ViewMate - Image Archive, Image 106889 - Translation - German - Austria - Vienna - Werner


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Information

Picture

Question

Category: Translation - German
Approval Date: 4/24/2024 12:25 PM
Family Surname: Werner
Country: Austria
Town: Vienna
Date of Image: 1945?

Click the picture to enlarge

Page 1 of a biographical sketch of Siegmund Werner (1867-1928), on the anniversary of his death,found in the Erich Werner Collection at the Leo Baeck Institute in NY. Noted musicologist Erich Werner (1901-1988) was Siegmund's nephew. Siegmund was a poet, physician, colleague of Theodore Herzl, editor of Herzl's newspaper, Die Welt.

Response

4/24/2024 6:13 PM

Here you go, June. This is both pages.

***

Dr. Siegmund Werner

May 9th is the thirtieth anniversary of the death of Dr. Siegmund WERNER, personal friend and physician of Theodor Herzl. Dr. Werner for many years was the editor of “Die Welt,” the first German-language publication of the Zionist movement. This man’s life and works deserve to be restored to our memory, if for no other reason than his close association with Herzl and the early history of Zionism.

Born in 1867 in Vienna as the eldest son of Joseph Werner, a lecturer, he had an orthodox upbringing but soon lost interest in orthodoxy’s narrow horizons. He initially joined Nathan Birnbaum, who had founded Vienna’s “Zionist Reading and Lecture Hall.” Werner advised Birnbaum in political matters, then switched to Herzl in 1896 as an enthusiastic activist, attending and participating in the First Zionist Congress in Basle. He was a founder of the Zionist organizations “Kadimah” and “Massada” in Vienna, and after finishing medical school he published two volumes of poetry in which he successfully achieved a synthesis of political Zionism with the steadfast faith of his forefathers. Let us cite a few verses from his book, “Ruth”:

Wake-up call
Blow the great shofar
etc.

He first set up his medical practice in Vienna. Then, when his growing family forced him to abandon his active work on the Large Action Committee of the Zionist Movement, he relocated to Iglau, Moravia, establishing himself in general practice there. Despite his growing practice he always felt a responsibility to serve the cause of Zionism, at least in the areas of education, propaganda, and organization.

Not at all a fan of Ahad Ha’am’s “cultural Zionism” and at heart always a radical political Zionist, he joined the Labor Zionist Organization after the War. After a few years he left this, as well, and was then part of the left wing of the General Zionists. He was a well-known Jewish leader in Czechoslovakia. But the disappointments of the Mandate Period had broken his heart, which clung as always to the ethical renaissance of early Zionism. He died in Iglau in May 1928. The World Zionist Organization dedicated a beautiful gravestone to him with the inscription, “I will bless thee and thou shalt be a blessing” (Gen 12:2).

***

Transcribed and translated by Robert Rosenbaum (Ashland, Oregon)
M.A. in Translation and Interpretation (German-English), Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey
https://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/yiztran.html
Copyright 2024 Robert Rosenbaum. All rights reserved.

4/24/2024 6:14 PM

Dr. Siegmund Werner

Am 9. Mai jährt sich zum dreissigsten mal der Tod von Dr. Siegmund WERNER, persönlicher Freund und Arzt Theodor Herzls. Dr. Werner war jahrelang der Herausgeber der „Welt“, des ersten deutschsprachigen Organs der zionistischen Bewegung. Das Leben und Werk dieses Mannes verdient, schon wegen seiner engen Assoziation mit Herzl und der Frühgeschichte des Zionismus, der Vergessenheit entrissen zu werden.

Geboren 1867 in Wien als ältester Sohn von Dozent Joseph Werner, war er zwar in orthodoxer Weise erzogen, verlor aber bald sein Interesse an dem eng begrenzten Horizont der Orthodoxie. Zunächst schloß er sich Nathan Birnbaum an, der in Wien die „Zionistische Lese- und Redehalle“ begründet hatte, beriet Birnbaum in politischen Fragen, ging 1896 als begeisterter Kämpfer zu Herzl über und nahm am Ersten Zionisten-Kongress in Basel aktiv teil. Er war einer der Gründer der zionistischen Verbindungen „Kadimah“ und „Massada“ in Wien, und nach Beendigung seiner medizinischen Studien veröffentlichte er zwei Gedichtbände, in denen es ihm gelang, eine Synthese zwischen politischem Zionismus und der Glaubenstreue seiner Väter zu erreichen. Wir zitieren ein paar Verse aus seinem Buch „Ruth“:

Weckruf
Den großen Schofar lasst ertönen
etc.

Er ließ sich zuerst in Wien [nieder], dann, als seine wachsende Familie ihm zwang, seine aktive Tätigkeit im Großen Aktionskomitee der Zionistischen Bewegung aufzugeben, übersiedelte er nach Iglau in Mähren, wo er sich als praktischer Arzt etablierte. Trotz seiner ausgedehnten Praxis fühlte er immer wieder die Verpflichtung, zumindest pädagogische, propagandistische und organisatorische Arbeit im Dienste des Zionismus zu leisten.

Keineswegs begeistert von dem „Kulturzionismus“ Achad Haams und im Herzen immer ein radikaler politischer Zionist, schloß er sich nach dem Krieg der Labour Zionist Organization an, verließ diese auch nach einigen Jahren und gehörte dann dem linken Flügel der Allgemeinen Zionisten an. Er war ein bekannter jüdischer Führer in der Tschechoslowakei, aber die Enttäuschungen der Mandatszeit hatten hatten sein Herz gebrochen, das noch immer der ethischen Renaissance des frühen Zionismus verhaftet war. Er starb im Mai 1928 in Iglau. Die zionistische Weltorganisation setzte ihm einen schönen Grabstein mit dem Motto: „Ich will Dich segnen, und Du sollst ein Segen sein“ (Gen. 12:2).

***

Transcribed and translated by Robert Rosenbaum (Ashland, Oregon)
M.A. in Translation and Interpretation (German-English), Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey
https://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/yiztran.html
Copyright 2024 Robert Rosenbaum. All rights reserved.

ViewMate Posting VM 106889

Submitted by June F Entman

Learn more about our organizational leadership, mission, and values. There are numerous opportunities to get involved yourself!

Search millions of records from around the globe, including more than 4 million records related to the Holocaust, and more than 4.2 million burial records. Records are continually added each month - check back often for new information!

Discover your ancestral town, explore geographic/regional based sections of the JewishGen site (Research Divisions), and explore what daily life was like for your ancestors - and what we can learn from them today.

Learn how to enhance your research with online classes and dozens of helpful articles submitted by volunteer researchers just like you!

Connect with tens of thousands of other JewishGen members via the Family Finder, Discussion Group, Facebook Group, and ViewMate. It's a great way to share success, ask questions, and stay informed of the happenings throughout the Jewish genealogical community.

The JewishGen site is offered as a free public resource. However, it costs a lot of money to maintain and expand our services. If you are in a position to do so, please consider a contribution today - your support will make a difference!

ViewMate Posting VM 106889

Submitted by June F Entman