ROMAN ZAKHARII

MEIR BALABAN: THE PROMINENT HISTORIAN OF POLISH JEWS

BALABAN'S PERSONALITY AND BRILLIANT CAREER ENDED UP IN WARSAW GHETTO

Meir Balaban was born in 1877 in Lwow (Lviv), in a family of of Hebrew printer and traders. The Balaban family had been active in Lwow and Zolkiew (Zhovkva) as Hebrew printers from 1830 to 1914. The geneology of this family goes back to the second half of the 17 th century. His ancestors occupied the kahal positions in Lwow, and one of them, named Lewko, was the Senior of the Jewish community of the city, and after buying the stown house out of the Jewish ghetto, he was in the judicial process with the municipal hall concerning the privatization of the house till the end of his life. Meir Balaban has devoted to him the historical essay "Lewko Balaban, burmisrz kahalny Lwowski" (Lewko Balaban, the kahal burgomeister of Lwow), Lwow, 1904.  Lewko's son Zusman Balaban was also the member of the Kahal Council in Lwow and together with another Lwow rabbi signed the oath regarding the Hassidic butchers in 1792. Since that time Balabans were the adherents of Misnagdim and Meir's grandfather Jozef Jehuda (rabbi Leiba Balaban) fought against the hassidism on the side of rabbi Jakow Orenstein (Jeshua Jakow) and this tradition passed through to Meir's father Alexander Zusman, who was the progressive and very pious man.

One of Balabans, Leobel Balaban had founded Balaban printing shop and publishing house in Lwow in 1830. It was one of the main Jewish printing shops in Lwow, which published and printed almost exlusively only the books of the religious-scientific and liturgical character. Leobel Balaban was the member of kahal , being very renown in the city.  After his death in 1848 the bussiness inherited his son Moses Pinkhas Balaban, and finally  the wife of the latter Pessel (1860). The firm became famous in Galicia, Polish kingdom and Russia. Among its publications: Shulkhan Arukh with numerous comments; Orakh Haim, 1880; Yore Dea, 1887; Khoshem Mishpat, 1882; Eben ha ezer, 1880; an array of the editions of the Bible, the most renown one is so called Mikrat Gadol (1885) with 18 commentaries; the prayer-books with comment. Furthermore, the printing hose published only Bibles and prayer-books according to the testament of its founder Leobel:

"Only Moses and men of the Great Congregation are worth printing their  books. The firm ignores the modern Jewish literature and contemporary Jewish  science"

This is how Balaban describes the printing traditions of its family in one of the articles in Jevrejskaja Entsiklopedija (Russian Jewish Encyclopeadia) where he published many of his investigations. It indicates also the importance of the religous tradition in his family.

In such a family he received the traditional education and the tradition Jewish schooling in heder. In young age he was given to the Czacki primary school and later on to the gimnasium. Simoltaneously he was learning the Jewish science himself either in the mornings before the school or during the long nights (going at 6 a.m. to heder). In 1895 after the passing of the Abitur exam (the certificate of matureness) in the 4th gimnasium in Lwow, he entered the law faculty in Lwow university but after a while he interrupted his studies having occupied the teaching position at the Baron de Hirsch's school in Hlyniany, and afterwards in Holohory. It was in 1898, 40 years of life were still in future.  For further teaching at this school he had to add the pedagogical subjects (the seminary ceratificate)  to his gimnaisum certificate, since Baron de Hirsch's school hadn't yet the civic rights and Balaban had to pass the practice  in a civic school, where the Ukrainian was the main language of instruction. It was a pure province in Galicia and the second form, where Balaban teached, numbered 117 children and the instruction was going at the village hall.

Balaban liked the school and youth since the beginning of his teaching career and the children liked him. It should be noted also that Balaban teached also the singing besides of the general subjects and founded the choir which singed at the sionistic evenings. He established there the society Zion where teached the Jewish history, preaparing from the handbooks of Kasl, and Graetz, which was published in Yiddish at that time. Balaban wrote diaries being very interested in history since the gymnasium years and childhood since Meir's father was very fond of history and this family devotion to this subject revealed itself later in Meir's career. While teaching in Hlyniany, Balaban read every historical book found and put in order by him at the library of the owner of the town. In January of 1900 he was transferred to the school of Baron de Hirsch in Holohory but here, at the remote province he didn't find any activity for himself and alredy in November of the same year he returned to Lwow, where he occupied the teaching position at the Czacki primary school, where once he was a pupil. The teaching at thi school was hard since the forms numbered from 65 to 85 pupils. The first form where Balaban teached had 87 boys aged from 6 to 13.

