124:. When the Nazis took power in Germany in January 1933, he was one of only seven Jews in a student body of around 600, and the only Jew in his class. He endured three years of harassment including an antisemitic insult carved into the top of his desk, and other students singing popular songs calling for the murder of the Jews. In 1936, all Jewish students were expelled from the public schools, and his parents sent him to the Talmud Torah school in
281:
357:
on March 11, 1966: "A new generation is growing up that was not born when the horrible crime was committed and for which they cannot be held responsible. The only positive thing we can do is to acquaint them with the Jews, their teachings, customs, and history, which they have not had the opportunity
211:
on July 10, 1940. He described conditions on the 57-day voyage as "cruel and sadistic" as
British guards frequently beat prisoners with rifle butts, and plundered their belongings. It was "the most horrendous experience of his life." After the emaciated prisoners arrived in
520:
His successor at
Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco, Robert Kirschner, wrote that Rabbi Asher "embodied those attributes of German Jewry of which his generation was the last living witness: dignity, sobriety, erudition, and a singular elegance. Historian
139:
Because of the severely deteriorating conditions for Jews in
Germany, his family had obtained exit visas in 1933 to be used at the appropriate time. His family sent Joseph to London after his graduation in 1938 to begin rabbinical college. He attended
307:, the organization's president, as an emissary to visit various German cities to investigate the status of the Jews in the immediate postwar period. He spent six weeks assessing the needs of displaced persons, including a lengthy visit to
348:. In 1965, Rabbi Asher led a contingent of four German-speaking rabbis, who met with over 8000 German teachers in training, and helped the German school system develop its first curriculum for secondary schools covering the Holocaust.
176:, November 9, 1938, the Nazis began open war against the Jews, and his father's synagogue in Wiesbaden was vandalized and shut down. While heading to the railroad station in an attempt to escape, his father was arrested by the
321:
Asher visited
Germany again at the invitation of the German government in 1964, to learn what the German educational system taught students about the Jews. He visited his alma mater gymnasium, as well as the
239:
Upon his discharge from military service, he served at the
Melbourne Liberal Synagogue as assistant to Rabbi Hermann Sanger, who helped resettle Jewish refugees in Australia. He then went on to serve the
423:
made segregation of public accommodations illegal. As a rabbi in the deep South, he did not hesitate to speak out against racial discrimination in the workplace, even when the employers were Jewish.
415:
store. He was one of only two local white clergymen who collaborated with black community leaders and black clergymen in support of racial tolerance and desegregation, including the sit-ins. This
191:
on June 4, 1940, a wave of xenophobia against German refugees swept across Great
Britain, and all of them were arrested, including the Jews and other anti-Nazis. His father was interned on the
535:
Congregation Emanu-El in San
Francisco sponsors an annual Rabbi Asher Memorial Lecture, usually featuring a scholar who has continued Joseph Asher's life's work on Germany and the Jews.
980:
314:
A 1955 trip to
Germany led him to begin to consider a "re-orientation of the Jewish relationship with Germany". In 1961, motivated by the worldwide attention paid to the
377:
265:
149:
47:
419:
spread throughout the southern states, leading in many communities to progress toward desegregation, and increasing political pressure on the federal government. The
525:
wrote that: "His deep learning, his continental manner, and above all his personal integrity afforded many congregants a sense of stability in a tumultuous world."
311:. Everywhere, he found nothing but devastation and despair. "The human eye cannot fathom such horrible sights as I had to see", he later wrote about that trip.
184:
for ten weeks, and then released when he agreed to use his visa and leave
Germany forever. His parents arrived as refugees in London in February 1939.
388:
288:
and Rabbi Joseph Asher, members of the
Central Jewish Committee for the British Zone of Germany. Photo taken at Bergen-Belsen, probably in 1947.
361:
As the years passed, he repeatedly visited Judaic studies programs in German universities, and late in life became a visiting professor at the
345:
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683:
498:
300:
985:
408:
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800:
648:
616:
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970:
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trial in Israel, he began openly speaking about the Holocaust and the future of the relationship between Germany and the Jews.
