Fritz Bamberger (7 January 1902 – 21 September 1984) was a German Jewish Scholar, educator and magazine editor who directed the school system for the education of Jews in pre- World War II, was the editor-in-chief of ''
Coronet
In British heraldry, a coronet is a type of crown that is a mark of rank of non-reigning members of the royal family and peers. In other languages, this distinction is not made, and usually the same word for ''crown'' is used irrespective of ra ...
'' starting in 1942, and taught and wrote in the areas of philosophy and intellectual history.
Life in Germany (1902–1939)
Bamberger grew up in
Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen (, , ; ) is the List of cities in Germany by population, 25th-most populous city of Germany and the 11th-most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher, Emscher River (a tribu ...
, Germany. He studied philosophy and Oriental languages at the
University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany.
The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...
, and was awarded a doctorate in 1923 at the age of 21. Bamberger also studied at and graduated from the Hochschule die
Wissenschaft des Judentums
"''Wissenschaft des Judentums''" (literally in German language, German the expression means "Science of Judaism"; more recently in the United States it started to be rendered as "Jewish Studies" or "Judaic Studies," a wide academic field of inquir ...
, where he subsequently taught philosophy from 1933 to 1934. From 1926 to 1933 he was a member of the ''Forschungsinstitut'' (research institute) of the ''Akademie für die Wissenschaft des Judentums'' (Academy for the Science of Judaism) in Berlin, working on books about
Maimonides
Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...
and
Gabirol, and serving as one of the editors of the ''Akademieausgabe'' (Academy Edition) of a work on
Moses Mendelssohn
Moses Mendelssohn (6 September 1729 – 4 January 1786) was a German-Jewish philosopher and theologian. His writings and ideas on Jews and the Jewish religion and identity were a central element in the development of the ''Haskalah'', or 'J ...
's collected writings (''Moses Mendelssohn: Gesammelte Schriften'').
After Hitler's rise in Germany, Bamberger organized a system of schools from kindergarten to college for Jewish students forced from the public schools. In 1934 he was appointed Director of the Bureau of Education for Jews in Berlin and President of the Jewish Teachers College,
Life in the United States (1939–1984)
In January 1939, after having been arrested and briefly held by the Nazi government, Bamberger and his family emigrated to Chicago, Ill. From 1939 to 1942 he taught philosophy and comparative literature at the College of Jewish Studies and the University of Chicago. In 1942 Bamberger left academia for Esquire, Inc., where he subsequently became editor-in-chief of Coronet magazine and thereafter executive director of ''
Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...
'' magazine. In 1962 Bamberger resigned from Esquire to return to academic life, becoming Assistant to the President and Professor of Intellectual History at the
Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion
The Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (also known as HUC, HUC-JIR, and The College-Institute) is a Jewish seminary with three locations in the United States and one location in Jerusalem. It is the oldest extant Jewish semi ...
(HUC-JIR) in New York. In 1979 he retired. During his life, Bamberger created a major collection of works by and about
Spinoza
Baruch (de) Spinoza (24 November 163221 February 1677), also known under his Latinized pen name Benedictus de Spinoza, was a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, who was born in the Dutch Republic. A forerunner of the Age of Enlightenmen ...
, which is now at the library of the HUC-JIR campus in Jerusalem.
Till his death in 1984 he served as a vice president of the
Leo Baeck Institute
The Leo Baeck Institute, established in 1955, is an international research institute with centres in New York City, London, Jerusalem and Berlin, that are devoted to the study of the history and culture of German-speaking Jewry. The institute was ...
and vice chairman of the North American Board of the
World Union for Progressive Judaism
The World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) is the international umbrella organization for the various branches of Reform Judaism, Reform, Liberal and Progressive Judaism, as well as the separate Reconstructionist Judaism. The WUPJ is based i ...
.
Personal life
In 1933, Bamberger married Kate Schwabe, a violinist. They had two children, Michael (1936) and Gabrielle (1938). Kate died in 1952. Bamberger married again: Maria Nussbaum in 1963.
Selected publications and writings
*1924 – ''Untersuchungen zur Entstehung der Wertproblems in der Philosophie des 19. Jahrhunderts'' (The Origin of the Problem of Values in the Philosophy of the 19th Century)
*1929 – ''Die geistige Gestalt Moses Mendelssohn'' (The Spiritual Figure of Moses Mendelssohn)
*1929–1938 ''Moses Mendelssohn: Gesammelte Schriften'' (Collected Writings) (co-editor and contributor)
*1935 – ''Das System des Maimonides''. Eine Analyse des More Newuchim vom Gottesbegriff aus.'' Schocken, Berlin 1935'' (The System of Maimonides)
*1937 – ''Das 9. Schuljahr der Volkshochschulen der Jüdischen Gemeinde zu Berlin. Zielsetzung und Plangestaltung'' (The 9th School Year of Adult Education Schools of the Jewish Community of Berlin. Goals and Curriculum Plan), with Erna Barschak
* 1941 – ''Zunz's Conception of History'', American Academy for Jewish Research, Jerusalem Proceedings
* 1958 – ''Leo Baeck, the Man and the Idea'', Leo Baeck Institute
* 1960 – ''Julius Guttman, Philosopher of Judaism'', London
* 1962 – ''Books are the Best Things: An Anthology from Old Hebrew Writings'';
* 1970 – ''The Mind of Nelson Glueck'', Cincinnati
* 2003 – ''Spinoza and Anti-Spinoza Literature: The Printed Literature of Spinozism 1665–1832'', Hebrew Union College Print,
References
Michael A. Meyer, ''Scholarship and Worldliness: The Life and Work of Fritz Bamberger'' in 58 Leo Baeck Institute Year Book 2013, (Oxford) 143–158;
''Fritz Bamberger Dies at 82; Was German Jewish Scholar'', The New York Times, p. 13, September 24, 1984;
Entry for Bamberger, Fritz in 3 ENCYCLOPEDIA JUDAICA, 2d ed. (2007), p. 102
External links
Guide to the Papers of Fritz Bamberger (1902-1984)at the
Leo Baeck Institute, New York
The Leo Baeck Institute New York (LBI) is a research institute in New York City dedicated to the study of German-Jewish history and culture, founded in 1955. It is one of three independent research centers founded by a group of German-speaking J ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bamberger, Fritz
1902 births
1984 deaths
Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States