Having settled in Lwow, Balaban passed so called "qualification exam" and alredy in spring of 1902 returned back to the university studies. He didn't study the law further but philosophy and history. Simoltaneously he started to work for the Zionist weekly Wschod, which he left a few years before when going to Hlyniany. He also wrote articles for the  Zionist magazine Przyszlosc (means future in Polish).

The combination of teaching and university studies wasn't so easy and especially his archive work under the guidence of two his professors Ludwig Finkel and the law historain Oswald Baltzer. Since that time he started to work on the history of Lwow Jews, starting from the researches of legends about so called "Golden Rose". In the same time he studied the bibliography of the history of Jews in Poland and in 1903 published "The review of the literature and history of Jews in Poland for 1899-1903". Meanwhile, he also passed the exam for the teacher of religion and was trasferred from Czacki school to the whole array of other primary schools, where he was assigned teaching the religion.

In 1904 he finished his work on theme Zydzi lwowscy na przelomie XVI-XVII wieku  (The Jews of Lwow at the turn of the 17th century) having recieved the award of from the philosophy faculty of the university as well as the costs for publishing from the Foundation of Hipolit Wawelberg and was transferred from the primary schools to the 4th gimnasium assigning him to teach the Jewish religion there. The above mentioned work was recommended by Prof. Michail Bobzynski (who was later the Governer General of Galicia) for the award of Barczewski of the Polish Academy of Arts. In this work Balaban displayed a thorough grasp of his subject, scholarly meticulousness, and capacity for presenting lucidly the various aspects of life in great detail.

The publication of such serious work, which the historical critics accepted and appreciated very highly promising him a great future, opened him the way to the scientific institutions, making also easier  his work in secondary school.  After the doctoral defence at the univrsity and passing the teacher's exam on general history and geography, Balaban received the teaching position in Sokal with the simoltaneous appointment to the 6th gimansium in Lwow. Since that time Balaban intensively works in the scientific sphere. He continued the researches of the history of Lwow Jews and in 1909 published his work Dzielnica zydowska, jej dzieje i zabytki (The Jewish ghetto, its history and remembrances) at the "Biblioteka Lwowska" and Spis Zydow i karaitow ziemi halickiej z r. 1765 (The list of Jews and Karaims of the Galician land since 1765) published in the same year  at the Academy of Arts in Krakow.

Independently from this, Balaban continued "The Bibliography of the history of Jews in Poland" in Kwartalnik historyczny in Lwow, and later on (starting from 1909) in Przeglad Historyczny in Warasaw.

During 1905-1906 Balaban was a chief editor of the monthly Haor, the magazine of the union of the teachers of the Jewsih law in Galicia.

When in 1909 Dubnow had started to publish magazine Jevrejskaja Starina, Balaban not only was sending his works for every issue but made every effort seeking for Starina the works of young Galician historians (Schipper, Heckerow etc.) In Starina Balaban also led the bibliographical section similar to his bibliographies in Polish magazines. Accidentally, Balaban encountered the documents and materials reagarding the history of Jews in Krakow and being asked by the Krakow kahal  accomplished the first volume of The History of Jews in Krakow and Kazimiria, 1304. It made him the reputation In Lwow University and with the assistence of Prof. Finkel, Balaban received one-year vacation in a secondary school and high ministerial scholarship making a long scientific trip to Poznan, Berlin and Gdansk. He also stayed for a few months in Krakow collecting the materials for the second volume of The History of Cracow Jews. Simoltaneously he started to publish in Starina the extensive work entitled The History of Organisation of Jews in Poland.

The war had interrupted all the  intentions of Balaban. He spent the first year of the war in Vienna, where he teached in gimnasium for Galician refugees as well as leading the courses organized for the teachers of Jewish religion from Galicia.. The next three years he spent in Lublin serving as a reporter on Jewish matters at the Austrian General Governer office and later on as a field rabbi of the Austrian army in the occupied areas. Serving at these posts Balaban organized the new kahals in the Polish kingdom, attended the Jewish schools and co-operated at the organizing the Jewish gimnasiums. He had organized the educational courses for melameds  in Lublin, Kelce, and Chelm ans other places, serving also as a teacher at some of them, for instance in Radomsk.

Besides this intricate work which demanded the permanent moves, Balaban didn't neglect the historical work nad started the another investigation Die Judenstadt von Lublin (The Jewry of Lublin) which was based on pure but interesting archive materials. During his travelings he collected the materials about Jewish antiquities and historical monuments in Polan, photographing them saving by this from the oblivion.

