Felix Weltsch

Felix Weltsch ( born October 6, 1884 in Prague, then Austria - Hungary, † November 9, 1964 in Jerusalem ), Dr. jur. and phil., was a Bohemian- Israeli journalist, writer, philosopher and librarian.

Life

The cousin of Robert Weltsch and closest friend of Max Brod and Franz Kafka graduated from the University of Prague trays law and philosophy with promotions, he worked from 1910 to 1939 as a librarian at the University of Prague. From 1919 to 1938 he edited the published in Prague Zionist weekly self-defense. Shortly before the invasion of the German troops in Prague on 15 March 1939, he left with Max Brod and his family at the last possible train the city and fled to Palestine. From 1940 he was responsible for the National Library in Jerusalem.

He was next to Robert Weltsch, Martin Buber and Hugo Bergman one of the most important Zionists and a major political thinker, found the articles relating to state development of Israel, philosophical discussions or his knowledge of Franz Kafka in dozens of newspapers worldwide input. For his in Israel ( German and Hebrew) published work nature, morality and politics, he received in 1952 the Ruppin Prize of the city of Haifa.

His lifelong companion in a beautiful and difficult time was his wife Irma Heart (1892-1969), with whom he had a daughter, Ruth Weltsch - Gorenstein ( 1920-1991 ). Irma heart was the sister of the pianist Alice Herz-Sommer (1903-2014), the oldest surviving until 2014 Holocaust survivors.

Reception

By working with Max Brod Weltsch with the work intuition and concept in Germany and Prague became known. He was a follower of the philosophy of Christian rock of honor, which distinguished him from the many friends and colleagues in Prague, from which a great number of content Franz Brentano followed, which is why they were called Brentano.

Already before 1914 had Weltsch, mostly published in feature articles, some articles in various German newspapers, mostly in Prague's daily paper. Later, his authorship expanded to dozens of newspapers and magazines, and in his weekly self-defense he gave in the course of 20 years, hundreds of articles on content from art, music, politics, Zionism, literature and philosophy out. Since the 1920s drew Weltsch also for many items outside the CSR responsible, such as the Wiener Morgenpost or the Jewish Rundschau in Berlin, who led his cousin Robert Weltsch in these years.

In the center of his interest, the basic questions of people of faith, ethics were. Many publications, essays and lectures dealing with problems of Judaism and Zionism. His main ethical work was not completed in his lifetime. Weltsch most important teacher was the philosopher Christian von honor rock.

Writings (selection )

  • Religion and humor in life and work of Franz Kafka. In: Max Brod, Franz Kafka's faith and teaching. Kurt Desch, Munich 1948, pp. 155-184 Separate Reprints: Herbig, Munich 1957
  • Separate Reprints: ONOMATO, Dusseldorf 2010 ISBN 978-3-939511-21-2
  • Back to Joseph Peter Stern, eds: The world of Franz Kafka. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Concord (California ) 1980 pp. 47-55
  • German: Franz Kafka's sense of history, in: Robert Weltsch, eds: German Jewry, Rise and Crisis. Forms, ideas, works. Fourteen monographs. Publication of the Leo Baeck Institute. German publishing house, Stuttgart 1963 p 271-288
  • Intuition and concept. Outlines of a system of concept formation. Wolff Verlag, Wien 1913 ( together with Max Brod).
  • Organic Demokratie.Eine legal-philosophical study of the representational system and the parliamentary electoral law ( The New Spirit, Vol 3). The New Spirit, Leipzig 1918
  • Grace and freedom. Studies on the problem of the creative will in religion and ethics. Onomato, Dusseldorf 2010 ISBN 978-3-939511-95-3 (EA Munich 1920).
  • Nationalism and Judaism. World -Verlag, Berlin, 1920.
  • Zionism as an ideology. Dyers, Ostrava 1925 ( together with Max Brod).
  • Jewish question and Zionism. A disputation. Central Office of the Zionist Organization, London, 1929.
  • Anti-Semitism as peoples hysteria (fonts for discussion of Zionism, Vol 4). Barissia, Prague 1931.
  • Race theory and Judaism. Theses of the National Humanism (fonts for discussion of Zionism, Vol 13). Barissia, Prague 1934.
  • The riddle of laughter. Kittl, Ostrava 1935.
  • The venture the middle. A contribution to the ethics and politics of the time. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1965 ( EA Ostrava 1936).
  • The dialectic of suffering. 1944 ( Ha - ha Di'alektikah shel - Sevel ).
  • Nature, morality and politics. 1950 ( Teva, Musar u - Mediniyyut ).
  • Manfred Voigt (eds. ): Sense and suffering (Studies on the history of ideas, vol 26). Philo -Verlag, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-8257-0067-4.
Hugo Bergmann Christian von Ehrenfels Prager Tagblatt Concord, California Encyclopaedia Judaica Integrated Authority File
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