner Mutter, die 73 Jahre alt, gemüts- und herzleidend ist, die Einreise hierher zu verschaffen; da sie unmöglich allein reisen kann, auch ihrer (jetzt mit ihr zusammen wohnenden) jüngeren Schwester. Ich will mein Gesuch unserem Minister direkt übergeben.300 Hedwig’s younger sister, mentioned in BL’s letter, was Claudine Popper (née Hitschmann), widow of a textile entrepreneur from Nová Bystřice (Neubistritz) in South Bohemia who died already in 1921,301 whereupon Claudine moved to live with her also widowed sister, probably after having spent a few years in their hometown of Náchod. Kraus replied with more information and with sympathy: Ich hatte schon längst von verschiedenen Seiten – deren Informationen aber natürlich auf ein und dieselbe Quelle zurückgehen können – über Wegführung jüdischer alter Leute aus der Čechoslowakei nach Polen gehört, auch schon “meinen” Beamten des čechischen Konsulates danach gefragt, der aber nichts davon wußte (ich bezweifle, daß er über spezielle Informationen verfügt). Ich hatte sogar schon Ihre früheren Briefpausen auf vermutete Depression wegen dieser Nachricht zurückgeführt… Hoffentlich hat Ihr Gesuch Erfolg und wird rechtzeitig beschieden, damit Sie Ihre Aktion vor der Deportation zu Ende führen können. Es muß auf jeden Fall jetzt sehr schwierig sein, aus Böhmen nach Stambul zu reisen… Ihr Haushalt würde durch die Anwesenheit zweier alten Damen ein sehr verändertes Gesicht bekommen. Ich wünsche Ihnen Erfolg Ihrer Aktion und hoffe, daß Ihre Frau Mutter inzwischen noch nicht bedroht ist.302 BL’s household would surely have looked quite differently had the two elderly ladies lived with him but unfortunately that was not to happen. BL’s continuous efforts were futile and thus he had to write to Kraus on his mother’s seventy-fourth birthday: Ich hatte nicht mehr die Kraft für die Fortsetzung unserer brieflichen Diskussionen, zumal ihr reales Ergebnis infolge der Ungunst der Umstände erfahrungsgemäss minimal ist. Nun ist gar nicht mehr an eine Fortsetzung zu denken, seit ich die Nachricht erhielt, dass auch meine Mutter “verreist” ist. Sie 300 301

302

Ibid., 749–750: Landsberger an Kraus, 135, November 23, 1941. According to information from Ms Eva Kučerová-Landsbergerová. Claudine is mentioned together with her daughter also in another letter from BL to Kraus. See Schmidt 2014, 665: Landsberger an Kraus, 114, April 8, 1941. The daughter was Adele (married Buchwald) who sought BL’s help with fleeing to Turkey after she got into trouble in Yugoslavia. See ibid., 584: Landsberger an Kraus, 91, November 20, 1940. Schmidt 2014, 755: Kraus an Landsberger, 99, November 26, 1941.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 7: BL’s Concern for Endangered Relatives

83

hat mir dies selbst in einem wunderbar mutigen Abschiedsbrief 4 Tage vor der Abreise mitgeteilt.303 Another letter to Kraus movingly testifies that BL desperately tried to persuade the Turkish ambassador in Berlin to take action on behalf of his mother literally days before the last journey of her life: Von meiner Mutter natürlich keine Nachrichten. Ich habe mich im September an Saffet Ankan gewandt mit der Bitte, Ihre Reise hierher bei den deutschen Behörden zu erwirken. Er hat auch sehr freundlich geantwortet, er werde dies auf mündlichem Wege versuchen, weiter aber keine Nachricht von ihm.304

Figure 22: BL’s mother Hedwig (née Hitschmann) after her marriage to Leopold Landsberger. Source: PA EKL.

303 304 305

306

BL’s mother was “umgesiedelt” (see Fig. 20) from Frýdek on September 14, 1942 together with her sister Claudine and with Sophie Landsberger, mother of BL’s cousin Oskar, first to Ostrava and three days later to Theresienstadt.305 On October 15, 1942 Hedwig was put on a “Sonderzug” with one of the “Alterstransporte” comprising 1,998 people in total and headed “nach dem Osten.” Having spent about two days in a cattle car, she disembarked on a forest clearing with a fake railway station 120 kilometres north-east of Warsaw and went to a long building with a large Star of David on the gable and five gas chambers on each side of the corridor behind the entrance.306 The eighty-two years old and nearly blind

Ibid., 867: Landsberger an Kraus, 154, September 23, 1942. Ibid., 898–899: Landsberger an Kraus, 155, December 17, 1942. Transport Bh, deportees 265 (Hedvika Landsbergerová), 266 (Klaudina Popperová), 392 (Žofie Landsbergerová). For details on the transport, see the Yad Vashem website http://db.yadvashem.org/deportation/transportDetails.html?language=en&itemId=7891197 (accessed August 15, 2018). Transport Bv from Theresienstadt ghetto to Treblinka extermination camp, deportee 622 (Hedvika Landsbergerová). For details on the transport, see the Yad Vashem website http://db.yadvashem.org/deportation/transportDetails.html?language=en&itemId=5091990 (accessed August 15, 2018). The standard work on the Treblinka death camp is Arad 1987, here 119–120, 141–143. For recent research, see Webb and Chocholatý 2014.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




84

Chapter 7: BL’s Concern for Endangered Relatives

Sophie arrived at the same fate a week later.307 Hedwig’s younger sister Claudine remained in Theresienstadt and died there on November 8, 1944.308 As shown by the last published piece of correspondence concerning Hedwig, the great Assyriologist, having not known that his mother was dead, did not give up and further inquired with Ankan to find out about her whereabouts: Mit Saffet Ankan habe ich gesprochen, und dabei die Wahrheit des von Ihnen zitierten Sprichworts erfahren. Nach Berichten von Frau Schönfeld ist es wahrscheinlicher, dass meine Mutter nicht in Polen, sondern in Theresienstadt ist.309 Although still hoping to see his mother again, BL suffered from serious depression at the time, and according to a statement from the same letter appears to have contemplated suicide: Mir selbst, der weit entfernt ist, die Selenkraft aufzubringen, Ihren Appell zu beherzigen, wünsche ich mir Wiederkehr eines Teils meiner früheren Kräfte, um ein braver Beamter meines Faches zu bleiben; wenn dies nicht erreichbar ist, die Kraft, aus dieser oder der zu erwartenden neuen Welt zu verschwinden.310 Before long, he must have lost all hope after the news about the extermination of European Jewry reached Turkey.311 Although his mental condition improved after the Battle of Stalingrad that ended on February 2, 1943 in a major defeat of the German army,312 he no doubt suffered until the end of his life from much remorse and sorrow that he had not been able to save his mother from the gruesome end.313 307

308 309 310 311

312 313

AŽM, Sbírka Rozhovory s pamětníky, transcript of interview with Franziska Oberländer (née Landsberger) from 1994, “Kazeta 371,” 6. Transport Bx from Theresienstadt ghetto to Treblinka extermination camp on October 22, 1942, deportee 181 (Žofie Landsbergerová). For details on the transport, see the Yad Vashem website http://db.yadvashem.org/deportation/transportDetails.html?language=en&itemId=5091992 (accessed August 15, 2018). See the Yad Vashem Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names at https://yvng.yadvashem.org/nameDetails.html?language=en&itemId=4806831&ind=0 (accessed August 15, 2018). Schmidt 2014, 909: Landsberger an Kraus, 157, January 1, 1943. Ibid. See Hillebrecht 2000, 191. Merzbacher 1990, 4–5: “I remember that at one point Landsberger came into the possession of a privately circulated document of Russian origin, which contained the first detailed accounts of German atrocities, and he made efforts to bring this to the attention of the Americans, whom we all thought of as the last hope in the struggle against the Nazis.” Merzbacher 1990, 5: “Landsberger became more and more depressed as the War went on. For a very long time he was convinced that Hitler was going to win the War. … It took the Battle of Stalingrad, before Landsberger admitted that Germany could be beaten.” Cf. Schmidt 2014, 1082–1083: Landsberger an Kraus, 179, April 30–May 6, 1945: “Für Ihr Glückwunschtelegramm zu meinem Geburtstag sage ich Ihnen herzlichen Dank. Sie haben

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 7: BL’s Concern for Endangered Relatives

85

The only member of the Landsberger and Hitschmann families who survived in the “Protectorate” was BL’s aunt Josefine. She was deported from Náchod via Hradec Králové (Königgrätz) to Theresienstadt where she miraculously lived to see liberation.314 She was 78 after the ordeal and in June 1945 went to Frýdek-Místek to live with her son Otto and his family. She probably exchanged a few letters with BL and Hilda via Otto before she died on March 16, 1948,315 broken in body and spirit.316 Deeply affected by the disaster that destroyed a part of his family and dispersed the other part all over the globe, BL never set foot in continental Europe again after the war,317 and eventually bequeathed his books and papers to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem,318 reaffirming his identity for the last time and forever.

314

315

316 317

318

wirklich viel Geduld mit mir. Die Entschuldigung für mein wiederholtes krasses Versagen liegt in meinem leider noch immer schwer ‘angeschlagenen’ geistigen Zustand, der, seit Sie mich vor zwei Jahren aus der tiefsten Verelendung emporrissen (meine Dankbarkeit dafür wiederhole ich bei jeder Gelegenheit), zwar alle möglichen Wandlungen und ‘Phasen’ durchgemacht hat, aber leider immer noch weit entfernt davon ist, normal zu sein (selbst wenn ich dieses Wort für den durch mich bis vor vier Jahren repräsentierten Geisteszustand in Anspruch nehme). Es gibt zwar vereinzelt gute Tage, aber meist leide ich und muss mir den kleinsten Entschluss gegen unüberwindliche Hemmungen erkämpfen.” Transport Ch on December 17, 1942. For details, see the Yad Vashem website http://db.yadvashem.org/deportation/transportDetails.html?language=en&itemId=5092003 (accessed August 15, 2018). See further Čtvrtečková 2010, 27, 307. BL’s another aunt from Náchod, Elsa Hitschmann, was deported on December 21, 1942 from Hradec Králové to Theresienstadt. Transport Ci, deportee 528 (Eliška Hitschmannová). For details on the transport, see the Yad Vashem website http://db.yadvashem.org/deportation/transportDetails.html?language=en&itemId=5092004 (accessed August 15, 2018). On September 6, 1943 she was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and murdered upon arrival. Transport Dm, deportee 3669 (Eliška Hitschmannová). For details on the transport, see the Yad Vashem website http://db.yadvashem.org/deportation/transportDetails.html?language=en&itemId=5092034 (accessed August 15, 2018). See also Čtvrtečková 2010, 303. The postcard of April 15, 1947 from Hilda to cousin Otto kept in PA EKL: “Perhaps your mother could drop me a few lines – also about herself. … I am writing to Benno at the same time – I don’t know whether he will succeed in getting out (i.e., from Ankara). I am sure you will hear from him.” See also above with fn. 216 and 220. SOkA FM, f. Městský národní výbor Frýdek-Místek, inv. č. 346, kartotéka 245, Landsbergrová Josefa. See Čtvrtečková 2010, 307. According to Müller 1990, BL earnestly considered accepting an offer to become Professor at the University of Berlin (in the Soviet sector) in 1947. However, the single relevant piece of evidence known to me only mentions the invitation without any trace of an “earnest consideration.” Schmidt 2014, 1190: Landsberger an Kraus, 203, October 20, 1946: “… Berlin hat mich eingeladen, die Phil. Fak. hat einstimmig beschlossen, mich auf den Lehrstuhl Delitzschens, aber auch Meissners und v.S’s zu berufen, u. zw. primo et unico loco. Das ist keine offizielle Berufung; diese muss von der Besatzungs-Behörde erfolgen aber man will meine Einstellung wissen.” Oppenheim 1968, 370.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Chapter 8: BL’s Relationship with His Leipzig Students As a much admired teacher, BL had another family too, that of his students. Already after his “Habilitation,” and even more so after his appointment as Professor, youngsters interested in the science of Assyriology came flocking to Leipzig from all over Central Europe to benefit from his enormous knowledge of the cuneiform texts, as well as from his philological acumen and analytical wit. That decade was the golden age of the Leipzig School of Assyriology, when BL confided to his students the “Leipziger Geheimwissen,”319 e.g. his fundamental ideas concerning Akkadian grammar, which was further developed and eventually published decades later by his former students.320 In this way, BL was able to perpetuate the products of his quick and penetrating mind from the fruitful years in Leipzig. Having devoted most of his time and energy to the reconstruction of Sumerian and Akkadian vocabulary from the lexical series, the very basis of our present knowledge of Mesopotamian culture, BL could not possibly work out and publish all his discoveries and ideas alone. The learning and incentives for further creative work that he transmitted to his students in a particularly captivating way,321 determined the nature of the discipline in the latter half of the 20th century. BL’s Leipzig pupils came to dominate most of the centres of Assyriology worldwide.322 This occurred not solely because of their expertise in the field 319 320

321

322

Oelsner 2006, 275; cf. Müller 1979, 77. Most importantly, von Soden 1952 (21969, 31995), viii: “Dass ich dieses Buch meinem hochverehrten Lehrer, Prof. Dr. B. Landsberger, zu widmen wage, könnte anmassend erscheinen, da er weitaus berufener gewesen wäre, diese Grammatik zu schreiben. … Wichtige Grunderkenntnisse, die hier erstmalig im Einzelnen ausgeführt sind, wie die Erkenntnis der semitischen Wortklasseneinteilung, der Bedeutungsklassen beim Verbum, des hier Perfekt genannten Tempus und vieles andere gehen auf ihn zurück.” See also the “pocket version” thereof, A. Ungnad’s grammar “völlig neubearbeitet” by BL’s pupil Lubor Matouš (Ungnad and Matouš 1964, 51969). Von Soden 1970, 4: “Der schäumende und in allen Regenbogenfarben glitzernde Bergbach seiner Vorlesungen, der uns so faszinierte und immer geistig in Bewegung hielt gerade auch da, wo wir uns zum Widerspruch gereizt fühlten…” The improvised nature of BL’s lectures sometimes forced him to ask his students for the notes they had taken in class, as indicated in a letter sent to him by K. F. Müller: “Der letzte Teil der Sendung wird Ihnen vielleicht Freude bereiten, es ist die ‘verlorene Handschrift’ Ihres Kollegs über Nominalbildung. … Zu meinen zunächst vorhandenen 3 Nachschriften kamen bei eifrigem Suchen noch weitere 5, die allerdings alles darstellen, was ich gehört habe, 3 Kollegs habe ich nicht besucht. Von dieser Vorlesung kann ich Ihnen also mit Schusterscher Genauigkeit 72,7273 % vorlegen.” AoIL, Nachlass Benno Landsberger, Briefe, No. 30, dated Wiederitzsch, November 9, 1936 at http://altorient.gko.uni-leipzig.de/landsberger/leipzig/l-30 (accessed August 20, 2018). Cf. Kramer 1988, 32: “I decided to journey to the Leipziger Semitisches (sic) Institut. … Its head was Benno Landsberger, one of the keenest minds in the history of Assyriology, who attracted a group of students that in future years came to dominate cuneiform studies.”

