David Feuerwerker

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David Feuerwerker (1912-1980) was a French rabbi and professor of Jewish history.

David Feuerwerker
Born 1912
Geneva, Switzerland
Died June 20 1980 (aged 67)
Montréal, Canada. Buried in Jerusalem, Israel
Nationality Flag of France France Flag of Canada Canada
Occupation Rabbi, Historian
Spouse Antoinette Feuerwerker
Children Atara, Natania, Elie, Hillel, Emmanuel, Benjamine
Parents Jacob Feuerwerker and Regina Neufeld

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Born in Geneva

He was born on October 2, 1912, at 11 Rue du Mont-Blanc, in Geneva, Switzerland. He was the seventh of eleven children. His father Jacob Feuerwerker was born in Sighet, now Sighetu Marmatiei, Maramures, then Hungary, now Rumania. His mother Regina Neufeld was born in Lakenbach, one of the famous seven Jewish communities ["Sheva Kehillos"] in the Burgenland, Hungary, now Austria.

[edit] Studies in Paris

In 1925, he finished High School at the Rue Vauquelin Talmud Torah. After his Baccalauréat in Sciences, Lettres et Philosophie, in Paris, he entered in 1932 France Rabbinical Seminary [l'Ecole Rabbinique de France (Séminaire israélite de France, SIF)], from which he graduated as a Rabbi, on October 1, 1937. He became Diplomé de Langues Sémitiques anciennes (Sorbonne) as a specialist in Semitic languages. Among the languages he spoke were Arameic and Syriac.

[edit] On the front

From October 15, 1937 until September 1, 1939, he served in the French Army, in Alsace. After World War II broke out, he remained in the Army until July 25, 1940.

He was in charge of communications for a group of artillery of the 12th R.A.D.(Régiment d'Artillerie Divisionnaire) and chaplain of the 87th D.I.A.

He received the Croix de guerre 1939-1945 (France) with a bronze star.

The citation to the Order of the Brigade reads as follows:

As chief of artillery communications has participated from September 1939 to February 1940 in the engagements in Alsace in the region of Bitche. Has shown drive, courage, and competence in assuring under fire the phone and radio contacts.

Distinguished himself again during the combats of June 1940 on the Ailette, the Aisne, and the Seine, as Jewish Chaplain of his Division. Has contributed to maintain the fighting spirit around him and to uphold the morale of the engaged units.

He was demobilized at Châteauroux on July 25, 1940.

A second Citation for the Croix de guerre 1939-1945 (France) was to the Order of the Army, with palm.

[edit] Rabbi of Brive and of three Départements

In 1940, he was nominated Rabbi of three French Departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Lot, based in Brive-la-Gaillarde. He lived at Villa du Mont-Blanc, avenue Turgot, in Brive. He created his first Study Circle (Cercle d'Etudes).

The Jewish population was comprised of numerous refugees, including a large segment originating from Alsace and other regions occupied by the nazi invader.

He helped numerous of them to find a country of refuge, with the help of the oldest agency dealing with refugees in the United States, the HIAS. Among the destinations, Cuba. For himself, there was no thought of leaving France, since he was a community leader. He succeeded in liberating many internees from transit camps in France, including the camp at Gurs.

[edit] In the Résistance

In Brive with Edmond Michelet, later to be a senior Minister under Charles de Gaulle, he participated actively in the French Résistance Movement "Combat" against the Nazi occupation. His name in the French Résistance was Jacques Portal.

He received the Croix du combattant volontaire 1939-1945, the Medaille Commémorative de la Guerre 1939-1945 with the bar "France".

He was to be made Knight (Chevalier) of the Legion of Honor (Légion d'honneur) for his military activities. The Citation says:

Despite the exceptional risks which were attached to his ministery, has participated in an active, permanent and unselfish way to the organisation of the resistance in all the region.

Has not hesitated to risk his freedom, and without any doubt his life, to be for the Movement "Combat" an auxiliary particularly serious.