736:
929:
755:
901:
788:
636:
604:
568:
327:
400:
261:
141:
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Rabbi Asher was wary of militant extremism. In San Francisco, he refused to share a podium with radical minister
529:
420:
331:
502:
412:
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and his son Rabbi Raphael Asher at the time of his death, and was published in 1991. The book is entitled
78:
443:
308:
97:
93:
43:
965:
960:
704:
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323:
673:
73:
He was the sixth generation of rabbis in his family. His father, Jonah Ansbacher (1880–1967) was an
458:. His support for these organizations resulted in harsh criticism and accusations of anti-Zionism.
257:
27:
404:
121:
365:
in Berlin. He served on an international committee of scholars to help design a memorial at the
132:, where he graduated in spring, 1938. Among the frequent guest lecturers in his senior year was
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909:
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732:
679:
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612:
576:
253:
188:
446:, an organization that advocated Israeli territorial concessions in the period following the
510:
245:
145:
129:
101:
74:
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Rabbi Asher supported reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. He participated in
383:
In 1980, he was appointed to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council chartered by the
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455:
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285:
280:
249:
228:
196:
872:
669:
550:
522:
494:
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447:
370:
315:
105:
89:
816:
Asher, Joseph (20 April 1965). "A Rabbi Asks: Isn't It Time We Forgave the Germans?".
351:
He explained the thinking behind his work in Germany in an interview published in the
148:(now the London School of Jewish Studies). After the war, he finished his studies at
954:
852:
784:
528:
His son, Rabbi Raphael W. Asher, served as the rabbi at Congregation B'nai Tikvah in
486:
478:
384:
366:
269:
173:
51:
341:
293:
217:
133:
933:
675:
Visions of reform: Congregation Emanu-El and the Jews of San Francisco, 1849–1999
897:
514:
474:
244:
Hebrew Congregation, where he was introduced at a centenary celebration for the
221:
192:
116:
After his father received a rabbinic appointment, the Ansbacher family moved to
391:. The museum opened in Washington, D.C., in 1993, three years after his death.
248:. Asher immigrated to the United States in 1947, and served at synagogues in
204:
181:
153:
699:
451:
431:
427:
304:
208:
117:
85:
67:
39:
157:
231:, where Joseph served as a chaplain. He met his wife Fae in Australia.
177:
125:
35:
260:, Alabama from 1956 to 1958. He served as rabbi of Temple Emmanuel in
216:, they were confined to internment camps until the Japanese attack on
207:, along with over 2,000 other anti-Nazi refugees. The ship sailed for
353:
340:
Although many people criticized Asher for this article, Berlin Mayor
241:
213:
200:
164:, that is, a member of a chain of rabbis in a long family tradition.
279:
23:
82:
31:
635:
Kirschner, Robert (1991). Moses Rischin; Raphael Asher (eds.).
337:, called "A Rabbi Asks: Isn't It Time We Forgave the Germans?"
477:
honoring Joseph Asher and his life's work was being edited by
296:
567:
Asher, Raphael (1991). Moses Rischin; Raphael Asher (eds.).
284:
Left to right: Rabbi Zvi Helfgott (later Rabbi Zvi Asaria),
603:
Asher, Joseph (1991). Moses Rischin; Raphael Asher (eds.).
932:. The Congregation Emanu-El, San Francisco. Archived from
678:. Berkeley, CA: Judah L. Magnes Museum. pp. 253–293.
330:. He described his experiences in an article he wrote for
272:
from 1967 until his retirement in 1986 as rabbi emeritus.
729:
A few from afar : Jewish lives in Tasmania from 1804
866:"The New Israel Fund: A New Fund for Israel's Enemies"
908:. Berkeley, CA: The Judah L. Magnes Museum: 327–331.
326:, and met with the Commissioners of Education of the
203:, and shortly thereafter loaded onto the troop ship
70:, Germany. He changed his surname as early as 1945.
643:. Berkeley, CA: The Judah L. Magnes Museum: 48–50.
611:. Berkeley, CA: The Judah L. Magnes Museum: 26–37.
292:In London, Asher had established a friendship with
853:http://library.uncg.edu/dp/crg/personBio.aspx?c=18
834:. Civil Rights Digital Library. 16 September 2010
795:. Berkeley, CA: The Judah L. Magnes Museum: 3–6.
227:The prisoners were then allowed to enlist in the
575:. Berkeley, CA: The Judah L. Magnes Museum: 41.
