The sudden death of Hugo Von Hoffmansthal, who passed away while preparing to attend the funeral of his son who committed suicide, called forth recollections here of the Jewish origin of the German poet who was at one time hailed as the greatest German poet since Goethe.
Hoffmansthal, who was 55 years of age, was a descendant of Isaac Lowe Hoffman, a past president of the Jewish community of Vienna, who was elevated to the nobility in 1835. Hugo von Hoffsmanthal himself was born a Jew, but was converted to Christianity, as was his brother-in-law, the Dominican Father Schlesinger who still regards himself as of “Jewish nationality” and expresses pride in his Jewish origin. Father Schlesinger holds strong Zionist views.
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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.
