Sigmund Feist (

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

, 12 June 1865 ''–''

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, 23 March 1943) was a

German Jew The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...

ish pedagogue and historical linguist. He was the author of the

Germanic substrate hypothesis The Germanic substrate hypothesis attempts to explain the purportedly distinctive nature of the Germanic languages within the context of the Indo-European languages. Based on the elements of Common Germanic vocabulary and syntax which do not seem ...

as well as a number of important works concerning Jewish ethnic and racial identity. Feist served as the director of the Jewish Reichenheim Orphanage in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

from 1906 to 1935. In 1907 he became a member of the Gesellschaft der Freunde society. Feist emigrated to

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

in 1939 where he died four years later.

Correspondence with Jewish soldiers during World War I

As director of the Reichenheim Orphanage, Feist established and maintained close relationships with his wards, 77 of whom corresponded with him during their time of service in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The correspondence consists of 745 letters which Feist received between the years 1914 and 1918, and offers a glimpse into the lives of Jewish soldiers who served in World War I. Several of the soldiers who wrote the letters later went on to attain notoriety in academic circles, an example being Hermann Teuchert. The collected correspondence has been archived in the

Centrum Judaicum The New Synagogue () on Oranienburger Straße in Berlin is a mid-19th century synagogue built as the main place of worship for the city's Jewish community, succeeding the Old Synagogue which the community outgrew. Because of its Moorish style a ...

of the New Synagogue in Berlin since 1995. The letters were published as a collection in 2002.

Important works

Works in historical linguistics

* '' Einführung in das Gotische'' (1922) * '' Etymologisches Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache'' (1923) * '' Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der Gotischen Sprache mit Einschluss des Krimgotischen und sonstiger zerstreuter Überreste des Gotischen'' (1923) * '' Indogermanen und Germanen'' (1924) * '' Germanen und Kelten in der antiken Überlieferung'' (1925)

Works in Jewish history and ethnicity

* '' Stammeskunde der Juden. Die jüdischen Stämme der Erde in alter und neuer Zeit. Historisch-anthropologische Skizzen.'' (1925) * '' Die Ethnographie der Juden'' (with Lionel S. Reisz) (1926) * '' Rassenkunde des jüdischen Volkes'' (1930) * '' Ein Zeitgenosse Alexander des Großen über die Juden'' (?)

Referenced in

* Bibliography for Wulfila database: Feist, Sigmund. ''Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der Gotischen Sprache Mit Einschluss des Krimgotischen und sonstiger zerstreuter Überreste des Gotischen.'' Dritte neubearbeitete und vermehrte Auflage E. J. Brill Leiden 1939 * ''An Analysis of *z loss in West Germanic''
"Studying the Jew"
* Listed in The

Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics The ''Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics'', first published in 1994 (edited by Ronald E. Asher), with a 2nd edition in 2006 (edited by Keith Brown), is an encyclopedia of all matters related to language and linguistics. Reception The ''Jo ...

The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics Electronic Index
at www1.elsevier.com

Related literature

* Römer, Ruth: ''Sigmund Feist und die Gesellschaft fuer deutsche Philologie in Berlin''. In: Muttersprache 103 (1993), 28-40 * Römer, Ruth: ''Sigmund Feist: Deutscher – Germanist – Jude''. In: Muttersprache 91 (1981), 249-308.

Notes

External links

U. Maas, Verfolgung und Auswanderung deutschsprachiger Sprachforscher 1933 - 1945, Vol. 1, Tübingen 2010, s. v. Feist, Si(e)gmund Samuel

Otto's encyclopedia

List of some available works

Review of ''Feldpostbriefe jüdischer Soldaten 1914 –1918''
by Prof. Dr. Jörg Riecke (German)
Review of ''Feldpostbriefe jüdischer Soldaten 1914 –1918''
by Thea Koberstein (German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Feist, Sigmund 19th-century German writers 19th-century German male writers 19th-century German linguists 20th-century German linguists Historical linguists 20th-century German educators Jewish educators Judaic scholars Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Denmark Writers from Mainz 1865 births 1943 deaths People from Rhenish Hesse