David Kranzler
Encyclopedia
Professor David Kranzler was a researcher and historian specializing in those who rescued Jews
during the Holocaust
. He was born in Germany on May 19, 1930. To avoid imminent danger from the Nazis, his family fled to the United States in 1937. He lived in New York since his childhood, and died on November 7, 2007.
, for M.L.S. degree (1957) at Columbia University
, and for his doctorate (1971) at Yeshiva University
.
He was a leading historian on the subject of rescue by Jews during the Holocaust, a field which his works founded. He was among the first to document the rescue activities of Orthodox Jewish organizations, such as the Vaad Ha-hatzala
and Agudath Israel
. Historian Alex Grobman referred to Kranzler as "the pioneer of research on Orthodox Jewry during the war." He also researched and created awareness for the mid-1944 Swiss grass roots protests triggered by George Mantello
publicizing Rabbi Michael Ber Weissmandl's translation of one of the Holocaust's most important documents: the Auschwitz Report
. Dr. Kranzler was convinced that these actions led to stopping of the transports from Hungary in mid-1944 and enabled the Raoul Wallenberg
mission and other important rescue initiatives in Budapest. He joined the faculty of Queensborough Community College
of the City University of New York
(CUNY) in 1969, and was a Professor there until his retirement.
Dr. Kranzler was a contributor to the Goldberg Commission Report on the Role of American Jews During the Holocaust, and submitted two chapters, one on the Orthodox, called "Orthodox Ends, UnOrthodox Means" and another on the Jewish Labor Committee.
Dr. Kranzler served as Scholar-in-Residence in numerous congregations, on college campuses, and centers, including the Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue (Rabbi Marc Angel) in Manhattan, and Kodima Synagogue, Springfield, Mass. (Rabbi Alex Weisfogel), Ohio State University Holocaust Center (Prof. Saul Friedman) and was given a fellowship at Yad Vashem.
Dr. Kranzler researched the rescue of Jews during the Holocaust for about 35 years. He published ten books and many articles on the subject, and lectured on the subject in America, Israel, Europe and the Far East. He interviewed over a thousand people, including some of the major Jewish rescuers such as Hillel Kook
also known as Peter Bergson, George Mantello
, Rabbi Solomon Schonfeld
and close family and associates of rescuers no longer alive, including Rabbi Michael Ber Weissmandl and Recha Sternbuch
.
He established one of the largest and unique research archives on the subject of rescue, including large number of audio interviews with some of the major Holocaust rescuers.
NOTES: Some of the above are co-authored. Additional books not on the subject of rescue are not shown.
Contributions
Righteous Among the Nations
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
during the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
. He was born in Germany on May 19, 1930. To avoid imminent danger from the Nazis, his family fled to the United States in 1937. He lived in New York since his childhood, and died on November 7, 2007.
Biography
He studied for BA (1953) and MA (1958) at Brooklyn CollegeBrooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
, for M.L.S. degree (1957) at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, and for his doctorate (1971) at Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
.
He was a leading historian on the subject of rescue by Jews during the Holocaust, a field which his works founded. He was among the first to document the rescue activities of Orthodox Jewish organizations, such as the Vaad Ha-hatzala
Vaad Hatzalah
Vaad Hatzalah was an organization to rescue Jews in Europe from the Holocaust.It was founded in November 1939 by the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada...
and Agudath Israel
Agudath Israel of America
Agudath Israel of America , is a Haredi Jewish communal organization in the United States loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel.-Functions:...
. Historian Alex Grobman referred to Kranzler as "the pioneer of research on Orthodox Jewry during the war." He also researched and created awareness for the mid-1944 Swiss grass roots protests triggered by George Mantello
George Mantello
George Mantello, born György Mandl or Mandel was a Jewish diplomat who, while working for the Salvadoran consulate in Geneva, Switzerland, saved thousands of Jews from the Holocaust by providing fictive Salvadoran citizenship papers and rescued tens of thousands and possibly hundreds of thousands...
publicizing Rabbi Michael Ber Weissmandl's translation of one of the Holocaust's most important documents: the Auschwitz Report
Auschwitz Report
Auschwitz Report is a non-fiction report on the Auschwitz extermination camp by Primo Levi and Leonardo de Benedetti.Whilst in a Soviet holding camp in Katowice in 1945, Levi and de Benedetti were asked by the Soviet authorities to document the living conditions in Auschwitz. De Benedetti was on...