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




88

Chapter 8: BL’s Relationship with His Leipzig Students

or the quality of their publications, though. BL kept in touch with many of them, even though the correspondence was interrupted by WWII in several cases, and he followed their scholarly development with keen interest. He actively and efficiently supported them in their effort to obtain permanent academic jobs. To one of them, he was more than a “Doktorvater,”323 as their correspondence clearly shows. In that case, BL’s generosity amounted to actually feeding and accommodating the unemployed former pupil at his home. The colorful group of BL’s Leipzig disciples comprised among others Theo Bauer, Wilhelm Eilers, Adam Falkenstein, Hans Gustav Güterbock, Josef Klíma, Viktor Korošec, Fritz Rudolf Kraus, Lubor Matouš, Karl Friedrich Müller, Rudolf Ranoszek, Hans-Siegfried Schuster, Wolfram von Soden, Johann Jakob Stamm.324 This tight-knit community reflected well the international nature of interwar intellectual culture in Central Europe. Apart from a number of Germans, there were two Czechs (Klíma, Matouš), a Slovene (Korošec), a Pole (Ranoszek), and a Swiss (Stamm). Of course, BL was not their only teacher, they studied with Heinrich Zimmern, as long as he was active, and Franz Heinrich Weißbach too. Those interested in Cuneiform Law History (Eilers, Klíma, Korošec) came to Leipzig to benefit specifically from the famed collaboration of BL with Paul Koschaker in teaching and research of Mesopotamian legal texts. Some specialized in the recently established discipline of Hittitology (Güterbock, Ranoszek) which they learned from one of the most distinguished scholars in her history, Johannes Friedrich. Following the Nazi takeover, some of BL’s German students became members of the NSDAP or affiliated organizations (Eilers, Falkenstein, von Soden) and underwent, or pretended, the “Gleichschaltung” necessary for all public officials, including academics, in order to keep their jobs or acquire better ones in the Third Reich.325 None of them ever renounced their pupil-teacher relationship with BL, though. On the contrary, Falkenstein and particularly von Soden were chastised for acknowledging that relationship by an ardent Nazi Carl Frank who did not hesitate to use phraseology reminiscent of the infamous propaganda rag “Völkischer Beobachter” in a scholarly publication: 323 324

325

Schmidt 2010, 7: “Kraus wrote a dissertation on Babylonian prognostic texts under Landsberger, who was to remain a mentor and friend – though substitute father is perhaps a better term; the German Doktorvater nicely indicates what he was for Kraus…” Cf. Müller 1979, 79; Güterbock 1991, 273. The dates of enrolment of the respective scholars at the University of Leipzig according to UAL, Studentenkartei der Quästurbehörde, as far as the records have been preserved or are accessible: May 4, 1926–November 14, 1929 (Eilers); May 7, 1928–March 18, 1929 (Falkenstein); October 24, 1927–October 15, 1932 (Güterbock); November 10, 1924–April 29, 1929 (Korošec); April 29, 1930–April 17, 1934 (Kraus); October 22, 1927–August 2, 1928 (Matouš); November 4, 1930–November 6, 1933 (Schuster); October(?) 1, 1927–February 27, 1931 (von Soden); May 8, 1934–February 20, 1936 (Stamm). K. F. Müller died in an Allied air raid on Dresden. Schmidt 2014, 1099: Alfred Pohl an Kraus, 1, January 17, 1946: “Dr Müller ist am 13.II.45 beim Besuch seiner 70 jährigen Mutter in Dresden (Geburtstag) beim Bombardement umgekommen…” On Eilers and Falkenstein during the Nazi era, see Ellinger 2006, 475–477.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 8: BL’s Relationship with His Leipzig Students

89

Über kirimmu (Z. 43), diese ostjüdische “Tragtasche,” die mancher ṭupšarru ṣeḫru wie andere dto. Anhängsel in unwürdiger Abhängigkeit immer noch mit sich herumschleppt, s. w. u. S. 14. … Den … Text hat zuerst Ebeling … herausgegeben, und zwar, wie betont sei … ganz allein und ohne jüdische oder sonstige Hilfe. Diese Bearbeitung … hat dann W. v. Soden … besonders abfällig kritisiert… Trotz der sehr weitgehenden Unterstützung, die der Verfasser (i.e., von Soden) auch hier wieder von seinem dankbar verehrten jüdischen Lehrer und Mitherausgeber angenommen hat, ist diese Neubearbeitung alles andere als fehlerlos oder etwas besonderes.326 Frank’s denunciation was provoked by the following sentence in an article by von Soden: “Einige Lesungen verdanke ich freundlichen Hinweisen von Landsberger.”327 Nevertheless, it was von Soden who came to be universally regarded as the Nazi Assyriologist after the war, based on his membership in the SA and several ideologically biased writings from the Third Reich era.328 According to Rykle Bor326

327 328

Frank 1941, 4, fn. 2; 24 with fn. 4: “… als ob v. Soden … angesichts seiner eigenen, sehr mäßigen wissenschaftlichen Leistung … ganz vergäße, daß alle diese Assyriologen völlig frei und unabhängig, ohne jede fremde oder jüdische Hilfe und Nachhilfe, aus bestem eigenen Können und Wissen zu arbeiten und zu schaffen pflegten.” Emphasis original. Cf. Borger 1997–1998, 591. On the attitude of BL’s students towards the attacks on their teacher, see AoIL, Nachlass Benno Landsberger, Briefe, No. 46, from K. F. Müller to BL, dated Wiederitzsch, April 16, 1937: “Ebelings Opus hat auf Schuster einen ganz niederschmetternden Eindruck gemacht, zumal nach Ebelings Besprechung Ihrer Fauna. Er sieht (und mit Recht), wie ein unwürdiges Kesseltreiben gegen Sie von gewissen Stellen veranstaltet wird, und er empfindet aus aufrichtiger Zuneigung Angriffe auf Sie als für ihn persönlich unerträglich. Da nun der zweite Teil Ebelings noch nicht erschienen ist, befürchtet er, daß man sich mit Wonne über einen falschen Akzent hermachen wird, um damit den sachlichen Wert Ihrer Arbeit zu verdächtigen. Das wollte Schuster verhindern, sogut er konnte.” On BL’s concern that his students did not jeopardize themselves by mentioning him in their publications or having been seen in his company when he was still able to visit Leipzig, see, e.g., AoIL, Nachlass Benno Landsberger, Briefe, No. 51, from BL to K. F. Müller, dated May 8, 1937: “Das Institut möchte ich nicht gerne betreten, da ich niemand (sic) in Verlegenheit bringen will. Auch braucht es ja nicht an die große Glocke gehängt zu werden, dass wir noch in enger Verbindung stehen. Ich will doch niemandem schaden.” AoIL, Nachlass Benno Landsberger, Briefe, No. 86, from BL to K. F. Müller, dated Ankara, August 4, 1938: “Aber es ist meine Absicht, ganz inkognito in L. zu sein, auch Berlin wäre statt dessen möglich. Ich möchte um Gottes willen niemand mehr in eine missliche Lage bringen. Ich bitte Sie nun ganz offen mir zu sagen, wie es in diesem Punkte mit Ihnen steht. Ich kenne Ihre Gesinnung, und jede Beschönigung wäre wenig angebracht. Sodann Herr Schuster, den ich zu verständigen bitte. Er muss ja ganz besonders vorsichtig sein, solange die Chance, von der mir Pohl schrieb, noch nicht konkretisiert ist.” See http://altorient.gko.uni-leipzig.de/landsberger/leipzig/l-46, 51, 86 (accessed August 20, 2018). Von Soden 1936, 2. Cf. also ibid., 9: “… eine schöne Beobachtung Landsbergers…,” and multiple references to BL’s works and suggestions in the text commentary section. For the latest discussion, see Fink, in press, with further references.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




90

Chapter 8: BL’s Relationship with His Leipzig Students

ger, von Soden’s prominence in the discipline and the fundamental importance of his post-war works may have contributed to the continuous accentuation of that blemish on his biography,329 while Frank and others had long been forgotten. F. R. Kraus’ published correspondence with Theo Bauer from shortly after the war shows that von Soden’s unflattering reputation was well established already by that time even among BL’s former students. The portrayal of von Soden in the correspondence is decidedly negative. It betrays much personal animosity towards von Soden but apart from a couple of unclear allusions offers no facts about his behavior during the Nazi era.330 Those bitter statements may be regarded as the beginning of von Soden’s ordeal of a scapegoat for all real and alleged sins of all Assyriologists with a Nazi past.331 What was BL’s relationship with his most capable, productive, and prominent disciple after WWII? While BL was also outraged by von Soden’s “brownish” past, and initially condemned him harshly, he was ready to acknowledge von Soden’s scholarly qualities and diligence at the same time: Die Nachricht, dass von Soden wieder an der Arbeit ist, war für mich neu. Bisher hiess es, in “französischer Kriegsgefangenschaft.” Gewiss kann man Personen seinesgleichen nicht verhindern, zu produzieren und zu veröffentlichen. Aber ich werde es nie dulden, mit diesem la amēlu in einem Band oder auf einem Titelblatt zusammen zu sein.332 329 330

Borger 1997–1998, 593. Schmidt 2014, 1402: Theo Bauer an Kraus, 8, February 19, 1948: “Sie fragen, wann v.Soden wieder anfängt. Ich werde nichts dafür tun. Wenn man jeden traurigen Burschen plötzlich als nicht reif in seinen politischen Ansichten erklären will, dann ist er auch nicht reif für das akademische Leben.” Emphasis original. Ibid., 1438: Kraus an Theo Bauer, 13, June 13, 1948: “Für die Sache halte ich mir noch das abschreckende Beispiel des in unserer Korrespondenz zu oft zitierten von Soden vor Augen, der nach Ergatterung seiner Professur in einem Briefe ‘Lieber Landsberger’ schrieb.” Ibid., 1447: Theo Bauer an Kraus, 12, July 4, 1948: “Die Chuzpe v.Sodens, an Landsberger in der von Ihnen zitierten Form zu schreiben, war mir neu; leider paßt sie zu dem Bilde dieses pseudogebildeten Nazi.” Ibid., 1569: Kraus an Theo Bauer, 20, February 27, 1949: “Die nach Falkenstein freibleibende Stelle in Göttingen wird wohl nun endlich verdientermaßen der liebe Freiherr Wolfram bekommen? Gibt es in Deutschland überhaupt noch andere Assyriologen?” Ibid., 1577: Theo Bauer an Kraus, 23, March 7, 1949: “Wolfram, der deutsche Recke, ist in Göttingen sogar schlecht anzubringen, weil er sich dort ungebührlich aufgeführt hat. Aber zur Not lieber einen ord. Nazi nehmen als einen Unbescholtenen!” See also ibid., 1414: Theo Bauer an Kraus, 9, March 28, 1948. 331 Schmidt 2014, 1672: Theo Bauer an Kraus, 28, August 22, 1949: “Herr v.Soden ist ein Mensch, der mir in keiner Hinsicht sympathisch ist. Es wäre leicht, dieses Gefühl mit Tatsachen zu erhärten. Die ‘moralische Minderwertigkeit’ v.Sodens wurde mir von Menschen bestätigt, die einwandfrei sind und seiner Familie nahe stehen. (Dies geheim!)” Bauer seems to have never specified the “Tatsachen” beyond reference to hearsay. Cf. Borger 1997–1998, 590–591. 332 Schmidt 2014, 1178: Landsberger an Kraus, 202, September 19, 1946. Ibid., 1575–1576: Landsberger an Kraus, 256, March 5, 1949: “2) Ich war für zwei Tage verloren an das Durchschnüffeln von von Soden’s neuem Syllabar. Natürlich spucke ich grosse Töne wie

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 8: BL’s Relationship with His Leipzig Students

91

Later on, BL found it ridiculous that von Soden could not get a decent academic job in West Germany, while he still called him an obnoxious boor and wanted to teach him a destructive lesson: Schade, dass man von Soden die Türe vor der Nase zugeschlagen hat. Nach den neuesten Entwicklungen in Deutschland finde ich seine Ausschliessung lächerlich. Er hat mir wieder geschrieben, und ich finde ihn unausstehlich. Ich habe schon das Material für eine ziemlich vernichtende ausführliche Besprechung seines Syllabars (besitzen Sie es?) zusammen, weiss aber nicht, ob ich die Zeit zum concocting finde. Am meisten in die Nase gefahren ist mir, dass er eine Selbstverständlichkeit in meinem Artikel über Jahreszeiten als “schöne Beobachtung” bezeichnet hat… Noch mehr aber die Tatsache, dass er die erste Dynastie von Babylon im Jahre 1531 enden lässt. Ein unausstehlicher Bengel!333 Still a few years later, in early 1952, BL’s unceasing readiness to care for his students and for the future of the discipline prevailed and he wrote a letter to the University of Göttingen, where von Soden held an unpaid and temporary position at the time. The letter ensured a new beginning of von Soden’s Assyriological career. In 1953 he was appointed Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Philology, which would hardly have happened without BL’s intercession: Gerne wiederhole ich Ihnen schriftlich meine Ihnen gelegentlich Ihres frdl. Besuches hier geäußerte Ansicht betreffend Wolfram von Soden. Ich finde es einfach unwürdig, unnatürlich und meinem Fache, der Assyriologie, in hohem Grade abträglich, daß der weitaus tüchtigste, kenntnisreichste und produktivste Assyriologe, zumindest seiner Generation, sein Lehramt noch nicht zurückerhalten hat, sondern von Gelegenheitsarbeit sein Dasein fristen muß.334

333 334

immer: die beabsichtigte Recension wird eines meiner ungelegten bezw. nicht ausgebrüteten Eier bleiben. … Ohne falsche Bescheidenheit, mit Arbeitstieren wie Soden kann ich mich nicht vergleichen.” The “Syllabar” is von Soden 1948 (21967, 31976, 41991 with Wolfgang Röllig), one of the fundamental works of post-war Assyriology. Schmidt 2014, 1707: Landsberger an Kraus, 273, November 26, 1949. The letter of January 27, 1952 refers to a conversation with a physicist from Göttingen, R. W. Pohl, which Pohl described to the rector of Göttingen University in a letter of February 9, 1952 with the original of BL’s letter attached. In his letter, Pohl stated that BL “kenne alle politischen Entgleisungen Herrn v. Soden’s, das alles aber seien Bagatellen verglichen mit seinen hervorragenden wissenschaftlichen Qualitäten.” Quotations come from Borger 1997– 1998, 592.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




92

Chapter 8: BL’s Relationship with His Leipzig Students

Figure 23: BL with his students Hans-Siegfried Schuster (lower left), Karl Friedrich Müller (upper right), and Fritz Rudolf Kraus (lower right) at Café Felsche, Leipzig, early 1930s. Source: NINO, Kraus Archive (courtesy of the Netherlands Institute for the Near East, Leiden).

This is probably the finest example of BL’s largesse, which nobody, including von Soden, seems to have had an idea about until it was published. Both men had the opportunity to talk about the past in 1954 and 1967, whereby von Soden got his absolution.335 It is a little known but interesting detail that among BL’s Leipzig students were some who shared with their teacher certain features of the family background and the environment of their youth. Thus, Theo Bauer came from the family of a textile businessman from Zittau, a city literally on the border of Germany, Czechia, and Poland (“Dreiländereck”).336 Fritz Rudolf Kraus stemmed from a family of a baptized Jewish textile manufacturer from Spremberg in Niederlausitz, a region with a Slavonic minority, not too far from Zittau.337 Kraus shared with his mentor also the feeling of a black sheep of the family, having taken an unexpected and exotic career path.338 He was BL’s closest disciple, particularly after BL had arranged a job for him at the Museum of the Ancient Orient in Istanbul, where he began cataloguing the large 335 336 337 338

See Borger 1997–1998, 592. See Weidner 1957–1958, 229. Schmidt 2014, 8. Note that at the time of Bauer’s birth the border was more a linguistic one than a geographical one, because Germany extended far into the territory of present day Poland. On Kraus, see Schmidt 2010; 2012, 110–138; 2014, 1–47. Schmidt 2012, 111: “Kraus studied Semitic and Oriental languages at the Universities of Munich and Leipzig (1928–1935) much against the wish of his father…”

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 8: BL’s Relationship with His Leipzig Students

93

cuneiform tablet collection in 1937.339 Their regular correspondence from the eleven years they both spent in Turkey vividly testifies to the depth and strength of their friendship, always respectful on Kraus’ part, sometimes scathing on BL’s part. Actually, BL could be quite dismissive of Kraus, particularly in the beginning of their Turkish exile. As Kraus intimated in a letter to a friend from his studies in Munich: Nun ist etwas Fürchterliches geschehen, was ich Ihnen unter Siegel freundschaftlicher Verschwiegenheit mitteile: nachdem ich sieben Wochen hier “gearbeitet” hatte, war Landsb. eine Woche hier, zu besagtem Kongreß. Hinterher hat er mir aus Ankara einen vernichtenden Brief geschrieben, ich nähme die Sache nicht ernst, ich solle mich fragen, ob ich überhaupt den Ernst besäße, eine Stellung auszufüllen und die Assyriologie als Beruf auszuüben, ich müßte meine katastrophalen Unkenntnisse, falls ich diese Frage bejahend beantwortete, durch eisernen Fleiß in Kenntnisse zu verwandeln trachten etc. Da er en gros nur zu Recht hat, können Sie sich denken, wie ich mich jetzt fühle. Ich versuche natürlich, zu arbeiten, aber das Fleisch ist schwach. Und keine richtige Bibliothek hier! – Alles in allem bin ich wieder von einem Minderwertigkeitskomplex besessen wie in den schlimmsten Münchener Zeiten.340

