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{{Infobox Jewish leader
|honorific-prefix = Rabbi Dr
|name = Arthur Löwenstamm
|honorific-suffix =
|title =
|image =
|caption =
|synagogue = [[Spandau Synagogue]] (1917-38)
|synagogueposition = Rabbi
|yeshiva =
|yeshivaposition =
|organisation =
|organisationposition =
|began =
|ended =
|predecessor =
|successor =
|semicha =
|rabbi =
|rank =
|other_post =
|birth_name = Arthur Löwenstamm
|birth_date = 20 December 1882
|birth_place = [[Ratibor]], [[Upper Silesia]]
|death_date = 22 April 1965
|death_place = [[Manchester]], England
|buried =
|nationality = {{flagicon|Germany}} [[German people|German]] until 1939; {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[British people|British]]
|denomination= [[Reform Judaism (United Kingdom)|Reform Judaism]]
|residence =
|parents = Natan Löwenstamm and Johanna Zweig
|spouse = Gertrud Modlinger
|children = Erika Reid and Gerda Weleminsky
|occupation = Theologian, writer and rabbi
|profession =
|employer =
|alma_mater =
|signature =
|website =
}}
Rabbi Dr '''Arthur Löwenstamm''' (20 December 1882 in [[Ratibor]], [[Upper Silesia]] – 22 April 1965 in [[Manchester]], England) was a [[Jewish]] [[theologian]], writer and [[rabbi]] in [[Berlin]] and in [[London]], where he came in 1939 as a refugee from [[Germany]].
Rabbi Dr '''Arthur Löwenstamm''' (20 December 1882 in [[Ratibor]], [[Upper Silesia]] – 22 April 1965 in [[Manchester]], England) was a [[Jewish]] [[theologian]], writer and [[rabbi]] in [[Berlin]] and in [[London]], where he came in 1939 as a refugee from [[Germany]].


He was the last [[rabbi]] of the [[Jewish]] community of [[Spandau (locality)|Spandau]], Germany, which comprised 600 members in 1933.<ref name="AJR">{{cite journal | url=http://www.ajr.org.uk/journalpdf/1977_april.pdf | title=News from Germany: Spandau memorial tablet| journal=AJR Information | publisher= [[Association of Jewish Refugees]]|year=1977 | month=April | volume=32 | issue=4 | page=5}}</ref>
He was the last [[rabbi]] of the [[Jewish]] community of [[Spandau (locality)|Spandau]], Germany, which comprised 600 members in 1933.<ref name="AJR">{{cite journal | url=http://www.ajr.org.uk/journalpdf/1977_april.pdf | title=News from Germany: Spandau memorial tablet| journal=AJR Information | publisher= [[Association of Jewish Refugees]]|year=1977 | month=April | volume=32 | issue=4 | page=5}}</ref>

==Early life==
Arthur Löwenstamm was born on 20 December 1882 in Ratibor, Upper Silesia, which is now Racibórz in southern Poland. His parents were Natan Löwenstamm, a shopkeeper, and his wife Johanna Zweig.