485:, and includes essays by 23 scholars, including
789:"The German Imperative and the Jewish Response"
551:Article by J.Asher (Ansbacher) dated 9-Feb-1945
376:In 1989, the German government awarded him the
399:In 1958, he became rabbi of Temple Emanuel in
906:The Jewish Legacy & the German Conscience
900:(1991). Moses Rischin; Raphael Asher (eds.).
793:The Jewish Legacy & the German Conscience
787:(1991). Moses Rischin; Raphael Asher (eds.).
641:The Jewish Legacy & the German Conscience
609:The Jewish Legacy & the German Conscience
573:The Jewish Legacy & the German Conscience
46:in the United States. He was senior rabbi at
8:
77:rabbi who had received a doctorate from the
731:. Hobart Hebrew Congregation. p. 162.
664:
662:
660:
630:
628:
532:, California until his retirement in 2014.
483:The Jewish Legacy and the German Conscience
450:. He also served on the advisory boards of
403:, North Carolina. On February 1, 1960, the
276:German-Jewish relations after the Holocaust
264:, North Carolina from 1958 to 1968, and at
26:born in Germany, known for his advocacy of
756:"Rabbi Joseph Asher, Synagogue Leader, 69"
981:Australian Army personnel of World War II
779:
777:
598:
596:
594:
592:
562:
560:
558:
369:, where the Nazi leadership planned the
100:trend in Judaism. Joseph Asher left the
543:
389:United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
92:and he was an ardent follower of Rabbi
346:Union of American Hebrew Congregations
750:
748:
700:"Jews celebrate 100 years of worship"
81:, writing a thesis on a 13th-century
7:
832:"Asher, Joseph, 1921–1990—Biography"
104:of his ancestors and later became a
301:World Union for Progressive Judaism
120:in 1925, where Joseph attended the
88:. His father was ordained by Rabbi
303:. In 1947, she recommended him to
14:
430:, who went on to mass suicide at
42:era, and for his support for the
605:"An Incomprehensible Puzzlement"
344:responded favorably, as did the
930:"Rabbi Asher Memorial Lectures"
411:the lunch counter at the local
902:"On Memory and Reconciliation"
1:
976:20th-century American rabbis
708:. 17 August 1943. p. 14
438:Israeli-Palestinian conflict
195:. Joseph was confined in an
187:After the British defeat at
22:(1921–1990) was an American
328:Federal Republic of Germany
1002:
727:Elias, Peter, ed. (2003).
986:Australian Army chaplains
421:Civil Rights Act of 1964
503:Jakob Josef Petuchowski
256:, Florida; and then in
66:on January 7, 1921, in
971:American Reform rabbis
569:"In My Father's House"
289:
79:University of Erlangen
62:Joseph Asher was born
637:"A Singular Elegance"
517:wrote the afterword.
395:Civil rights movement
363:Kirchliche Hochschule
283:
266:Congregation Emanu-El
98:Torah im Derech Eretz
94:Samson Raphael Hirsch
48:Congregation Emanu-El
44:civil rights movement
705:The Mercury (Hobart)
507:Paul R. Mendes-Flohr
452:Friends of Peace Now
407:began, an effort to
378:Grand Cross of Merit
324:Max Planck Institute
150:Hebrew Union College
122:Staatliche Gymnasium
820:. Cowles Magazines.
499:Immanuel Jakobovits
68:Heilbronn-am-Neckar
936:on 23 October 2010
878:on 25 October 2010
760:The New York Times
405:Greensboro sit-ins
290:
224:in December 1941.
162:shalselet rabbanim
685:978-0-943376-69-1
470:on May 29, 1990.
373:in January 1942.
160:described him as
142:Etz Chaim Yeshiva
96:, founder of the
993:
946:
945:
943:
941:
926:
920:
919:
894:
888:
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877:
871:. Archived from
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844:
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839:
828:
822:
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689:
666:
655:
654:
632:
623:
622:
600:
587:
586:
564:
553:
548:
511:Gerhard Weinberg
462:Death and legacy
130:Joseph Carlebach
102:Orthodox Judaism
64:Joseph Ansbacher
1001:
1000:
996:
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991:
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949:
939:
937:
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864:Puder, Joseph.
