Certificate of appreciation bestowed upon Dr. Ignaz (Yitzchak) Kuranda by the Gomlei Chasadim Chevra Kadisha of Prague. Color lithograph, Mittag & Wildner: Prague, dedication dated 5641 (1880-1881).

Large, elaborate certificate of appreciation, with a dozen illustrations depicting the ancient Jewish cemetery of Prague – featuring images of several of its distinguished and ancient graves – and the activities of the Gomlei Chasadim Chevra Kadisha in the city.

The eight illustrations depicting the cemetery document the graves of R. David Oppenheim, R. Mordechai Meisel – leader of the Jewish community in the time of the Maharal, the Maharal of Prague, R. David Gans, the noblewoman Hendele wife of financier Yaakov Bassevi, R. Avigdor Kara, R. Shimon Shapiro and R. Yosef Shlomo Delmedigo (Yashar of Kandia). The remaining four illustrations depict the activities of the Chevra Kadisha.

The center of the certificate contains printed blessings and dedications from the Chevra Kadisha, with the recipient's name and titles filled in by hand: "The man raised high, the all-around sage R. Dr. Yitzchak Kuranda, one of the ministers and advisors of the lands of the King of Austria, adorned in glorious ornaments by kings desiring his honor!".

Ignaz (Yitzchak) Kuranda (1811-1884) was a publicist, author and Austrian statesman born in Prague, who took an active part in Jewish community life in Vienna in the second half of the 19th century. Kuranda served as a representative in the Landtag of Lower Austria from 1861 and later served as president of the Jewish community of Vienna (IKG) from 1872 until his passing.

The bottom margins of the document contain the signatures of the representatives of the Chevra Kadisha in Prague: "Itzek R. Avraham Schitz", "Shmuel Taussig", "Kaufman Plahn", "Moshe R. Avraham Wohle Absan", "David Zoppert", "Zechariah Kuh", "Leib son of R. David Kuhe Segal".

This document is reminiscent, in design and layout, of Mizrach and Yahrzeit posters printed in central Europe during the 19th century which were distributed and sold commercially. Nevertheless, the present certificate appears to be an original work designed specifically for the Gomlei Chasadim society of Prague; we know of no other copies of this print, and it appears that even the illustrations printed here were specifically designed for this certificate, as they do not appear in other sources.

38X48 cm. Fair-good condition. Wide, complete margins. Creases, wear and rolling marks. Stains, some dark. Marginal tears, some reinforced with tape to verso.

"Der Giftpilz, ein Stürmerbuch für Jung u. Alt" ["The Poison Mushroom, A Book for Young and Old], by Ernst Hiemer. Nuremberg: "Der Stürmer", 1938. German.

"The Poison Mushroom", antisemitic children’s book published by the Nazi weekly magazine "Der Stürmer". Color illustrations by "Der Stürmer" cartoonist/caricaturist Philipp Rupprecht, who published his works under the pen name "Fips".

The first story tells of a mother teaching her son how to distinguish edible mushrooms from poisonous ones. The tale concludes with this statement: "The following stories tell the truth about the poisonous Jewish mushroom; they lay out the many different forms that the Jew assumes… The Jew the way he truly is: a devil in human form". This book was submitted as an exhibit at the Nuremberg trials, and was a factor in bringing about the convictions of the publisher and illustrator.

A handwritten dedication in German appears on the front flyleaf of the present copy: "To Party member Rühl, in recognition of your contribution to the establishment of the Nazi Party in the territory of Alsace – [author of dedication not indicated], Strasbourg, January 7, 1941". Apparently this copy was gifted to the German physician Helmut Rüh (1918-?), a medical doctor employed at the "Reich University of Strasbourg" who performed experiments on killing by means of gas at the Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp in the Alsace region. In a trial held in France after the end of the war, he was sentenced to death in absentia.

64 pages. 26.5 cm. Good condition. Original binding (printed paper binding; cloth spine and board edges). Minor blemishes.

Official protection document (Bescheinigung) issued by the Swedish Embassy in Budapest; signed by Raoul Wallenberg. Budapest, August 15, 1944. German and Hungarian.

