Martha Wolfenstein (August 5, 1869 – March 17, 1906) was a

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

-born American author. She was once described as "the best Jewish sketch writer in America."

Early life

Martha Wolfenstein was born in 1869 in

Insterburg Chernyakhovsk (russian: Черняхо́вск) – known prior to 1946 by its German name of (Old Prussian: Instrāpils, lt, Įsrutis; pl, Wystruć) – is a town in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, where it is the administrative center of ...

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

, the eldest daughter of Dr. Samuel Wolfenstein (1841–1921) and Bertha Brieger (–1885). Her father, who served as rabbi in that city from 1865 to 1870, had received

rabbinic ordination Semikhah ( he, סמיכה) is the traditional Jewish name for rabbinic ordination. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 C ...

under Zvi Mecklenburg. During her infancy the family emigrated to the United States, after her father's election as director of the local Höhere Töchterschule was overturned by the Prussian government. They eventually settled in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, Ohio, where he served as superintendent of the Jewish Orphan Asylum. She resided at the orphanage and received a public school education.

Career

Wolfenstein's first publications were translations from German of short fiction by

Leopold Kompert Leopold Kompert (15 May 182223 November 1886) was a Bohemian Jewish writer. He was born in Mnichovo Hradiště (german: Münchengrätz), Kingdom of Bohemia, Bohemia, and died in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, Austria. He studied at the universities of ...

. She went on to write short stories based on her father's experiences in a

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

n '' Judengasse'', which she contributed to many of the leading American Jewish journals, and to other magazines like ''

McClure's ''McClure's'' or ''McClure's Magazine'' (1893–1929) was an American illustrated monthly periodical popular at the turn of the 20th century. The magazine is credited with having started the tradition of muckraking journalism (investigative journ ...

'' and ''

Lippincott's ''Lippincott's Monthly Magazine'' was a 19th-century literary magazine published in Philadelphia from 1868 to 1915, when it relocated to New York to become ''McBride's Magazine''. It merged with ''Scribner's Magazine'' in 1916. ''Lippincott's'' ...

''. Among her writings were ''A Priest from the Ghetto'' and ''A Sinner in Israel'' (in ''Lippincott's'') and ''The Renegade'' (in the ''Outlook''). In 1901 the

Jewish Publication Society of America The Jewish Publication Society (JPS), originally known as the Jewish Publication Society of America, is the oldest nonprofit, nondenominational publisher of Jewish works in English. Founded in Philadelphia in 1888, by reform Rabbi Joseph Krauskop ...

released her first novel, ''Idyls of the Gass''. A German translation was later published in ''Die Zeit'' of Vienna. It is noted for its

strong female character The strong female character is a stock character, the opposite of the damsel in distress. In the first half of the 20th century, the rise of mainstream feminism and the increased use of the concept in the later 20th century have reduced the concept ...

s, and sympathetic depiction of ghetto Jews. The work received praise from

Henrietta Szold Henrietta Szold ( , ; December 21, 1860 – February 13, 1945) was a U.S. Jewish Zionist leader and founder of Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America. In 1942, she co-founded Ihud, a political party in Mandatory Palestine dedic ...

Israel Zangwill Israel Zangwill (21 January 18641 August 1926) was a British author at the forefront of cultural Zionism during the 19th century, and was a close associate of Theodor Herzl. He later rejected the search for a Jewish homeland in Palestine and be ...

Simon Wolf Simon Wolf (October 28, 1836 – June 4, 1923) was a United States businessman, lawyer, writer, diplomat and Jewish activist. Biography Wolf was born in Hinzweiler, Kingdom of Bavaria. He emigrated to the United States in 1848, making his home ...

Kaufmann Kohler Kaufmann Kohler (May 10, 1843 – January 28, 1926) was a German-born Jewish American biblical scholar and critic, theologian, Reform rabbi, and contributing editor to numerous articles of ''The Jewish Encyclopedia'' (1906). Life and work Kaufm ...

, and other Jewish public intellectuals. At the time of her death, she was working on a play.

Death and legacy

Wolfenstein died from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

on March 17, 1906, after a prolonged illness. The

Central Conference of American Rabbis The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), founded in 1889 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the principal organization of Reform rabbis in the United States and Canada. The CCAR is the largest and oldest rabbinical organization in the world. I ...

extended official condolences to her family in recognition of her literary talents. Martha House, a residence for poor women and girls, was established in her memory the following year by the Cleveland Council of Jewish Women.

Bibliography

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfenstein, Martha 1869 births 1906 deaths 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American women writers 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis American women short story writers Jewish American short story writers Jewish women writers People from Insterburg Prussian emigrants to the United States Tuberculosis deaths in Ohio Writers from Cleveland Jews from Ohio