339

340

Another student was also interested in the position and BL had to decide whom to help. He chose Kraus because the other student had chances to find an academic job in Germany, which did not apply to the “Halbjude” Kraus but BL pointed this out only indirectly when writing to K. F. Müller on April 13, 1937 from Ankara: “Nun zu Schuster! Ich habe mich oft gefragt, ob es nicht undankbar von mir war, ihn bei dem Stanbuler Posten nicht zu nennen. Aber von welcher Seite ich die Sache auch betrachte, ich konnte nicht anders handeln. Wie ich Ihnen jetzt sagen kann, scheint das Engagement von Kraus nahe bevorstehend. Ich wollte und will auch weiterhin nicht, dass von der Sache geredet wird, ehe sie völlig perfekt ist. Deshalb habe ich Kraus strengstes Schwillschweigen aufgetragen. Schuster wird, wenn Amerika fertig wird, wieder fürs erste etwas haben. Dann will ich versuchen, Koschaker und Soden, der sehr einflussreich ist, zu interessieren. Vielleicht geht dies im Wege der Bibliographie, die ihm – für ZA oder als eigene Publikation (die buchhändlerisch gar nicht so schlecht wäre) – übertragen werden könnte. Also ‘letzte Hoffnung’ muss Stanbul nicht gewesen sein. Schliesslich gibt es noch Ehelolf, und ich selbst werde ihn natürlich auch – wenn es drauf ankommt – nicht im Stich lassen, soweit es mir möglich ist einzuspringen. Aber all das ist – ich gebe es zu – vage, unsicher und für S. nicht befriedigend. Dabei ist aber zu berücksichtigen: Man kann S. nicht als 100% Assyriologe ausgeben. Seine speziellen Begabungen wären mir eine nicht hoch genug einzuschätzende Hilfe, aber was man bei dieser wissenschaftlichen Assistententätigkeit für ein Kreuz mit ihm hat, habe ich in diesen 1 ½ Jahren schmerzlich genug erfahren. Bei Stanbul ist zu berücksichtigen: Die Stellung ist zeitlich begrenzt; sowie ein Türke ausgebildet ist, wird der Posten diesem übertragen. Ein Mann wie Kraus muss natürlich froh sein, so was zu haben, dagegen muss Sch. doch zunächst sich bemühen, in Deutschland Fuss zu fassen. Wenns auch schwer ist, darf er nicht verzweifeln und es immerfort versuchen. Seine Bescheidenheit in den Lebensansprüchen ist ein grosses Plus.” See http://altorient.gko.uni-leipzig.de/landsberger/leipzig/l-45 (accessed August 20, 2018). Schmidt 2014, 117: Kraus an Leonie Zuntz, 2, October 22, 1937. Another eloquent example of BL’s categorical phraseology, usually mixed with sarcastic humor, occurs in a letter to K.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




94

Chapter 8: BL’s Relationship with His Leipzig Students

On the whole, however, both men supported each other spiritually throughout those difficult years. Needless to say, there was much discussion about scholarly matters in the correspondence. Kraus often requested advice which BL was always ready to provide. The same applies to practicalities of everyday life in Turkey, bureaucratic obstacles, administrative matters at the museum and the university at Istanbul and much more. Large parts of the correspondence discuss the uncertain and unpredictable future of both scholars, particularly Kraus. Once his former student was falling into despair, BL was quick to come to the rescue with at times drastically formulated encouragement: Wurstigkeits- und “Unverantwortlichkeits” gefühle, Ersatz des Existenzkampfes durch onanistische Weltverbesserungspläne mögen zwar in gewissen Lebenslagen unbezahlbar sein, aber alles zu seiner Zeit! (Diese Predigt ist aus der Feder geflossen, ich halte mich weiterhin an das Tatsächliche!)341 … Mag die Zukunft der Welt auch schlimmer werden wie immer, passive Hingabe an Gefühle passt nicht zu Ihnen, fordert immer Widerspruch und Schulmeisterei heraus. Also wenn ich bitten darf, Kampfgeist!342 Regarding his academic work, Kraus was haunted by low self-esteem and much self-doubt. Once he finished a paper, he sent it to BL for his comments and corrections, excited and afraid of the answer at the same time: So übergebe ich Ihnen also diesen Text mit den paar Bemerkungen, die Ihnen die voluntas zeigen sollen ut desint vires und bin schon jetzt ebenso begierig auf Ihre Bemerkungen wie betrübt in dem Gedanken, dann feststellen zu müssen, wie Vieles ich selbst hätte merken müssen und nicht gemerkt habe.343 BL patiently encouraged Kraus throughout those years, showing much empathy, care, and wit in his supportive answers. One of the finest examples, still fresh after the nearly eight decades, reads as follows:

341 342 343

F. Müller, sent on November 7, 1936 from Ankara: “Mein Zorn darüber, dass Schuster seit meiner Abreise trotz wiederholter Mahnungen kein Wort geschrieben hat, ist einer stillen Resignation gewichen. Aber auch Sie? Soll ich da über geheime Zusammenhänge grübeln? D. h. dass Schuster kein Wort verlautet hat, war wieder eine Landsbergersche Ungenauigkeit bzw. eine unendlich grosse Übertreibung. Ein Wort hat er telegraphisch hergesandt. Auf mein Telegramm ‘Bitte Nachricht’ kam die Antwort ‘Unterwegs.’ Wenn ich nun aber geglaubt hatte, das Subjekt von ‘unterwegs’ aus meinem Telegramm ergänzen zu dürfen, nämlich ‘Nachricht,’ so war das wieder eine typisch L.’sche Vorschnelligkeit. Das Subjekt der Sch.’schen Ellipse war nämlich, wie sich bald herausstellte, ‘Sendung von Manuskript Ḫarra und Photographien.’” AoIL, Nachlass Benno Landsberger, Briefe, No. 32 at http://altorient.gko.uni-leipzig.de/landsberger/leipzig/l-32 (accessed August 20, 2018). Schmidt 2014, 615: Landsberger an Kraus, 101, January 1, 1941. Ibid., 743: Landsberger an Kraus, 133, November 6, 1941. Ibid., 756: Kraus an Landsberger, 99, November 26, 1941.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 8: BL’s Relationship with His Leipzig Students

95

2) Der wichtigste Punkt Ihres Briefes: “Kraus als Assyriologe,” eine alte, aber immer noch nicht abgespielte Platte! Von allem abgesehen, Selbstvorwürfe und Selbstverkleinerungen an diesem Behufe sind in meinen Augen ein erheblicher Fortschritt gegenüber früherem Indifferentismus… Absolut unrichtig ist es, Ihren Tonnagel-Artikel … als Dreck zu bezeichnen. … Ebenso setzen Sie Ihre Leistungen bei dem Gudea-Übersetzungsversuch fälschlicherweise herunter. Die Gefahr der Verschluderung und Verluderung (“Wanderzirkus-Artist”) eines mit wenig Kapital allzuviel Bestreitenden besteht bei Ihnen nicht, sie werden wenig, aber Solides Ihren Schülern vorsetzen, und sich über dieses Wenige Ihre eigenen Gedanken machen (nicht “nachempfinden”). Dass Sie dies und jenes anfangen, aber nicht zu Ende führen, ist gleichfalls kein Grund zu Selbstvorwürfen. Das haben wir alle so gemacht, machen Sie es nur weiter, dann werden sich in nicht ferner Zeit die beklagten Bildungslücken schliessen, und mit Ihrer “Verbürgerlichung” (“Reifung”) werden Ihnen auch die Ansporne Berufsethos, Berufsinteresse, Berufsambition kommen, die uns immer vorwärts getrieben haben.344 Yet BL offered his disciple more than spiritual support when Kraus ran into severe existential trouble in the early 1940s. For more than a year he had no income other than gifts from friends and the “Notgemeinschaft deutscher Wissenschaftler im Ausland,” and eventually could not keep his Istanbul apartment. BL provided Kraus with a monthly “loan,” and invited him to stay at his flat in Ankara, which Kraus took avail of in the summer of 1941.345 Sie müssen sich in der nächsten Zeit über Ihre Wohnung entscheiden, und da bitte ich Sie, folgende (soweit man jetzt davon reden kann) feste Punkte zu berücksichtigen: 1) Von morgen ab möchte ich Ihnen – zwecks Streckung Ihrer Barschaft – ein monatlicher Darlehen von 30 Pfund eröffnen; 2) Ab Anfang nächsten Monats richte ich ein Fremdenzimmer ein, das nach Belieben und ohne Zeitlimit zu Ihrer Verfügung ist. Ad 1) Morgen erlaube ich mir die 1. Sendung an Sie zu machen. Sie können mir dies später zurückgeben, Arbeiten für mich machen oder von Deutschland aus meiner Mutter Zuwendungen machen.346 …

344 345

346

Ibid., 818–819: Landsberger an Kraus, 142, May 3, 1942. Ibid., 24–25, 35–36. Cf. Schmidt 2012, 121: “[Landsberger], with whom he finally went to live in the summer of 1941 in order to cut costs supported him during the crisis, as he had done before and was to do again in the future; he was in fact the most important patron throughout his, Kraus’, career, lending him money when necessary, and solving bureaucratic problems in Ankara. He also arranged Kraus’ final escape from Turkey by sponsoring his appointment at Vienna University in 1949.” Schmidt 2014, 538: Landsberger an Kraus, 77, August 10, 1940.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




96

Chapter 8: BL’s Relationship with His Leipzig Students

Ein warmes Zimmer, etwas mehr Bequemlichkeit als dort und äussere Ruhe kann ich Ihnen garantieren. Am Montag sende ich Ihnen 50 Pfund, früher ging es nicht, weil während der Feiertage keine Geldsendungen expediert werden.347 Following BL’s relocation to Chicago in 1948, Kraus stayed at Istanbul but did not see a perspective for a long-term academic career in Turkey because of the country’s post-war deflection from Kemalist politics. At that time, BL vigorously searched for a job for his disciple at divinity schools and universities in Canada and the USA.348 In early 1949 he recommended Kraus as an ideal candidate for a vacancy in Vienna, and insisted that Kraus take up the post. His favorite student obliged and left for Vienna in early 1950.349 Thus, his return to international Assyriology began. Three years later he became Professor in Leiden after BL had declined the offer, and worked there until his retirement in 1980. The mentor and disciple met only once after their Turkish period but their relationship remained as strong as before. The intensity of their friendship found a final expression in BL’s wish a day before he died, that Kraus was to be the first person to receive the news about his passing.350 Unlike Kraus and Bauer, BL’s Czech student Lubor Matouš did not stem from a textile entrepreneur’s family. He was born and grew up in Náchod, the hometown of BL’s matrilineal relatives, though. According to the tradition circulating among Czech Assyriologists, Matouš showed a great gift for languages and keen interest in Near Eastern cultures already as a secondary school student. He should have met BL for the first time while taking a Hebrew lesson with the local rabbi whom BL came to visit.351 The story is now supported by the evidence of BL’s visits to Náchod dated exactly to the final year of Matouš’s high school education.352 BL persuaded

347 348 349 350 351 352

Ibid., 618: Landsberger an Kraus, 102, January 11, 1941. See ibid., 34. Ibid., 38. Miguel Civil, American Oriental Society: Centenary of Benno Landsberger, http://discoverarchive.vanderbilt.edu/xmlui/handle/1803/4342 (accessed August 15, 2018), from 1:32:22. Hruška 1995. See also Čtvrtečková 2010, 307. LAJ, No. 95, “notebook from 1925/6 (see calendar) with minor notes on scientific and nonscientific matters,” timetable of trains from Frýdek to Náchod via Choceň and from Náchod to Dresden via Choceň, Prag Mas. (i.e., Masaryk railway station in Prague), Aussig (i.e., Ústí nad Labem), Bodenb. (= Bodenbach, i.e. Podmokly), and from Prag Wilson Bf. (i.e., Main Station in Prague, at that time called Wilson Station) to Tetschen (i.e., Děčín). SOkA Náchod, f. Jiráskovo gymnázium Náchod 1897–2003, kniha RG Náchod 88, Hlavní protokol o zkouškách dospělosti (Main Record of Final Examinations), No. 16: “June 10, 1926 afternoon, Matouš Lubor, born November 2, 1908 in Náchod, Bohemia, studied since 1918/19 at the State Grammar School in Náchod, oral examination in Czech and Slovak language, French, National History (and Geography), Mathematics, passed with distinction.”

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 8: BL’s Relationship with His Leipzig Students

97

Matouš to focus on Assyriology. According to Matouš’s wife, BL even compiled a list of works that her husband was supposed to study before entering a university.353 Matouš enrolled at the Czech University in Prague in the fall of 1926. During his studies, he attended various classes in Oriental philology taught by the luminaries of Czech Near Eastern scholarship (e.g., Rudolf Růžička: Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac, Classical Arabic, Ethiopian; František Lexa and Jaroslav Černý: Egyptology; Jan Rypka: Turkish; Alois Musil: Modern Arabic). As for Assyriology, only two courses taught by Bedřich Hrozný, at that time serving as the dean of the Faculty of Arts, were on offer in Matouš’s first year, while in the following years Hrozný offered exclusively Hittitological classes and Matouš participated in all of them.354 He spent the academic year 1927–1928 at the University of Leipzig studying Assyriology with BL and H. Zimmern.355 BL’s considerable influence on Matouš’s scholarly development is obvious from his dissertation on the bilingual SumeroAkkadian vocabularies which he defended in 1930 at the University of Prague.356 He continued working on the lexical texts in the early 1930s during further sojourns in Leipzig, and particularly in the Berlin museum. As a result, he published his first major scholarly output, a volume of 93 hand-copies of tablets and fragments inscribed with Ḫḫ (LTBA 1). A postcard from the time of its publication, sent by BL to Matouš’s summer home not only shows that BL was friends also with Matouš’s parents but demonstrates that the mentor involved his student in the lexicographical work for the CAD project.357 BL was invited to contribute to the CAD with a treatment of the Sumero-Akkadian lexical lists already a couple of years ago, and it was natural for the “Leipziger Schule” under his baton to collaborate on the project for

353

See Sádlo 2000, 305. Unfortunately, the list does not seem to have been preserved. E-mail from Ondřej Matouš, January 22, 2018. 354 According to his “Index Lectionum,” kindly shared with me by Ondřej Matouš. The Assyriological classes he attended in Prague were “Reading Easy Assyrian Inscriptions” (1 hour per week), and “Reading Assyro-Babylonian Inscriptions” (1 hour per week). Cf. AUK, f. Filozofická fakulta Univerzity Karlovy, Katalogy posluchačů Filozofické fakulty Univerzity Karlovy, inv. č. 170, Řádní posluchači A–Ř, ZS 1926–1927, leaf 542. Ibid., inv. č. 172, Řádní posluchači A–P, LS 1927, leaf 492. 355 His “Index Lectionum,” (p. 20) contains the following note: “The Board of Professors acknowledged at its meeting on January 30, 1930 the two semesters completed at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Leipzig in the academic year 1927/28 as part of the regular study of philosophy at this university.” 356 See AUK, unprocessed, řada ukončené pracovní poměry, Maš-Me, ka. 28, osobní spis 352: Lubor Matouš, návrh na jmenování profesorem (Proposal for Appointment as Professor), October 22, 1952. 357 Postcard to “Herrn Dr. Lubor Matouš aus Náchod, Dobre, Orlické hory, chata Masaryk, Tschechoslowakei” of August 9, 1933: “Vor ca. 2 Wochen schrieb ich Ihnen ausführlich nach Berlin – durch Ehelolf. Haben Sie diesen Brief nicht erhalten? Ich schlug Ihnen vor, dass Sie das nächste Jahr hier verbringen, zwecks Abschlusses der Amerika-Arbeit. Sie können jederzeit herkommen… Mit den herzlichsten Grüßen auch an Ihre verehrten Eltern…” I thank Ondřej Matouš for sharing this document with me.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




98

Chapter 8: BL’s Relationship with His Leipzig Students

the benefit of all.358 Matouš prepared numerous hand-copies of various lexical tablets in the Berlin museum during those years. The drawings were never published but were used and gratefully acknowledged by BL and others in the editions of this material essential for the reconstruction of Mesopotamian culture.359 In the late 1930s, Matouš worked at the university library in Prague and assisted Hrozný in his work on the Prague collection of tablets which the latter had excavated at Kültepe in the mid-1920s.360 After the occupation of the Czech Lands, Hrozný was able to obtain a modest bursary for Matouš to work on the Kültepe tablets kept in Istanbul. While in Turkey, Matouš met not only his friend from the Leipzig years, F. R. Kraus,361 but also their teacher. As he wrote to Hrozný from Istanbul on July 30, 1939: 358