By the end of the war Balaban entered the Polish Army (Lublin, commander gen. Smigly Rydz), but after a few months of the military service he was assingned by the Ministry of Education to head the women Jewish gimansium in Czenstochowa, having occupied also one of the position at the local synagogue. He pent lots of energy at the position of the gimnasium directorsettling and putting in order both the gimasium and synagogue, having compiled the statute for them (the first in Poland), plus selectid the highly qulified teaching staff, which furthermore became the permanent and effective, but after half a year of work at this position he was forced by the Ministry of Religious Confessions and Civil Education to move to Warsaw  in order to head the first School of Rabbis of a new style "Takhkemoni". This school was designed as synthesis of full a full eight-years gimnasium with a Yeshivot  with a complete instruction of Talmud consisting of 8 hours of classes per week, besides of teaching of the Bible, Hebrew, philosphy of religion etc... This program demanded two kinds of teachers who problematically coped between themselves in the ways of methodological and educational issues. Balaban made lots of effots to overcome these contradictions having the positive results in a few years.

Balaban headed the Seminary "Takhkemoni" for nine years  (1920-1929) being also the director of the gimnasium "Askola" in 1920 - 1921 and afterwards teaching the general history the for many years. While free from the educational work Balaban continued his historical researches. The product of this research was the 4 volumes handbook "The Jewish history and literature with a detailed review of the history of Jews in Poland". The handbook was used at all Jewish schools in Poland and was partly translated into Hebrew being used at the Jewish schools in Palestine too. Besides this Balaban published in war and inter-war period "The History of Jews in Galicia" (1916), a few volumes of historical research. The first one is completely new and changed edition of the first volume  of "The History of Jews in Cracow" (1931) and the second one presents  the history of Jewish community in Cracow till 1868 (1936). Both volumes number over 1400 pages and 80 tables with illustrations and pictures.

During this time Balaban also had written Historia postepowej synagogi we Lwowie 1840-1936 ("History of the progressive synagogue in Lwow 1840-1936", Lwow, 1937) as well as Bibliografija historyi zydow w Polsce za 1900-1930 ("A bibliography of history of Jews in Poland for 1900-1930"). It encomposses over 10.000 entries.

From 1927 Balaban teached at the Warsaw University of J. Pilsudski being the Associate Professor there and from 1936 as professor teached the Jewish history heading also the Seminary of the history of Jews in Poland at the same university. Since 1928 Balaban teached also at the Free Polish School.

Together with Schorr, Tohn and Braud, Balaban had organised the Institute for Jewish Sciences in Warsaw in 1928. It was opened in February of the same year in a house nearby the Greatt Tlomacka Street Synagogue. It was in fact a Rabbinical Seminary of Poland and Balaban served there as lecturer in Jewish history leading also the historical seminar at the Warsaw University which produced lots of works in the field of Jewish history in Poland and in particular in Polish kingdom.   Balaban's seminar at the Warsaw Unniversity became the most yielding and productive center of  Jewish historical school in Poland, despite of the fact that at the Seminary teached many eminent historians. Balaban's students both from the university and the institute occupied teaching positions throughout Poland proclaiming everywhere the science of their maestro, many of them became the outstanding scholars too. Among them: Artur Eisenbach, Jozef Kermisz, Izajasz Trunk.

Besides the scientific and pedagogical work Balaban was also largly engaged in organisational work leading  for 5 years the Institute for Jewish Sciences. It should be noted too that for 40 years he also was the co-worker of numerous scientific magazines  as Monatschrift fur Geschichte und Wissenschaft Judentums, Zeitschrift fur die Geschichte der Juden in Deutschland, Kwartalnik dla historii zydow w Polsce, Nowe Zycie (the magazine which was led and published by himself in 1924), Ha- tkufa and so on.

From the outset of his scholarly career Balaban applied himself to collecting a bibliography on the history of the Jews in Poland; his first prizewinning publication in this field appeared in Polish in 1903. The first part of his own bibliography for the years 1900-30 appeared in 1939.

Balaban like all the spiritual leaders of Polish Jewry, notably the numerous rabbis assured his anxious followers, during summer of 1939, that there would be no war. At the end of August he replied to questioners:

"I do not believe that war is imminent."

When he was reminded of this some three years later in the ghetto of Warsaw, he confessed:

"This was the greatest mistake in all my life."

When the Nazis overran Poland, Balaban refused to flee. He died in Warsaw in November 1942 before the liquidation of the ghetto and was thus vouchsafed burial in the Jewish cemetery.

M. BALABAN: THE FOUNDER OF THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF POLISH JEWRY

(THE REVIEW OF BALABAN'S SCIENTIFIC LEGACY AND MAIN WORKS ON HISTORY OF JEWS IN POLAND)

Balaban published about 70 historical studies and about 200 short papers and reviews in various periodicals. He was justly considered the founder of the historiography of Poish Jewry, especially of its communal life.

