Elias Schwarzfeld
Encyclopedia
Elias Schwarzfeld or Schwartzfeld was a Moldavia
n-born Romania
n Jewish historian, essayist, novelist and newspaperman, also known as a political activist and philanthropist. Writing in several languages (Romanian
, Yiddish, French
), he focused his studies on the Romanian Jewish community
, while steadily publishing articles and brochures which confronted antisemitism. The brother of literary historian Moses Schwarzfeld, Elias was the uncle of poet-philosopher Benjamin Fondane
.
Harassed and expelled by Romanian authorities, Schwarzfeld settled in France
and became a French citizen. While pursuing his literary and scientific activities, he also worked as an assistant to Maurice de Hirsch
, managing his various philanthropic projects and, after 1891, the Jewish Colonization Association
.
, Elias Schwarzfeld belonged to a family of intellectual prominence: his father B. Schwarzfeld was a poet and owner of a large book collection. The future writer, who was two years older than Moses, also had a sister, Adela Schwarzfeld-Wechsler (1859 – 1953), mother of Benjamin Fondane. Elias received his early education in the city's public schools
, and while still a student, between 1871 and 1873, contributed to the Iaşi papers Curierul de Iaşi and Noul Curier Român. Like his two siblings, Elias was raised within an intellectual environment shaped by Junimea
literary society, his family being acquainted with several of Junimeas leading members.
In 1872, Schwarzfeld participated in setting up Vocea Aparătorului ("The Defender's Voice"), a review started on behalf of the Jews. In May 1874, he founded in Iaşi Revista Israelitică ("The Israelites' Review"), in which he published his first Jewish novel, Darascha. From 1874 to 1876, Elias Schwarzfeld studied medicine at the University of Bucharest
, abandoning it later to take up the study of law. In 1881, he became a Doctor of Law
, the title being awarded to him by the Université Libre de Bruxelles
in Belgium
.
Between 1877 and 1878, Schwarzfeld edited the Yiddish daily Jüdischer Telegraf; after this had ceased publication, he edited the Yiddish biweekly Ha-Yoetz. During this period, Schwarzfeld became interested in advancing the cause of the non-emancipated
Jewish community in the Kingdom of Romania
: in 1878 he published his first pamphlet, Chestia şcoalelor israelite şi a progresului israelit în România ("The Issue of Israelite Schools and the Israelite Progress in Romania"), occasioned by a circular which the Alliance Israélite Universelle
had issued calling for information regarding the state of education among the Romanian Jews.
In 1881, on settling in Bucharest
, he took charge of the paper Fraternitatea ("Brotherhood"). He was at this time one of the principal collaborators on Anuarul pentru Israeliţi ("Yearbook for Israelites"), founded by his brother Moses in 1877. Presided upon by scholar Moses Gaster
, the Anuarul pentru Israeliţi staff, Elias included, promoted a moderate assimilationist
agenda (Haskalah
). It was in this journal that he published, from 1884 to 1898, his numerous studies on the history of the Jews in Romania. In 1883, he published another novel, Rabinul făcător de minuni, conte populaire ("The Miraculous Rabbi
, a Folk Tale").
Involved with the B'nai B'rith
, an international service club
for the Jewish communities, he was vice-president of the Fraternitatea lodge, and later as secretary-general of the supreme council of the Jewish lodges of Romania. In 1885 he published, in behalf of coreligionists in the small towns and villages, two pamphlets discussing cases of antisemitic persecution and Jewish reactions: Radu Porumbaru şi isprăvile lui la Fabrica de Hârtie din Bacău ("Radu Porumbaru and His Doings at the Bacău
Paper Mill"), Adevărul asupra revoltei de la Brusturoasa ("The Truth on the Revolt in Brusturoasa
").
government of Ion Brătianu
, he was expelled October 17, 1885, only forty-eight hours being given to him to arrange his personal affairs. Expelled at roughly the same time as Gaster, who had also spoken out against official antisemitism, he consequently moved to France
, settling in Paris
. In 1886, he was appointed by Baron Maurice de Hirsch
secretary of his private bureau of charity. When Hirsch founded the Jewish Colonization Association
(1891), Schwarzfeld became its secretary-general; up to the death of Clara Baroness Hirsch he acted as her secretary in the distribution of her charities. Eventually, Schwarzfeld was naturalized
a French citizen.