==Career==
==Career==
Löwenstamm trained at the [[Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau]].<ref name="Petuchowski">{{cite book | url= http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=pGGrHYzvFbEC&pg=PR13&lpg=PR13&dq=arthur+loewenstamm&source=bl&ots=ZehxnoeOm7&sig=TdW1FYpmJOxNDC9Oo4HToOv0-vI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=cLlYUffvOIOh0QWqh4HgBg&ved=0CGIQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=arthur%20loewenstamm&f=false | title=Studies in modern theology and prayer | publisher=Jewish Publication Society | author=[[:de:Jacob Petuchowski|Jacob Petuchowski]]; edited by Elizabeth R Petuchowski and Aaron M Petuchowski | year=1998 |location=Philadelphia| page=xiiii| isbn=0-8276-0577-3}}</ref> After passing his rabbinical examinations in 1910 he worked until 1916 in [[Pless]] (now Pszczyna) in Upper Silesia. On 6 December 1916 he became [[Spandau Synagogue]]'s first permanent rabbi. Löwenstamm took up his duties on 1 April 1917 and continued until the autumn of 1938. In this role he also gave religious instruction at Spandau's Kant-Gymnasium. He was a member of the Association of Liberal Rabbis.
Löwenstamm trained at the [[Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau]]<ref name="Petuchowski">{{cite book | url= http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=pGGrHYzvFbEC&pg=PR13&lpg=PR13&dq=arthur+loewenstamm&source=bl&ots=ZehxnoeOm7&sig=TdW1FYpmJOxNDC9Oo4HToOv0-vI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=cLlYUffvOIOh0QWqh4HgBg&ved=0CGIQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=arthur%20loewenstamm&f=false | title=Studies in modern theology and prayer | publisher=Jewish Publication Society | author=[[:de:Jacob Petuchowski|Jacob Petuchowski]]; edited by Elizabeth R Petuchowski and Aaron M Petuchowski | year=1998 |location=Philadelphia| page=xiiii| isbn=0-8276-0577-3}}</ref> (now Wrocław in western Poland). After passing his rabbinical examinations in 1910 he worked until 1916 in [[Pless]] (now Pszczyna) in Upper Silesia. On 6 December 1916 he became [[Spandau Synagogue]]'s first permanent rabbi. Löwenstamm took up his duties on 1 April 1917 and continued until the autumn of 1938. In this role he also gave religious instruction at Spandau's Kant-Gymnasium. He was a member of the Association of Liberal Rabbis.
[[File:Spandauer Vereinssynagoge.jpg|thumb|left|120px|[[Spandau Synagogue]] on the corner of Lindenufer and Kammerstraße, built in 1894–1895 and destroyed in 1938. The ruins were removed in 1942]]
[[File:Spandauer Vereinssynagoge.jpg|thumb|left|120px|[[Spandau Synagogue]] on the corner of Lindenufer and Kammerstraße, built in 1894–1895 and destroyed in 1938. The ruins were removed in 1942]]


Revision as of 17:46, 1 April 2013

Rabbi Dr
Arthur Löwenstamm
Personal
Born
Arthur Löwenstamm

20 December 1882
Ratibor, Upper Silesia
Died22 April 1965
Manchester, England
ReligionJudaism
NationalityGermany German until 1939; United Kingdom British
SpouseGertrud Modlinger
ChildrenErika Reid and Gerda Weleminsky
Parent(s)Natan Löwenstamm and Johanna Zweig
DenominationReform Judaism
OccupationTheologian, writer and rabbi
PositionRabbi
SynagogueSpandau Synagogue (1917-38)

Rabbi Dr Arthur Löwenstamm (20 December 1882 in Ratibor, Upper Silesia – 22 April 1965 in Manchester, England) was a Jewish theologian, writer and rabbi in Berlin and in London, where he came in 1939 as a refugee from Germany.

He was the last rabbi of the Jewish community of Spandau, Germany, which comprised 600 members in 1933.[1]

Early life

Arthur Löwenstamm was born on 20 December 1882 in Ratibor, Upper Silesia, which is now Racibórz in southern Poland. His parents were Natan Löwenstamm, a shopkeeper, and his wife Johanna Zweig.

Career

Löwenstamm trained at the Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau[2] (now Wrocław in western Poland). After passing his rabbinical examinations in 1910 he worked until 1916 in Pless (now Pszczyna) in Upper Silesia. On 6 December 1916 he became Spandau Synagogue's first permanent rabbi. Löwenstamm took up his duties on 1 April 1917 and continued until the autumn of 1938. In this role he also gave religious instruction at Spandau's Kant-Gymnasium. He was a member of the Association of Liberal Rabbis.

File:Spandauer Vereinssynagoge.jpg
Spandau Synagogue on the corner of Lindenufer and Kammerstraße, built in 1894–1895 and destroyed in 1938. The ruins were removed in 1942

On 9 November 1938 (Kristallnacht) the synagogue, on Lindenufer in Spandau's Old Town, was set on fire.[3] Löwenstamm was tortured, imprisoned and deported to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, from which he was eventually released. After his release from Sachsenhausen, he found refuge in the United Kingdom in February 1939[4] but was interned for several weeks as an "enemy alien".[5]

After the war, Löwenstamm gave private lessons to several students, including Jacob Petuchowski and Hugo Gryn. From May 1945, he was Research Director at the Society for Jewish Studies and a member of the Association of Rabbis from Germany to London.