Müller 1979, 78: “Zur umfassenden Rekonstruktion dieser Listen war Landsberger durch einen Auftrag zur teilweisen Bearbeitung der keilschriftlichen lexikalischen Serien für das Projekt des großen Chicagoer Assyrian Dictionary angeregt worden. Ein erstes publiziertes Ergebnis ist sein auf wesentlichen Vorarbeiten seines tschechischen Schülers L. Matouš basierendes Buch über ‘Die Fauna des alten Mesopotamien nach der 14. Tafel der Serie ḪARRA = ḪUBULLU’ (1934)…” See also von Soden 1970, 8. See further BL’s letter to K. F. Müller, dated Ankara, December 12, 1937 at http://altorient.gko.uni-leipzig.de/landsberger/leipzig/l-1 (accessed August 20, 2018): “Sowie die Vokabulare wieder meine Hauptarbeit werden, muss ich mit Herrn Schuster Ordnung machen und wir müssen uns überlegen, ob ich den von Amerika gezahlten Vorschuss zurückzahlen muss oder ob doch die Serie bis zum Sommer nächsten Jahres abgeliefert werden kann…” Also BL’s letter to K. F. Müller, dated Frýdek, July 10, 1936 at http://altorient.gko.uni-leipzig.de/landsberger/leipzig/l-2 (accessed August 20, 2018): “Ueber die amerikanische Angelegenheit habe ich weder hierher noch nach Konstantinopel Nachricht bekommen, muss also annehmen, dass weder die Amerikaner geantwortet noch auch Sie bzw. Schuster den Text fertig gemacht haben…” Cf. further AoIL, Nachlass Benno Landsberger, Briefe, No. 29, from K. F. Müller and H.-S. Schuster to BL, dated Wiederitzsch, June 2, 1936; ibid., No. 32, from BL to K. F. Müller, dated Ankara, November 7, 1936; ibid., No. 33, from K. F. Müller to BL, dated Wiederitzsch, November 11, 1936; ibid., No. 45 (see fn. 339 above); and especially ibid., No. 48, from BL to K. F. Müller, dated Ankara, May 3, 1937, on the problems concerning BL’s collaboration with Schuster and mentioning Matouš’s hand-copies, with follow-up letters Nos. 51–56, 61–62, 86 at http://altorient.gko.uni-leipzig.de/landsberger.html (August 20, 2018). Cf. CAD A/1, xi–xxiii. 359 Landsberger 1937, 1–2: “LUBOR MATOUŠ, der mir mehrere Jahre hindurch bei meiner Arbeit assistierte, hat Kopien der meisten Berliner Vokabulare angefertigt. Für diese Hilfe spreche ich ihm meinen Dank aus.” Additional 7 volumes of MSL include editions of 40 manuscripts copied by Matouš. See also Schuster 1938, 218, fn. 2: “Ferner bin ich meinen Studienfreunden Dr. Matouš und Dr. Falkenstein zu Dank verpflichtet für die freundliche Überlassung von ihnen angefertigter Abschriften aus dem Berliner Material. Schließlich gilt mein Dank meinem früheren Lehrer Prof. Landsberger – die Arbeit ist in den Jahren 1934 und 1935 entstanden – für Anleitung und Beratung.” 360 AUK, unprocessed, řada ukončené pracovní poměry, Maš-Me, ka. 28, osobní spis 352: Lubor Matouš, návrh na jmenování profesorem (Proposal for Appointment as Professor), October 22, 1952. 361 Schmidt 2014, 348: Kraus an Landsberger, 38, March 15, 1939: “Ich habe mich sehr über die Nachricht gefreut, im Sommer hier Matouš und eventuell auch Weidner begrüßen zu können, falls ich dann noch hier bin.”

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 8: BL’s Relationship with His Leipzig Students

99

Last week I spoke with Landsberger… He told me to write to Dr Hamid next month and ask if it would be possible to lend the Cappadocian tablets in need of collations and copying to Ankara, so that we could discuss various issues or collate dubious spots together. In that case I would go to Ankara probably for ¼ year – once I know for sure, I will take the liberty to let you know. … I am preparing copies for the second volume of the publication at the museum here – I would like to finish the preliminary work before my departure to Ankara, so that I could begin working on clean copies immediately afterwards. At home, I make transliterations from the copies and try to penetrate the meaning of the texts.362

Figure 24: Fritz Rudolf Kraus, Johannes Friedrich, and Lubor Matouš (right) at the staircase of the Museum of the Ancient Orient in Istanbul, early August 1939. Source: L. Matouš Estate (courtesy O. Matouš).

However, the plan outlined in the letter was not to materialize. Actually, that summer would be the last time BL and Matouš saw each other. After the outbreak of WWII, Matouš volunteered for service in the Czechoslovak Foreign Army that was 362

NpM, f. Hrozný Bedřich (1879–1952), Konvolut přijaté korespondence: H–O, ka. 4, Matouš L., sig. ar. Hroz. 4/1-134. On Matouš’s stay in Istanbul, see further Schmidt 2014, 347: Landsberger an Kraus, 35, March 12, 1939; ibid., 374: Landsberger an Kraus, 38, May 28, 1939; ibid., 375: Kraus an Landsberger, 43, June 1, 1939; ibid. 383: Landsberger an Kraus, 40, June 18, 1939; ibid., 385: Kraus an Landsberger, 44, June 19, 1939; ibid., 401: Landsberger an Kraus, 47, July 26, 1939; ibid., 404: Kraus an Landsberger, 46, August 6, 1939; ibid., 406: Landsberger an Kraus, 48, August 17, 1939.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




100

Chapter 8: BL’s Relationship with His Leipzig Students

just being formed in France. Matouš left for France via Beirut, where he got his first military training,363 leaving behind two notebooks of hand-copies and transliterations of Old Assyrian tablets: “Was soll aus Matoušs wissenschaftlichem Nachlaß werden? Die Reinkopien eines Bandes, die hier angefertigten Rohkopien sowie dazugehörige Transkriptionen. Wollen Sie sie haben?”364 BL: “Wenn Sie kein Interesse daran haben, will ich den Nachlass von Matouš gern in Verwahrung nehmen. Bitte also um gelegentliche Sendung, vielleicht am besten durch Boten, wenn einer Ihrer Bekannten nach Ankara reist.”365 BL used his disciple’s results during the war and put them at the disposal of his Turkish students as well.366 More than a year after Matouš had left Turkey, his parents had no information about their son, who apparently did not want to put them in danger should a letter from him be intercepted by the Gestapo in Prague where they lived at the time. Luckily, Matouš’s father succeeded in sending a request for news about Lubor to his acquaintance from Náchod, Lubor’s former teacher. As BL wrote to Kraus: Vom 12.ds. bekam ich ein Telegramm von Matouš. Seine Adresse: Lancecorporal M., czechoslovak brigade, c/o postbox 226, London. Wenige Tage vorher erhielt ich einen Brief von Matouš’ Vater, über Jugoslawien geschmuggelt, mit der dringenden Bitte um Nachrichten über seinen Sohn. Die Adresse von Matouš senior: Prag XII Fochová 168. … Vielleicht findet Ihr neuer tschechoslov. Freund ein Mittel, den Papa M. gefahrlos zu verständigen.367 Kraus was happy to learn that Matouš was alive, and promised BL to go to the Czech consulate in Istanbul and explain the situation to them.368 In the meantime, BL was able to find a safe way how to be in touch with Matouš’s father: “Mit Matouš senior werde ich wohl durch einen neu aufgetauchten Vertrauensmann korrespondieren können.”369 Matouš’s fortunes since the summer of 1939 are very clearly paraphrased in a letter Kraus wrote to Bauer on August 10, 1947: Matouš war im August 1939 mit einem elenden Stipendium des “Protektorat”-tschechischen Unterrichtsministeriums hier, um die Hrozný’schen Kültepetexte zu kopieren. Unter dem Eindruck der Nazi-Allmacht und ihrer all363 364 365 366 367 368 369

Ibid., 474: Kraus an Samuel Kramer, 2, February 4, 1940: “Ihr Nachfolger Matouš hat sich sehr bald nach Kriegsausbruch über Syrien nach Frankreich begeben, wo er für die tschechische Legion ausgebildet wird, also doch ein braver Bursch.” See also Sádlo 2000, 306. Schmidt 2014, 414: Kraus an Landsberger, 47, September 28, 1939. Ibid., 417: Landsberger an Kraus, 50, October 1, 1939. See also ibid., 419: Kraus an Landsberger, 48, October 7, 1939. See Bilgiç 1946, 381. Schmidt 2014, 583: Landsberger an Kraus, 91, November 20, 1940. With a note on the margin: “Er ist Professor, d.i. Mittelschullehrer (i.R.). Ich glaube, Vorname Josef.” Before his retirement, Josef Matouš taught Czech and German at the grammar school in Náchod. Ibid., 586: Kraus an Landsberger, 81, November 24, 1940. Ibid., 592: Landsberger an Kraus, 92, November 26, 1940.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 8: BL’s Relationship with His Leipzig Students

101

gegenwärtigen Gestapo und 5.Kolonne war er sehr gedrückt und muckste nicht, aber kaum brach der Krieg aus, liess er sich vom französischen Generalkonsulat assentieren, wurde mit anderen Geflüchteten zusammen nach Syrien gebracht und war den Krieg über im tschechischen Korps (oder wie immer es genannt worden sein mag) in England. In den Kämpfen in der Normandie schwer im Gesicht verwundet, war er nach dem Kriege noch lange in London, wo er mit endlosen “plastischen” Operationen gequält wurde, bis er vergangenes Jahr nach Prag zurückkehrte. Er ist dort Assistent am Orient. Institut, versucht, sich in die Assyriologie und die veränderte Situation langsam wieder hineinzufinden, wird für den kranken Hrozný ein assyr. Seminar halten und bereitet langsam seine Habilitation vor. Der Koschakersschüler Dr. Klíma hat sich gerade in Prag habilitiert…370 This account relies on a series of longer letters which Kraus exchanged with Matouš since the summer of 1945.371 They show that Matouš became increasingly worried about BL who only seldom if ever answered his letters at that time. He definitely wanted to resume contact with his mentor: Warum schreiben Sie nie über Landsberger – was ist eigentlich mit ihm los? Ich möchte nicht mit ihm alle Verbindung verlieren. Aber vielleicht bin ich selbst Schuld und sollte ihm schreiben.372 … Was macht Prof. Landsberger? Ich hab ihm zweimal geschrieben, aber da er nicht antwortet, denke ich, dass er krank ist.373 370

371

372

Ibid., 1319–1320: Kraus an Theo Bauer, 3. See also ibid., 1483: Kraus an Hans-Siegfried Schuster, 7, October 7, 1948: “Sofort nach Kriegsausbruch zu den freien Čechen nach Syrien gegangen, ist er im Kriege schwer verwundet worden und hat viel bei den dadurch erforderlichen, endlosen ‘plastischen’ Operationen in London gelitten. Jetzt bereitet er sich für die Habilitation vor. Das scheint mir alles ungemein ehren- und anmerkungswert. Matouš ist in der Lage, die Sie für sich selbst beklagen: nach vielen verlorenen Jahren, gemindert und gealtert, von vorn anfangen zu müssen. Klíma hat sich habilitiert, kollaboriert mit Matouš. Ranoszek war vorigen Sommer zum Studienaufenthalt in Prag, genau wie er früher zu uns zu kommen pflegte.” Cf. Sádlo 2000, 306–307. See Schmidt 2014, 1083: Landsberger an Kraus, 179, April 30–May 6, 1945: “Adresse Matouš: c/o Hans Kosmala, 79, Brent Way, London N.3. An Kosmala, der mir gleichzeitig mit Matouš geschrieben hat, dürften Sie sich erinnern. Matouš in Normandieschlacht verwundet, ‘plastische Operation’ in Gesicht, Augen unverletzt. ‘Grüsse an Kraus.’” Ibid., 1088: Lubor Matouš an Kraus, 1, August 2, 1945: “Dass Landsberger Gebrauch von meinen Kopien machen konnte, freut mich nur – dann, ob ich nach einer so langen Unterbrechung dazu komme, die Arbeit wieder aufzunehmen, ist sehr fraglich.” Ibid., 1109–1110: Kraus an Lubor Matouš, 1, March 21, 1946; ibid., 1139–1140: Lubor Matouš an Kraus, 2, June 15, 1946; ibid., 1255–1256: Lubor Matouš an Kraus, 3, May 14, 1947; ibid., 1270–71: Kraus an Lubor Matouš, 2, May 23, 1947; ibid., 1289: Lubor Matouš an Kraus, 5, June 16, 1947; ibid., 1304– 1305: Kraus an Lubor Matouš, 3, June 28, 1947; ibid. 1308: Lubor Matouš an Kraus, 9, July 11, 1947. Ibid., 1140: Lubor Matouš an Kraus, 2, June 15, 1946.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




102

Chapter 8: BL’s Relationship with His Leipzig Students

Yet, there was nothing personal about BL’s silence. Apparently still in a depressed state of mind, he did not answer most letters from colleagues outside of Turkey.374 Nevertheless, true to character BL did send to his former student a nicely phrased encouragement which clearly cheered Matouš up: Ich musste die längst versunkenen Wege zur Assyriologie suchen und alles wieder aus meinem Unterbewusstsein, wo es sich in den untersten Schichten verbarg, oder ganz vergessen war, mühsam ausgraben. Meine Stellung zwingt mich dazu und es ist gut so – denn die Assyriologie ist letzten Endes für mich die Scholle, zu der ich kleben muss und aus der ich herauswachse, wie es Landsberger schön in seinem Briefe ausgedrückt hatte.375 Matouš worked himself back into Assyriology quite quickly and in 1949 strove to get permission for work on the Old Assyrian tablets in Istanbul, exactly after a decade. It was not easy, since his homeland had already been in sway of a dictatorship again, this time a leftist one. As Kraus informed BL who was by that time already settled in Chicago: 5) Matouš schreibt Jammerbriefe um Hilfe an alle möglichen Leute hier, so auch an Bossert, von dem ich hörte, das Außenministerium habe von Hamit Zübeyr die Garantie verlangt, daß unser Lubor kein Kommunist sei, welche H.Z. nicht abgegeben habe, worauf man M. nicht hineinlassen würde und jetzt hinhielte.376 After Helmuth Th. Bossert, Professor of Linguistics and Art of Ancient Asia Minor at Istanbul University, vouched for Matouš’s political outlook, the latter finally obtained an entry visa and could come to study the tablets from Kültepe.377 Understandably, Matouš wished to use the materials he had made at Istanbul in 1939 and left behind there. He wrote to his mentor in Chicago but alas, the second notebook of his hand-copies could not be found, to BL’s great dismay.378 This setback not373 374

375 376 377 378

Ibid., 1289: Lubor Matouš an Kraus, 5, June 16, 1947. Ibid., 1095: Landsberger an Kraus, 190, December 18, 1945: “Noch habe ich mein Prinzip, für alle ausserhalb der Türkei wohnenden schon gestorben zu sein, nicht aufgegeben, beantworte infolgedessen die Briefe von Matouš, David, Stamm, Pohl, Holma nicht.” See also ibid., 1105: Landsberger an Kraus, 191, February 18, 1946. Ibid., 1255: Lubor Matouš an Kraus, 3, May 14, 1947. Ibid., 1623: Kraus an Landsberger, 142, May 15, 1949. Ibid., 1637: Kraus an Landsberger, 144, June 4, 1949. Ibid., 1641: Landsberger an Kraus, 266, June 8, 1949: “3) Matouš hat mich ersucht, ihm vor Abreise nach Istanbul seine beiden Kopienhefte zu schicken. Zu meiner grössten Bestürzung musste ich feststellen, dass das zweite, mit Bleistift geschriebene, für mich nicht aufzufinden ist. Seit einer Woche bin ich ganz verzweifelt darüber. … Können Sie sich erinnern, bei meiner Durchreise diese schwarze Mappe gesehen zu haben? Ganz unwahrscheinlich ist es, dass ich sie bei von Aulock habe liegenlassen, aber ich muss selbst dieser entfernten Möglichkeit nachgehen, und möchte Sie vielmals bitten, dies für mich zu tun.” See also ibid., 1650: Kraus an Landsberger, 145, June 30, 1949; ibid., 1701: Kraus an Landsberger, 152, November 13,