Scholar started his literary-scientific activity in 1897 publishing little essays in the Zionist magazine Przyslosc (Polish: "future"), and later on in a weekly Wschod (Polish: "East"). From 1903 on Balaban led a permanent bibliographical review of history of Jews in Poland and Russia in Kwartalnik historyczny, and from 1906 on he publishes the scientific treaties in newspaper Kurjer Lwowski. Here he wrote an array of treaties and articles on the history of Jews in Poland and on the Jewish history in general. The first serious works of Balaban appeared in almanac Rocznik zydowske in 1902-1906: Izak Nachmanowicz, zyd lwowski XVI wieku ("Isaak Nachmanowicz. the Lwow Jew of the 16 th century," 1904); Josephus Flavius, Charakterystyka czlowieka i historyka na tle wspolczesnych wypadkow ("Joseph Flavius, the characteristic of man in the light of specific cases and stories", 1904); Z przemyskich dziejow ("On the Przemysl history", 1904); Zycie prywatne zydow lwowskich na przelomie XVI i XVII wieku ("Private life of Lwow Jews at the turn of the 16 th and 17 th centuries," 1905); Makabeusze ("Maccabians," 1905); Lewko Balaban, burmistrz kahalny lwowski z konca XVIII wieku ("Lewko Balaban, kahal burgomeister of Lwow of the end of the 18 th century," 1905). Some of these articles became as preparatory works for the main, already mentioned work of Balaban Zydzi lwowscy na przelomie XVI i XVII wieku  ("The Jews of Lwow at the Turn of the 17th Century," 1906). This work numbers 577 pages of text and 188 pages of different materials. Balaban was awarded the first prize of Ipolit Wawelberg for this work. In this work he demonstrated a thorough knowledge of his subject, scholarly erudition, and a capacity for presenting clearly the various aspects of life in great detail. The book consists of three parts; in the first chapter Balaban gives a live picture of the external events of the community, resting in detail on the renown process of Lwow Jews with with the Jesuits and on the energetic leaders of the community from the family of Nachmanowicz and others. The second part is devoted to the detailed consideration of the communal self-administration and rabbinate, and the third one consists of a few essays on the trade, crafts, family life, land lending etc. Balaban used a rich archival material  primarily from the archive of Bernardines' in Lwow, Lwow city archive and the archive of Jewish community in Lwow. The great number of illustrations (types of Lwow Jews, synagogue utensil, synagogues and  houses, rare grave stown plaques, plan of the old ghetto, stamps of Jewish traders etc.) gives a special historical-cultural interest to the book.

Balaban researched the history of other Jewish communities as well: Zalmaw, burmistrz kahalu w Drohobyczu w pol. XVIII wieku ("Zalmaw, the Jewish community mayor of Drohobych in the second half of the 18th century");  Cieniom Stanislawa Zolkiewskiego (...of Stanislaw Zolkiewski). Some works are devoted to the history of educational movement among Jews: Herz Homberg i szkoly jozefinskie dla zydow w Galicyi w r. 1787-1806 ("Herz Homberg and Josephian Schools for the Jews in Galicia in 1787-1806," Lwow, 1907); and Historya projektu szkoly rabinow i nauki religii mojzeszowej na ziemiach polskich ("The History of the Project of the School for the Rabbis and Jewish Religion in Polish Lands," Lwow, 1907).

In his book Przeglad literatury historyi zydow w Polsce, 1899-1907 ("Review of the Literature on the History of Jews in Poland, 1899-1907," Lwow, 1908) Balaban listed the works on the history of Jews in Poland and Russia which appeared 8 years before publishing the book with lots of critiques about many historical publications.

Collections of his articles and treatises, containing the biographies of rabbis, doctors, and communal leaders, and the history of printing houses, blood accusations, and the Karaites in Poland, were published in German, Polish and Yiddish.

Balaban contributed over 150 articles to the Russian-Jewish Encyclopedia Yevreyskaya Entsiklopediya. He wrote a great deal of articles in his field in Yevreyskaya Entsiklopediya, Judisches Lexicon, Enzyklopedia Iudaica, Polski Slownik Biograficzny of the Polish Academy of Arts, Enzyklopedii Polskiej etc. Besides that published the historical and literary-critical articles almost in the whole Polish press. (Kurjer Lwowski, Slowo Polskie) as well as in Polish-Jewish, Jewish,and Hebrew newspapers recording the works in the field of Jewish history in popular debates and book critiques articles.

Balaban together with Natan Szwalb, Jozef Opatoszu and Bernard Singer was also among the chief editors and co-workers of the moderate Zionist daily Nasz Przeglad, which was published in Warsaw from 1923 till 20 IX 1939.

Particularly significant are his studies written in Hebrew on the Shabbatean and Frankit movements, summarized in his Le-Toledot ha-Tenu'ah ha-Frankit ("History of the Frankist Movement", 2 vols., 1934-35). It was published in Tel Aviv.