Personal life

He and his wife Gertrud (nee Modlinger; died 1952) had two daughters, Erica who moved to London in 1936 and Gerda who emigrated to Britain in 1938.[5] His grandchildren live in Britain and in Israel.

Death and legacy

Memorial plaque in front of Löwenstamm's former home at Feldstraße 11 in Spandau; Geographic coordinates:'52°32′41″N 13°12′6″E
Plaque commemorating the synagogue at Spandau. The plaque, on the site of the former synagogue in Spandau's Old Town), was sculpted by Volkmar Haase

He died in Morris Feinmann House, Manchester[1] on 22 April 1965 and was buried at Hoop Lane Jewish Cemetery in Golders Green, London. His archives were donated to the Leo Baeck Institute in New York[5] and to the Wiener Library in London.

At the initiative of the Spandau Borough Council, a memorial tablet was unveiled in 1988 on the site of the former synagogue.[6]A memorial plaque was placed on the pavement, in front of Löwenstamm's former home at Feldstraße 11, in Spandau, on 9 November 2005.

On 15 August 2002 a street in Spandau was named Löwenstamm Street.[7]

Publications

Löwenstamm wrote commentaries on Dutch philosopher and jurist Hugo Grotius and the German philosopher Hermann Lotze:

  • Lotzes Lehre vom Ding an Sich und Ich an sich, H. Fleischmann Verlag, 1906; republished by Nabu Press, 16 March 2010; paperback, 60 pages. ISBN 1147347476; ISBN 1147347470 [1]
  • Hugo Grotius’ Stellung zum Judentum (Hugo Grotius's attitude toward Judaism), Breslau. 1929.
  • "Jüdischer Lebinsstil", Gemeindeblatt für die jüdischen Gemeinden Preussens: Verwaltungsblatt der Preussischen Landesverbandes jüdischer Gemeinden, 1 November 1934 (cited on page 229 in Rebecca Rovit: The Jewish Kulturbund Theatre Company in Nazi Berlin, University of Iowa Press, 2012. ISBN 1609381240

Further reading

  • Ernst Gottfried Lowenthal: Juden in Preussen. Ein biographisches Verzeichnis. (Jews in Prussia. A biographical directory.) Dietrich Riemer Verlag, Berlin 1982, ISBN 3-496-01012-6, page 143
  • Carsten Wilke und Katrin Nele Jansen:Die Rabbiner im Deutschen Reich 1871–1945 (The rabbis of the German Reich 1871-1945), K.G. Saur 2009

References

  1. ^ a b "News from Germany: Spandau memorial tablet" (PDF). AJR Information. 32 (4). Association of Jewish Refugees: 5. 1977. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  2. ^ Jacob Petuchowski; edited by Elizabeth R Petuchowski and Aaron M Petuchowski [in German] (1998). Studies in modern theology and prayer. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society. p. xiiii. ISBN 0-8276-0577-3. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Alois Kaulen and Joachim Pohl (1988). Juden in Spandau vom Mittelalter bis 1945. Edition Hentrich Berlin. pp. 108–109.
  4. ^ Alois Kaulen and Joachim Pohl (1988). Juden in Spandau vom Mittelalter bis 1945. Edition Hentrich Berlin. p. 167.
  5. ^ a b c Cord Hasselblatt (with additional material by Mone Kraft) (4 July 2006). "The life of Dr Arthur Löwenstamm". http://www.kirchenkreis-spandau.de/. Retrieved 1 April 2013. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ "Arthur Löwenstamm". German Wikipedia. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  7. ^ "Lṏwenstamm Street". Berlin street directory. Kauperts. Retrieved 1 April 2013.

See also

Template:Persondata

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