Meier Schwarz (28 January 1926 – 12 January 2022) was an Israeli
plant physiologist
Plant physiology is a subdiscipline of botany concerned with the functioning, or physiology, of plants. Closely related fields include plant morphology (structure of plants), plant ecology (interactions with the environment), phytochemistry (bio ...
. He was born in
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, and escaped from the Nazi regime on a
Kindertransport to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. In Israel, he was a lecturer and scholar, and was appointed head of the
Hydroponics department at the
Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research in
Beer Sheva
Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...
.
Biography
Born in
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
,
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, Meier Schwarz was the child of Jewish parents. His father, Ludwig Schwarz, merchant, born in
Egenhausen/
Ansbach, was a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
army officer in the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, and was highly decorated. Ludwig Schwarz was board member of the Orthodox Jewish ″Adas Isroel″ congregation in Nuremberg. He was murdered by the
Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
in September 1937. According to official records, Schwarz's mother Meta Schwarz, née Stern, who was born in
Blaufelden
Blaufelden is a municipality in the district of Schwäbisch Hall in Baden-Württemberg in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europ ...
, died in March 1940 due to a "shortage of medicine." In fact the Nazis did not provide Jews with medicine. Schwarz's only brother Joseph was head of the
Hakhshara
Hakhshara ( he, הַכְשָׁרָה; also transliterated Hachshara or Hakhsharah) is a Hebrew word that literally means "preparation". The term is used for training programs and agricultural centres in Europe and elsewhere. At these centers Zioni ...
in Neuendorf/Fürstenwalde. He was murdered in 1943 in
Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...
.
Following the
Night of Broken Glass in November 1938, the family succeeded in organizing Meier Schwarz's emigration. He managed to flee in a
Kindertransport to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. He was one of the early pioneers of
Kibbutz
A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...
Hafetz Hayim and became an active member of the Jewish underground organization, the
Haganah
Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the ...
. At the age of 22 he was the commander of one of the three ″
Exodus
Exodus or the Exodus may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible
* The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan
Historical events
* Ex ...
″ ships, the "
Ocean Vigour
SS ''Ocean Vigour'' was a British Ocean class freighter, which served on various convoys during World War II, and then as a troopship before being used to deport illegal Jewish immigrants who attempted to enter Mandate Palestine to internment ...
".
After the establishment of the state of Israel, Schwarz worked as teacher and farmer. For 20 years he lived on Kibbutz Hafetz Haim, and spent another 14 years in
Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of ...
before moving to Jerusalem in 1973. There he lived with his wife Mirjam, a survivor of
Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...
, in Jerusalem's
Old City Old City often refers to old town, the historic or original core of a city or town.
Old City may refer to several places:
Historical cities or regions of cities
''(by country)''
*Old City (Baku), Azerbaijan
* Old City (Dhaka), Bangladesh, also ca ...
. They had seven children, as well as many grandchildren and great grandchildren. Schwarz died in Jerusalem on 12 January 2022, at the age of 95.
Academic career
Among Schwarz's academic achievements is the development of
hydroculture
Hydroponics is a type of horticulture and a subset of hydroculture which involves growing plants, usually crops or medicinal plants, without soil, by using water-based mineral nutrient solutions in aqueous solvents. Terrestrial or aquatic plants ...
(soilless culture) which makes it possible to grow plants in desert areas using minimal irrigation. In this capacity he received a doctorate in plant physiology from the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...
. He worked as a researcher and advisor in this field in Germany, Singapore, Chile and United States (where he worked for
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
).
Schwarz was head of the Department for Soilless Cultures at the
Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research in
Beer Sheva
Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...
.
The Best of The Growing Edge International, 2000-2005
/ref> He worked as an inspector for the ministry of education for biology lessons at high schools in Israel, and taught at Bar-Ilan University. For 12 years, he headed the teachers' seminary for science at the Jerusalem College for Women. Schwarz was member of the board of trustees of the University of Haifa
The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming Is ...
.
Schwarz was President of the International Society for Soilless Cultures (ISOSC), and founder of the Natural Sciences Department of Teacher Education at the Jerusalem College and the Jerusalem College of Technology. He also served as President of The International Society of Religious Researchers.
Public activities
Since 1988, as the Director of the Synagogue Memorial and Beit Ashkenaz organizations in Jerusalem, Schwarz has led a project to publish memorial books for the former synagogues of Germany and Austria, and the Jewish communities who built them. He worked with international partners and universities in this capacity. Eight memorial books have been published thus far.
Schwarz was a representative of CENTRA, the organization of Jewish-German immigrants to Israel who arrived in the 1930s. He represented the survivors of German origin in the Union of Survivor Organization and Yad Vashem.
Published works
More than 70 scientific reports and 12 books
Awards and recognition
* Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...
(Cross of Merit)
* In 2001, he received the Yakir Yerushalayim Award (″Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem″) from the city of Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
.[ City of Jerusalem official website]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwarz, Meier
1926 births
2022 deaths
Israeli botanists
Israeli people of German-Jewish descent
Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Mandatory Palestine
Kindertransport refugees
Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Plant physiologists
Academic staff of Jerusalem College of Technology
Scientists from Nuremberg