Leni Yahil
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Leni Yahil (; 1912–2007), née Leni Westphal, was a German-born
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
i
historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...
, specializing 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 ...
and Danish Jewry.


Early life

Leni was born in Düsseldorf, Germany, in 1912, and was raised in Potsdam, Germany. She was a sixth-generation descent of
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 family, as well as a granddaughter of James Simon. Her father, Ernst Westphal, was a judge. Yahil studied history at the universities of
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
and
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 ...
. Afterwards, she was accepted into the
Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums, or Higher Institute for Jewish Studies, was a rabbinical seminary established in Berlin in 1872 and closed down by the Nazi government of Germany in 1942. Upon the order of the government, the nam ...
(College of Judaic Studies) in Berlin, but had her education interrupted by the Nazi rise to power in Germany in 1933. She joined a Jewish youth movement called Werkleute (Workmen) and eventually became one of its leaders. She emigrated to Palestine in 1934, and was eventually able to resume her college education by studying at the
Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. It is the second-ol ...
, where she majored in general history, with a dual minor in
Jewish history Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their Jewish peoplehood, nation, Judaism, religion, and Jewish culture, culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Jews originated from the Israelites and H ...
and
Hebrew literature Hebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern writings in the Hebrew language. It is one of the primary forms of Jewish literature, though there have been cases of literature written in Hebrew by non-Jews, mostly among the Arab cit ...
. She received her
master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
in 1940, with her thesis being about “The Concept of Democracy in Tocqueville.” In 1942, Leni married Chaim Hoffman (later Yahil; 1905–1974), later having two sons with him – Amos (born 1943) and Jonathan (1945–1967).


Academic career and later life

After her studies, Yahil engaged in various cultural, political and journalistic activities (1940–1947, 1949–1953) in the labor movement and the women’s section of the
Histadrut Histadrut, fully the New General Workers' Federation () and until 1994 the General Federation of Labour in the Land of Israel (, ''HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael''), is Israel's national trade union center and represents the m ...
(Israeli labor federation), and in various positions at
Davar ''Davar'' (, lit. ''Speech, Word'') was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in the British Mandate of Palestine and Israel between 1925 and May 1996. A similarly named website was launched in 2016, under the name ''Davar Rishon'' as an ...
(the Histadrut’s daily newspaper). At one point, Yahil also edited the English-language monthly newspaper, ''News from Israel''. Between 1954 and 1956, Yahil "served as academic secretary to her university teacher Professor Benzion Dinur, Israel’s first Minister of Education and Culture (1951–1955). Yahil submitted her doctoral dissertation, ''The Jews of Denmark During the Holocaust'', to the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...
in 1964, getting her PhD one year later. In the late 1960s and 1970s, Yahil worked as a lecturer and professor at various universities in
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
and the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, teaching about modern Jewish history,
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 ...
and
Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
. In addition to all of this, she was an "editor of the section on Scandinavian Jewish literature in the
Encyclopaedia Judaica The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is a multi-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Israel. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, Jewish holida ...
, was a member of the editorial board of the
Encyclopedia of the Holocaust The ''Encyclopedia of the Holocaust'' (1990) has been called "the most recognized reference book on the Holocaust". It was published in an English-language translated edition by Macmillan in tandem with the Hebrew language original edition pub ...
and the
Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...
Studies series, and participated in international conferences in Israel and abroad." Yahil received several prizes and awards for her work and research throughout her
career A career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work (human activity), work and other aspects of personal life, life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways. Definitions The ...
. Yahil's masterpierce, "in terms of content and scope, was ''The Holocaust: The Fate of European Jewry (1932–1945)'', published in Hebrew (1987), in English (1990) and in German (1998)." This "book consists of three sections: the first part focuses on the Jews of Germany from 1932–1939; the second analyzes the spreading of the persecution in the East and West as part of the world war; this leads into the third and largest section, dealing with the Holocaust itself (1941–1945), which includes units on the countries of southern Europe and the overseas European territories, such as Vichy North Africa, and
Italian Libya Libya (; ) was a colony of Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy located in North Africa, in what is now modern Libya, between 1934 and 1943. It was formed from the unification of the colonies of Italian Cyrenaica, Cyrenaica and Italian Tripolitan ...
." Meanwhile, the "final three chapters highlight the problem of rescue." Unlike some earlier major Holocaust historians (such as Raul Hilberg and Gerald Reitlinger), Yahil used both Jewish and non-Jewish sources for her research, including for her masterpiece work. Until 2004, Yahil was a member of the editorial board of Yad Vashem Studies, where she advocated for an approach to
Holocaust research Holocaust studies, or sometimes Holocaust research, is a scholarly discipline that encompasses the historical research and study of the Holocaust. Institutions dedicated to Holocaust research investigate the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinar ...
that relied on both Jewish and non-Jewish sources. She continued to be active in research and studying new developments into her old age. Leni Yahil died in Israel in 2007, at the age of 94 or 95.


Awards

* 1991:
National Jewish Book Award The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1943, is an American organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature. The goal of the council, as stated on its website, is "to promote the reading, writing and publishing of qual ...
in the Holocaust category for ''The Holocaust: The Fate of European Jewry, 1932-1945''


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yahil, Leni 1912 births 2007 deaths Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Mandatory Palestine 20th-century Israeli historians 20th-century Israeli women writers German women historians Israeli women historians Jewish historians Jewish women writers Historians of Jews and Judaism German historians of the Holocaust Historians of Denmark Writers from Düsseldorf People from Potsdam Jewish encyclopedists Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums alumni Burials at Har HaMenuchot