Oskar Rosenfeld
Encyclopedia
Oskar Rosenfeld was an Austrian-Jewish writer killed at Auschwitz concentration camp
.
, Moravia
to Jeanette Rosenfeld (Jellinek). Finished his studies in 1908 and promoted in Vienna about Philipp Otto Runge
in the Romantics. Active in different Zionist organizations. Wrote for Jewish papers and journals such as “Die Welt” and “Juedische Volkssimme”, culture critics, about art, theater and literature. Was a member of Jewish “Hochschuelerverein Theodor Herzl”.
, Egon Brecher
and others a Jewish theatre initiative, to play modern yiddish dramas in German language. His first novel was Die vierte Galerie, published in 1910. In the First World War he served in the Austro-Hungarian Army
in Sofia
in the Austrian-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and was the chief editor of the Bulgarische Handelszeitung 1916–1918.
1920 six novels of Rosenfeld where published under the title Tage und Naechte. He was active in the Judenstaatspartei. 1923–1927 he worked as an editor of the Wiener Morgenzeitung. 1927 he founded the new Jewish theater in Vienna Jüdische Künstlerspiele. Rosenfeld translated classical and modern Yiddish
literature, works of Mendele Mocher Sforim
, Sholem Aleichem, Isaac Leib Peretz and Joshua Singer
.
Rosenfeld started to work for the illustrated weekly Die neue Welt in 1929, later becoming its editor in chief. The 1938 Anschluss
brought Rosenfeld's work in Vienna to an end. He and his wife, Henriette, emigrated to Prague
, where he became a correspondent for The Jewish Chronicle
.
, along with 5,000 Jews from Prague. From June 1942 on, he worked in the Ghetto archive, where he took part in publication of the community's chronicle and wrote for its lexicon.
, where he was killed in a gas chamber.
His diary, written in the ghetto between 17 February 1942 and 28 July 1944 in a series of fifteen school notebooks, is kept at Yad Vashem
in Jerusalem.
Diary:
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
.
Early life and education
Oskar Rosenfeld was born May 13, 1884 in KoryčanyKorycany
Koryčany is a town in the Czech Republic.- Sites :* Koryčany Castle, a castle located at the site of the former festivals.* Gothic Saint Lawrence Church, a Gothic church with valuable baroque furnishings ....
, Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
to Jeanette Rosenfeld (Jellinek). Finished his studies in 1908 and promoted in Vienna about Philipp Otto Runge
Philipp Otto Runge
Philipp Otto Runge was a Romantic German painter and draughtsman. He made a late start to his career and died young, nonetheless he is considered among the best German Romantic painters.- Life and work :...
in the Romantics. Active in different Zionist organizations. Wrote for Jewish papers and journals such as “Die Welt” and “Juedische Volkssimme”, culture critics, about art, theater and literature. Was a member of Jewish “Hochschuelerverein Theodor Herzl”.
Career
1904 he was one of the founders of the Jewish youth and student newspaper Unsere Hoffnung. 1907 he founded, together with writer Hugo ZuckermannHugo Zuckermann
Hugo Zuckermann was a Jewish-Austrian poet and Zionist.Hugo Zuckermann was born 15 May 1881 in Cheb. 1907 he founded, together with writer Oskar Rosenfeld, Egon Brecher and others a Jewish theatre group to play modern yiddish dramas in German language. The initiative lasted for one or two years....
, Egon Brecher
Egon Brecher
Egon Brecher was a Czechoslovakian stage actor and director who toured Austria and Germany acting on the stage, and also served as the chief director of the Stadts Theatre in Vienna, before entering the motion picture industry.-Career:Born as a son of a professor, he began to study philosophy in...
and others a Jewish theatre initiative, to play modern yiddish dramas in German language. His first novel was Die vierte Galerie, published in 1910. In the First World War he served in the Austro-Hungarian Army
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army , the Austrian Landwehr , and the Hungarian Honvédség .In the wake of fighting between the...
in Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
in the Austrian-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and was the chief editor of the Bulgarische Handelszeitung 1916–1918.
1920 six novels of Rosenfeld where published under the title Tage und Naechte. He was active in the Judenstaatspartei. 1923–1927 he worked as an editor of the Wiener Morgenzeitung. 1927 he founded the new Jewish theater in Vienna Jüdische Künstlerspiele. Rosenfeld translated classical and modern Yiddish
Yiddish language
Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...
literature, works of Mendele Mocher Sforim
Mendele Mocher Sforim
Mendele Mocher Sforim , December 21, 1835 = January 2, 1836 , Kapyl — November 25, 1917 = December 8, 1917...
, Sholem Aleichem, Isaac Leib Peretz and Joshua Singer
Israel Joshua Singer
Israel Joshua Singer was a Yiddish novelist. He was born Yisroel Yehoyshue Zinger, the son of Pinchas Mendl Zinger, a rabbi and author of rabbinic commentaries, and Basheva Zylberman...
.
Rosenfeld started to work for the illustrated weekly Die neue Welt in 1929, later becoming its editor in chief. The 1938 Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
brought Rosenfeld's work in Vienna to an end. He and his wife, Henriette, emigrated to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, where he became a correspondent for The Jewish Chronicle
The Jewish Chronicle
The Jewish Chronicle is a London-based Jewish newspaper. Founded in 1841, it is the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world.-Publication data and readership figures:...
.
World War II
In 1939, Rosenfeld's wife emigrated to England in anticipation of him following, but the outbreak of Second World War made his emigration impossible. In November 1941, Rosenfeld was deported to the Łódź Ghetto in PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, along with 5,000 Jews from Prague. From June 1942 on, he worked in the Ghetto archive, where he took part in publication of the community's chronicle and wrote for its lexicon.
Death and afterward
In August 1944, Oskar Rosenfeld was deported to AuschwitzAuschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
, where he was killed in a gas chamber.
His diary, written in the ghetto between 17 February 1942 and 28 July 1944 in a series of fifteen school notebooks, is kept at Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
in Jerusalem.
Published works
- Philipp Otto in der Romantik, 1908
- Die vierte Galerie. Ein Wiener Roman, 1910
- Mendl Ruhig. Erzaehlung, 1914
- Tage und Nächte. Novellen, 1920
- Komoedianten. Nach Scholem Alechems Roman Irrende Sterne. 1930
Diary:
- Wozu noch Welt. Aufzeichnungen aus dem Getto Lodz“, Herausgegeben von Hanno Loewy, Verlag Neue Kritik, Frankfurt am Main, 1994
- In the beginning was the ghetto : notebooks from Łódź”, edited and with an introduction by Hanno Loewy ; translated from the German by Brigitte M. Goldstein, Evanston, Ill. : Northwestern University Press, c2002