From Paris, Schwarzfeld continued his literary activity in behalf of his Romanian coreligionists, and he was co-editor of Egalitatea ("Equality"), the Bucharest-based Jewish periodical founded in Bucharest by his brother. He had an international career as an essayist and historian: in 1901, the American Jewish Year Book
published his The Jews of Rumania from the Earliest Time to the Present Day and The Situation of the Jews in Rumania Since the Berlin Treaty (1878); an essay on The Jews of Moldavia at the Beginning of the Eighteenth Century appeared in The Jewish Quarterly Review, vol. xvi., and another entitled Deux episodes de l'histoire des juifs roumains in the Revue des Études Juives
, vol. xiii. His Les juifs en Roumaine depuis le Traité de Berlin ("The Jews of Romania since the Berlin Treaty") appeared under the pseudonym Edmond Sincerus (London
, 1901).
Elias Schwarzfeld also completed work on several new novels: in 1890, Bercu Batlen; in 1895, Gângavul ("The Stammerer"), Beţivul ("The Drunkard"), Prigonit de soartă ("Persecuted by Fate"); in 1896, O fată bătrână ("An Old Maid"), Unchiul Berisch ("Uncle Berisch"), Un vagabond ("A Vagabond"), Schimschele Ghibor, Judecata poporană ("The People's Judgment"); in 1897, Polcovniceasa ("The Polkovnik
's Wife"). Most of these novels have been translated into the Hebrew language
and published by M. Braunstein-Mebaschan. Schwarzfeld also translated into Romanian several novels by, among others, Sámuel Kohn, Leopold Kompert
, Marcus Lehman, Ludwig Philippson
, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch
. In addition, he published Romanian versions of Isidore Loeb
's article Juifs ("Jews"), Arsène Darmesteter
's pamphlet on the Talmud
, and the two lectures by Ernest Renan
on Judaism
.
Elias Schwarzfeld's death was marked with an obituary piece in the Jewish magazine Mântuirea, which was incidentally Benjamin Fondane
's earliest contribution to this periodical. Fondane praised his uncle as "the only historian of the Romanian Jews", a "living archive", and the wager of a "holy battle" for the defense of Jewish rights. Schwarzfeld's contribution also earned posthumous praise in later decades. Writing in 1999, literary historian Z. Ornea described his predecessor's contribution to the field of Jewish Romanian history as "remarkable". In 2002, Editura Hasefer republished some of Schwarzfeld's scholarly contributions in an anthology
edited by historian Lya Benjamin: Evreii în texte istoriografice. It notably includes his posthumously published reply to Romanian ethnic nationalist
historian Nicolae Iorga
's Istoria evreilor în ţările noastre ("The History of the Jews in Our Countries", 1913).
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
n-born Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n Jewish historian, essayist, novelist and newspaperman, also known as a political activist and philanthropist. Writing in several languages (Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
, Yiddish, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
), he focused his studies on the Romanian Jewish community
History of the Jews in Romania
The history of Jews in Romania concerns the Jews of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is nowadays Romanian territory....
, while steadily publishing articles and brochures which confronted antisemitism. The brother of literary historian Moses Schwarzfeld, Elias was the uncle of poet-philosopher Benjamin Fondane
Benjamin Fondane
Benjamin Fondane or Benjamin Fundoianu was a Romanian and French poet, critic and existentialist philosopher, also noted for his work in film and theater. Known from his Romanian youth as a Symbolist poet and columnist, he alternated Neoromantic and Expressionist themes with echoes from Tudor...
.
Harassed and expelled by Romanian authorities, Schwarzfeld settled in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and became a French citizen. While pursuing his literary and scientific activities, he also worked as an assistant to Maurice de Hirsch
Maurice de Hirsch
Maurice de Hirsch was a German-Jewish philanthropist who set up charitable foundations to promote Jewish education and improve the lot of oppressed European Jewry. He was the founder of the Jewish Colonization Association which sponsored large-scale Jewish immigration to Argentina...
, managing his various philanthropic projects and, after 1891, the Jewish Colonization Association
Jewish Colonization Association
The Jewish Colonization Association was created on September 11, 1891 by the Baron Maurice de Hirsch. Its aim was to facilitate the mass emigration of Jews from Russia and other Eastern European countries, by settling them in agricultural colonies on lands purchased by the committee, particularly...
.
Romanian career
Born in IaşiIasi
Iași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life...
