Yitzhak (Fritz) Baer (Also known as Fritz Bär, ; 20 December 1888 – 22 January 1980) was a German-Israeli historian and an expert on medieval Spanish Jewish history.

Early life

Baer was born in

Halberstadt Halberstadt (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany, the capital of Harz (district), Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town ...

in the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n Province of Saxony,

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 1888. He studied

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

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 ...

and classical

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

at Berlin University, the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

and the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...

. He emigrated 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 ...

, now

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 ...

, in 1930, and began lecturing on medieval Jewish history at 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. ...

. He was professor of medieval history at the University from 1932 to 1945.

Awards

* In 1945, Baer was awarded the Bialik Prize for Jewish thought. * In 1958, he was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

, in Jewish studies. * In 1968, he received the Yakir Yerushalayim (Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem) award. City of Jerusalem official website

Bibliography

* ''Studien zur Geschichte der Juden im Konigreich Aragonien während des 13. und 14. Jahrhunderts''. Berlin: E. Ebering, 1913 * ''Das Protokollbuch der Landjudenschaft des Herzogtums Kleve. Erster Teil: Die Geschichte des Landjudenschaft Herzogtums Kleve''. Berlin: C.A. Schwetschke, 1922 * ''Untersuchungen über Quellen und Komposition des Schebet Jehuda''. Berlin: C.A. Schwetschke, 1923 * ''Galut/ Jizchak Fritz Baer. Berlin: Shocken, 1936 * ''Land of Israel and Exile to the Medieval Ages''. Jerusalem, 1936. * ''History of Jews in Christian Spain''. Tel Aviv: Am Oved 1945, revised and expanded 1959. * ''Peoples of Israel: Studies in the History of the Second Temple Period of the Mishna'', ''the Foundations of Law and Faith''. Jerusalem: Bialik Institute, 1955. * ''Exile'' (translated from German): Israel Eldad, Bialik Institute, Jerusalem, 1980. * ''Studies and Essays in the History of Israel'' (in Hebrew), 1985. Jerusalem: Israeli Historical Society, 1985.

References

1888 births 1980 deaths People from Halberstadt 19th-century German Jews Jewish scholars Judaic scholars Jewish historians Historians of Jews and Judaism Humboldt University of Berlin alumni University of Freiburg alumni University of Strasbourg alumni Academic staff of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Israel Prize in Jewish studies recipients Members of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities German emigrants to Mandatory Palestine 20th-century Israeli historians Israeli medievalists Burials at Har HaMenuchot {{Israel-historian-stub

Early life

Awards

Bibliography

See also

References