A rabbinic ordination certificate awarded to a Jew named Pavel Hoch on behalf of the "Rabbinic Seminary in Breslau". Printed, filled in, and hand-signed by the teachers. Printed by A. Wollmann, Breslau, 1939. German.
The Rabbinic Seminary in Breslau (Jüdisch-Theologisches Seminar Fraenckel'sche Stiftung, Breslau) was a seminary for Jewish studies, active between the years 1854-1938. At its peak, it was considered one of the most important centers of Conservative Judaism, and among its graduates were students and researchers such as Leo Beck, Yitzchak Moshe Elenbogen, Israel Levi and others. In November 1938, one day after the Kristallnacht, the Nazis invaded the seminary, ordered to close it and forbade any meetings between teachers. In spite of this order, some teachers continued to examine the students and conduct ordination examinations in their private homes, and issued a number of certificates after the school was closed. The last examination recorded in the seminary records was held on 31.2.1939, which is the date appearing on this certificate.
See: "Rabbinic Seminary in Breslau – the Last Generation", by Guy Meron, in: Guy Meron (editor), from Breslau to Jerusalem, Rabbinic Seminaries: chapters of study and philosophy, Jerusalem, 2009, pp. 86-99.
45.5X36.5 cm. Good condition. Stains and creases. Slight damages to margins.