English: Josef Jona Zwi Halevi Horovitz. Chief of the Court (Av Beit Din). Kehal Adath Jeshurun Frankfurt Am Main

Born in 1892, in Hunsdorf (Czech Republic), Rabbi Josef Jona Zwi Horovitz – the “Hundsorfer Rav” – was a renowned scholar whose life brought him to three continents. In 1929, Rabbi Horovitz became the successor to Rabbi Salomon Breur at congregation Kehal Adath Jeshurun in Frankfurt Am Main. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch had founded the congregation in 1851, and he had been succeeded by his son –in-law Rabbi Breur – despite these initial familial links in the synagogue’s leadership, Rabbi Horovitz was appointed in 1929. Rabbi Horovitz’s tenure at Kehal Adath Jeshurun coincided with the steady consolidation of power by the Nazi party – and after the events of the November 1938 pogrom in Frankfurt – Rabbi Horovitz left Germany. Initially Rabbi Horovitz traveled to England where he founded a Yeshiva before moving to the United States after the Second World War ended. In the early 1960s Rabbi Horovitz made aaliyah, settling first in Haifa before moving to B’nei Brak. It was in B’nei Brak in 1970, at the age of 78, that Rabbi Horovitz passed away, he was buried in Jerusalem. Though Rabbi Horovitz escaped from Germany with his life – this book stamp is a testament to what he was forced to leave behind.


This book stamp is from a book looted by the Nazis and sorted by Colonel Seymour Pomrenze, one of “the Monuments Men,” at the Offenbach Archival Depot.


There are two scrapbooks of archival markings from the books sorted at the Offenbach Depot in the Seymour Pomrenze Collection held by the American Jewish Historical Society (Call number P-933) There is a finding aid for the collection here The digitized scrapbooks are available here and here.


For more information on this project check the Center’s blog: 16thstreet.tumblr.com/tagged/Offenbach-Depot


Dr. Mitch Fraas, Acting Director of the Digital Humanities Forum at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries' Special Collections Center is working on a similar project for the German book stamps based on NARA microfilm of the volumes the American Jewish Historical Society currently holds. See viewshare.org/views/mfraas/offenbach-bookplates/


The Center for Jewish History would like to acknowledge the following: The American Jewish Historical Society, who graciously allowed the use of their archival materials and digital content; Mitch Fraas, Acting Director of the Digital Humanities Forum at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries' Special Collections Center, for his data and technical assistance in this project; David Rosenberg, Reference Services Research Coordinator, and Melanie Meyers, Senior Reference Services Librarian for Special Collections, for managing and creating the digital map; and Reference Services Intern Ilya Slavutskiy for his work on translating and mapping.

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