Heart samson

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Herz Samson , also Naftali Hirz (born 1738 in Wolfenbüttel ; died on December 12 or 23, 1794 in Braunschweig ), was a German banker and councilor of Jewish origin.

Life

Herz Samson, who came from a Jewish family in Wolfenbüttel, was the son of the wealthy court factor Samson Gumpel (around 1702–1767) and grandson of the court Jew Marcus Gumpel Moses Fulda (1660–1733), who had re-established the local Jewish community. His brother Philipp Samson (1743–1805) worked as a court banker in Wolfenbüttel.

Braunschweig Chamber Agent

In 1765 Samson moved to Braunschweig and took over the chamber agency of chamber councilor Alexander David, who died in the same year . He bought a house on the Kohlmarkt . With his financial skills he supported Duke Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand († 1806) in averting the impending national bankruptcy . As part of an extensive rescheduling campaign, expensive loans were replaced by those with lower interest rates. The necessary sum of several 100,000 thalers was procured by Herz Samson. In 1770 the Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn visited Braunschweig and stayed with Samson during this time. During his stay, Mendelssohn met several times with Duke Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, who subsequently relaxed various restrictions against the Jews. On February 12, 1783, Samson was appointed ducal chamber agent. After he had acquired letters of protection for six years each in 1771 and 1777, he no longer looked for one.

Jewish community

Samson set up a Talmud school in his house in 1767, where three rabbis worked and used the extensive private library. From 1776 he was in charge of the Jewish communities in the Weser district, but without having been appointed as land rabbi by the duke. This office was only created in the Duchy of Braunschweig in 1824. Samson enjoyed a reputation as a scholar and was variously referred to as a country rabbi. In 1782 he received a permit to build a Jewish cemetery “Vor dem Wendentor” after the Jewish community in Braunschweig had not had its own cemetery at that time. Samson set up charitable foundations and looked after in particular poor and passing beggar Jews . In 1785 he protested to the duke against the discriminatory oath of Jews , whereupon Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand had the University of Helmstedt prepare an expert report and the oath was toned down in 1788.

family

Herz was married to Schendel, b. Oppenheimer († July 27, 1796 or 1797). She is the daughter of the Hildesheim court chamber agent Hirsch Isaac Oppenheim. The couple had three sons and eight daughters.

  • A son of Hirsch Herz Samson (1770–1831).
  • His son Isaac Herz Samson († 1849) married his cousin (daughter of Philipp Samson ), initially headed the Samson School Foundation, and from 1814 was a banker and member of the corporation of merchants in Berlin and partikulator (inland shipping).
  • His son Meyer Herz Samson (1784–1862) married Röschen Kann.
  • A son-in-law and successor as a chamber agent was Israel Jacobson (1768-1828).

Samson died in Braunschweig in 1794, but was buried in Wolfenbüttel, the town of his birth. He left a fortune of 500,000 Reichstalers and, together with his brother Philip, was one of the wealthiest Jews in the duchy.

literature

  • Reinhard Bein : Eternal House. Jewish cemeteries in the city and country of Braunschweig. Döring-Druck, Braunschweig 2004, ISBN 3-925268-24-3 .
  • Hans-Heinrich Ebeling : The Jews in Braunschweig. Legal, social and economic history from the beginnings of the Jewish community to emancipation (1282–1848). in: Braunschweig workpieces. Volume 65, Braunschweig 1987.
  • Horst-Rüdiger Jarck , Dieter Lent et al. (Ed.): Braunschweigisches Biographisches Lexikon - 8th to 18th century . Appelhans Verlag, Braunschweig 2006, ISBN 3-937664-46-7 , p. 344-345 .
  • Meike Berg: Jewish schools in Lower Saxony. - Tradition - Emancipation - Assimilation. The Jacobson School in Seesen (1801–1922). The Samson School in Wolfenbüttel (1807–1928). Böhlau, Cologne, Weimar, Vienna: 2003.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Herbert Obenaus (Ed.): Historical manual of the Jewish communities in Lower Saxony and Bremen. Volume II. Göttingen 2005, p. 1574.
  2. ↑ Herbert Obenaus (Ed.): Historical manual of the Jewish communities in Lower Saxony and Bremen. Volume I. Göttingen 2005, p. 273.
personal data
SURNAME Samson, heart
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Naftali Hirz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German banker and chamber agent of Jewish origin
DATE OF BIRTH 1738
PLACE OF BIRTH Wolfenbüttel
DATE OF DEATH December 12, 1794 or December 23, 1794
Place of death Braunschweig