It's to him that many hundreds of resistants owed their false identification papers which allowed them to escape the searches by the Gestapo.

His wife, Antoinette Feuerwerker (née Gluck), who had finished Law School in Strasbourg before the war, and whom he married at the beginning of the war, participated with him in the underground. Combattant Volontaire de la Résistance, she was awarded the French Liberation Medal [Médaille de la France Libérée (1944)], for her participation in the liberation of France.

[edit] Jacques Soustelle and the passage to Switzerland

Six months before the end of World War II, the Germans finally understood that the Rabbi of Brive was an active member of the Résistance.

But the Rabbi got ahead of the occupier. After receiving the reliable information that he figured on the list of people to be arrested by the Gestapo, he decided to act. His arrest and his probable disappearance would not advance the cause he defended, day after day. He took the difficult decision, in agreement with his spouse, Antoinette Feuerwerker, to leave Brive. Only one destination was possible, Switzerland.

Antoinette Feuerwerker obtained from Jacques Soustelle, the future minister of Charles de Gaulle and later his opponent, but then a leader of the Résistance, the information how to reach clandestinely the neutral state, which took place in Divonne-les-Bains.

Once in Switzerland, in his native city of Geneva, he was imprisoned by the Swiss authorities. But his life was not in immediate danger.

Once Lyon liberated, liberation in which he participated, he resumed the task of rebuilding the Jewish community of Lyon and of France, in disarray.

Antoinette Feuerwerker remained in France the last six months of the war. She had a young baby, her daughter Atara. To escape the Germans and deportation, she went underground with her little daughter.

Once the war ended, the spouses reunited in Lyon, for the adventure of reconstruction of the post-war French Judaism.

[edit] Chief Rabbi of Lyon, at the Libération

He participated in the liberation of Lyon as the Captain-Chaplain [Capitaine-Aumônier] of the French Forces of the Interior [Forces françaises de l'intérieur (F.F.I.)], In Lyon in 1944.

He became the Chief-Rabbi of Lyon at the Liberation, rabbi of the Great Synagogue 13, Quai Tilsit, Lyon 2.

He became also the Captain-Chaplain [Capitaine-Aumônier] of the Place de Lyon and of the Alpine Division [Division Alpine] ( 27e brigade d'infanterie de montagne).

His activities included being in relation with the former Prime Minister [Président du Conseil] Edouard Herriot and the Primate of Gaul [Primat des Gaules], Cardinal Pierre-Marie Gerlier, later, recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations, by Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, Israel.

He published in Lyon, the first weekly Jewish newspaper since the war, called L'Unité ["Unity"].

[edit] In Neuilly-sur-Seine

In 1946, he was elected Rabbi in Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris.

He created there, at 12 rue Ancelle a Cercle d'Etudes (Study Circle).

The money destined for the famous boat Exodus 1947 was hidden, without his knowledge, by his spouse, Antoinette Feuerwerker, under his bed, since no one would suspect him.

[edit] At 14, Place des Vosges

In 1948, he became Rabbi of Les Tournelles, the Great Synagogue in Paris. In the Study Circle [Cercle d'Etudes du Marais] he formed at 14 place des Vosges, in the heart of Le Marais, the lecturers included: Raymond Aron, Robert Aron, Henri Baruk, le Père Marie-Benoît, Jean Cassou, Georges Duhamel, Marcel Dunan, Edmond Fleg, Henri Hertz, admiral Louis Kahn, Joseph Kessel, Jacques Madaule, Arnold Mandel (1913-1987), Szolem Mandelbrojt, Francois Mauriac, Edmond Michelet, Pierre Morhange, François Perroux, le Père Michel Riquet (1898-1993), Pierre-Maxime Schuhl (1902-1984), André Spire, Jean Wahl, and many others.

The French Jewish Community paid tribute to him, on December 23, 1956, on the occasion of his twentieth year in the Rabbinate and of the two hundred and fiftieth Session of the Cercle d'Etudes du Marais, to as it specified, Honor the guide and the master whose activity is creative and efficient for the Jewish Community of France.