Like Schorr, Balaban also co-operated with the Polish Jewish newspaper Chwila which was published in Lwow as a local Jewish publication and daily newspaper. It was one among  many numerous Jewish newspapers, where Balban published his historical articles and critical-literary reviews in the field of Jewish history. One of such reviews was his artcle reagrading the book of Samuel Kraus "Die Wiener Geserah vom Jahre 1421", which was published in the same 1920 year in Vienna. Article's title is Smutna rocznica ("Sad anniverssary").  Balaban writes:

"Viennese community celebrates its bloody  anniversary of 50 years since the  moment when Austrian princes Albrecht V (as emperor Albrecht II) ordered to  close all the Jews of his lands in the prison where no one was allowed to leave  alive. Two dates, 23 rd of May 1420 and 12 th of March 1421, the date of  imprisonment of the Jews and the date of burning the victims are the bloody  signs in the history of Viennese Jews, simultaneously in the Jewish history at  all. A blaze of a burning haystack had been blazing for a long time lightening  the bloody history of Viennese community. Shining of this blaze  still could be  seen today ... and professor of the Rabbinical School there wrote a wide work,  in which he wants to  honour and perpetuate the tragedy of history setting the  memorial for the victims who where burned at the stack then. The German - Jewish  chronicle is named : "Die Wiener Geserah..."

In the same 1920 year and in the same newspaper Chwila Balaban publishes the next articles: Dr Emanuel de Jona, lekarz nadworny Jana Trzeciego ("Dr Emanuel de Jona, the court physician of Jan III"), which deals with the history of Lwow Jews;  Drukarnie hebrajskie w Zolkwie i Lwowie ("Jewish printing shops in Zolkwa and Lwow") concerning the history of printing in Poland;  Becal, celnik ziem ruskich ("Becal, the custom officer of  Rus' lands"), the historical essay of the 17th century.

Among other Balaban's publications in Chwila are the following: Auto-da-Fe we Lwowie w r. 1728 ("Auto-da-Fe in Lwow in 1728"). Auto-da-fe is the (the Portuguise form for French acte de foi (from Latin actus fidei) which is the solemn declaration and thereafter the execution procedure assigned  by the Inquisition. The Jews were usually condemned for the Judaism. The solemn declaration of the sentence commonly took place in a church during the first week of the Christmass fast

---

Prof. Dr. M.Schorr na nowej placowce pracy (Prof. Dr. M.Schorr at a new place of work) Chwila, 18 November 1923, p.4;

Ibid.

Prof. Dr. M. Schorr na nowej placowce pracy (Prof. Dr. M.Schorr at a new place of work). Chwila, 18 November, 1923;

J.Tomaszewski. Najnowsze dzieje zydow w Polsce w zarysie do 1950 roku (Contemporary History of Jews in Poland till 1950) Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PAN, 1993, pp. 252-253;

Almanach szkolnictwa zydowskiego w Polsce (Almanac of Jewish scholarship in Poland), Warsaw: Wyd.  Renesans, 1938, p. 104;

Polski Slownik Biograficzny (Polish Biographical Directory). Vol. 25/4. Warsaw: PAN, 1994, p. 603;

Ibid.: p. 603;

Prof. Dr. M.Schorr na nowej placowce pracy (Prof. Dr. M.Schorr at a new place of work). Chwila, November 18, 1923, p. 4;

Ibid.

Polski Slownik Biograficzny..., p. 603;

Ibid.: p. 603;

Prof Dr. M.Schorr na nowej placowce pracy...

Polski Slownik Biograficzny...p. 603.

Ibid.

Ibid.;

Ibid.;

M.Schorr. Zur Geschichte der Don Josef Nasi (Concerning the history of Don Joseph Nasi) Monatschrift fur die Wiesenschaft des Judenstums, Vienna, 1897;

Prof. Dr. M.Schorr at a new place of work...

Jevrejskaja Entsiklopedija (The Jewish Encyclopeadia), St Petersburg: The Publishing house for scientific Jewish publications and The Edition of Brockhaus and Efron, 1913, p. 71;

Prof. Schorr na nowej placowce pracy...

