Michał Weinzieher (1 June 1903, in

Będzin Będzin (; also seen spelled ''Bendzin''; ) is a city in the Dąbrowa Basin, in southern Poland. It lies in the Silesian Highlands, on the Czarna Przemsza River (a tributary of the Vistula River, Vistula). Even though part of Silesian Voivodeship ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, Polish lands of the

Russian Partition The Russian Partition (), sometimes called Russian Poland, constituted the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that were annexed by the Russian Empire in the course of late-18th-century Partitions of Poland. The Russian ac ...

– April 1944, in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

) was a Polish-Jewish art historian and art critic,

museologist Museology (also called museum studies or museum science) is the study of museums. It explores the history of museums and their role in society, as well as the activities they engage in, including curating, preservation, public programming, and ed ...

, and separately also a writer on

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...

(known for his studies of the thought of

Leon Petrazycki Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

). He also published several pieces of travel reportage from France, England, and the Soviet Union.

Life

Michał Weinzieher was born on 1 June 1903 in the town of

, in the

Dąbrowa Basin The Dąbrowa Basin (also, Dąbrowa Coal Basin) or Zagłębie Dąbrowskie (; is a geographical and historical region in southern Poland. It forms western part of Lesser Poland, though it shares some cultural and historical features with the neig ...

(''Zagłębie Dąbrowskie'') of the western

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...

geographical area, about 13 kilometres south-west of

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

and about 88 km north-west of

. The town counted 30,124 inhabitants in 1901. His father, Dr. Salomon Weinzieher (18691943?), a physician and director of a regional hospital, was one of the most distinguished citizens of his town and its province and a member of

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

(including, for a time, chairman of its Jewish caucus). Weinzieher had also a younger brother, (Jan) Jakub Weinzieher (19081940), a physician like his father and a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

(''

podporucznik ''Podporuchik'' ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, потпоручник, potporučnik, , , , , ) is the most junior officer in some Slavic armed forces, and is placed below the rank of lieutenant, typically corresponding to rank of second lieutenant in English ...

'') of the

Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force () is the aerial warfare Military branch, branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 26,000 military personnel an ...

, who would perish in the

Katyn Massacre The Katyn massacre was a series of mass killings under Communist regimes, mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish people, Polish military officer, military and police officers, border guards, and intelligentsia prisoners of war carried out by t ...

perpetrated by the

Soviet secret police There were a succession of Soviet secret police agencies over time. The Okhrana was abolished by the Provisional government after the first revolution of 1917, and the first secret police after the October Revolution, created by Vladimir Leni ...

. Their father was murdered in the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

after being deported from the

Będzin Ghetto The Będzin Ghetto (a.k.a. the Bendzin Ghetto, , Bendiner geto; ) was a World War II ghetto set up by Nazi Germany for the Polish Jews in the town of Będzin in occupied south-western Poland. The formation of the 'Jewish Quarter' was pronounce ...

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

on 1 August 1943 (other sources indicate he was murdered in the

Ghetto A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...

). A teenager during the early period of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

, Weinzieher fought in the

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (14 February 1919 – 18 March 1921) was fought primarily between the Second Polish Republic and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, following World War I and the Russian Revolution. After the collapse ...

in 1920 as a volunteer in the Polish Army ( Wojsko Polskie II RP).Marian Kałuski (see

Bibliography Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliograph ...

). He was educated at

Warsaw University The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well as 100 specializat ...

, his father's ''

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

'', where he earned a law degree. A frequent contributor to the '' Nasz Przegląd'' newspaper, he served as the director of the Jewish Society for the Propagation of the Fine Arts ( Żydowskie Towarzystwo Krzewienia Sztuk Pięknych) in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

until 1939, a city where he maintained friendship with the poet Bruno Jasieński. In his art criticism he emphasized the role of ideology and "guiding principles" over "sterile objectivism" and impartiality, including in the organizing of art exhibitions which ought to follow the same principles if they were truthfully to render the profiles of such painters as

Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

and

Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

. Weinzieher took a lively interest in all aspects of life of the Jewish community in the

interbellum In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

Poland, participating for example in the organizational activities of the Jewish Sightseeing Society ( Żydowskie Towarzystwo Krajoznawcze) and other similar bodies. He was also the director of the Historical Museum in

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

( Muzeum Historyczne we Lwowie, now within the territory of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

). During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, in the early part of 1940, he married the well-known poet

Zuzanna Ginczanka Zuzanna Ginczanka, ''pen name'' Zuzanna Polina Gincburg (March 22, 1917 – 1944) was a Polish people, Polish-Jews, Jewish poet of the Polish culture in the Interbellum, interwar period. Although she only published a single collection of poetry i ...

in Lwów, then newly occupied by the Soviet Union, where both sought shelter from the Germans.Izolda Kiec (see

). Following Nazi Germany's attack on the Soviet Union of 22 June 1941 and the Nazi occupation of Lwów later the same month, he moved with his wife to

in September 1942, where he disguised his identity by assuming the pseudonym Michał Danilewicz. However, he was eventually arrested by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

early in 1944, and subsequently perished at their hands. On 6 April 1944 there appeared pasted on the walls of Kraków an announcement issued by the " Summary Court-martial of the

Security Police Security police usually describes a law enforcement agency which focuses primarily on providing security and law enforcement services to particular areas or specific properties. They may be employed by governmental, public, or private institutio ...