, Elias Schwarzfeld belonged to a family of intellectual prominence: his father B. Schwarzfeld was a poet and owner of a large book collection. The future writer, who was two years older than Moses, also had a sister, Adela Schwarzfeld-Wechsler (1859 – 1953), mother of Benjamin Fondane. Elias received his early education in the city's public schools
Education in Romania
According to the Law on Education adopted in 1995, the Romanian Educational System is regulated by the Ministry of Education and Research . Each level has its own form of organization and is subject to different legislation. Kindergarten is optional between 3 and 6 years old...
, and while still a student, between 1871 and 1873, contributed to the Iaşi papers Curierul de Iaşi and Noul Curier Român. Like his two siblings, Elias was raised within an intellectual environment shaped by Junimea
Junimea
Junimea was a Romanian literary society founded in Iaşi in 1863, through the initiative of several foreign-educated personalities led by Titu Maiorescu, Petre P. Carp, Vasile Pogor, Theodor Rosetti and Iacob Negruzzi...
literary society, his family being acquainted with several of Junimeas leading members.
In 1872, Schwarzfeld participated in setting up Vocea Aparătorului ("The Defender's Voice"), a review started on behalf of the Jews. In May 1874, he founded in Iaşi Revista Israelitică ("The Israelites' Review"), in which he published his first Jewish novel, Darascha. From 1874 to 1876, Elias Schwarzfeld studied medicine at the University of Bucharest
University of Bucharest
The University of Bucharest , in Romania, is a university founded in 1864 by decree of Prince Alexander John Cuza to convert the former Saint Sava Academy into the current University of Bucharest.-Presentation:...
, abandoning it later to take up the study of law. In 1881, he became a Doctor of Law
Doctor of law
Doctor of Law or Doctor of Laws is a doctoral degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country, and includes degrees such as the LL.D., Ph.D., J.D., J.S.D., and Dr. iur.-Argentina:...
, the title being awarded to him by the Université Libre de Bruxelles
Université Libre de Bruxelles
The Université libre de Bruxelles is a French-speaking university in Brussels, Belgium. It has 21,000 students, 29% of whom come from abroad, and an equally cosmopolitan staff.-Name:...
in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
Between 1877 and 1878, Schwarzfeld edited the Yiddish daily Jüdischer Telegraf; after this had ceased publication, he edited the Yiddish biweekly Ha-Yoetz. During this period, Schwarzfeld became interested in advancing the cause of the non-emancipated
Jewish Emancipation
Jewish emancipation was the external and internal process of freeing the Jewish people of Europe, including recognition of their rights as equal citizens, and the formal granting of citizenship as individuals; it occurred gradually between the late 18th century and the early 20th century...
Jewish community in the Kingdom of Romania
Kingdom of Romania
The Kingdom of Romania was the Romanian state based on a form of parliamentary monarchy between 13 March 1881 and 30 December 1947, specified by the first three Constitutions of Romania...
: in 1878 he published his first pamphlet, Chestia şcoalelor israelite şi a progresului israelit în România ("The Issue of Israelite Schools and the Israelite Progress in Romania"), occasioned by a circular which the Alliance Israélite Universelle
Alliance Israélite Universelle
The Alliance Israélite Universelle is a Paris-based international Jewish organization founded in 1860 by the French statesman Adolphe Crémieux to safeguard the human rights of Jews around the world...
had issued calling for information regarding the state of education among the Romanian Jews.
In 1881, on settling in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, he took charge of the paper Fraternitatea ("Brotherhood"). He was at this time one of the principal collaborators on Anuarul pentru Israeliţi ("Yearbook for Israelites"), founded by his brother Moses in 1877. Presided upon by scholar Moses Gaster
Moses Gaster
Moses Gaster was a Romanian-born Jewish-British scholar, the Hakham of the Spanish and Portuguese congregation, London, and a Hebrew linguist. He was also the son-in-law of Michael Friedländer, principal of Jews' College. The surname Gaster is taken from Spanish Castro, indicating his Sephardic...
, the Anuarul pentru Israeliţi staff, Elias included, promoted a moderate assimilationist
Jewish assimilation
Jewish assimilation refers to the cultural assimilation and social integration of Jews in their surrounding culture. Assimilation became legally possible in Europe during the Age of Enlightenment.-Background:Judaism forbids the worship of other gods...
agenda (Haskalah
Haskalah
Haskalah , the Jewish Enlightenment, was a movement among European Jews in the 18th–19th centuries that advocated adopting enlightenment values, pressing for better integration into European society, and increasing education in secular studies, Hebrew language, and Jewish history...