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 8: BL’s Relationship with His Leipzig Students

103

withstanding, Matouš became a distinguished specialist in Old Assyrian texts and published important editions and studies of them, following his appointment as Professor at Charles University in 1955. While the correspondence between BL and his Czech student seems to have come to a standstill after 1949, no doubt because of Matouš’s isolation behind the “iron curtain,” their enduring cordial and respectful relationship is demonstrated by the last piece known to me: 8. September 1965 B. LANDSBERGER • ORIENTAL INSTITUTE • CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60637 Lieber Freund, Ich danke Ihnen aufs herzlichste für die folgenden Freundschaftsbeweise: a) Ihre Glückwünsche zum Geburtstag; b) Beitrag zur Festschrift; c) Sendung Ihrer Grammatik d) Brief vom 1. ds. Ich erfreue mich weiterhin recht guter Gesundheit, arbeite intensiv, was mir wenig Zeit für Verdauung der vielen Neuerscheinungen lässt. Es tut mir leid, dass Sie sich meinetwegen Sorgen gemacht haben. … Ich bitte Sie, auch Freund Klíma meinen Dank für seine Glückwünsche zu übermitteln und ihn zu ersuchen, mir ein Separatum seines neuen Artikels über Sklaventum zuzusenden. … In herzlicher Ergebenheit stets Ihr BLandsberger379 BL’s relationship with his Leipzig students remained firm despite all the twists, turns, horrors, and borders of the past century. Therefore, it seems appropriate to finish off with a statement that BL included in a letter from Ankara to B. Hrozný already in 1937, and which is as current today as it was then: Von Dr. Matouš habe ich die erfreuliche Nachricht erhalten, dass er jetzt wieder engere Verbindung mit der Assyriologie hat und die auf eine Habilitation abzielende Arbeit jetzt besser betreiben kann. Ich möchte ihn nach Kraeften dabei unterstützen. Der Nachwuchs in unserem Fache ist so dünn gesäet, dass es sich dabei auch um ein allgemeines Interesse handelt. Unsere eigene Arbeit macht wenig Freude, wenn man immer das Gefühl hat, dass die

379

1949; ibid., 1707: Landsberger an Kraus, 273, November 26, 1949. I am grateful to Ondřej Matouš for sharing this document with me. Point b) refers to Güterbock and Jacobsen 1965; c) refers to Ungnad and Matouš 1964.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




104

Chapter 8: BL’s Relationship with His Leipzig Students

ganze Philologie im Begriffe ist zu verkümmern. Und leider ist die gegenwaertige Lage so.380

Figure 25: BL on a train, leaving Ankara for Chicago, late September 1948. Source: NINO, Kraus Archive (courtesy of the Netherlands Institute for the Near East, Leiden).

380

NpM, f. Hrozný Bedřich (1879–1952), Konvolut přijaté korespondence: H–O, ka. 2, Landsberger B., sig. ar. Hroz. 2/1-282, dated November 20, 1937.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 9: Conclusion The purpose of this book was to offer a narrative of BL’s family and cultural background, childhood, early education and development as an Assyriologist, as well as of his personality as reflected in his proverbial zest for life, his relationship with his relatives and the old guard of his students which was marked by much generosity and selflessness, often spiced with BL’s sarcastic humor and brutal honesty. In view of the quantity and nature of primary sources, this narrative had to be extracted from scattered, fragmentary, and often ambiguous pieces of information, as if it were a biography of a Mesopotamian king. Nevertheless, by dissecting the topics which the sources bear upon, looking at them from different angles with the use of recent research on broader issues (such as “Orientalism” and the emancipation of European Jews), the most plausible and complete interpretation has always been attempted. This applies particularly to the question of BL’s motivation for the study of the Ancient Orient and its consequences for his scholarly work, the crucial point of this work from the Assyriological perspective. The sources allow only one meaningful interpretation, namely that BL as a “Gymnasiast” with liberal yet solid education in and attachment to Jewish literary and learned tradition became attracted to Assyriology by the “Babel-Bibel-Streit” but at the same time felt repulsion toward the star scholar of the controversy, Friedrich Delitzsch, whose far-reaching conclusions about the dependence of Jewish religion and culture on Babylonia posed a threat to the recently acquired self-conscience and standing of the emancipated Germanspeaking Jewry in Central European society of the day. The personal dimension of BL’s scholarly identity subsequently contributed to his emphatic rejection of the search for parallels and their “sensationalist” presentation, resulting in his proposal of a research program for Assyriology, based on the premise of strictly scientific reconstruction of Babylonian culture from its own sources. While BL’s opposition against Panbabylonism has always been more or less tacitly assumed behind the “Eigenbegrifflichkeit,” the above analysis of the motives that informed the concept will hopefully prove to be useful for further discussions of the relationship of Assyriology and Biblical Studies in the past, present, and future. At least, it should be an incentive for a full elaboration of the scholarly concepts and contexts permeating and surrounding the “Eigenbegrifflichkeit,” as well as for a definitive evaluation of its import for the development of Assyriology as an independent discipline and her relationship to Biblical Studies, way beyond the rather alibistic and oversimplifying statements about the discipline’s inability to overcome the controversies of the Delitzsch and Landsberger years, or about the paralyzing effect that BL’s program should have had on comparative and interdisciplinary research. However, more basic work on this issue still needs to be done following a full

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

106

Chapter 9: Conclusion

exploration of the early sources from BL’s legacy in Jerusalem. Moreover, the correspondence of Peter Jensen, kept in the Archive of the University of Marburg, should also be carefully sifted for information on BL’s early scholarly development, and possibly on his relationship to Delitzsch as well as the genesis of the “Eigenbegrifflichkeit.”381 With respect to BL’s concern for his relatives and students, it has been shown that his personal correspondence with Fritz Rudolf Kraus from their Turkish period is an invaluable source of information. Further research on this aspect of BL’s life and personality will require close reading of many hundred unpublished letters from Kraus’ legacy kept at the NINO in Leiden.382 The choice to include only information of personal or didactic nature from the published letters followed from the overall focus of the book on the “early” and the “personal” in BL’s life and career. An attempt to present, interpret, and contextualize information of academic nature contained in the letters was not made in the present work. That would be a formidable task for a comprehensive scientific biography of BL which, however, should not be content with mining the correspondence but should dig deep in Turkish archives. Such an undertaking would require not only excellent knowledge of Turkish but also access at least to the archives of the University of Ankara, the Museum of the Ancient Orient at Istanbul, and government offices responsible for the education and research agenda in the past, which I did not have, nor do I expect to have any of it in the future. The last two decades of BL’s life, his American period characterized by his intensive involvement in the work on the Chicago Assyrian Dictionary, could not be even touched upon in this book beyond a few marginal notes. In fact, it would be best if the sixty-three folders and boxes of archival material (correspondence, drafts of reseach papers, notes, text transliterations and collations, manuscripts of dictionary items, photographs, etc.) kept at the Oriental Institute in Chicago are the subject of a follow-up project,383 carefully evaluating them from the perspective of the history of science and resulting in the publication of items crucial for the understanding of BL’s life, research, and teaching in the USA. Work with that body of evidence for BL’s “late” period will hopefully benefit from the research on his earlier periods and personal life presented on the previous pages, while it may refine and modify the above findings and observations, considering that some sources (particularly the correspondence) from the OI archive will definitely bear also on BL’s life and work before his relocation to America.

381 382 383

I thank Walter Sommerfeld for making me aware of this source material which I could not study and include in the present work at the last moment, though. Schmidt (2014, ix) states that the total number of letters between Kraus and BL kept at NINO is 1,285. His edition contains 433 pieces from that corpus. Go to https://oi.uchicago.edu/idb/ and enter the tag “Papers of Benno Landsberger” in the search box (accessed August 15, 2018).

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




Chapter 9: Conclusion

107

What is very unlikely to be modified by future research, though, are the findings on the “early” and the “personal” in the strict sense, i.e. BL’s family background, schooling, the cultural and intellectual environment in which he grew up. I have presented and interpreted within their context all the relevant sources, largely inaccessible outside Czechia, including some unique pieces from the family archive. This so far greyest area of BL’s biography has thus become much more colorful. To the best of my knowledge, neither the Czech official archives, nor the private family archive hold any more documents useful for a historical reconstruction of the first decades of BL’s life. From the perspective of the historiography of Assyriology, the most important evidence from sources kept in Czechia pertains on the one hand to BL’s cultural background and early intellectual development. On the other hand, his correspondence with Hrozný, bearing on BL’s early career prospects and his relocation to Ankara, yielded much new and rather unexpected knowledge, such as the explanation of BL’s relocation to Turkey in 1935. All these sources have been treated above with the care they deserve, as they offer a number of important insights into BL’s personal and scholarly genesis and his networking with other Orientalists in Central Europe, which Assyriologists worldwide have hereby been made familiar with for the first time. In the end, affording a contemplation of the anniversary that this work should commemorate, let us hope that Assyriologists half a century after BL’s death and for a long time to come will be able to show as much verve, diligence, meticulousness, readiness to collaborate, help, and offer advice, ability to admit their own mistakes, and care for their students as the giant of 20th century Assyriology did to make a future for the discipline to which he devoted his entire life and intellectual power. In all that, may “das Licht” of the Landsberger family “be our guiding light.”384

384

Cf. Oppenheim 1968, 370.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028




© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Appendices Appendix 1: Genealogical Chart of BL’s Family – The Landsbergers

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

110

Appendices

Appendix 2: Genealogical Chart of BL’s Family – The Hitschmanns

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Appendices

Appendix 3: Gravestones of Selected Members of BL’s Family

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

111

112

Appendices

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Appendices

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

113

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Bibliography Arad, Yitzhak. 1987. Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka: The Operation Reinhard Death Camps. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. Arnold, Bill T. 1994. The Weidner Chronicle and the Idea of History in Israel and Mesopotamia. In Faith, Tradition, and History: Old Testament Historiography in Its Near Eastern Context, ed. Alan R. Millard, James K. Hoffmeier, and David W. Baker, 129–148. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. — 2005. Assyriology and Biblical Studies: Time for Reassessment? The Bible and Interpretation 4/2005: http://bibleinterp.com/articles/2005/04/arn298001.shtml (accessed August 15, 2018). — 2014. Introduction to the Old Testament. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. Aschheim, Steven E. 2010. The Modern Jewish Experience and the Entangled Web of Orientalism. Menasseh ben Israel Instituut Studies 4. Amsterdam: Menasseh ben Israel Instituut. Baránek, Daniel. 2012. Židovská náboženská obec Frýdek-Místek v letech 1918–1942: Asimilace Židů do většinové společnosti [The Jewish Congregation of Frýdek-Místek from 1918 to 1942: Assimilation of Jews to Majority Society]. Moderní dějiny 20: 139–176. — 2015. Židé na Frýdecku a Místecku: Židovské společenství a jeho tvůrci [Jews in the Frýdek and Místek Region: The Jewish Community and Its Makers]. Fontes 15. Prague: Filozofická fakulta Univerzity Karlovy. Berská, Petra. 2013. Landsbergerovi, z Koloredova do celého světa [The Landsbergers, from Koloredov to the Whole World]. In Práce a studie Muzea Beskyd, ed. Stanislav Hrabovský. Společenské vědy 25, 27–43. Frýdek-Místek: Muzeum Beskyd. Bilgiç, Emin. 1946. Anadolu’nun ilk yazılı kaynaklarındaki yer adları ve yerlerinin tayini üzerine incelemeler. Belleten 10/39: 381–423. Bird, Kai, and Martin J. Sherwin. 2005. American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer. New York: A. A. Knopf. Borger, Rykle. 1997–1998. Wolfram von Soden (19. 6. 1908 – 6. 10. 1996). AfO 44–45: 588– 594. Brann, Marcus Mordechai. 1904–1911. Lehrbuch der jüdischen Geschichte für die Oberstufe der österreichischen Mittelschulen bearbeitet. 4 vols. Vienna: R. Löwit. Brocke, Michael, Julius Carlebach, and Katrin Nele Jansen, eds. 2009. Die Rabbiner im Deutschen Reich 1871–1945, Band 1: Aaron – Kusznitzki. Munich and Berlin: K. G. Saur and W. de Gruyter. Caskel, Werner. 1968. Aus den Erinnerungen eines Orientalisten. In Festschrift für Werner Caskel zum siebzigsten Geburtstag 5. März 1966 gewidmet von Freunden und Schülern, ed. Erwin Gräf, 5–30. Leiden: Brill. Čtvrtečková, Alena. 2010. Osudy židovských rodin z Náchodska 1938–1945 [The Destinies of Jewish Families from the Náchod Region 1938–1945]. Liberec: Nakladatelství Bor.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

116

Bibliography

Delitzsch, Friedrich. 1887. Assyrisches Wörterbuch. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung. — 1897. Die Entstehung des ältesten Schriftsystems oder der Ursprung der Keilschriftzeichen. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung. — 1904. Babel und Bibel: Ein Rückblick und Ausblick. Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt. — 1921a. Die grosse Täuschung. Erster Teil: Kritische Betrachtungen zu den alttestamentlichen Berichten über Israels Eindringen in Kanaan, die Gottesoffenbarung vom Sinai und die Wirksamkeit der Propheten. Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt. — 1921b. Die grosse Täuschung. Zweiter (Schluss-)Teil: Fortgesetzte kritische Betrachtungen zum Alten Testament, vornehmlich den Prophetenschriften und Psalmen, nebst Schlußfolgerungen. Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt. Eichner, Heiner. 2015. Friedrich Hroznýs Studien- und Arbeitsjahre in Wien (1897–1919). In Bedřich Hrozný and 100 Years of Hittitology, ed. Šárka Velhartická, 81–123. Prague: Národní galerie. Ellinger, Ekkehard. 2006. Deutsche Orientalistik zur Zeit des Nationalsozialismus 1933– 1945. Edingen-Neckarhausen: Deux mondes. Enz, Charles P. 2002. No Time to Be Brief: A Scientific Biography of Wolfgang Pauli. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Feuchtwanger, Ludwig. 1929–1930. Grundsätzliches zur Forschung über das Alte Testament. Der Morgen: Monatsschrift der Juden in Deutschland 5/2, 3, 6: 173–193, 264–279, 600– 614. — 1932–1933. Bibelforschung aus jüdischem Geist: Martin Bubers Erneuerung der Bibel aus dem Geist des Judentums. Der Morgen: Monatsschrift der Juden in Deutschland 8/3: 209–224. — 1934–1935. Erneuerung der Bibelwissenschaft: Zu B. Jacobs Genesis-Kommentar. Der Morgen: Monatsschrift der Juden in Deutschland 10/2: 53–58. Fink, Sebastian. In press. Language and Race in Assyriology: From Benno Landsberger to Wolfram von Soden. In Perspectives on the History of Ancient Near Eastern Studies, ed. Agnès Garcia-Ventura and Lorenzo Verderame. University Park: Penn State University Press and Eisenbrauns. Foxvog, Daniel A., and Anne D. Kilmer. 1975. Benno Landsberger’s Lexicographical Contributions. JCS 27: 3–129. Frank, Carl. 1941. Lamastu, Pazuzu und andere Dämonen. Ein Beitrag zur babyl.-assyr. Dämonologie. MAOG 14/2. Leipzig: Harrassowitz. Fuchs, Bernhard. 1903. Kaiser Wilhelm, Professor Delitzsch und die babylonische Verwirrung. Sammlung moderner Kampfschriften 3. Vienna: Verlag der “Sammlung moderner Kampfschriften.” Gaugusch, Georg. 2016. Wer einmal war: Das jüdische Grossbürgertum Wiens 1800–1938. Vol. 2: L–R. Vienna: Amalthea Signum. Geers, Wilhelm et al. 1950a. To Benno Landsberger, on his Sixtieth Birthday. JCS 4: 1–2. — 1950b. Landsberger: Lexicographical Contributions. JCS 4: 3–62. Goldschmied, Leopold. 1903. Der Kampf um Babel-Bibel im Lichte des Judentums. Frankfurt a. M.: J. Kauffmann.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Bibliography

