Abraham Jizchak Kupfersztoch

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Abraham Jizchak Kupfersztoch , other spellings Kupferstock or Kupferstojk (* late 19th century in Poland ; † March 2, 1940 in Berlin ) was a German Hasidic rabbi .

At first he was head of a Talmud school (yeshiva) in Warsaw . He and his students were supporters of Hasidism. The institution he headed had 80 to 100 students. With the general mobilization on July 30, 1914, the Russian military called in young men, including from Poland . The military forced the soldiers of the Jewish faith to renounce their religion, so that a large number of Jewish soldiers deserted, including three pupils of Kupfersztoch. These were publicly hung. As a result, Rabbi Kupfersztoch is said to have taken the decision to harm the Russian army through espionage activities. It is believed that Rabbi Kupfersztoch was able to obtain secret documents relating to the Russian line of defense. These were sent to the German leadership. The knowledge gained in this way influenced the favorable outcome of the Battle of Tannenberg for the German Empire .

The German Emperor Wilhelm II made sure that Rabbi Kupfersztoch and his students could settle in Berlin. The new Talmud school was housed in Berlin's Scheunenviertel , a center for Eastern European Orthodox Jews in the German capital. In addition, Wilhelm II granted Rabbi Kupfersztoch a lifelong pension, which was granted to him until his death in 1940. He also received German citizenship. According to eyewitness reports, Rabbi Kupfersztoch is said to have visited the German Reich President Paul von Hindenburg , head of the 8th German Army during the Battle of Tannenberg, every year on his birthday.

During the so-called Poland Action in October 1938, 15,000 Jews with Polish citizenship were expelled from National Socialist Germany, including a number of Kupfersztoch's students. Two weeks later, during the pogrom night from November 9th to 10th, a large part of Jewish shops, houses and synagogues in Berlin's Scheunenviertel were also destroyed. The house in Münzstrasse was guarded by police officers and remained untouched. Some of the rabbi's students were arrested and taken to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp . Rabbi Kupfersztoch traveled to Sachsenhausen two days later after the pogrom and obtained the release of his students.

Rabbi Abraham Jizchak Kupfersztoch died on March 2, 1940, presumably of natural causes. He was buried in the Adass Yisroel Jewish cemetery . The school was then closed and the students sent to concentration camps.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Nadav Shragay: The rabbi who helped Germany to victory In: Daily newspaper Haaretz. April 29, 2009.
  2. ↑ Stamina: Documented for Arnold Zeig In: Berlin Aktuell. Issue No. 59/1996.
  3. ↑ Prof. em. Dr. Meir Schwarz: The rabbi who won the Battle of Tannenberg In: Hagalil.com, Schoah.de and Aish.com. http://www.schoah.org/zeitzeugen/kupferstock.htm , http://www.aish.com/ho/p/48944861.html
  4. ↑ ibid
personal data
SURNAME Kupfersztoch, Abraham Jizchak
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Copper stick, Abraham Jizchak; Kupferstojk, Abraham Jizchak
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Hasidic rabbi
DATE OF BIRTH 19th century
PLACE OF BIRTH Poland
DATE OF DEATH March 2, 1940
Place of death Berlin