Bookstamp of Louis Lewin

Bookstamp of Louis Lewin

Lewin, Louis, 1868-1941

This is the bookstamp of Louis Lewin (1868-1941), born in Znin, Posen, but raised in Frankfurt am Main. He earned a Ph.D degree at the University of Heidelberg in 1893 for his dissertation on Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai, and obtained rabbinic ordination at the Hildesheimer Seminary in Berlin (featured in the Brisman collection).

While in Berlin he also studied with Moritz Steinschneider, the noted Judaica bibliographer, at the Veitel-Heine Ephraim'sche Lehranstalt. Lewin followed in his mentor Steinschneider’s footsteps and developed a keen interest in collecting books and manuscripts.

After completing his formal education, Lewin returned to Posen where he occupied rabbinic positions in Hohensalza (German, Inowraclaw - Polish), Pinne (Pniewy) and Kempen (Kepno). In 1920 he received life tenure as rabbi of Kattowitz, Oberschlesien (Katowice, Upper Silesia). Lewin was a prolific author and wrote extensively about the history of Jewish communities in Posen and Silesia.

In 1922 Lewin moved to Breslau (Wroclaw), where he held many prestigious posts: director of a Jewish educational institution called “Rhedigerheim;” the rabbi of the Abraham Mugdan synagogue; an adviser for the Judisches Museum Breslau; and a member of the editorial board of the Monatsschrift fur Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judentums. In 1939, Lewin moved to Bnai Brak, Israel, where he lived until his death in 1941.

Lewin, Louis, 1868-1941

Digital Image: Washington University in Saint Louis

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