David Spiro

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David Kahane Spiro (* 1901 in Książ Wielki , Poland ; † October 17, 1970 in Fürth ) was a rabbi in the Warsaw Rabbinate and co-founder of the Israelite religious community in Fürth after the Second World War . In post-war Germany he was the only academically trained rabbi and was considered a respected halachic authority worldwide . He is credited with being instrumental in helping Jewish life to re-establish itself in Bavaria.

Life

During the First World War , Spiro was housed in the house of his uncle, the second rabbi of Sochaczew . There he learned the principles of Hasidism . Spiro moved to Krakow with his father . After intensive study his semichah followed , the formal ordination as a rabbi. After Warsaw Spiro came by marriage to the daughter of Rabbi Chaim Yehoshua Gutsch Real. In 1936 he became the youngest official member of the rabbinate of what was then the largest Jewish community in Europe. In times of increasing anti-Semitism , one of his tasks was to represent the Jewish community to the authorities.

As a result of the German occupation of Poland , a Judenrat had to be formed. David Spiro held this office until the liquidation of the Warsaw ghetto in April 1943. Spiro was deported to the Budzyń Forced Labor Camp . His further path led him to the Flossenbürg concentration camp and its satellite camp in Hersbruck .

Completely exhausted, he survived the death march to the Dachau concentration camp . Seriously ill, he experienced the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp by the 7th US Army . His brother, the military rabbi Chaplain Abraham Spiro, was among the liberators .

While Abraham Spiro took up his service in the US district administration in Bamberg and, among other things, campaigned for the establishment of DP camps , David Spiro moved to a DP camp in Fürth. Alongside Jean Mandel , he was the driving force behind the rebuilding of the Israelite Religious Community in Fürth, of which he remained rabbi until his death. His grave is in the New Jewish Cemetery in Fürth.

Since the death of Spiro and Mandel in the 1970s, the congregation has lost many members because they no longer saw any prospects for a Jewish way of life. The decline in membership almost threatened the existence of the Jewish community. The dissolution of the community was only averted in the 1990s by the influx of immigrants from the former Soviet Union.

Rabbi Spiro Prize

In 2007, the regional association of Israelite religious communities in Bavaria donated an undoped prize to commemorate David Spiro, who "despite his experiences [...] [believed] in a Jewish future in Germany and [...] became an effective advisor for many" . The biennial prize is to be awarded to personalities "who have contributed to the maintenance and development of Jewish communities in Bavaria."

The previous winners are Edmund Stoiber , Johannes Friedrich and Karl Freller .

literature

  • Michael Trüger: 60 years of the State Association of Israelite Religious Communities in Bavaria. Rabbi David Spiro sel. A. In: Landesverband der Israelitischen Kultusgemeinden in Bavaria (Hrsg.): Jüdisches Leben in Bayern . No. 106 . Munich April 2008, p. 6 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Jim G. Tobias: Training Kibbutz Zettlitz: Jewish New Beginning in Upper Franconia. In: haGalil.com. March 13, 2006, accessed January 6, 2010 .
  2. ↑ Jewish life: Fürth - the "Frankish Jerusalem". In: BR-online. Bayerischer Rundfunk, February 3, 2016, accessed on February 3, 2017 .
  3. ↑ YES / to: Ceremony for the 60th anniversary . In: Central Council of Jews in Germany (ed.): Future: Information sheet of the Central Council of Jews in Germany . No. 12 , December 21, 2007, ISSN  1618-6087 , News, pp. 3 ( Zentralratdjuden.de [accessed on January 6, 2010]).
  4. ↑ Regional Bishop Friedrich awarded the Rabbi Spiro Prize. In: Internet site of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. Central Council of Jews in Germany, December 8, 2009, accessed January 6, 2010 .
  5. ↑ For courage and passion - Karl Freller receives the Rabbi Spiro Prize. In: Website of the Jüdischen Allgemeine. Central Council of Jews in Germany, February 11, 2014, accessed on February 11, 2014 .
personal data
SURNAME Spiro, David
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Spiro, David Kahane
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Polish-German rabbi in the Warsaw Rabbinate and co-founder of the Israelite religious community in Fürth after the Second World War
DATE OF BIRTH 1901
PLACE OF BIRTH Książ Wielki
DATE OF DEATH 17th October 1970
Place of death Fuerth