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686:
670:Rosenbaum, Fred
668:
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634:
633:
626:
619:
602:
601:
590:
583:
566:
565:
556:
549:
545:
541:
468:prostate cancer
464:
456:New Israel Fund
440:
417:sit-in movement
397:
286:Josef Rosensaft
278:
237:
235:Rabbinic career
229:Australian Army
197:internment camp
170:
128:, led by Rabbi
114:
60:
17:
12:
11:
5:
999:
997:
989:
988:
983:
978:
973:
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963:
953:
952:
948:
947:
921:
914:
889:
856:
845:
823:
808:
801:
785:Rischin, Moses
773:
744:
737:
719:
691:
684:
656:
649:
624:
617:
588:
581:
554:
542:
540:
537:
523:Fred Rosenbaum
495:David G. Dalin
491:David Ellenson
466:Asher died of
463:
460:
448:Yom Kippur War
439:
436:
396:
393:
371:Final Solution
316:Adolf Eichmann
277:
274:
236:
233:
180:, confined to
169:
166:
144:in London and
113:
110:
90:Solomon Breuer
59:
56:
54:for 19 years.
28:reconciliation
16:American rabbi
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
998:
987:
984:
982:
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915:9780943376486
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833:
827:
824:
819:
818:Look magazine
812:
809:
804:
802:9780943376486
798:
794:
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786:
780:
778:
774:
762:. 3 June 1990
761:
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707:
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695:
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650:9780943376486
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618:9780943376486
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582:9780943376486
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533:
531:
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518:
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512:
508:
504:
500:
496:
492:
488:
487:Gunther Plaut
484:
480:
479:Moses Rischin
476:
471:
469:
461:
459:
457:
453:
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437:
435:
433:
429:
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406:
402:
394:
392:
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386:
385:U.S. Congress
381:
379:
374:
372:
368:
367:Wannsee Villa
364:
359:
356:
355:
349:
347:
343:
338:
336:
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329:
325:
319:
317:
312:
310:
309:Bergen-Belsen
306:
302:
298:
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287:
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275:
273:
271:
270:San Francisco
267:
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223:
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185:
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179:
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174:Kristallnacht
167:
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159:
155:
151:
147:
146:Jews' College
143:
137:
135:
131:
127:
123:
119:
111:
109:
107:
103:
99:
95:
91:
87:
84:
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71:
69:
65:
57:
55:
53:
52:San Francisco
49:
45:
41:
37:
33:
29:
25:
21:
938:. Retrieved
934:the original
924:
905:
898:Wiesel, Elie
892:
880:. Retrieved
873:the original
859:
848:
836:. Retrieved
826:
817:
811:
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764:. Retrieved
759:
728:
722:
710:. Retrieved
703:
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674:
640:
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530:Walnut Creek
527:
519:
482:
472:
465:
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398:
387:to plan the
382:
375:
362:
360:
352:
350:
342:Willy Brandt
339:
332:
320:
313:
294:Lily Montagu
291:
252:, New York;
238:
226:
218:Pearl Harbor
186:
171:
168:World War II
161:
156:, Ohio. His
138:
134:Martin Buber
115:
72:
63:
61:
38:in the post-
30:between the
20:Joseph Asher
19:
18:
966:1990 deaths
961:1921 births
515:Elie Wiesel
475:festschrift
413:Woolworth's
409:desegregate
222:Philippines
193:Isle of Man
86:cosmologist
955:Categories
940:15 October
882:15 October
838:15 October
766:15 October
738:0646422073
539:References
401:Greensboro
358:to know."
262:Greensboro
258:Tuscaloosa
205:HMT Dunera
182:Buchenwald
154:Cincinnati
432:Jonestown
428:Jim Jones
305:Leo Baeck
246:synagogue
209:Australia
118:Wiesbaden
112:Education
40:Holocaust
672:(2000).
454:and the
335:magazine
254:Sarasota
220:and the
158:semikhah
75:Orthodox
34:and the
712:8 April
299:of the
189:Dunkirk
178:Gestapo
126:Hamburg
108:rabbi.
36:Germans
912:
799:
735:
682:
647:
615:
579:
509:, and
444:Breira
354:Aufbau
242:Hobart
214:Sydney
201:Huyton
106:Reform
58:Family
876:(PDF)
869:(PDF)
250:Olean
24:rabbi
942:2010
910:ISBN
884:2010
840:2010
797:ISBN
768:2010
733:ISBN
714:2018
680:ISBN
645:ISBN
613:ISBN
577:ISBN
333:Look
83:Arab
32:Jews
297:CBE
268:in
199:at
172:On
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