). It was in this journal that he published, from 1884 to 1898, his numerous studies on the history of the Jews in Romania. In 1883, he published another novel, Rabinul făcător de minuni, conte populaire ("The Miraculous Rabbi
Rabbi
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...
, a Folk Tale").
Involved with the B'nai B'rith
B'nai B'rith
B'nai B'rith International |Covenant]]" is the oldest continually operating Jewish service organization in the world. It was initially founded as the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith in New York City, on , 1843, by Henry Jones and 11 others....
, an international service club
Service club
A service club or service organization is a voluntary non-profit organization where members meet regularly to perform charitable works either by direct hands-on efforts or by raising money for other organizations. A service club is defined first by its service mission...
for the Jewish communities, he was vice-president of the Fraternitatea lodge, and later as secretary-general of the supreme council of the Jewish lodges of Romania. In 1885 he published, in behalf of coreligionists in the small towns and villages, two pamphlets discussing cases of antisemitic persecution and Jewish reactions: Radu Porumbaru şi isprăvile lui la Fabrica de Hârtie din Bacău ("Radu Porumbaru and His Doings at the Bacău
Bacau
Bacău is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. It covers a land surface of 43 km², and, as of January 1, 2009, has an estimated population of 177,087. The city is situated in the historical region of Moldavia, at the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, and on the Bistriţa River...
Paper Mill"), Adevărul asupra revoltei de la Brusturoasa ("The Truth on the Revolt in Brusturoasa
Brusturoasa
Brusturoasa is a commune in Bacău County, Romania. It is composed of six villages: Brusturoasa, Buruieniş, Buruienişu de Sus, Camenca, Cuchiniş and Hângăneşti....
").
Expulsion and move to France
Schwarzfeld's activities having rendered him objectionable to the National LiberalNational Liberal Party (Romania)
The National Liberal Party , abbreviated to PNL, is a centre-right liberal party in Romania. It is the third-largest party in the Romanian Parliament, with 53 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 22 in the Senate: behind the centre-right Democratic Liberal Party and the centre-left Social...
government of Ion Brătianu
Ion Bratianu
Ion C. Brătianu was one of the major political figures of 19th century Romania. He was the younger brother of Dimitrie, as well as the father of Ionel, Dinu, and Vintilă Brătianu...
, he was expelled October 17, 1885, only forty-eight hours being given to him to arrange his personal affairs. Expelled at roughly the same time as Gaster, who had also spoken out against official antisemitism, he consequently moved to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, settling in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. In 1886, he was appointed by Baron Maurice de Hirsch
Maurice de Hirsch
Maurice de Hirsch was a German-Jewish philanthropist who set up charitable foundations to promote Jewish education and improve the lot of oppressed European Jewry. He was the founder of the Jewish Colonization Association which sponsored large-scale Jewish immigration to Argentina...
secretary of his private bureau of charity. When Hirsch founded the Jewish Colonization Association
Jewish Colonization Association
The Jewish Colonization Association was created on September 11, 1891 by the Baron Maurice de Hirsch. Its aim was to facilitate the mass emigration of Jews from Russia and other Eastern European countries, by settling them in agricultural colonies on lands purchased by the committee, particularly...
(1891), Schwarzfeld became its secretary-general; up to the death of Clara Baroness Hirsch he acted as her secretary in the distribution of her charities. Eventually, Schwarzfeld was naturalized
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
a French citizen.
From Paris, Schwarzfeld continued his literary activity in behalf of his Romanian coreligionists, and he was co-editor of Egalitatea ("Equality"), the Bucharest-based Jewish periodical founded in Bucharest by his brother. He had an international career as an essayist and historian: in 1901, the American Jewish Year Book
American Jewish Year Book
The American Jewish Year Book , which has been published annually since 1899, is regarded as the authoritative record of events and trends in Jewish life in the United States and around the world by many Jewish organizations....
published his The Jews of Rumania from the Earliest Time to the Present Day and The Situation of the Jews in Rumania Since the Berlin Treaty (1878); an essay on The Jews of Moldavia at the Beginning of the Eighteenth Century appeared in The Jewish Quarterly Review, vol. xvi., and another entitled Deux episodes de l'histoire des juifs roumains in the Revue des Études Juives
Revue des Études Juives
Revue des Études Juives is a French quarterly of Jewish studies, founded in July 1880 at the École pratique des hautes études, Paris by the Société des Études Juives...