117

Grünert, Max. 1905. Friedrich Delitzsch: (Babel und Bibel). Bohemia (Beilage) 77/1905 (Saturday, March 18): 1–2. Gschiel, Christina, Ulrike Nimeth, and Leonhard Weidinger. 2010. Die Familie Rothberger in der NS-Zeit – eine Chronologie. In Schneidern und Sammeln: Die Wiener Familie Rothberger, ed. Christina Gschiel, Ulrike Nimeth, and Leonhard Weidinger. Schriftenreihe der Kommission für Provenienzforschung 2, 167–181. Vienna, Cologne, and Weimar: Böhlau. Guttstadt, Corry. 2013. Turkey, the Jews, and the Holocaust. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. Güterbock, Hans G. 1968–1969. Benno Landsberger. (21. April 1890 bis 26. April 1968). AfO 22: 203–206. — 1991. Benno Landsberger (1890–1968). In Remembering the University of Chicago: Teachers, Scientists, and Scholars, ed. Edward Shils, 267–275. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Güterbock, Hans G., and Thorkild Jacobsen, eds. 1965. Studies in Honor of Benno Landsberger on His Seventy-Fifth Birthday April 21, 1965. AS 16. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Hallo, William W. 2002. Sumer and the Bible: A Matter of Proportion. In The Context of Scripture. Vol. 3: Archival Documents from the Biblical World, ed. William W. Hallo and K. Lawson Younger, Jr., xlix–liv. Leiden, New York, and Cologne: Brill. — 2004. Sumer and the Bible: A Matter of Proportion. In The Future of Biblical Archaeology: Reassessing Methodologies and Assumptions. The Proceedings of a Symposium, August 12–14, 2001 at Trinity International University, ed. James K. Hoffmeier and Alan R. Millard, 163–175. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans. Hallo, William W., and K. Lawson Younger, Jr., eds. 1997–2002. The Context of Scripture: Canonical Compositions, Monumental Inscriptions, and Archival Documents from the Biblical World. 3 vols. Leiden, New York, and Cologne: Brill. Hanisch, Ludmila. 2001. Ausgegrenzte Kompetenz: Porträts vertriebener Orientalisten und Orientalistinnen 1933–1945. Halle: Orientwissenschaftliches Zentrum. — 2003. Die Nachfolger der Exegeten: Deutschsprachige Erforschung des Vorderen Orients in der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. Haupt, Paul. 1884. Das babylonische Nimrodepos. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung. Hillebrecht, Sabine. 2000. Haymatloz: Exil in der Türkei 1933–1945 (Ausstellungskatalog). Berlin: Verein Aktives Museum. Hitschmann, Ota. 1998. The Beginning of Adolescence. Unpublished typescript from PA EKL. Hruška, Blahoslav. 1995. Herbert Petschow – orientalista mezi Východem a Západem [Herbert Petschow – An Orientalist between the East and West]. Nový Orient 50: 117–118. Hurdálek, Jan. 1907. Druhá přednáška Delitzschova v Praze [The second lecture by Delitzsch in Prague]. Nový život: měsíčník pro umění, vzdělání a zábavu 12: 171–172. Jeremias, Alfred. 1891. Izdubar-Nimrod: Eine altbabylonische Heldensage. Leipzig: B. G. Teubner. — 1913. Handbuch der altorientalischen Geisteskultur. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung. Johanning, Klaus. 1988. Der Bibel-Babel-Streit: Eine forschungsgeschichtliche Studie. Frankfurt a. M.: P. Lang.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

118

Bibliography

Kayserling, Meyer. 1890. Die fünf Bücher Moses (Schulausgabe): Durchgesehener Text, nebst einem Wörterverzeichnisse, einer kurzen hebräischen Grammatik und Conjugations-Tabellen. Prague: Brandeis. Kienast, Burkhart. 1970. Benno Landsberger 1890–1968. ZA 60: 1–7. Kilmer, Anne D., and Johannes Renger. 1974. A Bibliography of B. Landsberger’s Works. JCS 26: 183–194. Kramer, Samuel N. 1988. In the World of Sumer: An Autobiography. 2nd ed. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. Krejčík, Tomáš. 2003. Moravští nobilitovaní židé v 19. století [Geadelte mährische Juden im 19. Jahrhundert]. In Moravští židé v rakousko-uherské monarchii (1780–1918) [Moravian Jews in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy 1780–1918], ed. Emil Kordiovský, Jana Starek, and Helmut Teufel, 161–167. Mikulov: Státní okresní archiv Břeclav. Küpper, René. 2010. Karl Hermann Frank (1898–1946): Politische Biographie eines sudetendeutschen Nationalsozialisten. Veröffentlichungen des Collegium Carolinum 119. Munich: Oldenbourg. Landsberger, Benno. 1925. Assyrische Handelskolonien in Kleinasien aus dem dritten Jahrtausend. AO 24/4. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung. — 1926. Die Eigenbegrifflichkeit der babylonischen Welt: Ein Vortrag. Islamica 2: 355– 372. — 1931. Heinrich Zimmern †. ZA 40: 133–143. — 1933. Johannes Hehn †. ZA 41: 302–303. — 1937. Die Serie ana ittišu. MSL 1. Rome: Pontificium Institutum Biblicum. — 1976. The Conceptual Autonomy of the Babylonian World, trans. Thorkild Jacobsen, Benjamin Foster, and H. von Siebenthal. MANE 1/4. Malibu: Undena Publications. Lehmann, Reinhard G. 1994. Friedrich Delitzsch und der Babel-Bibel-Streit. OBO 133. Fribourg and Göttingen: Universitätsverlag and Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. Lipovski, Radek. 2006. Usídlování židovského obyvatelstva v Místku a v Koloredově [The Settling of Jewish Population in Místek and Koloredov]. Sborník Státního okresního archivu Frýdek-Místek 7: 85–101. — 2010. Podvody Josefa Tandlicha a konec podnikání židovského podnikatele Philippa Landsbergera [The Frauds of Josef Tandlich and the End of the Business of Jewish Entrepreneur Philipp Landsberger]. Sborník Státního okresního archivu Frýdek-Místek 11: 50– 57. Machinist, Peter. 2009. The Road Not Taken: Wellhausen and Assyriology. In Homeland and Exile: Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies in Honour of Bustenay Oded, ed. Gershon Galil, Mark Geller, and Alan Millard. Supplements to Vetus Testamentum 130, 469– 531. Leiden and Boston: Brill. Martin, William J. 1968. Obituary: Prof. Benno Landsberger. Noted Oriental Scholar. The Times 57/1968 (Sunday, May 12): 12. Meissner, Bruno. 1898. Altbabylonische Gesetze. BA 3. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung. — 1902. Ein altbabylonisches Fragment des Gilgamosepos. Berlin: W. Peiser. Merzbacher, Eugen. 1990. Remarks made at the meeting of American Oriental Society Atlanta, 25 March 1990. Unpublished typescript (courtesy M. Stol).

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Bibliography

119

Möckelmann, Reiner. 2013. Wartesaal Ankara: Ernst Reuter – Exil und Rückkehr nach Berlin. Berlin: Berliner Wissenschaftsverlag. Müller, David H. 1903. Die Gesetze Ḥammurabis und ihr Verhältnis zur mosaischen Gesetzgebung sowie zu den XII Tafeln. Vienna: A. Hölder. Müller, Manfred. 1979. Die Keilschriftwissenschaften an der Leipziger Universität bis zur Vertreibung Landsbergers im Jahre 1935. WZLeipzig 28/1: 67–86. — 1985. Zur Vernichtung der “Leipziger Schule der Assyriologie” vor 50 Jahren. Universitätszeitung Karl-Marx-Universität 15/1985 (April 12): 5. — 1990. Altmeister früher Kulturen: Zum 100. Geburtstag von B. Landsberger. Universitätszeitung Karl-Marx-Universität 17/1990 (May 14): 6. Nesbit, William M. 1914. Sumerian Records from Drehem. New York: Columbia University Press. Niefanger, Dirk. 2001. Jüdische Intellektuelle und die Forschung zum Alten Orient vor 1933: Responsion zu Johannes Renger. In Jüdische Intellektuelle und die Philologien in Deutschland 1871–1933, ed. Wilfried Barner and Christoph König. Marbacher Wissenschaftsgeschichte 3, 263–266. Göttingen: Wallstein Verlag. Nimeth, Ulrike, and Leonhard Weidinger. 2010. Die Familie Rothberger vom Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts bis 1938. In Schneidern und Sammeln: Die Wiener Familie Rothberger, ed. Christina Gschiel, Ulrike Nimeth, and Leonhard Weidinger. Schriftenreihe der Kommission für Provenienzforschung 2, 49–59. Vienna, Cologne, and Weimar: Böhlau. Oberheid, Robert. 2007. Emil O. Forrer und die Anfänge der Hethitologie: Eine wissenschaftshistorische Biographie. Berlin and New York: W. de Gruyter. Oelsner, Joachim. 2006. Der Altorientalist Benno Landsberger (1890–1968): Wissenschaftstransfer Leipzig – Chicago via Ankara. In Bausteine einer jüdischen Geschichte der Universität Leipzig, ed. Stephan Wendehorst. Leipziger Beiträge zur Jüdischen Geschichte und Kultur 4, 269–285. Leipzig: Leipziger Universitätsverlag. Oppenheim, A. Leo. 1968. In memoriam Benno Landsberger 1890–1968. OrNS 37: 367–370. Parpola, Simo. 2004. Back to Delitzsch and Jeremias: The Relevance of the Pan-Babylonian School to the MELAMMU Project. In Schools of Oriental Studies and the Development of Modern Historiography, ed. Antonio Panaino and Andrea Piras. Melammu Symposia 4, 237–247. Milan: Università di Bologna & IsIao. Payne, Annick. 2015. Bedřich Hrozný and the Anatolian Hieroglyphic Script. In Bedřich Hrozný and 100 Years of Hittitology, ed. Šárka Velhartická, 227–232. Prague: Národní galerie. Petschow, Herbert. 1970. Nachruf auf Benno Landsberger. Jahrbuch der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig 1966–68: 371–376. Price, Ira M. 1899. The Great Cylinder Inscriptions A & B of Gudea. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung. Raulwing, Peter, Theo van den Hout, and Lars Petersen. Forthcoming. Hans Gustav Güterbock: Ein Leben für die Hethitologie. Berlin – Ankara – Uppsala – Chicago. Investigatio Orientis 2. Münster: Zaphon. Rawlinson, Henry C. 1861–1875. The Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia. 5 vols. London: R. E. Bowler.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

120

Bibliography

Rees, E. Arfon. 2012. Iron Lazar: A Political Biography of Lazar Kaganovich. London and New York: Anthem Press. Reiner, Erica. 1969. Benno Landsberger (1890–1968). Syria 46: 187–189. — 2002. An Adventure of Great Dimension: The Launching of the Chicago Assyrian Dictionary. TAPS 92/3. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. Renger, Johannes. 2001. Altorientalistik und jüdische Gelehrte in Deutschland – Deutsche und österreichische Altorientalisten im Exil. In Jüdische Intellektuelle und die Philologien in Deutschland 1871–1933, ed. Wilfried Barner and Christoph König. Marbacher Wissenschaftsgeschichte 3, 247–262. Göttingen: Wallstein Verlag. Renn, Jürgen, ed. 2005. Albert Einstein: Chief Engineer of the Universe. One Hundred Authors for Einstein. Weinheim and Berlin: WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KgaA and Max Planck Institute for the History of Science. Rieber, Josef. 1904. Zum Babel-Bibel-Streit in der jüngsten Zeit. In Sammlung gemeinnütziger Vorträge 315, ed. Anonymous, 191–207. Prag: Verlag des Deutschen Vereines zur Verbreitung gemeinnütziger Kenntnisse. — 1905. Der moderne Kampf um die Bibel: Rektoratsrede des Prof. Dr. Josef Rieber, gehalten in der Aula der Deutschen Karl-Ferdinands-Universität in Prag am 16. November 1905. Prag: J. G. Calve’sche k. u. k. Hof- und Universitäts-Buchhandlung (Josef Koch). Sallaberger, Walther. 2007. Benno Landsbergers „Eigenbegrifflichkeit“ in wissenschaftsgeschichtlicher Perspektive. In Das geistige Erfassen der Welt im Alten Orient: Sprache, Religion, Kultur und Gesellschaft, ed. Claus Wilcke, 63–82. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. Sarzec, Ernest de. 1894. Découvertes en Chaldée: second volume, partie épigraphique et planches. Paris: E. Leroux. Sádlo, Václav. 2000. Odboj občanů okresu Náchod v zahraničních pozemních jednotkách (1936–1945) [The Fight of the Náchod District Citizens in Foreign Ground Forces 1936– 1945]. Ústí nad Labem: Albis International. Schmidt, Jan. 2010. Fritz Rudolf Kraus in Istanbul (1937–1949) and the Development of Ancient Near Eastern Studies in Turkey. BiOr 67: 5–22. — 2012. Catalogue of Turkish Manuscripts in the Library of Leiden University and Other Collections in the Netherlands: Minor Collections. Islamic Manuscripts and Books 3. Leiden and Boston: Brill. — 2014. Dreizehn Jahre Istanbul (1937–1949): Der deutsche Assyriologe Fritz Rudolf Kraus und sein Briefwechsel im türkischen Exil. 2 vols. Leiden and Boston: Brill. Schmidt, Ulf. 2007. Karl Brandt: The Nazi Doctor. Medicine and Power in the Third Reich. London and New York: Hambledon Continuum. Schroeder, Otto. 1915. Die Tontafeln von El-Amarna. Leipzig: Zeller. Schuster, Hans-Siegfried. 1938. Die nach Zeichen geordneten sumerisch-akkadischen Vokabulare. ZA 44: 217–270. Schwartz, Philipp. 1995. Notgemeinschaft: Zur Emigration deutscher Wissenschaftler nach 1933 in die Türkei. Marburg: Metropolis. Shavit, Yaacov, and Mordechai Eran. 2007. The Hebrew Bible Reborn: From Holy Scripture to the Book of Books. A History of Biblical Culture and the Battles over the Bible in Modern Judaism, trans. Chaya Naor. Studia Judaica 38. Berlin and New York: W. de Gruyter. Slezáčková, Ivana, and Radek Lipovski. 2007. Analýza židovské populace města Frýdek podle teritoriálního původu a socioekonomického postavení [Eine Analyse der jüdischen

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Bibliography

121

Bevölkerung der Stadt Friedek nach der Territorialherkunft und sozial-wirtschaftlichen Stellung]. Acta Facultatis Philosophicae Universitatis Ostraviensis – Historica 14: 207– 225. Soden, Wolfram von. 1936. Die Unterweltsvision eines assyrischen Kronprinzen. ZA 43: 1– 31. — 1948. Das akkadische Syllabar. AnOr 27. Rome: Pontificium Institutum Biblicum. — 1952. Grundriss der akkadischen Grammatik. AnOr 33/47. Rome: Pontificium Institutum Biblicum. — 1965. Benno Landsberger zum 75. Geburtstag (21. April 1965). Forschungen und Fortschritte 39: 125–126. — 1970. Benno Landsberger (1890–1968). ZDMG 119: 1–14. — 1980–1983. Landsberger, Benno. RlA 6: 467–468. — 1982. Landsberger, Benno. In Neue Deutsche Biographie, ed. Otto zu Stolberg-Wernigerode. Vol. 13, 516–517. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. — 1994. The Ancient Orient: An Introduction to the Study of the Ancient Near East, trans. Donald G. Schley. Grand Rapids and Leominster: Wm. B. Eerdmans and Gracewing. Spyra, Janusz. 2001. Szkolnictwo żydowskie na Śląsku Cieszyńskim i jego rola w procesie asymilacji miejscowej społeczności żydowskiej (przed 1918 r.) [Das jüdische Schulwesen im Teschener Schlesien und dessen Bedeutung für die Assimilierung der lokalen jüdischen Gesellschaft (vor 1918)]. In Książka – biblioteka – szkoła w kulturze Śląska Cieszyńskiego: Materiały z konferencji naukowej Cieszyn 4–5 listopada 1999 [Book – Library – School in the Culture of Cieszyn Silesia: Materials from the Scholarly Conference at Cieszyn, 4–5 November 1999], ed. Janusz Spyra, 284–312. Cieszyn: Książnica Cieszyńska. — 2008. Drogi społecznego awansu Żydów na prowincji w monarchii habsburskiej na przykładzie Adolfa Landsbergera von Friedeck [Wege des sozialen Aufstiegs von Juden in einer Provinz der österreichischen Monarchie am Beispiel Adolf Landsbergers von Friedeck]. In Šlechtic podnikatelem, podnikatel šlechticem: Šlechta a podnikání v českých zemích v 18.–19. století [Aristocrat as Businessman, Businessman as Aristocrat: Nobility and Business in the Czech Lands in the 18th–19th Centuries], ed. Jiří Brňovják and Aleš Zářický. Nobilitas in Historia Moderna 1, 287–297. Ostrava: Ostravská univerzita. — 2015. Biografický slovník rabínů rakouského Slezska [Biographical Dictionary of Rabbis in Austrian Silesia], trans. Beata Bednářová. Ostrava: Ostravská univerzita. Stěhule, […]. 1907. Prof. Delitzsch přednášel v Praze… [Prof. Delitzsch lectured in Prague…]. Čas 37/1907 (Wednesday, February 6): 2. Strassmaier, Johann N. 1892. Inschriften von Darius, König von Babylon. Leipzig: E. Pfeiffer. Streck, Michael P. 2003. Sprache und Denken im Alten Mesopotamien am Beispiel des Zeitausdrucks. In Studia Semitica (Festschrift Alexander Yu. Militarev), ed. Leonid Kogan. Orientalia: Papers of the Oriental Institute 3, 424–431. Moscow: Russian State University for the Humanities. — 2009. Altorientalistik. In Geschichte der Universität Leipzig 1409–2009, Band 4: Fakultäten, Institute, Zentrale Einrichtungen, 1. Halbband, ed. Ulrich von Hehl, Uwe John, and Manfred Rudersdorf, 345–366. Leipzig: Leipziger Universitätsverlag. — On-line. Geschichte der Altorientalistik an der Universität Leipzig. http://altorient.gko.uni-leipzig.de/Open%20files/Altorientalistik.pdf (accessed August 15, 2018).

