Joseph Goldschmidt (pedagogue)

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Joseph Goldschmidt (born November 9, 1842 in Rakwitz , † June 13, 1925 in Hamburg ) was a German school director .

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Joseph Goldschmidt grew up as the son of a cantor . Already in the first years of his life he was influenced by a Jewish way of life and learned the Hebrew language at an early age . After attending grammar school in Krotoschin from 1854 to 1862, he began studying classical philology and history at the University of Berlin . After receiving his doctorate in 1866 at the University of Halle on De Judaeorum apud Romabos condicione , he taught at the Talmud Tora School in Hamburg from 1899 to 1876 . In 1876, after passing the pro facultate docendi exam , he received the qualification for teaching German, history, geography and Latin from the University of Kiel . Since people of the Jewish faith did not get any jobs in non-Jewish schools, he was one of the few academically trained Jewish teachers of his time.

In the same year Goldschmidt moved to the secondary school of the Israelite Religious Society in Frankfurt am Main . In 1889 he returned to the Hamburg Talmud Tora Realschule as director. He was the first professionally trained head of the school, whose strictly Orthodox management had been taken over by a lay committee under the leadership of a rabbi . With Goldschmidt's appointment, the teaching institution took a significant step towards integration into society.

Goldschmidt, who was considered to be extremely conscientious and made high demands of himself, led the students and staff in an authoritarian and relentless strict manner. Since the school's goal since it was founded was to teach both Jewish-Hebrew and German education, the students had to work twice as much. The level of the services they provided was recognized as being high. In German and history lessons, Goldschmidt made sure that the students studied German classics in particular and were brought up nationally. During the First World War , the pedagogue, who was considered to be nationally aware, was initially enthusiastically patriotic. He called on the parents of the students to donate money for war bonds and celebrated every success of German troops with the students. He was pleased to see young college teachers and many former students who voluntarily went to war.

In August 1917 Goldschmidt received the Iron Cross on a white and black ribbon for his commitment . Since he found that anti-Semitism persisted despite the willingness of the population to make sacrifices, his euphoric mood subsided. The headmaster, who had been loyal to Wilhelm II and the monarchy, was badly hit by the war defeat. He found the Weimar Republic that followed after the end of the war strange, and he rigidly rejected initiatives regarding democratic co-determination by members or parents, although he was unable to assert himself.

In 1920 Goldschmidt announced his resignation from the school management and only reluctantly retained the position until Joseph Carlebach took over in 1921. A plaque for 122 students and five teachers who had died during the First World War, unveiled at the celebration of his departure, was his greatest wish. The National Socialists destroyed the memorial, which has been on display since 1981 as a reconstruction in the stairwell of the former school building at No. 30 Grindelhof.

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personal data
SURNAME Goldschmidt, Joseph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German school director
DATE OF BIRTH November 9, 1842
PLACE OF BIRTH Rakwitz
DATE OF DEATH June 13, 1925
Place of death Hamburg