Mark Wischnitzer (May 10, 1882 – October 15, 1955) was a scholar of Jewish history.

Biography

Mark Wischnitzer was born on May 10, 1882, in Rovno,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. He studied 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 ...

and

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 he received his doctorate in 1906. Wischnitzer served as editor of the history section of the Russian-language

Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on the ...

from 1908 to 1913, and later as the editor of 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 ...

published 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 ...

. He moved to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, in 1921. There he served as Secretary General of the Hilfsverein der Deutschen Juden until his immigration to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1938. In

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

from 1938 to 1940, he was a research associate of the

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Advert Where and how does this article resemble an WP:SOAP, advert and how should it be improved? See: Wikipedia:Spam (you might trthe Teahouseif you have questions). American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, also known as Joint or JDC, is a J ...

. Wischnitzer immigrated to 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 ...

in 1941. From 1941 to 1949, he was a research associate for the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds. Starting in 1948, he was on the faculty of

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

as professor of Jewish history in the graduate school.Tobias Brinkmann, ''Between Borders: The Great Jewish Migration from Eastern Europe'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2024), esp. pp. 190–205. Mark Wischnitzer died on October 15, 1955, in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

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 ...

, of a heart attack. He was married to

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

Rachel Wischnitzer. They had one son, Leonard James.

Books

Mark Wischnitzer Die Juden in der Welt 1933

* Die Universität Göttingen und die Entwicklung der liberalen Ideen in Russland im ersten Viertel des 19. Jahrhunderts, Berlin: Ebering, 1907 * Die jüdische Zunftverfassung in Polen un Litauen im 17. une 18. Jahrhundert, Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer, 1927 * Die Juden in der Welt: Gegenwart und Geschichte des Judentums in allen Ländern, Berlin: Reiss, 1935 * To dwell in safety: the story of Jewish migration since 1800, Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1949 * Visas to freedom: the history of HIAS, Cleveland: World Pub. Co., 1956

References

External links

Mark Wischnitzer Papers
at

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 ...

.
''Milgroim : Zeitschrift für Kunst und Literatur'' (q N 8 M5)
a digitized periodical published by Mark Wischnitzer and his wife, 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:Wischnitzer, Mark 1882 births 1955 deaths Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Jewish historians Jewish scholars University of Vienna alumni Yeshiva University faculty