Jewish Folk Art • Jüdische Volkskunst

 

"Die Stimme", 01-MAY-1950: “We received the following letter: In the article by André Spire reproduced in the previous issue of your newspaper, the gravestones that Dr. Diamant showed in Czernowitz are compared with those in the Prague Jewish Cemetery, among others. What is remarkable about them, however, is that they have nothing in common with those. The Prague stones, for example, were created by Christian stonemasons in the style and ornamentation of the Christian environment there. The stones that Diamant discovered in northern Bukovina, the southern tip of Eastern Galicia, and Moldavia were carved by Jewish stonemasons, members of the Chewrah Kadischah, in fulfillment of a sacred duty. They are worked from left to right, the writing itself is a means of expression, the ornamentation harks back to ancient symbolic motifs from the Middle East and is often completely redesigned. The craftsmen often succeeded in expressing something of the nature of the person buried beneath the stone (see, for example, the gravestone of a young girl or that of the rabbi in Diamant's book). Diamant was therefore right to claim that he had discovered a kind of Jewish folk art in these stones. In doing so, he refuted the assumption that we Jews are incapable of developing folk art. These stones have such richness and power of expression that they are something entirely unique and become an experience for the viewer.Diamant's book “Jüdische Volkskunst” [Jewish Folk Art] was published by Präger Verlag, Vienna, but due to a lack of funds it had to be printed in Czernowitz and the clichés for the illustrations were obtained in Bucharest, not always to our full satisfaction. A subscription in Vienna, followed by one in Czernowitz, covered part of the printing costs; Diamant himself paid the rest, just as he had often restored the gravestones in the cemeteries at his own expense. Most of the book's print run was destroyed by the Nazis in Vienna. It would be welcome if a new edition could be published, which, among other things, could provide a wealth of inspiration for Jewish arts and crafts. The people of Bukovina will remember that Ing. Dawidowicz created chandeliers and grilles for the lodge house in Czernowitz based on motifs from Diamant's book. M. Seidman”

Jubilee Edition Commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the [Czernowitz] Temple, Chanukah 5698 / November 28, 1937

Ediția festivă inchinată jubileului de 60 de ani dela înaugurarea Templului

The ceremonies and the publishing of the anniversary edition... [4]
...took place on the initiative of: [5]
60 Years Temple by Dr. Carl Gutherz [6]
Our Temple - From an Aesthetic Point of View by Dr. Abraham I. Mark [7]
The Jewish Community Council in 1877 [10]
The Jewish Community Council in 1937 [10]
Temple Commitee 1937 [11]
60 Years Temple Celebratory Poem by Eduard Perlstein [12]
How the Construction of the Temple Occured by Dr. Max Diamant [14]
Interior Views of the Temple [15]
About the Origins of the Community Temple by Moritz Liquornik [18]
The Names of the Hundred who Built the House of God [21]
Consecration of the New Temple of Czernowitz by Councilor Anton Zachar [22]
Celebratory Poem on the Laying of the First Stone for the Israelite Temple on May 8, 1873 by Dr. Plohn [23]
The Images of the Founders [24]
The Temple and its Preachers by Dr. Mayer Ebner [28]
Our Religious and Spiritual Leaders Since the Foundation of the Temple [29]
In Rememberance of Rabbi Dr. Igel by Dr. Josef Bierer [31]
Dr. Lazar Elias Igel, the First Chief Rabbi of Czernowitz by Salomon Grossberg [32]
Dr. Josef Rosenfeld by Higher Regional Court Chief Justice Dr. Isidor Gold [34]
In Rememberance of Chief Rabbi Dr. Rosenfeld by Chief Editor Dr. Adolf Niederhoffer [35]
The Cantors Since the Foundation of the Temple [37]
As a Memento of the Jewish Czernowitz Seventy Years Ago by Adolf Schwarz [38]
The Jewish House of God by Director Max Seidmann [40]
The Presidents of the Jewish Community Since the Consecretion of the Temple [42]
The Soul of our Temple by Bernhard Pistiner [44]
The Rabbis of the Jewish Community of Czernowitz by S. Wininger [46]
The Former Jewish Mayors of the Municipality of Czernowitz [49]
The Temple and its Visitors by Markus Schmelzer [50]
The Official Directors of the Jewish Community Since the Consecration of the Temple [53]
60 Years Temple by Dr. Siegfried Rosenzweig [54]
The Erection of the Temple by Architect Eng. Adam Appenzeller [55]

Courtesy: National Library of Israel