Bidspirit auction | Philo-Lexikon – A Practical Reference

Philo-Lexikon – A Practical Reference Guide for German Jews under Nazi Rule. Published by Philo Verlag, Berlin, 1936 - PHILO-LEXIKON. Handbuch des jüdischen Wissens - Philo-Lexicon: A Handbook of Jewish Knowledge. With 250 illustrations, numerous plans, tables, and reference charts, together with 40 plates and maps, some in color. Expanded and revised edition. Published by Philo Verlag G.m.b.H., Berlin, 1936. An expanded and revised edition containing substantial additions not included in the 1935 edition. Preface by Leo Baeck. ”The Philo-Lexicon is intended to serve as a guide to every field of Jewish knowledge, past and present. It is an attempt to provide a concise survey of all that Judaism encompasses: its religion and history, its achievements and its way of life.” (From the preface.)  An important single-volume reference work designed to present, in a concise, accessible, and authoritative format, the full spectrum of Jewish knowledge, including Jewish history, the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, Jewish festivals, prominent Jewish personalities from antiquity to the modern era, Jewish communities in Germany and throughout the world, Judaica originating in Germany, Jewish philosophers and thinkers, the Land of Israel and Jerusalem, and much more. Among its many entries are detailed articles on the Dreyfus Affair, synagogues, ritual objects, Jewish life in the Land of Israel, and leading figures such as Albert Einstein, H.N. Bialik, Theodor Herzl, Chaim Weizmann, and numerous others.  Under the entry ”Palestine, ” the lexicon notes that the Palestine Office of the Jewish Agency maintained branches in 22 German cities and operated contact points in approximately 350 towns, where it was responsible for the preparation and technical administration of Jewish emigration and the allocation of immigration certificates. The volume's striking color plates were supplied primarily by the Jewish Museum in Berlin and the collection of S. Kirschstein in Berlin. Most of the photographs were taken by Friedrich Brodnitz and Walter Grossmann. The book was published three years after the Nazis came to power and only one year after the enactment of the Nuremberg Laws, which stripped German Jews of their citizenship. During these difficult years, as German Jews were systematically excluded from public life, academia, and the broader cultural sphere, the Jewish community experienced a remarkable flowering of its own cultural institutions as a means of self-preservation. Jewish organizations and publishing houses continued to operate under severe Nazi censorship, seeking to provide Jews with education, cultural pride, and, increasingly, practical guidance for emigration, including detailed information about the Land of Israel and other potential destinations. Philo Verlag had been founded in 1919 by the Central Association of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith (CV), an organization that for many years championed the integration of Jews as loyal German patriots. By the 1930s, however, its mission had necessarily shifted toward preserving the Jewish community, strengthening Jewish education, and preparing German Jews for emigration. The Philo-Lexicon became one of the publisher's most successful and influential projects. The present 1936 expanded edition was among the last major works issued before the Nazi regime completely suppressed Jewish publishing. Following Kristallnacht in late 1938, Jewish publishing houses were closed and their inventories confiscated. Shortly before its closure, Philo Verlag succeeded in publishing the celebrated Philo-Atlas, an emergency guide for Jewish emigration from Germany containing essential information for prospective emigrants (see Dynasty Auction 26, Item 89). Copies of the present volume that remained in circulation were confiscated by the Nazis following Kristallnacht. VII, 831 columns (numbered by double columns, equivalent to approximately 200 pages). Good condition.