David Feuerwerker
Encyclopedia
Born in Geneva
He was born on October 2, 1912, at 11 Rue du Mont-Blanc, in GenevaGeneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, Switzerland. He was the seventh of eleven children. His father Jacob Feuerwerker was born in Sighet, now Sighetu Marmatiei
Sighetu Marmatiei
Sighetu Marmației , formerly Sighet, is a city in Maramureş County near the Iza River, in north-western Romania. It administers five villages: Iapa, Lazu Baciului, Șugău, Valea Cufundoasă and Valea Hotarului.-Geography:...
, Maramureş
Maramures
Maramureș may refer to the following:*Maramureș, a geographical, historical, and ethno-cultural region in present-day Romania and Ukraine, that occupies the Maramureș Depression and Maramureș Mountains, a mountain range in North East Carpathians...
, then Hungary, now Rumania. His mother Regina Neufeld was born in Lakenbach, one of the famous seven Jewish communities Sheva Kehillos (Siebengemeinden
Siebengemeinden
The Siebengemeinden were 7 Jewish communities located in Eisenstadt and its surrounding area. The groups are known as Sheva Kehillot in Hebrew....
) in the Burgenland
Burgenland
Burgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities. It is 166 km long from north to south but much narrower from west to east...
, Hungary, now Austria.
Studies in Paris
In 1925, he finished High School at the Rue Vauquelin Talmud Torah. After his BaccalauréatBaccalauréat
The baccalauréat , often known in France colloquially as le bac, is an academic qualification which French and international students take at the end of the lycée . It was introduced by Napoleon I in 1808. It is the main diploma required to pursue university studies...
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
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
) as a specialist in Semitic languages
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...
. Among the languages he spoke were Aramaic and Syriac.
On the front
From October 15, 1937, until September 1, 1939, he served in the French Army, in AlsaceAlsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
. 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
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
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)
Croix de guerre 1939-1945 (France)
The Croix de guerre 1939–1945 is a French military decoration created on September 26, 1939, to honour people who fought with the Allies against the Axis force at any time during World War II.-Recipients:...
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 BitcheBitcheBitche is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.It is known for its large citadel. The surrounding territory is known as le Pays de Bitche in French and Bitscherland in German.-Geography:...
. 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 AiletteAilette (river)The Ailette is a long river in the Aisne département, eastern France. Its source is at Sainte-Croix. It flows generally west-northwest. It is a left tributary of the Oise into which it flows between Manicamp and Quierzy, northeast of Compiègne....
, the Aisne, and the SeineSeineThe Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
, as Jewish Chaplain of his DivisionDivision (military)A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
. Has contributed to maintain the fighting spirit around him and to uphold the morale of the engaged units."
He was demobilized at Châteauroux
Châteauroux
Châteauroux is the capital of the Indre department in central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called Castelroussines or Castelroussins....
on July 25, 1940.
A second Citation for the Croix de guerre 1939-1945 (France)
Croix de guerre 1939-1945 (France)
The Croix de guerre 1939–1945 is a French military decoration created on September 26, 1939, to honour people who fought with the Allies against the Axis force at any time during World War II.-Recipients:...
was to the Order of the Army, with palm.
Rabbi of Brive and of three départements
In 1940, he was nominated Rabbi of three French Departments: CorrèzeCorrèze
Corrèze is a department in south central France, named after the Corrèze River.The inhabitants of the department are called Corréziens or Corréziennes according to gender.-History:...
, Creuse
Creuse
Creuse is a department in central France named after the Creuse River.-History:Creuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from the former province of La Marche....
, and Lot, based in Brive-la-Gaillarde
Brive-la-Gaillarde
Brive-la-Gaillarde is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Corrèze department. The population of the urban area was 89,260 as of 1999. Although it is by far the biggest commune in Corrèze, the capital is Tulle.-History:...
. He lived at Villa du Mont-Blanc, avenue Turgot, in Brive.
He created his first Study Circle (Cercle d'Etudes).
The Jewish population consisted of numerous refugees, including a large segment originating from Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
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
HIAS
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society was founded in 1881. The constant flow of Jewish immigrants from Russia gave birth to the society. HIAS assists Jews and other groups of people whose lives and freedom are at risk, through rescue, relocation, family reunification, and resettlement. Since its inception...