M.Schorr. Die Kohler-Peisersche Hammurabi Ubersetzung (Hammurabi Code translation of Kohler-Peisersche) Wien, 1907;

M.Schorr. Panstwo i spoleczenstwo babilonske w okresie t. zw. dynastyi Hammurabiego (The Babylonian state and society at the time of Hammurabi dynasty) Lwow, 1906;

M.Schorr. Ruch handlowy w Starozytnej Babilonii (The trade movement in the Ancien Babylon) in "Ksiega pamiatkowa ku uczczeniu zalozenia Uniw. Lwowskiego", Lwow, 1911;

M.Schorr. Kodeks Hammurabiego a owczesna praktyka prawna (Hammurabi Code and the legal practices of the Ancient Orient) Krakow, 1907;

M.Schorr. Urkunden des albabylonischen Zivil- und Prozessrechts (Documents of Old Babylonian civil and crimianal law) Leipzig: Vor der Asiatischen Bibliothek, 1913;

M.Schorr. Samuel Hirsch Margulies (1858-1922), Chwila, 13 May 1922, p. 3;

M.Schorr. Prawo Mojzesza na tle porownawczem prawodawstw Starozytnego Wschodu (Moses' law in the comparative perespective with the laws of the Ancient Orient) Chwila, 3-7, 13, 17, 19-22, 24-29 November 1923;

M.Schorr. Problem Chettow (Hettites' problem) in Kwartalnik historyczny, 1916;

M.Schorr.Kwestya zydowska w dobie Sejmu Wielkiego (The Jewish question at the time of Great Sejm) Chwila, 13-14 July 1920;

M.Schorr. Radosna Chwila (The joyful moment), Chwila, 9 November 1923;

M.Schorr. Pesach Micraim - Pesach le -atid. Haggadah do uzytku Chwili (Haggadah for the use of Chwila) Chwila, 14 , 15, 17 April 1922;

Ibid.;

Almanach szkolnictwa zydowskiego w Polsce...p. 542;

Ibid.: p. 543;

Jevrejskaja entsiklopedija...Vol. 1, p. 414

Ibid.;

Almanach szkolnictwa zydowskiego w Polsce...Vol. 1, p. 543;

Ibid. p. 544;

Ibid. p. 544;

Ibid.;

The Encyclopaedia Judaica...p. 126;

Almanach szkolnictwa zydowskiego w Polsce...p. 545;

Yevretskaya entsiklopediya...Vol. 3, p. 703;

Ibid.;

Ibid. p.547;

Ibid.: p.548;

Ibid.: p. 549;

J.Tomaszewski. Najnowsze dzieje zydow w Polsce w zarysie do 1950 roku  (Contemporary history of Jews in Poland outlined till 1950) Warsaw: PWN, 1993, pp. 252-253;

J.Tomaszewski. Najnowsze dzieje zydow w Polsce w zarysie do 1950 roku  (Contemporary history of Jews in Poland outlined till 1950) Warsaw: PWN, 1993, p. 253;

J. Marcus. Social and Political History of the Jews in Poland, 1919-1939. Berlin: Mouton Publishers, 1983, p. 429;

Ibid.;

Polski Slownik Biograficzny...p. 603;

Yevreyskaya entsiklopediya...Vol. 3, p. 703;

M.Balaban. Zalmaw, burmistrz kahalu w Drohobyczu w pol. XVII w. (Zalmaw, Jewish community mayor of Drohobych) Dziennik Polski, January 1900;

Encyclopeadia Judaica...p. 126;

Ibid.: p. 550;

J. Marcus. Social and Political History of the Jews in Poland, 1919-1939. Berlin: Mouton Publishers, 1983, p. 262;

Yevreyskaya entsiklopediya (Jewish Encyclopeadia). Jerusalem, 1988, Vol. 1, p. 77;

M.Balaban. Smutna rocznica (Sad anniverssary) Chwila, 30 April 1920;

M.Balaban. Smutna rocznica (Sad anniverssary) Chwila, 30 April 1920, pp. 3-4;

M.Balaban. Dr Emanuel de Jona, lekarz nadworny Jana Trzecigo (Dr Emanuel de Jona, the court physician of Jan III) Chwila, 4 March 1920, pp. 4-6;

M.Balaban. Drukarnie hebrajskie w Zolkwie i Lwowie (Jewish Printing Shops in Zolkwa and Lwow) Chwila, 11 April 1920, pp. 5-9;

M.Balaban. Becal, celnik ziem ruskich (Becal, Celnik of Rus lands) Chwila, 4 May 1920, p.3;

BIBLIOGRAPHY

PRIMARY SOURCES:

1.Balaban, M. Historja i literatura zydowska ze szczegolnem uwzglednieniem historji zydow w Polsce (Jewish history and culture with the detailed review of the history of Jews in Poland). Lwow-Krakow, 1921.

2.Balaban, M. Przewodnik po zydowskich zabytkach Krakowa z 13 rycinami z 24 rytograwjurami na oddzielnych tablicach z 2 planami (Guide on Jewish places and monuments of Krakow). Krakow: KAW, 1990.

3.Balaban, M. Smutna rocznica (Sorrowful annivessary), Chwila, 30 July 1920.

