Born on 15th July 1840 in Tarnow, Arnold Chaim de Porada Rapaport, son of Dawid and Karolina, née Herz, was a councilor of the city of Krakow (1872-1881), member of the National Parliament (1876-1907) and the Council of State (1879-1907), president of the Society for the Care of Neglected Jewish Boys in Krakow, founder of a craft school for the Jewish youth in Krakow, chairman of the Aid Committee for the Poor Jewish Population in Galicia. Founding member of the Polish Gymnastic Society “Sokół” in Krakow. Lawyer, industrialist, financier and philanthropist.A graduate of St. Anna’s gymnasium in Krakow (1858) and the Faculty of Law at the Jagiellonian University (1862). He defended his doctorate thesis in 1863. From 1870, he worked as a lawyer in Krakow and Vienna.…
Today we remember Eliezer Askenazy, son of Eliasz, a dotor and rabbi of Krakow between 1584-1585.Most likely born in Venice (although according to other sources he was born somewhere in the Ottoman Empire), he studied in Thessaloniki, at the Yeshiva of rabbi J. Taiłacak. At the age of 26, he became a rabbi in Cairo. During this period, several people asked his opinion, including rabbi J. Karo of Safed (Cfatu), who was developing his codes of Talmudic law, rabbi Moses Alshich, the famous commentator, rabbi M. Isserles (ReMU) from Krakow and S. Luria (Maharshal) from Lublin. After 22 years, in circumstances which remain unknown ,he left Cairo, while in 1561, took the position of rabbi in Famagusta, Cyprus. Over there, he was visited by Eliahu of Pesaro,…
Born on 2nd July 1864 in Drohobych, Leon Sternbach, son of Jozef , was a professor of Classical Philology at the Jagiellonian University, Byzantineist, member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences.A Drohobych gymnasium graduate, who later studied at the universities in Leipzig and Dresden (1882-1883) and in Vienna (1883-1885), where he obtained his doctorate. He obtained his habilitation and doctorate at the University of Lviv in 1889. However, for all his life, Leon Sternbach remained professionally and scientifically associated with the Jagiellonian University. He received the title of associate professor in 1892, and full professor in 1897. He retired in 1935 having received the title of honorary professor. In the academic year 1904/1905 he was the dean of the Faculty of Philosophy. In 1893, Leon…
On 19th and 20th June 2023, Krakow held yorcayt on 200th death anniversary of rabbi Kalman Kalonimos Epstein, also known as Maor wa Shemesh. Kalman Kalonimos Epstein (1754-1823) was a Hasidic leader, also called Maor wa-Szemesz thanks to his work. He was a student of notable tzaddik: Elimelech of Leżajsk and Jakub Izaak ha-Choze (Widzący) of Lublin. In 1785, Maor wa Shemesh organised the first Hasid group in Krakow which was met with the official Jewish Community backlash. He was cursed twice by the Rabbi of Krakow and his rabbinical court. His main work, Maor wa-Szemesz (From the light and the sun) is one of the basic Hasidic books. Written as a commentary of the Pentateuch, it includes the description of life and the activity of several…
Born in Nowy Sącz on 31st May 1897, Zofia Ameisenowa, daughter of Maurycy and Jadwiga, née Jachet, was a professor of History of Art at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow and a custodian of the Jagiellonian Library. In 1915, she began studying at the Faculty of Philosophy of the Jagiellonian University where she studied History of Art and Archaeology. After graduation, she started working at the Jagiellonian Library, dealing with graphic collections and the problems of Jewish iconography of the Old Testament. At that time, she was already one of the leading researchers of the history of the Middle Ages. After the war broke out, she left for Lviv, followed by Łuck and Kosow where she ended up in the ghetto. Together with her husband, she managed…
Today we remember Joel Sirkes, known as BaCH, son of Samuel Jaffe (SEGAL), who lived between 1564-1640, the rabbi of Krakow (1618-1640). Joel Sirkes was an outstanding Talmudist, an expert on halacha, a rabbi of the Jewish community in Kraków’s Kazimierz and rector of the Krakow yeshiva. Sirkes was known as Bach, a nickname which derived from the acronym formed from the title of his most famous work, Beit-Hadash (Krakow, 1639), which is a commentary on Jacob ben Asher’s code of Talmudic law, Arba Turim. As a student and then a rabbi, he was associated with many cities of the Republic of Poland, such as: Poznań, Brześć, Prużany, Łuków, Luboml, Międzyboże, Bełz, Szydłów, Brześć Litewski, only to finally settle down in Krakow. He participated in conventions of…
Born on 7th May 1818 in Tarnów, Józef Oettinger was a doctor, historian of medicine as well as the first professor of the Jagiellonian University of Jewish descent. At the early age of 5, he lost both of his parents. He was then taken care of by his uncle, Jakub Adler – a Krakow merchant who lived in Krakow’s Kazimierz. After graduating from gymnasium, he enrolled at the Faculty of Philosophy of the Jagiellonian University, only to change the faculty and begin studying medicine two years later. In 1843, he obtained the degree of doctor of medicine and started working in the Jewish hospital in Krakow a year later. During the “Springtime of Nations” he became a member of the National Committee established by patriots, representing the…
Born on 6th May 1881 in Przemyśl, Rafał Taubenschlag, son of Bernard Baruch and Cecylia Cyrl, nee Goldhart, was a legal historian who specialised in Roman law and papyrology. Professor at the Jagiellonian University and the University of Warsaw, corresponding member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences. Between 1942-1947, Rafał Taubenschalg worked as a Visiting Research Professor of Ancient Civilization at Columbia University and was the creator of The Journal of Juristic Papyrology. In 1949, he was awarded the Barczewski award by the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, followed by an honorary doctorate from the University of Warsaw a year later. In 1955, during the International Congress of Papyrologists in Vienna, he was elected its honorary chairman by acclamation. The academic community celebrated professor’s…
A group of thugs connected with a Partisian Grouping called ”Błyskawica”, led by Józef Kuraś (alias ”Ogień”), opened fire on Jewish civilians who were trying to cross the border, killing several of them. This incident took place on 2nd May 1946 near Krościenko. „Brochures distributed by ”Ogień” across the Podahale region always included the same element – comparing the Jewish community to the communist regime”, a brochure issued in 2017 by the Krakow branch of the Institute of National Remembrance notes. As long as eliminating the Secret Police officers could be explained, the violence directed at regular people who were not linked to any political activities cannot be excused. During the negotiations with the Secret Police in 1946, Kuraś appealed for the expulsion of Jews from Podhale,…
On 30th April 1959, the ceremony of handing over the Old Synagogue by the Jewish Congregation in Krakow (currently the Jewish Religious Community in Krakow) to the Historical Museum of the City of Krakow took place. One of the photos shows the Chairman of the then Congregation, Maciej Jakubowicz. After the establishment of the Podgórze ghetto followed by the resettlement of all Jews living in Kraków to it, the German Trust Office took over the management of the Synagogue. A uniform warehouse was organised in the Synaogue, while all liturgical items were stolen. However, the warehouse did not last for too long and was soon liquidated. Afterwards, the Old Synagogue was deliberately deprived of its vault. After WWII, the Synagogue was provisionally secured. However, it was only…