. Dr. Kranzler was convinced that these actions led to stopping of the transports from Hungary in mid-1944 and enabled the Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish businessman, diplomat and humanitarian. He is widely celebrated for his successful efforts to rescue thousands of Jews in Nazi-occupied Hungary from the Holocaust, during the later stages of World War II...
mission and other important rescue initiatives in Budapest. He joined the faculty of Queensborough Community College
Queensborough Community College
Not to be confused with Queens College, City University of New YorkQueensborough Community College , is one of six community colleges within the City University of New York system. It is located in the neighborhood of Bayside, Queens County, New York City, New York. The total enrollments are...
of the City University of New York
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
(CUNY) in 1969, and was a Professor there until his retirement.
Dr. Kranzler was a contributor to the Goldberg Commission Report on the Role of American Jews During the Holocaust, and submitted two chapters, one on the Orthodox, called "Orthodox Ends, UnOrthodox Means" and another on the Jewish Labor Committee.
Dr. Kranzler served as Scholar-in-Residence in numerous congregations, on college campuses, and centers, including the Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue (Rabbi Marc Angel) in Manhattan, and Kodima Synagogue, Springfield, Mass. (Rabbi Alex Weisfogel), Ohio State University Holocaust Center (Prof. Saul Friedman) and was given a fellowship at Yad Vashem.
Dr. Kranzler researched the rescue of Jews during the Holocaust for about 35 years. He published ten books and many articles on the subject, and lectured on the subject in America, Israel, Europe and the Far East. He interviewed over a thousand people, including some of the major Jewish rescuers such as Hillel Kook
Hillel Kook
Hillel Kook , also known as Peter Bergson , was a Revisionist Zionist activist, politician, and prominent member of the Irgun.-Early life:...
also known as Peter Bergson, George Mantello
George Mantello
George Mantello, born György Mandl or Mandel was a Jewish diplomat who, while working for the Salvadoran consulate in Geneva, Switzerland, saved thousands of Jews from the Holocaust by providing fictive Salvadoran citizenship papers and rescued tens of thousands and possibly hundreds of thousands...
, Rabbi Solomon Schonfeld
Solomon Schonfeld
Rabbi Dr Solomon Schonfeld was a British rabbi who is heralded as one of the most remarkable, yet least known of the Holocaust heroes.Schonfeld studied at the yeshiva in Nitra, Slovakia...
and close family and associates of rescuers no longer alive, including Rabbi Michael Ber Weissmandl and Recha Sternbuch
Recha Sternbuch
Recha Sternbuch , a Swiss woman of Polish heritage, an important Holocaust era Jewish rescuer.Recha Sternbuch was the wife of Yitzchak Sternbuch, a businessman in Montreux, Switzerland...
.
He established one of the largest and unique research archives on the subject of rescue, including large number of audio interviews with some of the major Holocaust rescuers.
Selected publications
- The Man Who Stopped the Trains to Auschwitz: George Mantello, El Salvador, and Switzerland's Finest Hour, Foreword by Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, Syracuse University Press (March 2001), ISBN 978-0815628736
- Holocaust Hero: The Untold Story of Solomon Schonfeld, an Orthodox British Rabbi, Ktav Publishing House (December 2003), ISBN 978-0881257304
- Thy Brothers' Blood: The Orthodox Jewish Response During the Holocaust, Artscroll (December 1987), ISBN 978-0899068589
- Japanese, Nazis & Jews: The Jewish refugee community of Shanghai,
- Heroine of Rescue: The Incredible Story of Recha Sternbuch Who Saved Thousands from the Holocaust
- Gutta, Memories of a Vanished World, ISBN 1-58330-779-6
- To Save a World (2 Volumes), C I S Communications, Incorporated (August 1991), ISBN 978-1560620891
NOTES: Some of the above are co-authored. Additional books not on the subject of rescue are not shown.
Contributions
- Goldberg Commission Report on American Jewry During the Holocaust
- Encyclopedia of the Holocaust
- The World Reaction to the Holocaust
- Yale Encyclopedia of the Holocaust
- New Dictionary of National Biography
See also
- Dr. David Kranzler, Holocaust Teacher Resource Center, http://holocaust-trc.org/kranzler.htm
- "An Interview with David Kranzler," Sugihara: Conspiracy of Kindness, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/sugihara/readings/kranzler.html
Righteous Among the Nations
- Mark KlempnerMark KlempnerMark Klempner is a folklorist, oral historian and social commentator.-Early life:Klempner grew up in New York City, and attended Cornell University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1997, and winning a J. William Fulbright Fellowship. In 2000, he received an M.A...
, author of The Heart Has Reasons: Holocaust Rescuers and Their Stories of Courage - ZegotaZegota"Żegota" , also known as the "Konrad Żegota Committee", was a codename for the Polish Council to Aid Jews , an underground organization of Polish resistance in German-occupied Poland from 1942 to 1945....
Council to Aid the Jews in occupied Poland - List of people who helped Jews during the Holocaust