. Among the destinations, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. 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
Gurs
Gurs is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.Gurs was the site of the Camp Gurs concentration camp. Nothing remains of the camp; after World War II, a forest was planted on the site where it stood.-Geography:...
.
In the Résistance
In Brive with Edmond MicheletEdmond Michelet
Edmond Michelet was a French politician.On 17 June 1940, he distributed tracts calling to continue the war in all Brive-la-Gaillarde's mailboxes...
, later to be a senior Minister under Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
, he participated actively in the French Résistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
Movement "Combat" against the Nazi occupation. His name in the French Résistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
was "Jacques Portal".
He received the Croix du combattant volontaire
Croix du combattant volontaire
The Croix du combattant volontaire may refer to one of three French military decorations rewarding soldiers who spontaneously chose to serve with a fighting unit....
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
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
) for his military activities.
The Citation says:
- "Despite the exceptional risks which were attached to his ministry, 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 GestapoGestapoThe Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
."
His wife, Antoinette Feuerwerker
Antoinette Feuerwerker
Antoinette Feuerwerker was a French jurist and an active fighter in the French Resistance during the Second World War.-Biography:...
(née Gluck), who had finished Law School in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
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
French Liberation Medal
The French Liberation Medal or more precisely Liberated France Medal is a decoration of the French Republic which is issued to any veteran of the Second World War who participated in the liberation of France....
[Médaille de la France Libérée (1944)], for her participation in the liberation of France.
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 RésistanceResistance
- Physics :* Electrical resistance, a measure of the degree to which an object opposes an electric current through it* Friction, the force that opposes motion** Drag , fluid or gas forces opposing motion and flow...
.
But the Rabbi got ahead of the occupier. After receiving reliable information that he was on the list of people to be arrested by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
, 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
Antoinette Feuerwerker
Antoinette Feuerwerker was a French jurist and an active fighter in the French Resistance during the Second World War.-Biography:...
, to leave Brive. Only one destination was possible, Switzerland.
Antoinette Feuerwerker obtained from Jacques Soustelle
Jacques Soustelle
Jacques Soustelle was an important and early figure of the Free French Forces and an anthropologist specializing in pre-Columbian civilizations. He became vice-director of the Musée de l'Homme in Paris in 1938. He was elected to the Académie française in 1983.- Biography :Jacques Soustelle was...
, a future minister of Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
and later his opponent, but then a leader of the Résistance
Resistance
- Physics :* Electrical resistance, a measure of the degree to which an object opposes an electric current through it* Friction, the force that opposes motion** Drag , fluid or gas forces opposing motion and flow...
, information how to reach clandestinely neutral territory, in Divonne-les-Bains
Divonne-les-Bains
Divonne-les-Bains, is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France.It is a popular spa town.Divonne lies on the border with French-speaking Switzerland, between the foot of the Jura mountains and Lake Geneva. Geneva itself is 20 minutes away on the Swiss autoroute to the south-west...
. Once in his native city of Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, he was imprisoned by the Swiss authorities. But his life was not in immediate danger.
Once Lyon had been liberated, in which he participated, he resumed the task of rebuilding the Jewish community of Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
and of France, then in disarray.
Antoinette Feuerwerker had remained in France for the last six months of the war. In order to evade the Germans and deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
, she went underground with her baby daughter, Atara. Once the war ended, the couple reunited in Lyon, for the adventure of reconstruction of the post-war French Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
.
Chief Rabbi of Lyon, at the Libération
He participated in the liberation of LyonLyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
as the Captain-Chaplain [Capitaine-Aumônier] of the French Forces of the Interior
French Forces of the Interior
The French Forces of the Interior refers to French resistance fighters in the later stages of World War II. Charles de Gaulle used it as a formal name for the resistance fighters. The change in designation of these groups to FFI occurred as France's status changed from that of an occupied nation...
[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
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
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).
He spoke at the ceremony commemorating the Liberation of Lyon, at Place Bellecour.
His activities included liaising with the former Prime Minister of France
Prime Minister of France
The Prime Minister of France in the Fifth Republic is the head of government and of the Council of Ministers of France. The head of state is the President of the French Republic...
[Président du Conseil] Édouard Herriot
Édouard Herriot
Édouard Marie Herriot was a French Radical politician of the Third Republic who served three times as Prime Minister and for many years as President of the Chamber of Deputies....
and the Roman Catholic Primate of the Gauls [Primat des Gaules], Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
Pierre-Marie Gerlier
Pierre-Marie Gerlier
Pierre-Marie Gerlier was a French Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Lyon from 1937 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1937.-Biography:...
