Moritz Friedländer (publisher)

Moritz Friedländer (actually Meyer Friedländer ) (born July 3, 1822 in Brilon ; † November 14, 1911 ibid) was a German publisher. He published German and Hebrew publications and published the Sauerländer Anzeiger.

family

His grandfather was the regional rabbi Joseph Abraham Friedländer . The father Abraham was a wealthy merchant and head of the Jews. The mother was Philippine (nee Schönthal). Moritz was one of sixteen offspring. His brothers include the lawyer Alexander Friedländer and the doctor and preacher Salomon Friedländer . He himself married Helene Stern in 1846. Four of the couple's children died young. The son Max became a bookseller in Hamburg and the son Joseph became a district judge in Cologne . Friedländer was married to Bella Rosenberg in 1862 in his second marriage. Two children from this marriage also died early. His son Salomon, called Siegbert, ran his father's publishing house for a few years until his death in 1905. Two daughters died in the Holocaust .

Life

Like his siblings, he must have attended the Jewish school in Brilon. Nothing is known about his further training. He probably learned the printing trade in Arnsberg and Meschede . In 1842 he took over the publishing house and printing company for the weekly newspaper for the Brilon district . From 1846 he also published the weekly newspaper for the Büren district . The editor was at times the Mayor of Brilon, Nikolaus Hesse . During the revolution of 1848/49 political questions gained weight.

With the legal equality of Jews in the former Duchy of Westphalia in 1847 Friedländer was accepted into the role of citizen of the city of Brilon. His income at that time was 400 Reichstalers .

The two weekly papers were discontinued in 1849/50. In an enlarged format, the Sauerländische Anzeiger appeared at the same time from 1851 onwards for the districts of Brilon, Büren and the Rüthen office . The paper initially appeared twice a week, from 1853 three times a week (Wednesdays, Saturdays and Mondays). In the same year Friedländer also published the Waldecker Anzeiger . The newspaper was four pages long. The editor was for a time the older brother Alexander Friedländer until he died in 1858 while emigrating to America. The paper attached particular importance to local reporting. Since 1858 an offshoot of the Arnsberger Centralvolksblatt has appeared as a competitor in Brilon. In the Büren district, Friedländer faced competition from Paderborn . The importance of his newspaper therefore remained low in this circle.

His income from printing and publishing was limited. Therefore he applied for a book trade license in 1848. Because another bookshop already existed, he was not granted the license. In 1857 he bought the existing bookstore, passed the bookseller exam and was then granted the license. In addition to the family, the household also included two printing assistants, three apprentices, a bookseller and a maid in 1858. Friedländer also sold stationery, even images of saints and rosaries, drugstore and tobacco goods, and music. In 1858 he founded a literary reading circle with various newspapers and magazines. He was also an insurance salesman and agent for emigrants.

The publisher printed books in Hebrew and German. In particular, numerous writings from the environment of the Brilon high school such as annual reports or writings by Johann Suibert Seibertz and other regional authors were printed. Catholic literature was also published. In the Jewish publishing sector, articles on the past and present of Judaism, but also religious literature such as a devotional book for women, were published. Friedländer published the Israelitische Gemeinde- und Familienblatt since 1877 . Special organ for Jewish community life.

At the beginning of the 1870s, the Sauerländische Anzeiger established itself and Friedländer was able to set up branches in Niedermarsberg , Medebach and Büren . The Sauerland Gazette was politically loyal to the government. It was strictly anti-social democratic. Friedländer was therefore able to retain its status as an official circular gazette. The attitude of the paper in the Kulturkampf was more differentiated . Although the district administrator had no doubts about Friedlander's fundamentally pro-government stance, it was clear to him that he would have to take into account his mostly Catholic readership. Competition arose from the growing number of Catholic-oriented newspapers. Since 1888 the Briloner Zeitung, edited by Johann Meyer, appeared with an offshoot in Marsberg. The new sheet was right on the center line. Against the background of growing competition, the circulation of the Sauerland Gazette fell significantly and in 1887 was only 240 copies. In the end, the sheet was mainly held by authorities and officials. In 1900 the Waldecker Anzeiger had to be discontinued. The Sauerland gazette ceased publication in 1905.

Friedländer took an active part in Jewish life in Brilon. From 1893 he was a member of the synagogue board. Like his grandfather, father and brother Salomon, he represented a reform Jewish position . In 1899 he left the community with a few others and founded a Jewish association. In 1907 he returned to the synagogue community.

literature

• Wilhelm Grabe: A Jewish newspaper publisher in the Catholic Sauerland. Moritz Friedländer (1822–1911) and the Sauerland Anzeiger. In: Südwestfalen-Archiv , Vol. 3 (2003), ISSN  1618-8934 , pp. 193-220.