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

122

Bibliography

Tadmor, Hayim. 2007. Landsberger, Benno. In Encyclopaedia Judaica 2nd edition, ed. Fred Skolnik and Michael Berenbaum. Vol. 12: Kat-Lie, 475–476. Detroit: Thomson Gale. — 2009. The Nascence and Development of the Department of Assyriology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In Royal Assyrian Inscriptions: History, Historiography and Ideology. A Conference in Honour of Hayim Tadmor on the Occasion of His Eightieth Birthday, 20 November 2003 [Hebrew], ed. Israel Eph‘al and Nadav Na’aman, 114–132. Jerusalem: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Tallqvist, Knut. 1890. Die Sprache der Contracte Nabû-nâ’ids (555–538 v. Chr.), mit Berücksichtigung der Contracte Nebukadrezars und Cyrus’. Helsingfors: J. C. Frenckell & Sohn. Thureau-Dangin, François. 1907. Die sumerischen und akkadischen Königsinschriften. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung. Ungnad, Arthur, and Lubor Matouš. 1964. Grammatik des Akkadischen. 4th ed. Munich: C. H. Beck. Vacín, Luděk, and Jitka Sýkorová. In press. “Die Assyriologie nicht weiter unberücksichtigt bleiben dürfte…”: On the (Non-)Existence of Assyriology at the German University in Prague (1908–1945). In Perspectives on the History of Ancient Near Eastern Studies, ed. Agnès Garcia-Ventura and Lorenzo Verderame. University Park: Penn State University Press and Eisenbrauns. Velhartická, Šárka, ed. 2015a. Bedřich Hrozný and 100 Years of Hittitology. Prague: Národní galerie. — 2015b. The Orientalist Bedřich Hrozný – the Hittite Language Decipherer in the Light of Newly Discovered Documents. In Bedřich Hrozný and 100 Years of Hittitology, ed. Šárka Velhartická, 11–54. Prague: Národní galerie. Výborná, Milena, Jan Havránek, and Karel Kučera. 1965. Disertace pražské university 1882– 1945, II: Německá universita [Dissertations of Prague University 1882–1945, II: The German University]. Sbírka pramenů a příruček k dějinám University Karlovy 3. Prague: Universita Karlova and Státní pedagogické nakladatelství. Webb, Chris, and Michal Chocholatý. 2014. The Treblinka Death Camp: History, Biographies, Remembrance. Stuttgart: Ibidem. Weidner, Ernst. 1957–1958. Theo Bauer (4. März 1896 bis 10. Mai 1957). AfO 18: 229–230. Weisberg, David B. 2002. The Impact of Assyriology on Biblical Studies. In The Context of Scripture, ed. William W. Hallo and K. Lawson Younger. Vol. 3: Archival Documents from the Biblical World, xliii–xlviii. Leiden, New York, and Cologne: Brill. Weißbach, Franz H. 1938. Delitzsch, Friedrich. RlA 2: 198. Widmann, Horst. 1973. Exil und Bildungshilfe: Die deutschsprachige akademische Emigration in die Türkei nach 1933. Bern and Frankfurt a. M.: H. Lang and P. Lang. Winckler, Hugo. 1889. Untersuchungen zur altorientalischen Geschichte. Leipzig: E. Pfeiffer. Wolf, Gerson. 1856. Geschichte Israels für die israelitische Jugend. Vienna: Hölder. — 1870. Kurzgefaßte Religions- und Sittenlehre. Vienna: Hölder. Zářický, Aleš. 2005. Rothschildové a ti druzí aneb Dějiny velkopodnikání v Rakouském Slezsku před první světovou válkou [The Rothschilds and the Others, or A History of Large-Scale Business in Austrian Silesia before World War I]. Ostrava: Filozofická fakulta Ostravské univerzity.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Bibliography

123

Zimmern, Heinrich. 1923. Friedrich Delitzsch und Carl Bezold: Ein Nachruf. ZDMG 77: 121– 136. Županič, Jan. 2012. Židovská šlechta podunajské monarchie: Mezi Davidovou hvězdou a křížem [Jewish Aristocracy in the Danube Monarchy: Between the Star of David and the Cross]. Prague: Nakladatelství Lidové noviny.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

Index Personal Names Abdiḫiba 44 fn. 150 Abt, Franz 11 Acerova, Nina 51 Ankan, Saffet 83–84 Arnold, Bill T. 30 fn. 111 Aulock, Hans Sylvius Hermann Maria von 102 fn. 378 Basman, A. 66 fn. 247 Bauer, Theo 88, 90, 90 fn. 331, 92, 92 fn. 336, 96, 100 Benzinger, Immanuel 38 Bergmann, Juda 15, 21 Best, Werner 2 fn. 12 Bethe, Erich 46 Bittel, Kurt 67 Borger, Rykle 89–90 Bossert, Helmuth Th. 102 Brann, Marcus Mordechai 15 Bräunlich, Erich Ernst Emil 62 Brugmann, Karl 45 Buber, Martin 39 fn. 138, 58 Buchwald (née Popper), Adele 82 fn. 301, 110 Caskel, Werner 62, 62 fn. 227 Cesarani, David 2 fn. 12 Charles IV 5, 17 fn. 73 Civil, Miguel 47 fn. 159, 96 fn. 350 Copernicus, Nicolaus 29 fn. 107 Černý, Jaroslav 97 Darius 44 David, Martin 102 fn. 374 Delitzsch, Franz 33, 33 fn. 121 Delitzsch, Friedrich 19, 22–23, 23 fn. 93, 24, 27–28, 28 fn. 107, 29, 29 fn. 107–109, 30, 30 fn. 109–111, 31, 31 fn. 114, 32, 32 fn. 120, 33, 33 fn. 125, 34, 34 fn. 125, 35, 35 fn. 128–129, 36, 38–40, 40 fn. 140, 43–45, 45 fn. 154 – 155, 57 fn. 204, 85 fn. 317, 105–106

Demosthenes 16 Drobinsky, Jakob 15, 21, 21 fn. 87, 29 Dulloch, F. 63 fn. 229 Duncan, Isadora 63 Dursunoğlu, Cevat 67–69 Ebeling, Erich 48, 89, 89 fn. 326 Eckstein, Albert 72 fn. 259 Ehelolf, Hans 62, 66, 93 fn. 339, 97 fn. 357 Eichmann, Adolf 2 fn. 12, 81 Eilers, Wilhelm 88, 88 fn. 324–325 Einstein, Albert 3, 58 Elijah 26 Falkenstein, Adam 88, 88 fn. 324– 325, 90 fn. 330, 98 fn. 359 Feuchtwanger, Ludwig 35, 35 fn. 129, 36–39, 39 fn. 138 Fischer, August 43 Frank, Carl 88–90 Franz Joseph I 8 Freud, Sigmund 58 Freyer, C. 28 Friedrich, Johannes 88, 99 Fuchs, Bernhard 23 Gaugusch, Georg 1 fn. 2 Gelb, Ignace J. 69 Gilgameš 43 fn. 145–146, 43 fn. 149, 45 Gottheil, Richard J. H. 66 fn. 246 Grande, Ludwig 11 fn. 52 Greengus, Samuel 53 fn. 190, 64 fn. 234 Grillparzer, Franz 16 fn. 72 Grohmann, Adolf 57 Grünert, Max 19, 21, 29, 55, 55 fn. 195, 57 Gudea 44, 46, 95 Guthe, Hermann 45

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

126

Index

Güterbock, Hans Gustav 39–40 fn. 139, 62 fn. 228, 64, 67, 69, 88, 88 fn. 324 Haldar, Alfred O. 35 Hallo, Rudolf 35 fn. 129 Hallo, William W. 35–36 fn. 129 Haupt, Paul 44 Hauptmann, Gerhart 16 Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich 45 Hehn, Johannes Ferdinand 34 Heisenberg, Werner Karl 65 fn. 239 Herbert, Ulrich 2 fn. 12 Hindenburg, Paul von 50 Hitler, Adolf 2 fn. 12, 79, 84 fn. 312 Hitschmann (née Klein), Elsa (Eliška) 60 fn. 214, 85 fn. 314, 110 Hitschmann, Hermann 9, 59 fn. 210, 110 Hitschmann, Otto 9, 110 Holma, Harri 102 fn. 374 Homer 21 fn. 87 Horaz 17 Horovitz, Josef 57 Horowitz, […] 82 Hölscher, Gustav 38 Hrozná, Helena 70 fn. 254 Hrozná, Olga 70 fn. 254 Hrozný, Bedřich 19, 55–56, 57 fn. 201–202, 61 fn. 223, 67–70, 70 fn. 254, 97–98, 100–101, 103, 107 Hus, Jan 29 fn. 107 Ḫammurāpi 24, 48 Ibn Duraid Ibn Wallâd

49 49

Jacobsen, Thorkild 2 fn. 8 Jensen, Peter 31 fn. 114, 33, 106 Jeremias, Alfred 35 fn. 129, 43 Jesus 27 fn. 105 John the Blind 5, 17 fn. 73 Joseph II 24 Kalinová (née Landsberger), Eva 25, 25 fn. 102, 26 fn. 103, 55 fn. 192, 76, 76 fn. 283, 80 fn. 293, 109 Kayserling, Meyer 15

Kemal (Atatürk), Mustafa 65, 67, 96 Kershaw, Ian 2 fn. 12 Kilmer, Anne D. 11 fn. 50, 11 fn. 54, 47 fn. 159, 60 fn. 216, 64 fn. 235 Kittel, Rudolf 16 fn. 69, 38, 45 Klíma, Josef 88, 101, 101 fn. 370, 103 Koldewey, Robert 28 Kopp, Georg 11 fn. 51 Korošec, Viktor 88, 88 fn. 324 Koschaker, Paul 57, 61, 88, 93 fn. 339, 101 Kosmala, Hans 101 fn. 371 Koşay, Hamit 69 Kotěra, Jan 111 Krasa, Karl 56 fn. 199 Kraus, Bernhard 13 fn. 57, 15, 24 fn. 97 Kraus, Fritz Rudolf 5, 5 fn. 16, 34, 63 fn. 232, 64, 71–73, 75, 79, 79 fn. 289, 80–82, 82 fn. 301, 83, 88, 88 fn. 323– 324, 90, 92, 92 fn. 337–338, 93, 93 fn. 339, 94–95, 95 fn. 345, 96, 98– 101, 101 fn. 371, 102, 104, 106, 106 fn. 382 Kreutzer, Conradin 11 Kučerová-Landsbergerová, Eva 1 fn. 1–2, 61 fn. 220, 63 fn. 232, 82 fn. 301, 109–110 Kugler, […] 48 Landsberger, Adolf 6–9, 9 fn. 39, 10, 14, 55, 59 fn. 210, 109, 111–112 Landsberger, Benno passim Landsberger (née Dziedziniewicz), Eliška 109–110, 113 Landsberger (née Hitschmann), Hedwig (Hedvika) 10–11, 58, 59 fn. 210, 77, 80, 82–83, 83 fn. 305– 306, 84, 109–110 Landsberger, Jakob (Jakub) 9–10, 14, 60, 60 fn. 215, 109–111, 113 Landsberger (née Behrend), Johanna (Jana) 26, 76, 76 fn. 284, 109, 111, 113 Landsberger (née Hitschmann), Josefine (Josefa) 9–10, 14, 59–60, 60 fn. 214–215, 85, 111, 113 Landsberger, Leopold 10–12, 14, 53, 55 fn. 193, 58–59, 59 fn. 210, 83,

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

127

Index 109–111 Landsberger, Magda 60, 60 fn. 216– 217, 63, 109–110 Landsberger, Oskar 11, 25, 53, 55, 75, 80 fn. 293, 83, 109, 111, 113 Landsberger, Otto (Ota) 5 fn. 16, 60, 60 fn. 216–217, 61, 61 fn. 220, 76 fn. 280, 78–80, 80 fn. 293, 85, 85 fn. 315, 109–111, 113 Landsberger, Philipp 5–7, 13, 24, 109, 111 Landsberger (née Herz), Sophie (Žofie) 14, 26, 76, 83, 83 fn. 305, 84, 84 fn. 307, 109, 111, 113 Lehmann, Edvard 22 Lemm, […] von 44 Lewy, Julius 39 fn. 139 Lexa, František 97 Lichtenstern, Isaak 6 Luther, Martin 29 fn. 107 Magnes, Yehudah Leib 58 Marburg, Friedrich (Bedřich) 76, 76 fn. 284, 109 Marburg (née Landsberger), Marie 75– 76, 76 fn. 284, 109, 111, 113 Matouš, Josef 100, 100 fn. 367 Matouš, Lubor 69, 87 fn. 320, 88, 88 fn. 324, 96, 96 fn. 352, 97, 97 fn. 357, 98, 98 fn. 358–359, 98 fn. 361, 99, 99 fn. 362, 100, 100 fn. 363, 101, 101 fn. 370–371, 102, 102 fn. 374, 102 fn. 378, 103 Meissner, Bruno 29 fn. 109, 35 fn. 128, 43, 47, 47 fn. 162, 85 fn. 317 Melanchthon, Philip 29 fn. 107 Melchior, […] 82 Menant, Joachim 44, 44 fn. 151 Merzbacher, Eugen 1 fn. 5 Meyer-Helmund, Erik 11 Morcombe (née Rothberger), Agathe Ruth 73–74, 109–110 Moses 15, 23 Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus 11 Munk, H. 11 Munk, Josef 6 Musil, Alois 97 Müller, David Heinrich 23, 24 fn. 94 Müller, Karl Friedrich 69 fn. 251, 70,

87 fn. 321, 88, 88 fn. 324, 92, 93 fn. 339, 93–94 fn. 340, 98 fn. 358 Müller (née Landsberger), Margarethe (Markéta) 1, 1 fn. 1, 60, 60 fn. 216–217, 63, 109–110 Nebuchadnezzar II Noah 62 Nuh, […] 69

43 fn. 148

Oberländer (née Landsberger), Franziska 75, 75 fn. 277, 76, 76 fn. 281, 80, 84 fn. 307, 109 Oppenheim, A. Leo 39 fn. 139 Oppenheimer, J. Robert 3 Osten, Hans Henning von der 69 Ovidius 16 Pauli, Wolfgang 3 Poebel, Arno 62 Pohl, Alfred 89 fn. 326, 102 fn. 374 Pohl, Robert W. 91 fn. 334 Pollak, Isidor 19 Pollak, Jakob 13 fn. 57 Popper (née Hitschmann), Claudine (Klaudina) 82, 82 fn. 301, 83, 83 fn. 305, 84, 110 Praxmarer (née Landsberger), Marie Therese 9, 9 fn. 38, 62, 109 Price, Ira M. 44 Prince, D. 45 fn. 154 Prosch, Franz 16 Ranoszek, Rudolf 88, 101 fn. 370 Reilly, […] 73 Reiner, Erica 30 Renger, Johannes 40 fn. 139 Reuter, Ernst 72 fn. 259 Richter, Raoul 45 Rieber, Josef 19, 23 fn. 93 Rosenzweig, Franz 35 fn. 129 Rothberger, Albert Hermann 73, 109– 110 Rothberger, Alfred 53, 109–110 Rothberger (née Landsberger), Hilda 5 fn. 16, 11, 12 fn. 54, 14, 14 fn. 61, 26, 53, 58, 59 fn. 210, 60, 60 fn. 216– 217, 73–75, 85, 85 fn. 315, 109–110 Rothberger, Karl Leopold 12 fn. 54,

