(Jewish Telegraphic Agency Mail Service)
The first Jewish High School in Germany, the Samson School of Wolfenbuettel, which was founded on June 4, 1786 by the court banker, Philipp Samson, celebrated its 140th anniversary.
On June 4, 1786, Philipp Samson utilized a bequest fund which had been instituted by this family in 1733 for assisting poor families to educate their children, and established a Jewish educational institute for boys in Wolfenbuettel. The instruction at the school was at first limited to the Jewish religious writings, especially the study of the Talmud. On the death of Philipp Samson in 1805, the school was further endowed and was made a German High School. In the seventies the school was still further extended, the number of pupils was increased and further endowment funds were bequeathed by various members of the Samson family. In 1891 it was given recognition by the Brunswick Government as a Grammar School. In 1892 the German Premier granted the school the right of issuing certificates to its pupils to entitle them as students to do only one year’s military service. Since 1881 Christian boys have been admitted as pupils and receive special religious instruction.
The pupils of the school include a number of men who have since become world-famous, such as the historian, Marcus Isaac Jost, and Leopold Emmanuel Zunz, the founder of Wissenschaft des Judentums.
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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.
