Book - Hebrew Language, Shilo Publishing House, USA 1949

Summary

Hebrew language book, published by the Shilo Publishing House, USA in 1949. The book belonged to Stephen Schmideg, whose parents purchased it for him in Carlton to learn Hebrew soon after they migrated. Stephen's son also used the book for Hebrew language learning from the age of three. The book (read right to left) contains words organised by the English alphabet, phrases, vowels, songs and prayers mostly relating to Jewish religious practice. The book mark found in the book documents the Balberyszski Jewish shop in Rathdowne Street Carlton where the book was purchased in the late fifties-early sixties.

Stephen and Peter Schmideg fled Budapest with their parents Zoltan and Margit after the Soviet repression of the Hungarian revolution in 1956. Zoltan and Margit had already survived appalling experiences and loss of family as Jews during World War II. They managed to escape to Austria, before being processed and joining their ship the Aurelia in Genoa, before finally arriving in Melbourne on 28 January 1957.

Mendel Balberyszski (1894-1966) was born in Vilna, Lithuania, one of a few thousand Vilna Jews to survive out of a population of more than 70,000 in 1941. He is chiefly known today for his book Stronger Than Iron - The Destruction of Vilna Jewry 1941-1945: An Eyewitness Account, published in 1967 a year after his death. A Yiddish orator, Polish politician and cultural activist, he, his wife and two children migrated to Australia in 1949. In Melbourne he returned to active Jewish communal activities, including becoming President of the Carlton Hebrew Congregation, an official of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria, a contributor to the Jewish press and proprietor of the Balberyszski Jewish Bookstore in Rathdowne Street Carlton which he acquired and expanded in the early 1950s. The bookshop became the focal point for Yiddish-speaking intellectuals and a communal landmark. The family lived in a small flat behind the bookshop where Mendel would sit at a table and write, while his family would sit around and listen to him reading aloud.

Physical Description

Soft cover book with grey cover and blue Hebrew text. 96 cream pages with black printed text and some illustrations throughout. Inside front cover has handwritten inscription and a stamp.

Significance

Statement of Historical Significance:
This item provides an insight into Jewish cultural life in Melbourne after World War II, including language and prayer education, and Jewish small businesses.