Michael Harsgor (; 15 March 192410 February 2011) was an Israeli

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 ...

and a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

at the

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

. Harsgor's expertise was in the history of Europe in the

late Middle Ages The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...

Biography

Harsgor was born Michael Goldberg in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

into a Jewish family who were refugees from the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

in Russia who settled in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. Early on, Harsgor's parents had the desire to give him a Western education and therefore his family moved 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 ...

. The economic crisis of 1929 damaged his father's business and therefore in 1933 his family returned to Romania. Harsgor's family intended to immigrate to

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

, but this proved impossible during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. His entire family perished 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 ...

. Because he was a member of the Socialist–Zionist youth movement

Hashomer Hatzair Hashomer Hatzair (, , 'The Young Guard') is a Labor Zionism, Labor Zionist, secular Jewish youth movement founded in 1913 in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary. It was also the name of the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party, the ...

the Romanian fascist authorities sentenced him to 20 years of imprisonment with hard labor. Harsgor ended up working in the printing press of the prison. In 1944 he was released from prison, and continued to be active in the Hashomer Hatzair youth movement. In 1946, after being active in gathering Jewish teenagers in Romania and facilitating their immigration to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, he himself immigrated to the then British ruled country. The British authorities limited the Jewish immigration quota at that time and all the passengers on the ship taking him to Palestine were seized and imprisoned in camps in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. They were released in early 1949, after the

establishment of the State of Israel The Israeli Declaration of Independence, formally the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel (), was proclaimed on 14 May 1948 (5 Iyar 5708), at the end of the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war phase and ...

. In Cyprus Harsgor changed his name from Goldberg to Harsgor, sometimes spelled in the press as Har-Segor, Har Segor, Harsgur etc. Harsgor was among the founding members of Kibbutz

Zikim Zikim () is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the northern Negev desert, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. In , it had a population of . Etymology Michael Harsgor, later an Israeli historian, came up w ...

and was the person who gave the kibbutz its name. Harsgor was a member of Maki, the Israeli communist party at the time, and worked as a reporter for the party newspaper

Kol HaAm ''Kol HaAm'' () was a Hebrew-language newspaper in Mandatory Palestine and Israel. It was initially published by the Palestine Communist Party and later by its successor, the Maki (historical political party), Israeli Communist Party. History Est ...

. At that time he met his wife Tamar, and his daughter Niva was born. Harsgor began his academic studies at the

. He excelled in his Bachelor's degree and therefore the Tel Aviv University sent him to France to continue his studies. Harsgor studied in France for six years. For his academic achievement Harsgor was awarded the degree of

Docteur d'État Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellen ...

, a degree which is usually not awarded to foreigners. Between 1962 and 1966 Harsgor taught history in the municipal Ironi Dalet High School 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 ...

. In 1974, Harsgor was in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

during the

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution (), code-named Operation Historic Turn (), also known as the 25 April (), was a military coup by military officers that overthrew the Estado Novo government on 25 April 1974 in Portugal. The coup produced major socia ...

, and as a result, the history of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

became one of his major topics of interest. For more than twenty years, Harsgor hosted the regularly weekly seven o'clock evening program "Sha'a Historit" ('History Hour') on the Galatz radio station, together with the Israeli radio broadcaster Alex Ansky. His grandson is former deputy mayor of Kfar Saba, Ilai Harsgor Hendin. Harsgor died on 10 February 2011 at the age of 86 in the city of

Kfar Saba Kfar Saba ( ), officially Kfar Sava , is a List of Israeli cities, city in the Sharon plain, Sharon region, of the Central District (Israel), Central District of State of Israel, Israel. In 2019 it had a population of 110,456, making it the 16th-l ...

due to

kidney disease Kidney disease, or renal disease, technically referred to as nephropathy, is damage to or disease of a kidney. Nephritis is an Inflammation, inflammatory kidney disease and has several types according to the location of the inflammation. Infla ...

References

External links

Michael Harsgor books on Amazon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harsegor, Michael 1924 births 2011 deaths Israeli historians Israeli medievalists Israeli radio presenters Hashomer Hatzair members Tel Aviv University alumni Academic staff of Tel Aviv University Romanian Jews Israeli Jews Romanian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Romanian emigrants to France