, later, recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous among the Nations of the world's nations"), also translated as Righteous Gentiles is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis....
, by 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....
, Jerusalem, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
He published in Lyon, the first weekly Jewish newspaper since the war, called L'Unité ["Unity"].
In Neuilly-sur-Seine
In 1946, he was elected Rabbi in Neuilly-sur-SeineNeuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Although Neuilly is technically a suburb of Paris, it is immediately adjacent to the city and directly extends it. The area is composed of mostly wealthy, select residential...
, near Paris, where he established a Cercle d'Etudes (Study Circle) at 12 rue Ancelle.
The money destined for the famous boat Exodus 1947 was hidden, without his knowledge, by his wife, Antoinette Feuerwerker
Antoinette Feuerwerker
Antoinette Feuerwerker was a French jurist and an active fighter in the French Resistance during the Second World War.-Biography:...
, under his bed, since no one would suspect him.
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 VosgesPlace des Vosges
The Place des Vosges is the oldest planned square in Paris.It is located in the Marais district, and it straddles the dividing-line between the 3rd and 4th arrondissements of Paris.- History :...
, in the heart of Le Marais
Le Marais
Le Marais is a historic district in Paris, France. Long the aristocratic district of Paris, it hosts many outstanding buildings of historic and architectural importance...
, the lecturers included: Raymond Aron
Raymond Aron
Raymond-Claude-Ferdinand Aron was a French philosopher, sociologist, journalist and political scientist.He is best known for his 1955 book The Opium of the Intellectuals, the title of which inverts Karl Marx's claim that religion was the opium of the people -- in contrast, Aron argued that in...
, Robert Aron
Robert Aron
Robert Aron was a French writer who authored a number of works on politics and history.-Early life:...
, Henri Baruk
Henri Baruk
Henri Baruk was a French neuropsychiatrist of Jewish descent, an apostle of moral psychiatry, whose studies have been used to advance concepts such as Marxism and other liberal movements of the 1960s.-Biography:Baruk spent his childhood among patients at the Lesvellec's Asylum where his father,...
, le Père Marie-Benoît
Père Marie-Benoît
Père Marie-Benoît , born Pierre Péteul, was a Capuchin Franciscan friar who helped smuggle approximately 4,000 Jews into safety from Nazi-occupied Southern France...
, Jean Cassou
Jean Cassou
Jean Cassou was a French writer, art critic, poet and member of the French Resistance during World War II.- Biography :Jean Cassou was born at Deusto, near Bilbao,...
, Georges Duhamel
Georges Duhamel
Georges Duhamel , was a French author, born in Paris. Duhamel trained as a doctor, and during World War I was attached to the French Army. In 1920, he published Confession de minuit , the first of a series featuring the anti-hero Salavin...
, Marcel Dunan, Edmond Fleg, Henri Hertz, Louis Kahn (admiral)
Louis Kahn (admiral)
Louis-Lazare Kahn , known as Admiral Louis Kahn, was the first French Jewish Admiral, and a leader of the French Jewish community.-Biography:...
, Joseph Kessel
Joseph Kessel
Joseph Kessel was a French journalist and novelist.He was born in Villa Clara, Entre Ríos, Argentina, because of the constant journeys of his father, a Lithuanian doctor of Jewish origin. Joseph Kessel lived the first years of his childhood in Orenburg, Russia, before the family moved to France...
, Jacques Madaule, Arnold Mandel (1913–1987), Szolem Mandelbrojt, François Mauriac
François Mauriac
François Mauriac was a French author; member of the Académie française ; laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature . He was awarded the Grand Cross of the Légion d'honneur .-Biography:...
, Edmond Michelet
Edmond Michelet
Edmond Michelet was a French politician.On 17 June 1940, he distributed tracts calling to continue the war in all Brive-la-Gaillarde's mailboxes...
, Pierre Morhange, François Perroux
François Perroux
François Perroux was a French economist. He was named Professor at the Collège de France, after having taught at the University of Lyon and the University of Paris...
, le Père Michel Riquet (1898–1993), Pierre-Maxime Schuhl (1902–1984), André Spire
André Spire
André Spire was a French poet, writer, and Zionist activist.-Biography:Born in 1868 in Nancy to a Jewish family of the middle bourgeoisie, long established in the Lorraine, Spire studied literature, then law...
