Jacob Elias Poritzky, German Jewish dramatist and novelist, died here today after a short illness. He was fifty-nine years old. Born in Lomza, Poland, he came to Germany with his family, settling in Breslau, where he attended school. Later he studied drama in Paris and at the University of Frankfurt. He also attended the University of Berlin, studying philosophy there.
Poritzky taught drama in German schools and wrote more than a score of plays which were produced in Germany and other countries. In 1917 he was made director of the Karlsruhe State Theatre and also became chief literary adviser of the Drei Masken Publishing Company in Berlin.
In addition to his plays, which were very popular in Germany, Poritzky was also the author of biographies of Heinrich Heine, Maxim Gorky and Casanova. He also wrote critical essays, fairy tales, poems and a history of the Spanish Inquisition.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