Official document, certifying that Mrs. Eva Terner is the wife of Wilhelm (Vilmos) Terner – an employee of Raoul Wallenberg at the Swedish Embassy in Budapest. Printed in Hungarian and German, with official embassy stamps.

In the margin of the German text appears the full handwritten signature of Righteous Among the Nations Raoul Wallenberg (an additional signature, in a single line without a clear form, appears next to the signature).

The name Wilhelm Terner (Wilhelm-Vilmos Terner) is mentioned in several official documents from the period of Wallenberg's activity to save Hungarian Jews:

• A recorded embassy protocol from January 1, 1945, mentioning Terner as one of the managers of the protected house on Revaigatan Street (the protocol notes that Terner refused to disclose the location of two Jews to members of the Arrow Cross Party after they threatened to execute him).

• An official request by the Swedish Embassy to release detained officials and holders of protective passports, in which Terner is mentioned as one of the detainees (October 21, 1944).

The activity of the Swedish Embassy in Budapest to save Hungarian Jews began shortly after the German occupation of the country in 1944. The Swedish ambassador, Danielsson, issued temporary Swedish passports to Hungarian Jews who had family or business ties with Swedish citizens. In July 1944, when many Hungarian Jews had already been deported to Auschwitz, Raoul Wallenberg was sent by the Swedish Foreign Ministry to Budapest to assist in saving the Jews who remained in the city. The Hungarian and German authorities generally respected the authority of the Swedish Embassy, and Wallenberg managed to issue thousands of "protective passports" which protected Jews from deportation eastward, despite these documents not having legal validity.

Wallenberg did not limit himself to issuing passports and worked in additional ways to save Hungarian Jews. Among other activities, he established safe houses for Jews and pressured senior Nazi officials to stop the deportations of Jews to Auschwitz. According to testimonies, he would even arrive at the station where Jews were gathered for deportation to Auschwitz, demanding that those supposedly holding protective passports be taken off the train. In 1966, Raoul Wallenberg was recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations.

[1] leaf, 29.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Fold lines. Minor creases. Tears along fold lines. Handwritten inscription (Swedish?).

See:

• Jenö Lévai, Raoul Wallenberg, Hjälten i Budapest, Stockholm: Saxon & Lindströms, 1948 (p. 198).

• László Karsai, Zsidósors Budapesten a nyilas uralom idején, (in: Vádirat a nácizmus ellen, Vol. IV, Budapest: Balassi, 2014 [p. 142]).

"Medinat HaYehudim…" (Der Iudenstaat / The Jewish State: A New Approach to Solving the Jewish Question, translated with special permission from the author by Michal Berkowitz). Warsaw: Tushiya, 1896. On the cover: "1897".

Herzl's revolutionary book, presenting for the first time his vision for establishing a Jewish state. First Hebrew edition. Printed as part of the "Sifrei-Am" series by the Tushiya publishing house, in the same year as the German edition was published. Original wrapper.

Bound together with eight revolutionary, socialist and philosophical writings in Yiddish, published around the time of "Der Iudenstaat" (some rare; a detailed list will be sent upon request). All six works are bound together in thick paper, with the stamp of the Herzliah Teachers Seminary in New York.

Der Iudenstaat: [2] leaves, iv, [1], 6-82, vi, [1] pages. 18 cm. Good-fair condition. Minor stains. Brittle leaves. Minor tears and small open tears at margins (some restored). The other booklets in the volume are of varying size and condition, good to fair. Paper binding damaged and slightly worn.

