Slavko Wolf (born Samuel Wolf, ; 26December 18627November 1936) was a

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n lawyer,

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

player and writer. Wolf was born on 26 December 1862 in Tata, in Komárom-Esztergom County of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

parents, Benjamin and Matilda (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Ebenspanger) Wolf. Soon after his birth Wolf family moved to

Vukovar Vukovar (; sr-Cyrl, Вуковар, , ) is a city in Croatia, in the eastern Regions of Croatia, regions of Syrmia and Slavonia. It contains Croatia's largest river port, located at the confluence of the Vuka (river), Vuka and the Danube. Vukova ...

, Croatia where Wolf was raised together with his brothers Dragutin and Leopold. His father was

hazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' (, plural ; ; ) is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who leads the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this prayer leader is often referred to as a cantor, a term al ...

at the Vukovar Synagogue,

rosh yeshiva Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, plural, pl. , '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and th ...

and secretary of the Vukovar Jewish community. Later he was also a rabbi in Ludbreg for 10 years. Wolf attended the Vukovar

Yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

led by his father. In autumn of 1871, after his education at Yeshiva, Wolf began to attend the

Vinkovci Vinkovci () is a city in Slavonia, in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. The city settlement's population was 28,111 in the 2021 census, while the total population was 30,842, making it the largest town of the county. It is a local tr ...

Gymnasium. Last three grades he finished at the

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

Gymnasium from where he graduated in 1879. That same year in autumn he started studying law at the Faculty of Law

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 ...

. Wolf graduated from the university in 1883. In

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. ...

he also obtained his doctorate. After his graduation Wolf worked as a trainee solicitor in

Bjelovar Bjelovar (, , Czech language, Czech: ''Bělovar'' or ''Bělovár,'' Kajkavian dialect, Kajkavian: ''Belovar,'' Latin: ''Bellovarium'') is a city in central Croatia. In the Demographics of Croatia, 2021 census, its population was 36,316 . It is ...

. Later he worked as a lawyer in

Koprivnica Koprivnica () is a city in Northern Croatia, located 70 kilometers northeast of Zagreb. It is the capital and the largest city of Koprivnica-Križevci County. In 2011, the city's administrative area of 90.94 km2 had a total populati ...

, and representative at the Koprivnica City Assembly. He owned a law firm. In 1893 Wolf married Janka (

Granitz), a daughter of known Hungarian-born Croatian Jewish industrialist Ignjat Granitz. Their son Pavao Vuk-Pavlović was born in 1894. After his parents death, his mother died in 1891 and father in 1899, Wolf and his wife converted to Catholic faith in 1900. Through his years he stayed connected with Judaism and Jewish community in Koprivnica and Zagreb. Wolf and his family lived in Koprivnica until 1910, after they moved to

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

. He practised law until 1931. After his father in law company "Ignjat Granitz & Comp." was merged with the printing house of Ivan Novak, to found the Graphic and Publishing Bureau "Tipografija d.d.", Wolf became a lifetime president of the newly founded company. Wolf hobby was chess. In 1935 he published the book "Šahovski problemi za početnike" (''Chess problems for beginners'') about

chess problem A chess problem, also called a chess composition, is a puzzle created by the composer using chess pieces on a chessboard, which presents the solver with a particular task. For instance, a position may be given with the instruction that White is t ...

. 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 ...

Wolf's wife survived 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 ...

with the help of her sons former students. Wolf died on 7 November 1936 and was buried at the

Mirogoj Cemetery The Mirogoj City Cemetery (, ), also known as Mirogoj Cemetery (), is a cemetery park that is considered to be among the more noteworthy landmarks in the city of Zagreb. The cemetery inters members of all religious groups: Catholic, Orthodox, M ...

. Gradska groblja Zagreb: Slavko Wolf, Mirogoj RKT-900-STANIC-108

Works

* ''Šahovski problemi za početnike'', Tipografija d.d., Zagreb (1935)

Bibliography

* *

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolf, Slavko 1862 births 1936 deaths People from Tata, Hungary Jews from Austria-Hungary Croatian people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Croatian Austro-Hungarians University of Vienna alumni Croatian lawyers Jewish Croatian politicians Jewish Hungarian politicians Croatian chess players Jewish chess players Croatian writers Jewish Austrian writers Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery