Ignacy Schiper (November 9, 1884 – early July 1943) was a Galician-born Jewish Polish historian and political activist. He was murdered in

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

Life

Schiper was born on November 9, 1884, in

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is a major rail junction, located on the strategic east– ...

, Galicia,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, the son of Mojzesz Schiper. Schiper studied at a religious elementary school and yeshiva until he was sixteen along with a Polish public school and high school. He then studied law at

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

from 1905 to 1906 and at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

from 1905 to 1906. He received a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree in Kraków in 1907. He was a member of the Vienna Institute for Social Sciences. He contributed to various magazines in Polish, Russian, German, Hebrew, and Yiddish on topics related to Polish Jewish history. He also wrote monographs on great Jewish personalities in Poland and old Polish synagogues. He specialized in the history of the Jewish theater and its art since ancient times. A number of his works appeared in book form. Believing that the study of Jewish spiritual history and its leaders was exhausted, he focused on secular studies like economics and popular culture. Schiper was an organizer of the first youth group in Western Galicia. He joined

Poale Zion Poale Zion (, also romanized ''Poalei Tziyon'' or ''Poaley Syjon'', meaning "Workers of Zion") was a movement of Marxist–Zionist Jewish workers founded in various cities of Poland, Europe and the Russian Empire at about the turn of the 20th c ...

in 1903 and soon became one of its leaders as a central committee member and editor of the party organ. During

World War I 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 ...

, he enlisted as a private and rose to be a judge advocate by his last year of service. He was elected to the Polish

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (later Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off th ...

and was active on a number of committees. He initially served as a representative of Poale Zion, although he broke with doctrine Marxism and joined the General Zionists. He was again elected to the Sejm in

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

and served there until 1927. He never held a regular university post, but he lectured on Jewish economic history at the Institute for Jewish Studies (which was founded in 1927 in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

). He was a frequent contributor to Yiddish and Polish Jewish dailies and monthlies. He served on the

YIVO YIVO (, , short for ) is an organization that preserves, studies, and teaches the cultural history of Jewish life throughout Eastern Europe, Germany, and Russia as well as orthography, lexicography, and other studies related to Yiddish. Estab ...

Historical Section, directed the Jewish Academic Home that housed Jewish university students in Warsaw, and headed the

Keren Hayesod Keren Hayesod – United Israel Appeal (, literally "The Foundation Fund") is an official fundraising organization for Israel with branches in 45 countries. Its work is carried out in accordance with the Keren haYesod Law-5716, passed by the Kne ...

Palestine Fund in Poland starting in 1935. Following the

German invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

, Schiper was actively involved with the Jewish Self-Help Society (Żydowska Samopomoc Społeczna) in the

Warsaw Ghetto The Warsaw Ghetto (, officially , ; ) was the largest of the Nazi ghettos during World War II and the Holocaust. It was established in November 1940 by the Nazi Germany, German authorities within the new General Government territory of Occupat ...

. He participated in meetings of the Oyneg Shabbos project led by

Emanuel Ringelblum Emanuel Ringelblum (November 21, 1900 – March 10 (most likely), 1944) was a Polish-Jewish historian, politician and social worker, known for his ''Notes from the Warsaw Ghetto'', ''Notes on the Refugees in Zbąszyn'' chronicling the deportat ...

. He was employed by the Warsaw Jewish Council’s official archive and continued his research and writings. He opposed armed resistance in

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

and favored helping select individuals escape to the Aryan side. He was ultimately seized from a bunker during the

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the 1943 act of Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto in German-occupied Poland during World War II to oppose Nazi Germany's final effort to transport the remaining ghetto population to the gas chambers of the ...

and sent to

Majdanek Majdanek (or Lublin) was a Nazi concentration and extermination camp built and operated by the SS on the outskirts of the city of Lublin during the German occupation of Poland in World War II. It had three gas chambers, two wooden gallows, ...

, where he was murdered in early July 1943.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schiper, Ignacy 1884 births 1943 deaths Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) People from Tarnów Jagiellonian University alumni University of Vienna alumni 19th-century Polish Jews Polish Jews who died in the Holocaust Warsaw Ghetto inmates Jewish Polish politicians Jewish Polish writers Jewish historians 20th-century Polish historians 20th-century Polish politicians Members of the Legislative Sejm of the Second Polish Republic Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1922–1927) People who died in Majdanek concentration camp Politicians who died in Nazi concentration camps Polish people who died in Nazi concentration camps Polish Zionists Former Marxists