4.Balaban, M. Dr. Emanuel de Jona, lekarz nadworny Jana Trzecigo (Dr. Emanuel de Jona, court physician of John the 3 rd), Chwila,  4 March 1920.

5.Balaban, M. Z wczorajszego Lwowa (From the past of Lwow), Chwila, July - December 1925.

6.Balaban, M. Chassidica. Przeglad literatury o chasydyzmie z lat ostatnich (Hassidica. Review of  recent literature about the Hassidism). Chwila, 7--9, 11, 12, 14, 16-19 July, 1932.

7.Balaban, M. Budowa i ornamentyka synagog w Polsce (Structure and ornamentation of synagogues in Poland), Chwila, 30 December 1925.

8.Balaban, M. Do dziejow Ormian lwowskich. Traktat o asymilacyi (Concernig the history of Armenians in Lwow. Treatise about the assimilation), Chwila 14 January, 1921.

9.Balaban, M. Napoleon a Zydzi (Napoleon and the Jews), Chwila, 30  December 1925.

10.Balaban, M. Zydzi polsko-litewski w pierwszym roku wojny europejskiej 1914-1915. Przeglad bibliograficzny  (Polish Lithuanian Jews in the first year of European War 1914-1915. Bibliographical review). Chwila, August - September 1922.

11.Balaban, M. Auto da Fe w Lwowie w r. 1728 (Auto da Fe in Lviv in 1728).

Chwila, 14 January 1921.

12.Balaban, M. Drukarnie hebrajskie w Zolkwie i Lwowie (Hebrew printing shops in Zovkva and Lviv). Chwila, 11 April 1920.

13.Balaban, M. Nauka Zydowska w Golusie i jej dom w Ojczyznie (Jewish Science in the Dispersion and its House in Motherland) Chwila, 2 April 1925, pp. 9-11.

14.Balaban, M. Zydowska biblioteka gminna we Lwowie. Wspomnienie (Jewish Communla Library in Lviv) Chwila, 7 January 1922, p.2.

15.Balaban, M. Chassidica, przeglad literatury o chasydyzmie z lat ostatnich (Chassidica, the review of the literature on Chassidism from the last years) Chwila, August-September 1922.

16.Balaban, M. Korespondencja Lublinera z Lewelem (Correspondence of Lubliner with Lewel) Miesiecznik Zydowski, no. 4, 1933, pp. 289-321.

17.Balaban, M. Zalmaw, burmistrz kahalu w Drohobyczu w pol. XVII w. (Zalmaw, Jewish community mayor of drohobych) Dziennik Polski, January 1900.

18.Prof Dr. M. Schorr na nowej placowce pracy (Prof. Dr. M. Schorr at the new place of work). Chwila, 18 November, 1923.

19.Schorr, M. Kwestya zydowska w dobie Sejmu Wielkiego, (Jewish question at the time of the Great Seim). Chwila, 13-24 July, 1920.

20.Schorr, M. Palestyna a Babylon w swietlie najnowszych wtkopalisk, (Palestine and Babylon in the light of new archeological excavations,) Chwila, 27, 28, 30 January1922; 1-6 February 1922.

21.Schorr, M. Prawo Mojzesza na tle porownawczem prawodawstw Starozytnego Wschodu (Moses' Law in comparaative perspective with the legislatures of the Ancient Middle East,) Chwila, 3-7, 13, 17, 19-22, 24-29 November 1923.

22.Schorr, M. Radosna Chwila (Joyful moment,) Chwila, 9 December 1923;

23.Schorr, M. Samuel Hirsch Margulies, 1858-1922, (Samuel Hirsch Margulies, 1858-1922). Chwila, 13 May 1922.

24.Schorr, M. Archiwum zydowskiej kolonii wojskowej w Egipcie z V w. (Archiwe of Jewish military colony in Egypt of 5 th century). Lwow, 1912.

25.Schorr, M. Aus der Geschichte der Juden in Przemysl (History of Jews in Przemysl). Vienna: Verlag von R. Lovit, 1915, 28 p.

26. Schorr, M. Pomik prawa staroassyryjskiego z XII w. przed Chr. (Memorial of  Old Assyrian Law of 12 th century B.C.). Lwow: Archiwum Towarystwa Naukowego we Lwowie, 1922.

27.Schorr, M. Problem Chettytow z powodu najnowszego odkrycia lingwistyczno-historycznego (Problem of Hettites due to the newest lingustic-historical discovery).

Kwartalnik Historyczny, Lwow, 1916.

28.Schorr, M. Przyczynki do frazeologii psalmow biblijnych a babilonskich

( Articles concernig Biblical nad Babylonian Psalms), Rocznik oryentalistyczny, Krakow, 1914 -1915.