Publication of Herzl's "Der Judenstaat"

The story behind "Der Judenstaat" – commonly translated as "The Jewish State" and widely regarded as the book that served as the founding statement of the Zionist movement – can be said to have begun with the "Speech to the Rothschilds", composed by Binyamin Ze'ev (Theodor) Herzl in time for his meeting with members of the Rothschild family in 1895. This speech, 22 pages in length, laid out the preliminary outline for what would eventually become Herzl's grand landmark plan. This outline would gradually undergo a number of incarnations and versions before it sufficiently matured into a full-fledged plan, whereupon Herzl decided to turn it into a complete book. According to Herzl's own account, the book was written all at once, in two months of non-stop writing, "walking, standing, lying down, in the street, at the table, at night when I started up from sleep…". Once completed, the manuscript would, for the first time, present Herzl's grand vision in all its glory – a detailed plan for the establishment of a Jewish state, stage by stage, beginning with the gathering and organizing of the Jews of the world, up until the enactment of a legal constitution and the adoption of a national flag. Regarding his thoughts and feelings at the time of the writing, Herzl said: "I do not recollect ever having written anything in such an elevated frame of mind as that book. [Heinrich] Heine says that he heard the wings of an eagle beating over his head while writing certain verses. I do believe that something also beat its wings above my head while I was writing that book". Initially, no book publisher was willing to publish the book. Herzl found himself rejected by all his regular publishing companies, such as Duncker & Humblot, as well as the Berlin-based publisher Siegfried Cronbach, who insisted that anti-Semitism was a waning force throughout the world. In the end, Herzl turned to Max Breitenstein, a small bookseller in Vienna who agreed to print the book even though he did not share Herzl's beliefs, nor was he sympathetic to the Zionist cause. In February 1896, a small edition of "Der Judenstaat" was finally published in German with the subtitle "An Attempt at a Modern Solution to the Jewish Question". In order to ensure the work would be treated with the seriousness he felt it deserved, Herzl added his academic degree – Doctor of Laws – to the authorship of the book. Immediately upon publication, the book stirred up a maelstrom. A majority of public figures – Jewish and non-Jewish alike – viewed it as nonsensical and absurd; one particular Jewish newspaper editor even offered the use of his personal carriage to transport Herzl to an insane asylum. Among the book's initial opponents were such unlikely personalities as Hayim Nahman Bialik and Nahum Sokolow, the pioneer of Hebrew journalism who would one day become author of the first Hebrew translation of Herzl's "Altneuland". In the words of author Stefan Zweig, "never in Vienna had anyone been subjected to such ridicule as Herzl". As agreed in advance, Max Breitenstein published three additional editions (distinguished from the original edition only in minute details on the respective covers and title pages) that same year. He published no subsequent editions of "Der Judenstaat". Notwithstanding the scathing reactions of public figures and noted academics to "Der Judenstaat" the book succeeded in igniting the imaginations of a great many readers in Europe and around the world, and new editions – in Yiddish, Russian, English, and other languages – appeared not long after the publication of the original German editions. One of the earliest editions to see the light of day was the Hebrew translation by Herzl's personal secretary, Michael Berkowitz. It was published by Tushiah in 1896, the same year as the first German edition. In its introduction, Berkowitz brought attention to two "corrections" that Herzl insisted upon in oral communications with him, and wrote the following (in Hebrew): "I hereby testify to two issues that relate in particular to the Hebrew translation… In the chapter [entitled] 'Language of the Land'… after he was made aware that a Hebrew-speaking readership exists for this book… a changed spirit took hold of him, as he was ensured that the Hebrew language could surely be rejuvenated… As to the place of settlement… he [likewise] changed his mind… and addressed his attention exclusively to the Land of our Forefathers". In subsequent years, with the burgeoning of the Zionist movement and the convening of the early Zionist Congresses, the book came to be translated in yet more languages, and began to appear overseas, particularly in the United States, where Zionism quickly developed into a movement that carried weight and influence. In sum total, during Herzl's brief remaining lifetime, no fewer than 17 editions of "Der Judenstaat" were published – most in small editions numbering only a few thousand copies, and often in the form of thin, nondurable booklets. Dozens more editions were published following Theodor Herzl's passing, including translations into such languages as Ladino, Esperanto, Serbo-Croatian, and many others. It was to become one of the best-known Jewish works of all time.

References:

1. Rephael Patai (ed.), The Complete Diaries of Theodor Herzl. New York and London: Herzl Press and Thomas Yoseloff, 1960. Vol. I, p. 24.

2. Ritchie Robertson (ed.), The German-Jewish Dialogue: An Anthology of Literary Texts, 1749-1993. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. p. 150.