" ('' Standgericht der Sicherheitspolizei'') listing 112 names of people sentenced to death: the first 33 names were those on whom the sentence of death had ''already'' been carried out, the rest were those awaiting execution. Michał Weinzieher's name is among the latter. Although the precise date of his death is uncertain, it is known that he had predeceased his wife, who was also murdered by the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

several months later. The surname is sometimes misspelled "Weinziher" in Polish usage.

Publications

*" Eugeniusz Zak: wspomnienie pośmiertne" (1926) *"Uroda Miss Judei" ('' Nasz Przegląd'', 31 March 1929) *"Fermenty literackie" (''

Europa Europa may refer to: Places * Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace * Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro * Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development * Europa Cliffs, Alexan ...

'', 1930)Cited in: Marian Stępień (see

), p. 426. *'' Symche Trachter, Paris'' (1930) *''Wystawa prac Zygmunta Menkesa: styczeń 1931'' (1931) *''Idee prawno-państwowe Leona Petrażyckiego'' (1931) *''Refleksje nad ideami prawno-handlowemi Leona Petrażyckiego'' (1932) *"O racjonalną politykę muzealną" ('' Wiadomości Literackie'', 6 January 1935)

Bibliography

Major sources

*''Czy wiesz kto to jest?'', ed. S. Łoza,

, Wydawnictwa Artystyczne i Filmowe (''for the'' Zrzeszenie Księgarstwa), 1983, page 336. (Reprint of the ed. Warsaw, Wydawnictwo Głównej Księgarni Wojskowej, 1938.) *''Kto był kim w Drugiej Rzeczypospolitej'', ed. J. M. Majchrowski, ''

et al. References Notes References Further reading * * External links * {{Latin phrases E ...

'', Warsaw, Polska Oficyna Wydawnicza BGW, 1994, page 465. . * Marian Kałuski, ''Ku pamięci i w podzięce Jankielom: mały leksykon Żydów-patriotów polskich'', Warsaw, Von Borowiecky, 2001, page 179. .

Other

*''Ruch Służbowy'' (supplement to the ''Dziennik Urzędowy Ministerstwa Sprawiedliwości''),

, The Justice Ministry (of the Second Polish Republic), 1929. *Włodzimierz Bartoszewicz, ''"Buda na Powiślu"'',

, Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1966, '' passim''. *''Rocznik Komisji Historycznoliterackiej'', vol. 11,

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1973, page 102. *''Polskie życie artystyczne w latach 19151939'', ed. A. Wojciechowski, Wrocław, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1974, pages 208 & 579. *Marian Stępień, ''Ze stanowiska lewicy: studium jednego z nurtów polskiej krytyki literackiej lat 19191939'',

, Wydawnictwo Literackie, 1974, pages 350 & 426. *

Janina Dziarnowska Janina Dziarnowska (, 13 November 1903 – 22 December 1992) was a Ukrainian born Polish writer and translator, publicist, and expert on Soviet literature. She wrote in the style of Socialist realism in Poland. She was a member of the Communist ...

, ''Słowo o Brunonie Jasieńskim'', Warsaw, Książka i Wiedza, 1978, '' passim''. *Marian Fuks, ''Prasa żydowska w Warszawie, 18231939'', Warsaw, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1979, pages 263 & 270. . *''The Jewish Press That Was: Accounts, Evaluations, and Memories of Jewish Papers in Pre-Holocaust Europe'', tr. H. Shachter, ed. A. Bar,

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, World Federation of Jewish Journalists, 1980. *Jerzy Malinowski, ''Grupa "Jung Idysz" i żydowskie środowisko "Nowej Sztuki" w Polsce, 19181923'', Warsaw, PAN, 1987, '' passim''. *Eugenia Prokop-Janiec, ''Polish-Jewish Literature in the Interwar Years'', tr. A. Shenitzer, Syracuse (New York), Syracuse University Press, 2003, page 22. . (1st Polish ed., 1992.) *Izolda Kiec, ''Zuzanna Ginczanka: życie i twórczość'',

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

, Obserwator, 1994, pages 149, 159, 161. . *Agnieszka Chrzanowska, ''Metaloplastyka żydowska w Polsce'', Warsaw, Wydawnictwo Neriton, 2005, pages 8, 66, 74, 88, 93, 97118. . *Honorata Bartoszewska-Butryn, ''Twórczość plastyczna Konrada Winklera w latach 19181939'' and Aneta Dardzińska, ''Aleksander Rafałowski: monografia twórczości do 1939 roku'', Warsaw, Wydawnictwo Neriton, 2006, pages 86, 166, 222, and 225. . *Jerzy Malinowski & Barbara Brus-Malinowska, ''W kręgu École de Paris: malarze żydowscy z Polski'', Warsaw, Wydawnictwo DiG, 2007. , . *''Słownik artystów polskich i obcych w Polsce działających (zmarłych przed 1966 r.): malarze, rzeźbiarze, graficy'', vol. 8 (PóRi), ed. U. Makowska & K. Mikocka-Rachubowa, Warsaw, Instytut Sztuki Polskiej Akademii Nauk, 2007, '' passim''. .

References