, vol. xiii. His Les juifs en Roumaine depuis le Traité de Berlin ("The Jews of Romania since the Berlin Treaty") appeared under the pseudonym Edmond Sincerus (London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, 1901).
Elias Schwarzfeld also completed work on several new novels: in 1890, Bercu Batlen; in 1895, Gângavul ("The Stammerer"), Beţivul ("The Drunkard"), Prigonit de soartă ("Persecuted by Fate"); in 1896, O fată bătrână ("An Old Maid"), Unchiul Berisch ("Uncle Berisch"), Un vagabond ("A Vagabond"), Schimschele Ghibor, Judecata poporană ("The People's Judgment"); in 1897, Polcovniceasa ("The Polkovnik
Polkovnik
Polkovnik is often a military rank in Slavic countries which corresponds to a colonel in English-speaking states. However, in the Ukraine, polkovnyk was an administrative rank similar to a governor...
's Wife"). Most of these novels have been translated into the Hebrew language
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
and published by M. Braunstein-Mebaschan. Schwarzfeld also translated into Romanian several novels by, among others, Sámuel Kohn, Leopold Kompert
Leopold Kompert
Leopold Kompert was a Bohemian Jewish writer. He was born in Mnichovo Hradiště , Bohemia, and died in Vienna....
, Marcus Lehman, Ludwig Philippson
Ludwig Philippson
Ludwig Philippson was a German rabbi and author, the son of Moses Philippson.He was educated at the gymanasium of Halle and at the University of Berlin, and maintained himself by tutoring and by doing literary work...
, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch
Leopold von Sacher-Masoch
Leopold Ritter von Sacher-Masoch was an Austrian writer and journalist, who gained renown for his romantic stories of Galician life. The term masochism is derived from his name....
. In addition, he published Romanian versions of Isidore Loeb
Isidore Loeb
Isidore Loeb was a French-Jewish scholar born at Soultzmatt, Haut-Rhin. The son of Rabbi Seligmann Loeb of Sulzmatt, he was educated in Bible and Talmud by his father...
's article Juifs ("Jews"), Arsène Darmesteter
Arsène Darmesteter
Arsène Darmesteter was a distinguished philologist and man of letters.He studied under Gaston Paris at the École des Hautes Etudes, and became professor of Old French language and literature at the Sorbonne. His Life of Words appeared in English in 1888...
's pamphlet on the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
, and the two lectures by Ernest Renan
Ernest Renan
Ernest Renan was a French expert of Middle East ancient languages and civilizations, philosopher and writer, devoted to his native province of Brittany...
on Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
.
Elias Schwarzfeld's death was marked with an obituary piece in the Jewish magazine Mântuirea, which was incidentally Benjamin Fondane
Benjamin Fondane
Benjamin Fondane or Benjamin Fundoianu was a Romanian and French poet, critic and existentialist philosopher, also noted for his work in film and theater. Known from his Romanian youth as a Symbolist poet and columnist, he alternated Neoromantic and Expressionist themes with echoes from Tudor...
's earliest contribution to this periodical. Fondane praised his uncle as "the only historian of the Romanian Jews", a "living archive", and the wager of a "holy battle" for the defense of Jewish rights. Schwarzfeld's contribution also earned posthumous praise in later decades. Writing in 1999, literary historian Z. Ornea described his predecessor's contribution to the field of Jewish Romanian history as "remarkable". In 2002, Editura Hasefer republished some of Schwarzfeld's scholarly contributions in an anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
edited by historian Lya Benjamin: Evreii în texte istoriografice. It notably includes his posthumously published reply to Romanian ethnic nationalist
Ethnic nationalism
Ethnic nationalism is a form of nationalism wherein the "nation" is defined in terms of ethnicity. Whatever specific ethnicity is involved, ethnic nationalism always includes some element of descent from previous generations and the implied claim of ethnic essentialism, i.e...
historian Nicolae Iorga
Nicolae Iorga
Nicolae Iorga was a Romanian historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, poet and playwright. Co-founder of the Democratic Nationalist Party , he served as a member of Parliament, President of the Deputies' Assembly and Senate, cabinet minister and briefly as Prime Minister...
's Istoria evreilor în ţările noastre ("The History of the Jews in Our Countries", 1913).