, Jean Wahl
Jean Wahl
Jean André Wahl was a French philosopher.-Early career:He was professor at the Sorbonne from 1936 to 1967, broken by World War II. He was in the U.S...
, and many others.
In an assessment of "European Jewry Ten Years After The War", and of France, in particular, Arnold Mandel writes in 1956: "Under the auspices of a very dynamic, forceful and militant rabbi David Feuerwerker a free debating club the Circle du Marais has been active for several years. Situated in one of the most beautiful squares in Paris, the Place des Vosges where the Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
Museum is located, the club, where the discussions are sometimes stormy, is one of the liveliest and most picturesque spots in the Jewish quarter of the French capital. It is Hyde Park (See Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
), with more spirit."
Roger Berg writes en 1992 on the Cercle d'Études du Marais: "Sometime after the end of World War II, and before the sudden emergence of television in homes, study circles were created all over, the most prestigious among them was the Circle of the Marais of David Feuerwerker."
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].
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 Samuel Jacob RubinsteinSamuel Jacob Rubinstein
Samuel Jacob Rubinstein was a XXth century French orthodox Chief Rabbi independent from the Consistoire central born in Poland.- Biography :...
of the Synagogue of the 10 rue Pavée in Paris 4 (Agoudas Hakehilos Synagogue
Agoudas Hakehilos Synagogue
The Agoudas Hakehilos synagogue , at 10 rue Pavée, in the IVe arrondissement of Paris , commonly referred to at the Pavee synagogue, rue Pavee synagogue, or Guimard synagogue, was erected in 1913 by the architect Hector Guimard, and inaugurated on June 7, 1914.This synagogue was commissioned by the...
). He spoke at a Commemoration on the site of the camp at Drancy
Drancy internment camp
The Drancy internment camp of Paris, France, was used to hold Jews who were later deported to the extermination camps. 65,000 Jews were deported from Drancy, of whom 63,000 were murdered including 6,000 children...
. He spoke also at the Grande Synagogue of Paris, rue de la Victoire
Rue de la Victoire
The rue de la Victoire is a street in the IXe arrondissement of Paris.The former name of the street was "rue Chantereine" . The street took the name "rue de la Victoire" from 1797 to 1816 after the victorious campaign of Napoleon in Italy...
in the 9th arrondissement of Paris.
Teaching at the Sorbonne
In parallel to his rabbinical activities, he obtained a Licence ès Lettres and a Ph.D.Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in history from the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
. He taught at the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
EPHE 6ème section Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes
École pratique des hautes études
The École pratique des hautes études is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions....
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.
The first Chief Chaplain of the French Navy
He created the position of Chief Chaplain [Aumônier Général of the French NavyFrench Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
[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
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
and Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
(at the navy base in Bizerte
Bizerte
Bizerte or Benzert , is the capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia and the northernmost city in Africa. It has a population of 230,879 .-History:...
).
He was also chaplain of prisons (La Petite Roquette), Lycées (Lycée Henri-IV, Lycée Fénelon) and hospitals (Hôtel-Dieu de Paris
Hôtel-Dieu de Paris
The Hôtel-Dieu de Paris is regarded as the oldest hospital in the city of Paris, France, and is the most central of the Assistance publique - hôpitaux de Paris hospitals. The hospital is linked to the Faculté de Médecine Paris-Descartes...
) in Paris.
In 1963, General Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
nominated him to be Officer of the Legion of Honor (Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
), for his work for the French Navy
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
.
He introduces Hebrew at the Baccalauréat
He introduced Hebrew as a foreign language for the French BaccalauréatBaccalauréat
The baccalauréat , often known in France colloquially as le bac, is an academic qualification which French and international students take at the end of the lycée . It was introduced by Napoleon I in 1808. It is the main diploma required to pursue university studies...
, 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 Haïm Brezis
Haïm Brezis
Haïm Brezis is a French mathematician who works in functional analysis and partial differential equations.Born in Riom-ès-Montagnes, Cantal, France. Brezis is the son of Romanian immigrant father, who came to France in the 1930s, and his mother is a Jew who fled from Holland...
, the future member of the French Academy of Sciences
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...
[Académie des sciences ( France)] and of the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
(USA).
