Fascinating Documentation of the Pressburg Yeshiva and Community in the Time of the Daat Sofer - Postcards Sent by ...

Fascinating Documentation of the Pressburg Yeshiva and Community in the Time of the Daat Sofer - Postcards Sent by Heinrich Cohn, Student of the Yeshiva, To His Parents in Basel, During his Studies in the Pressburg Yeshiva, 1908-1909
Eighty-nine postcards sent by Heinrich Cohn, yeshiva student, to his parents in Basel, while studying in the Pressburg yeshiva. [Pressburg (Bratislava), October 1908 until April 1909]. German, with a bit of Hebrew.
Detailed and fascinating portrayal of life in the Pressburg yeshiva and community, from the perspective of a Western European student.
The writer, Chaim Heinrich Cohn, son of the rabbi of Basel, Rabbi Asher Michael (Arthur) Cohn, studied in the Pressburg yeshiva for half a year (at the age of 19-20). During that time, he corresponded continuously with his family, writing several times a week, and sometimes even every day. These letters form a fascinating journal, documenting the daily routine of a student in the Pressburg yeshiva at that time, the lifestyle of Pressburg Jews, their social and financial situation, and more. This correspondence also allows us a glimpse into the relations between the Eastern European boys, and those who came from Western Europe, from the personal perspective of the writer.
The postcards describe his daily schedule, learning with his study partner, the students' society for studying Chumash with Rashi, his living conditions, his lodging with one of the families of the community (the Ratz family, who provided him with food and lodging, and washed his clothes), events in the yeshiva and community, various political matters, Hungarian Jews and how they compare to the Jews of Basel, Chanukah and Purim in Pressburg, the Purim Shpiel performed by the yeshiva students, the big examination in the yeshiva, sending kosher meat from Pressburg to Basel, and many other varied topics (a summary of the contents of all the postcards in German is enclosed).
The rabbi of Pressburg at that time was R. Akiva Sofer, author of Daat Sofer, who succeeded his father the Shevet Sofer that year. R. Leib Gross, the manager of the yeshiva at the time, is mentioned repeatedly in these letters. One postcard relates of R. Leib's opposition to Zionism, and in several letters, the writer relays messages on various topics between his father the rabbi of Basel and R. Leib.
Rabbi Dr. Chaim (Heinrich) Cohn (1889-1966), son of R. Asher Michael (Arthur) Cohn, rabbi of Basel. Upon completing his studies in the Basel gymnasium in 1908, he went to study in the Pressburg yeshiva, from where he wrote these letters. He later received a degree in teaching English and French, and in 1914, was rabbinically ordained in the Berlin Rabbiner Seminar. In 1917-1918, he served as military chaplain on the Western front. In 1918-1939, he served as rabbi of the Synagogenverein Moabit und Hansabezirk, Berlin. He was the principal of the Jewish school in the Hansa district of Berlin, and a board member of Agudath Israel. In 1939, he succeeded in escaping Germany through Switzerland, and settled in London.
89 postcards. Approx. 14X9 cm. Overall good condition.