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

128

Index

73–74, 109–110 Růžička, Rudolf 97 Rypka, Jan 97 San Nicolò, Mariano 55 Schenker, Heinrich 12 fn. 54 Schönfeld, […] 82, 84 Schuster, Hans-Siegfried 70, 72 fn. 262, 87 fn. 321, 88, 88 fn. 324, 89 fn. 326, 92, 93 fn. 339, 94 fn. 340, 98 fn. 358 Shaw, George B. 63 Soden, Wolfram von 35 fn. 128, 85 fn. 317, 88, 88 fn. 324, 89, 89 fn. 326, 90, 90 fn. 330–332, 91, 91 fn. 332, 91 fn. 334, 92, 93 fn. 339 Speer, […] 63 fn. 229 Stamm, Johann Jakob 65, 65 fn. 240, 81, 88, 88 fn. 324, 102 fn. 374 Steindorff, Georg 45 Steinmetzer, Franz Xaver 19 Strassmaier, Johann N. 44 Süß, Wilhelm 46 Swoboda, Heinrich 55, 55 fn. 195 Şükrat, Dr. […] 69 Šamḫat 43 fn. 145

Tadmor, Hayim 20, 39–40 fn. 139, 66 fn. 246 Tallqvist, Knut 47 Thierry, Gerard J. 61 fn. 223 Thureau-Dangin, François 35 fn. 128 Tiglath-pileser I 43 fn. 145 Ungnad, Arthur

62, 87 fn. 320

Waldstein, Albrecht von 29 fn. 107 Weidner, Ernst 98 fn. 361 Weiss, Salomon 13 fn. 57, 20–21, Weißbach, Franz Heinrich 43, 88 Weizmann, Hayim 58 Wilcken, Ulrich 45 Winckler, Hugo 30 fn. 110, 35 fn. 129, 48, 62 Winternitz, Moriz 55, 55 fn. 195 Wolf, Gerson 15 Ziffer, Josef 6 Zimmern, Heinrich 19, 22, 29, 30 fn. 109–110, 31, 31 fn. 114, 32, 32 fn. 116, 33, 33 fn. 125, 34–35, 35 fn. 128, 39, 41, 41 fn. 142, 43, 45–47, 51, 53 fn. 189, 55–57, 58 fn. 209, 61 fn. 223, 62, 65, 69, 88, 97 Zübeyr, Hamit 99, 102

Geographical and Institutional Names Alaca Hüyük 69 Aleppo 28 Alexandrette 28 Altorientalisches Institut Leipzig 66 Anatolia 65, 71 Ankara 59, 62 fn. 228, 65, 65 fn. 237, 66, 66 fn. 247, 67–69, 69 fn. 251, 70 fn. 254–255, 71–72, 72 fn. 259, 72 fn. 262, 79, 81, 85 fn. 315, 89 fn. 326, 93, 93 fn. 339, 94 fn. 340, 95, 95 fn. 345, 98 fn. 358, 99–100, 103–104, 107 Assur 29 fn. 107 Atlit 76 fn. 280 Auschwitz-Birkenau 85 fn. 314 Austria (Österreich) 9 fn. 38, 24, 40 fn. 140, 50, 50 fn. 176, 54, 70–73

Austrian Silesia (ÖsterreichischSchlesien) 5, 7, 24 Auswärtiges Amt 66 fn. 247 Ägypten 21, 37, 41 fn. 141 Babylon 23, 29 fn. 107, 91 Babylonia (Babylonien) 37, 105 Beirut 100 Berlin 22, 27–29, 30 fn. 109, 45 fn. 155, 66, 83, 85 fn. 317, 89 fn. 326, 97, 97 fn. 357, 98, 98 fn. 359 Blau-Weiss 75 Boğazköy 67 Bohemia (Böhmen) 5, 9, 14, 60 fn. 215, 64, 82, 96 fn. 352 Bolivia (Bolivien) 73, 73 fn. 265 Brazil 1 fn. 1, 60 fn. 217 Breslau 30 fn. 109, 33

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

129

Index Britain 73, 75–76 Brno (Brünn) 22 Business Chamber in Opava (Handelund Gewerbekammer) 8 Café Felsche 64, 92 Canada (Kanada) 74, 96 Central Europe 1, 3, 12, 29 fn. 109, 64, 72, 87 – 88, 105, 107 Charles University (of Prague) 17 fn. 73, 20 fn. 80, 97, 103 Chicago 1, 12 fn. 54, 20, 35 fn. 127, 60, 62 fn. 228, 63, 66 fn. 246, 75, 96, 98 fn. 358, 102–104 Chicago Symphony Orchestra 11, 11 fn. 54 Choceň 59 fn. 214, 96 fn. 352 Cieszyn (Teschen) 11 fn. 51 Columbia University 66 fn. 246 Communal-Obergymnasium in Friedek 12, 14 Cracow 79 Crown Prince Rudolf Grammar School in Friedek (Kronprinz RudolfGymnasium in Friedek) 14, 60 fn. 215 Czech Consulate in Istanbul (Čechisches Konsulat in Istanbul) 82, 100 Czech Lands 5, 7 fn. 27, 17 fn. 73, 22, 29, 70, 75, 98 Czech University in Prague 55, 97, 97 fn. 355 Czechia (Čechei) 6 fn. 17, 79, 92, 107 Czechoslovak Infantry Regiment No. 8 50 fn. 179, 53 Czechoslovak Ministry of Education 56–57 Czechoslovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs 50 Czechoslovakia (Czechoslovak Republic, Čechoslovakei, Čechoslowakei, Tschechoslowakei) 1 fn. 1, 6 fn. 17, 50, 53–54, 57–59, 63, 65, 70 fn. 254, 75 fn. 275, 80, 82, 97 fn. 357, 99 Department of Oriental Studies in Vienna 50 Děčín (Tetschen) 60 fn. 214, 96 fn. 352 Dobré 97 fn. 357

Dresden 59 fn. 214, 65, 88 fn. 324, 96 fn. 352 Dūr Šarrukēn (Khorsabad) 29 fn. 107 Easten Europe 27 England 7, 70, 73, 73 fn. 264, 101 Euphrat 22, 28 Europe 2 fn. 7, 9, 24 fn. 96, 66 fn. 247, 72, 84–85, 105 Faculty of Arts of the Czech University in Prague 97 Faculty of Arts of the German University in Prague 19, 56 Faculty of Arts of the University of Leipzig 97 fn. 355 Faculty of Languages, History, and Geography in Ankara 65, 71 Faculty of Theology of the German University in Prague 19, 23 fn. 93 Feuerkugel (Restaurant) 64 France (Frankreich) 100, 100 fn. 363 Frankfurt am Main 57 Französisches Generalkonsulat in Istanbul 101 Frýdek(-Místek) / Friedek(-Mistek) 1 fn. 1, 5, 6 fn. 17, 6–9, 11, 11 fn. 51– 52, 12–13, 15, 19–20, 20 fn. 80–81, 21, 21 fn. 87, 22, 24, 24 fn. 97–98, 25–26, 28–29, 29 fn. 108, 39, 40 fn. 141, 50, 51 fn. 185, 53, 56, 59, 59 fn. 214, 60, 60 fn. 215, 61, 61 fn. 220, 67–68, 70 fn. 254, 72, 75 fn. 275, 76, 78, 80, 83, 85, 96 fn. 352, 98 fn. 358 Galicia 24 German Embassy in Ankara 71 German Embassy in Prague 50 German Liberal Party 12 German Union (Deutscher Verein) 12 German University in Prague 19, 19 fn. 78, 20 fn. 80, 21, 29, 29 fn. 107, 55–57, 57 fn. 202 Germany ([Gross]deutschland) 29, 35, 40 fn. 140, 44 fn. 152, 50, 59, 62 fn. 228, 65, 70, 81, 81 fn. 298, 84 fn. 312, 90 fn. 330, 91–92, 92 fn. 336, 93 fn. 339, 95 Göttingen 90 fn. 330, 91 fn. 334

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

130

Index

Grunewald 63 fn. 229 Grüner Baum (Restaurant) 62 Gymnasial-Verein in Friedek 12 fn. 55, 21, 29 Haganah 75 Haifa 75, 76 fn. 280 Haiti 73–74 Hebrew University 16 fn. 69, 57–58, 58 fn. 205, 58 fn. 208, 66, 66 fn. 246, 85 Holland 73 Hoppegarten 63 fn. 229 Hradec Králové (Königgrätz) 60 fn. 215, 85, 85 fn. 314 Imperial Royal Privileged First Cotton and Flax Spinning, Weaving, Bleaching, and Finishing Factories Adolf Landsberger 8–9 International Rescue and Relief Committee 72 fn. 259 Israel 15, 16 fn. 69, 20 fn. 83, 23 fn. 93, 26, 35, 38–39, 45 Israelitische öffentliche Volksschule in Friedek 13 Istanbul 5 fn. 16, 67, 70, 75, 79, 79 fn. 289, 82, 93 fn. 339, 94–96, 98, 99 fn. 362, 102, 102 fn. 378 Jena 61, 61 fn. 223 Jerusalem 16 fn. 69, 28, 39 fn. 139, 43, 44 fn. 150, 58, 58 fn. 208, 66, 80, 80 fn. 295, 85, 106 Jewish Agency in Istanbul 72 Jewish Religious Association in Friedek (Israelitischer Cultusverein zu Friedek) 6, 12, 24, 25 fn. 102 Jewish Women’s Charity Association in Friedek (Kaiser Franz Josef Israelitischer Frauen-WohltätigkeitsVerein für Friedek, Mistek und Koloredov) 9 Juda 14 Kanaan 22 Kaunas (Kowno) 79 Kayseri 67, 69 Koloredov 6, 6 fn. 22, 9 Konstantinopel 28, 98 fn. 358

Krnov (Jägerndorf) 11 fn. 52 Kültepe 67, 69, 70 fn. 254, 98, 100, 102 Lagaš 48 Leiden 34, 61 fn. 223, 71, 92, 96, 104, 106 Leipzig 1 fn. 3, 2, 2 fn. 11, 3, 11 fn. 48, 16 fn. 69, 19–20, 20 fn. 80, 22, 26, 29, 29 fn. 107, 29–30 fn. 109, 33–34, 43, 49–50, 51 fn. 185, 53, 55–57, 57 fn. 204, 58, 60 fn. 215, 61–62, 62 fn. 227, 64–65, 65 fn. 237, 65 fn. 240, 66 fn. 243–244, 66 fn. 247, 67–68, 70, 70 fn. 254, 81, 87–88, 89 fn. 326, 92, 92 fn. 338, 97–98, 103 London 48, 70 fn. 254, 73 fn. 265, 100–101, 101 fn. 370–371 Lublin 74 fn. 270 Marburg 31 fn. 114, 58, 61, 61 fn. 224, 62, 62 fn. 226 Mauritius 75 Mersin 79–80 Mesopotamia (Mesopotamien) 1, 1 fn. 3, 2, 24, 27–28, 29 fn. 107, 30–31 fn. 111, 36, 38–40, 41 fn. 141–142, 87– 88, 98, 98 fn. 358, 105 Minsk 76 Moravia 22 Moscow 51, 79 Munich 93 Museum of the Ancient Orient in Istanbul 67–68, 92, 99, 106 Náchod 9–10, 55, 59, 59 fn. 210, 59– 60 fn. 214–215, 80, 82, 85, 85 fn. 314, 96, 96 fn. 352, 97 fn. 357, 100, 100 fn. 367 New York 73, 73 fn. 265, 74, 75 fn. 274 Niederlausitz 92 Nimrud 29 fn. 107 Nineveh (Kuyunjik) 29 fn. 107 Nippur 29 fn. 107 Normandie 101, 101 fn. 371 North America (Nordamerika) 73–74 Nová Bystřice (Neubistritz) 82

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

131

Index NSDAP (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) 88 Nuremberg 2 fn. 12, 50 Odessa 51, 51 fn. 185, 79 Opava (Troppau) 8, 11 fn. 52 Oriental Institute in Chicago 106 Orlické hory 97 fn. 357 Ostrava ([Mährisch-]Ostrau) 2 fn. 11, 17 fn. 75, 83 Palestine 57, 72, 72 fn. 259, 75–76, 79–80 Paris 44 Piotrków 50 Plzeň (Pilsen) 64, 64 fn. 235 Podmokly (Bodenbach) 60 fn. 214, 96 fn. 352 Poland (Polen) 6, 79, 82, 84, 92, 92 fn. 336 Port-au-Prince 73 Prague (Prag) 2 fn. 11, 19, 28, 29 fn. 107–108, 40, 55–57, 57 fn. 201–202, 57 fn. 204, 59–60 fn. 214, 67–68, 75 fn. 277, 76, 96 fn. 352, 97 fn. 354, 98, 100–101, 101 fn. 370 Prayer Community in Friedek (Minjanverein) 6, 24 Prostějov (Proßnitz) 23 Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren) 60 fn. 215, 75–77, 80–81, 85, 100 Prussia 5 Red Cross 51 Rio de Janeiro 1 fn. 1 SA (Sturmabteilung der NSDAP) 89 Saxon Ministry of Education 55 Saxony 50, 59 Semitistisches Institut in Leipzig 34, 56–57, 62, 87 fn. 322 Silesia 6 Silesian Digital Library in Katowice 14–15 Sippar 29 fn. 107 Skoczów 5 Spremberg 92

Stalingrad 84, 84 fn. 312 Susiana 44 Syria (Syrien) 57 fn. 202, 100 fn. 363, 101, 101 fn. 370 Tel-Aviv 76 fn. 280 Theresienstadt 60 fn. 215, 76, 83, 83 fn. 306, 84, 84 fn. 307, 85, 85 fn. 314 Third Reich 2–3 fn. 12, 7 fn. 27, 69, 71, 75, 88–89 Tigris 22, 28 Treblinka 83 fn. 306, 84 fn. 307 Turkey (Turkish Republic, Türkei) 1, 1 fn. 5, 12 fn. 54, 65–67, 67 fn. 249, 69, 69 fn. 251, 70, 70 fn. 254, 71–72, 72 fn. 259, 79–80, 82 fn. 301, 83–84, 93 – 94, 95 fn. 345, 96, 98, 100, 102, 102 fn. 374, 106–107 Ukraine 51, 51 fn. 185 Umma 48 University of Ankara 106 University of Berlin 85 fn. 317 University of Göttingen 91, 91 fn. 334 University of Istanbul 102 University of Leipzig 20 fn. 80, 43, 46, 49, 88 fn. 324, 92 fn. 338, 97 University of Marburg 106 University of Munich 92 fn. 338 University of Uppsala 35 University of Vienna 19, 22–23, 95 fn. 345 Uruk 43 fn. 146 USA (America, Amerika) 1, 66 fn. 246, 72, 73 fn. 268, 74 fn. 270, 75 fn. 274, 93 fn. 339, 96, 97 fn. 357, 98 fn. 358, 106 Ústí nad Labem (Aussig) 60 fn. 214, 96 fn. 352 Van 44 Verein der Musikfreunde für Friedek, Mistek und Umgebung 11 Vidnava (Weidenau) 16 Vienna (Wien) 12 fn. 54, 19, 21 fn. 87, 23, 50, 53, 60, 73, 82, 96 Warsaw

83

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028

132

Index

West Germany 91 Western Europe 1 Wiederitzsch 87 fn. 321, 89 fn. 326, 98 fn. 358 Wilamowice 5–6 Würzburg 34

Yale University 35 fn. 129 Yugoslavia (Jugoslawien) 82 fn. 301, 100 Zentralstelle für jüdische Auswanderung in Böhmen und Mähren 81 Zittau 92

Yad Vashem 76 fn. 284, 83 fn. 305– 306, 84 fn. 307–308, 85 fn. 314

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 9783447111249 — ISBN E-Book: 9783447198028