Close to Pierre Mendès France
He was close to Pierre Mendès France, the former Prime Minister of FrancePrime Minister of France
The Prime Minister of France in the Fifth Republic is the head of government and of the Council of Ministers of France. The head of state is the President of the French Republic...
. He led the funerals of both his parents.
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, IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, and the Hassidic leader of Belz
Belz
Belz , a small city in the Lviv Oblast of Western Ukraine, near the border with Poland, is located between the Solokiya river and the Rzeczyca stream....
, Rabbi Aharon Rokeach
Aharon Rokeach
Aharon Rokeach was the fourth Rebbe of the Belz Hasidic dynasty. He led the movement from 1926 until his death in 1957....
(1877–1957), called Reb Arele, also, living in Israel.
Under the Arc de Triomphe
After the Sinai War of 1956 Suez CrisisSuez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
, when Moshe Dayan
Moshe Dayan
Moshe Dayan was an Israeli military leader and politician. The fourth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces , he became a fighting symbol to the world of the new State of Israel...
visited France, he represented the Jewish Community, at a ceremony under the Arc of Triumph (Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile), in Paris.
Friendship with Aimé Pallière
He befriended and helped Aimé Pallière (1868–1949), who has remained as the Noahide (B'nei NoahB'nei Noah
Noahidism is a Biblical-Talmudic and monotheistic ideology based on the Seven Laws of Noah. According to Jewish law, non-Jews are not obligated to convert to Judaism, but they are required to observe the Seven Laws of Noah to be assured of a place in the World to Come , the final reward of the...
) par excellence.
Rabbi of Chasseloup-Laubat
He became the RabbiRabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
of the Synagogue 15 Rue Chasseloup-Laubat (15th arrondissement of Paris).
Judge in the Rabbinical Court of Montreal
In 1966, he moved with his family (six children: Atara, Natania, Elie, Hillel, Emmanuel, and Benjamine) to MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada.
He became Judge in the Rabbinical Court (Beth Din
Beth din
A beth din, bet din, beit din or beis din is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel...
) of that City, and a member of the Vaad Hair (Jewish Community Council of Montreal), beside the Chief Rabbi of Montreal Pinhas Hirschprung.
He introduced Rabbi Moshe Feinstein
Moshe Feinstein
Moshe Feinstein was a Lithuanian Orthodox rabbi, scholar and posek , who was world-renowned for his expertise in Halakha and was regarded by many as the de facto supreme halakhic authority for Orthodox Jewry of North America during his lifetime...
(1895–1986), the halahic authority of his time, to the Mayor of Montreal, Jean Drapeau
Jean Drapeau
Jean Drapeau, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as mayor of Montreal from 1954 to 1957 and 1960 to 1986...
at the Montreal City Hall.
He was the editor of the French section of the "Voice of the Vaad" Journal, called "la Voix du Conseil".
Professor at the Université de Montréal
He lived at 5583 Woodbury Avenue, in Montreal, a minute away from l'Université de MontréalUniversité de Montréal
The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal...
. His neighbour, René Lévesque
René Lévesque
René Lévesque was a reporter, a minister of the government of Quebec, , the founder of the Parti Québécois political party and the 23rd Premier of Quebec...
, the future premier of Quebec
Premier of Quebec
The Premier of Quebec is the first minister of the Canadian province of Quebec. The Premier is the province's head of government and his title is Premier and President of the Executive Council....
, paid tribute to him, in his own name, and in the name of the Quebec 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
Jewish studies
Jewish studies is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history , religious studies, archeology, sociology, languages , political science, area studies, women's studies, and ethnic studies...
.
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 FrançaiseAcadémie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
. A review of the book appeared on the front page of the newspaper Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
.
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
Jewish music
Jewish music is the music and melodies of the Jewish People which have evolved over time throughout the long course of Jewish History. In some instances Jewish Music is of a religious nature, spiritual songs and refrains are common in Jewish Services throughout the world, while other times, it is...
. He organized the appearance of the famous Hazzan
Hazzan
A hazzan or chazzan is a Jewish cantor, a musician trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer.There are many rules relating to how a cantor should lead services, but the idea of a cantor as a paid professional does not exist in classical rabbinic sources...
Moshe Koussevitzky
Moshe Koussevitzky
Moshe Koussevitzky was a cantor and vocalist. A relative of noted conductor Sergei Koussevitzky, he made many recordings in Poland and the United States....
, 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.