29.Schorr, M. Jezyk hebrajski w Polsce (Hebrew language in Poland), Encycopedya polska (Polish encyclopaedia), Vol. 3 (1915).

30.Schorr, M. Kultura babilonska a starohebrajska (Babilonian and Hebrew culture). Lwow, 1903, 28 p.

31.Schorr, M. Panstwo i spoleczenstwo babilonske w okresie t. zw. dynastyi Hamurabiego okolo 2500 - 2000 pr. Chr.  (Babylonian state and society in times of Hammurabi dynasty of 2500 - 2000 B.C.). Lwow: Drukarnia Ludowa, 1906.

32.Schorr, M. Organizacya Zydow w Polsce od najdawniejszych czasow do r. 1772

(Organisation of Jews in Poland since the earliest times till 1772). Kwartalnik Historyczny, 1899.

33.Schorr M. Kazanie inagauracyjne wygloszone w wiekiej synagodze na Tlomackiem dn. 7. 12. 1923. (Inaugurative message presented at the Great Tlomacki Synagogue on 2.12.1923). Warsaw: Druk. Kupenztocha i Kramaria, 1923, 28 p.

34.Schorr M. Kodeks Hamurabiego a owczesnaa praktyka prawna (Hammurabi Code and the ancient Middle Eastern legal practice). Krakow, 1907;

35.Schorr, M. Wazniejsze kwestyi z historyi semickiego Wschodu (The Important Issues on the History of the Semitic Orient) Lwow: Druk. Zwiazkowa, 1907, 60 p.

36.Schorr, M. Starozytnosci biblijne w swietlie archiwum egipskiego z XIV w. przed Chrystusem (Biblical Antiquities in the Light of Egyptian Archive of 17th cen. B.C.) Lwow: Druk. Zwiazkowa, 1901, 34 p.

37.To live with honour and die with honor. Selected Documents from the Warsaw Ghetto Underground Archives "O. S.' ["Oneg Shabbath"] Jerusalem: Yad Vashem, 1986.

SECONDARY LITERATURE:

38.Almanach szkolnictwa zydowskiego w Polsce (Almanac of Jewish scholarship in Poland). Warsaw: Wyd. Renesans, 1988, Vol. 1.

39.Albright, William Foxwell. Archeologia Palestyny (Archeology of Palestine). Warsaw: PWN, 1964.

40.Balaban,  M. Prace naukowe Prof. Mojzesza Schorra," (Scientific Works of Prof. M. Schorr) In Ksiega Jubileuszowa ku czci prof. Mojzesza Schorra (Anniversary book in memory of Prof. M. Schorr). Warsaw, 1935.

41.Balaban, M. Wazniejsze prace naukowe prof. Mojzesza Schorra (Major scientific works of Prof. M. Schorr) In M. Schorr: Kazanie inaugaracyjne w Wielkiej Synagodze na Tlomackiem...dn. 7 grudnia 1923 (M.Schorr: Inaugurative presentation at the Great Tlomacki Synagogue on Dec. 7th, 1923). Warsaw, 1924.

42.Bilderman, M. Majer Balaban, Historian of Polish Jewry: His Influence on the Younger Generation of Jewish Historians, New York: Methuen, 1976.

43.Eisenbach, A. Jewish Historiography in Interwar Poland in "The Jews of Poland Between Two World Wars" Hanover: University Press of New England, 1991.

44.Kaufman, I. Biblejskaja epokha (Biblical Epoch) in Jevreiskaja istorija i religija (Jewish history and religion). Jerusalem: Lib. Aliya, 1990;

45.Kratkaja Jevrejskaja Entsiklopedija (Short Jewish Encyclopeadia). Vol. 4. Jerusalem, 1988.

46.Marcus, J. Social and Political History of the Jews in Poland 1919-1939. New York: Mouton publishers, 1983.

47.Ostersetzer, Israel. Prof. Mojzesz Schorr: W 60-lecie urodzin (Prof. M. Schorr: on the occasion of the 60th jubilee of his birthday) Miesiecznik Zydowski, 1934.

48.Polski Slownik Biograficzny (Polish Biographical Directory).Vol. 25/4. Warsaw: PAN, 1994.

49.Schulkin M. Prof. Majer Balaban: w stolecie urodzin (Prof. M. Balaban: on the occasion of his centennial anniversary) BZIN, 1977.

50.Tomaszewski, J. Najnowsze dzieje zydow w Polsce w zarysie do roku 1950 (Contemporary history of Jews in Poland outlined till 1950) Warsaw: PWN, 1993.

51.Trunk, I. Majer Balaban: den forsher fun der koolsher organizatye un oytomye in amolikn Poyln (Meir Balaban: the researcher of the Jewish self-administration system in Poland) in Yivo bletter, 1973.