Rabbinical seminaries in various parts of Europe are the sole beneficiaries of the estate of 1,500,000 Swiss francs of Dr. Waldemar Mordecai Wolff Haffkine, noted bacteriologist and discoverer of the virus of cholera, who died October 27 at the age of 70, it was announced here today. The Relief Association of German Jews is left in complete charge of distributing the estate to the seminaries.
Dr. Morris Wishnitzer, general secretary of the Relief Association of German Jews, left here today after settling the details of the estate. A special committee named by the Association to deal with Dr. Haffkine’s fortune will invest the principal which will yield an annual income of $20,000. All rabbinical seminaries in Europe are to be investigated by this committee to determine which of them shall receive grants from the estate.
The sole condition for the seminaries to receive funds from Dr. Haffkine’s fortune is that they add to their curriculum the teaching of trades. In the province of Transylvania, Roumania, a number of seminaries have already introduced such courses and others are expected to follow.
Dr. Haffkine, whom Lord Lister termed a savior of mankind, was born in Odessa. At the age of 28 he was studying under Louis Pasteur. In 1893 he went to India to conduct investigations for the Indian government.
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.
