Julius Steinfeld

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Steinfeld at the Knessia Gedolah , the first congress of Orthodox Jews (Vienna 1923)
Gravestone of Julius Steinfeld

Julius Steinfeld ( Hebrew יעקב שלמה, Yaakov Shlomo or Jacob Solomon ) (* 1884 in Neunkirchen ; † March 25, 1974 in New York ) organized the escape of Jews from Austria as part of Agudath Israel and was a Schtadlan from Vienna.

Life

He was born in Neunkirchen and later moved to Vienna, where he took over the management of Agudath Israel and organized the Knessia Gedolah , the first meeting of representatives of Jewish Orthodoxy from all over the world. The Knessia Gedolah was the first international conference of Agudath Israel and took a stand against political Zionism .

After Austria's annexation in 1938, he helped Jews flee Austria. He even negotiated with Adolf Eichmann to get exit visas for Jews who were ready to flee. But through his many contacts, he was also involved in the capture of Eichmann, later told his cousin Manzi Rechnitz , who survived the Holocaust in a cellar in Bratislava.

Together with Rabbi Solomon Schonfeld , he organized the Kindertransport , during which thousands of Jewish children were sent from Vienna to England. Steinfeld also left Vienna, but returned many times during National Socialism to arrange exit visas for almost 30 countries, including Palestine , the United States and England. Overall, his efforts helped almost 9,000 people to emigrate.

Steinfeld put himself in danger by staying in Austria even after learning that if he did not leave Austria he would be deported. Because of his intensive contacts with the Nazis, the United States Department of State initially thought he was a German spy and initially refused him a visa. He left Vienna on May 9, 1941 and found refuge in Cuba in 1942 when the American State Department came to the conclusion that his contacts with Nazis were only for the purpose of fleeing Jews. He then settled in Williamsburg in the Brooklyn borough of New York .

In the United States he continued his activity and joined the organization Vaad Hatzalah , which is close to the Agudath Harabbanim (Union of Orthodox Rabbis).

Julius Steinfeld was a member of the orthodox Vien Shul congregation, which was founded by his foster son Karl Richter and based on the old ship school synagogue in Vienna, where Steinfeld and Richter were previously active. (The Schiffschul synagogue was destroyed during the November pogroms in 1938 and later rebuilt.)

literature

  • Yonason Rosenblum: They Called Him Mike . Mesorah Publications, 1995. ISBN 0-89906-623-2 .
  • David Kranzler: Holocaust Hero: The Untold Story of Solomon Schonfeld, to Orthodox British Rabbi . Ktav Publishing House, 2003, ISBN 0-88125-730-3 .
  • David Kranzler: Thy Brothers Blood: The Orthodox Jewish Response During the Holocaust . Mesorah Publications, 1987, ISBN 0-89906-858-8 .

Individual evidence

  1. Black hats, light hats . Wiener Zeitung, Blog, March 26, 2015
  2. Yonason Rosenblum: They Called Him Mike . Mesorah Publications, 1995, p. 285
  3. Yonason Rosenblum: They Called Him Mike . Mesorah Publications, 1995, p. 236