He was the head of Jewish Education [directeur de l'instruction religieuse] (Paris) (1952), and vice president of the Council for Education and Jewish Culture in France [Conseil pour l'Education et la Culture Juive en France (CECJF)] (1953).

The City of Paris, and in its name, the Municipal council [ le Bureau du Conseil Municipal], in its session of December 14, 1957, awarded to him the Gold Medal of the City of Paris [la grande Médaille de Vermeil de la ville de Paris].

[edit] Renowned Orator

On diverse occasions, his talent as an orator was made to contribution. He participated on a regular basis to the Annual Commemoration at the Memorial of the Unknown Jewish Martyr [Mémorial du Martyr Juif Inconnu], with the attendance of civilian and military authorities. He gave the only funeral oration in French for the famous Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Rubinstein of the Synagogue of the 10 rue Pavée in Paris 4 (Agoudas Hakehilos Synagogue). He spoke at a Commemoration on the site of the camp at Drancy. He spoke also at the Grande Synagogue of Paris, rue de la Victoire in the 9th arrondissement of Paris.

[edit] Teaching at the Sorbonne

In parallel to his rabbinical activities, he obtained a Licence ès Lettres and a Ph.D. in history from the Sorbonne. He taught at the Sorbonne EPHE 6ème section Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes from 1962 to 1965.

Among his many lectures, he spoke at the Societé de l'Histoire de Paris, and at the Institut Napoléon de Paris.

He published articles in, among other publications, La Revue Historique des Annales; Evidences; Bulletin de nos communautés; le Journal des communautés.

[edit] The First Chief Chaplain of the French Navy

He created the position of Chief Chaplain [Aumônier Général of the French Navy [Marine nationale (France)] (there had been no Jewish Chaplain of the French Navy before him). He was based at the Centre Marine Pépinière, 15 rue Laborde, in Paris 8. He went on special missions in Algeria and Tunisia ( at the navy base in Bizerte).

He was also chaplain of prisons (La Petite Roquette), Lycées (Lycée Henri-IV,Lycée Fénelon) and hospitals (Hôtel-Dieu de Paris) in Paris.

In 1963, Général de Gaulle nominated him to be Officer of the Legion of Honor (Légion d'honneur), for his work for the French Navy.

[edit] He introduces Hebrew at the Baccalauréat

He introduced Hebrew as a foreign language for the French Baccalauréat, in 1954. He was the sole examiner for the city of Paris. To this day, it is offered as an option worldwide.

Among those who were examined by him, and who remember vividly the questions, was Haim Brezis, the future member of the French Academy of Sciences [Académie des sciences ( France)] and of the National Academy of Sciences (U.S.A.).

[edit] Close to Pierre Mendès-France

He was close to Pierre Mendès-France, the former Prime Minister of France. He led the funerals of both his parents.

[edit] Important Encounters

Among the many Jewish leaders he met, two made an everlasting impression, Rabbi Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz (1878-1953), the Chazon Ish, in Bnei Brak, Israel, and the Hassidic leader of Belz, Rabbi Aharon Rokeach (1877-1957), called Reb Arele, also, living in Israel.

[edit] Under the Arc de Triomphe

After the Sinai War of 1956 Suez Crisis, when Moshe Dayan visited France, he represented the Jewish Community, at a ceremony under the Arc of Triumph (Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile), in Paris.

[edit] Friendship with Aimé Pallière

He befriended and helped Aimé Pallière (1868-1949), who has remained as the Noahide (B'nei Noah) par excellence.

[edit] Rabbi of Chasseloup-Laubat

He became the Rabbi of the Synagogue 15 Rue Chasseloup-Laubat (Paris XVe).

[edit] Judge in the Rabbinical Court of Montréal

In 1966, he moved with his family (six children: Atara, Natania, Elie, Hillel, Emmanuel, and Benjamine) to Montréal, Canada.

