David Lapp

David E. Lapp (born in Vienna in 1931 ) is an American rabbi who had to flee his hometown of Vienna in 1939.

life and work

David Lapp comes from an Orthodox Jewish family in Bels , Galicia , where many Hasidic Jews lived. Both parents came from large families. The father had 13 siblings, the mother five. The parents came to Vienna at the end of the 1920s. The father worked as a glazier. Little David attended the Jewish school in Malzgasse in Leopoldstadt , the second district of Vienna. He was taught religion in the morning and the other subjects in the afternoon. “There I got the basis for my life, morals, ethics, also for my Jewishness,” he reported in an interview with the daily newspaper Kurier . After the annexation of Austria , the hatred of Jews in Vienna also became noticeable for the boy. The synagogue was destroyed, the school closed, the other children beat up the Jewish children. After the November pogroms of 1938, the father was arrested. The mother then sought immigration certificates for the United States, which were organized by a relative. In order to get the husband out of custody, the mother went directly to the Gestapo headquarters in Vienna with the 8-year-old David by the hand and talked to an officer. The man was released and the family was able to leave "German" territory at the end of 1939. They traveled to the USA via Trieste, where they arrived in 1940.

According to the father's wish, he should study. The mother, however, would have preferred a practical occupation. David Lapp chose a middle ground and became a rabbi. In 1957, after graduation, he volunteered in the US Army , thinking that he owed the debt of the country that had given him and his family protection and security. Although he originally wanted to join the US Navy , he was persuaded to join the Army because there were more Jews there. He served there as chaplain , that's how the pastors of all religions are called there. In 1958 he was ordained a rabbi. He was ready to go to any country where pastors were needed. He could not take a chaplain course and was trained by Christian colleagues.

In 1960 he met his future wife, Ruth, in Munich. She grew up in Frankfurt am Main . When her mother read the sign "Forbidden for Jews and dogs" on a park bench in 1937, she decided to flee. The family fled to Palestine. So Ruth could survive. For one year (1966/67) he was stationed in Vietnam during the war , as a deputy of a Catholic priest. Not only there, also before and afterwards he tried to achieve a good understanding between the various religions. He is proud of the interreligious solidarity. Even within Judaism he saw himself as a balancing force. He brought out his own prayer book, which is accepted by Orthodox, Reformed and Conservative Jews alike. On the one hand, he always tried to follow the rules of his religion exactly, to keep the Sabbath rest and to always eat kosher . To do this, he sometimes had to forego meat. On the other hand, he always cheerfully approached people of different faiths, built bridges, helped with food and clothing for the poor, and with medical care.

In 2018 David and Ruth Lapp came to Vienna at the invitation of the Jewish Welcome Service to celebrate the return of the November pogroms . On this occasion he gave a suitcase with his field synagogue to the Jewish Museum in Vienna . It contains everything a rabbi needs when traveling: Torah scroll , menorah , prayer book, mug and two candles. Danielle Spera , director of the house, will clear a showcase for the field synagogue.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Helmut Brandstätter : The Jewish Army Chaplain , David Lapp. Born in Vienna in 1931, he found a job in the USA and a woman in Munich, Kurier (Vienna), November 9, 2018

Web links

• Veterans History Project , entry David E. Lapp