He became Judge in the Rabbinical Court (Beth Din) of that City, and a member of the Vaad Hair (Jewish Community Council of Montréal), beside the Chief Rabbi of Montréal Pinhas Hirschprung (1912-199).

He introduced Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (1895-1986), the halahic authority of his time, to the Mayor of Montréal, Jean Drapeau at the Montréal City Hall.

He was the editor of the French section of the "Voice of the Vaad" Journal, called "la Voix du Conseil".

[edit] Professor at the Université de Montréal

He lived at 5583 Woodbury Avenue, in Montréal, a minute away from l'Université de Montréal. His neighbour, René Lévesque, the future Prime Minister of Québec, will pay tribute to him, in his own name, and in the name of the Québec Government, when he died. He became professor of sociology at the Université de Montréal, from 1966 to 1968, and then created at that University a department of Jewish Studies.

[edit] His work on the Emancipation becomes a classic

Among his many publications, he wrote the classic book on the Emancipation of the French Jews, which is still cited today. For this work L'Emancipation des Juifs en France de l'Ancien Régime à la Fin du Second Empire (Albin Michel: Paris, 1976), he was awarded the Broquette-Gonin Prize for history from the Académie Française. A review of the book appeared on the frontpage of the Journal Le Monde.

[edit] Diverse activities

He appeared on French and Canadian television and radio, was called often as an expert and lectured extensively.

He had a special interest in Jewish Music. He organized the appearance of the famous Hazzan Moshe Koussevistky, at the Synagogue de la rue des Tournelles, in Paris. He also was a guest on several occasions on the radio show, animated by Alain Stanké, called "La musique des nations" of Radio-Canada.

[edit] Death in Montréal and Burial in Jerusalem

He passed away in Montréal on June 20, 1980, and was buried in Sanhedria, in Jerusalem, Israel.

[edit] References

  • David Feuerwerker. L'Emancipation Des Juifs En France. De L'Ancien Régime A La Fin Du Second Empire. Albin Michel: Paris, 1976. ISBN 2-226-00316-9

Many books refer to his activities, particularly for his work in the Resistance. Among them :

  • Pierre Trouillé. Journal D'Un Préfet Pendant L'Occupation. nrf, Gallimard: Paris, 1964.
  • Roger Peyreffite. Les Juifs. Flammarion: Paris, 1964.
  • Roger Peyreffite. The Jews. A Fictional Venture Into The Follies Of Antisemitism. The Bobbs-Merrill Company: New York, 1967.
  • Ysrael Gutman and Avital Saf, Editors. She'erit Hapletah, 1944-1948. Rehabilitation And Political Struggle. Proceedings Of The Sixth Yad Vashem International Historical Conference. Jerusalem, October 1985. Yad Vashem: Jerusalem, 1990.
  • Nicolas Baverez. Raymond Aron. Flammarion: Paris, 1993.
  • Donna F. Ryan. The Holocaust & The Jews of Marseille. The Enforcement Of Anti-Semitic Policies In Vichy France. University of Illinois Press: Urbana And Chicago, 1996. ISBN 0-252-06530-1
  • Anne Grynberg. Les camps de la honte. Les internés juifs des camps français 1939-1944. La Découverte: Paris, 1999. ISBN 2-7071-3046-X

Among the articles written about David Feuerwerker are:

  • Elie Feuerwerker. Le Rabbin Dr. David Feuerwerker, ZT"L (2 Octobre 1912-20 Juin 1980/ 21 Tichri 5673-6 Tamouz 5740). Le Combat d'Une Vie. Revue d'Histoire de la Médecine Hébraïque, Paris, 1980. [[[Reprinted]] in Gad Freudenthal & Samuel S. Kottek, editors, Mélanges D'Histoire De La Médecine Hébraïque: Etudes Choisies De La Revue D'Histoire De La Médecine Hébraïque (1948-1985). Brill: Netherlands, 2003]. ISBN 978-900-412-522-3
  • Catherine Poujol. David Feuerwerker, Rabbin, Résistant, Enseignant, Historien. Archives Juives, Paris, 2002.

[edit] External links