Category Archives: Press

The Mixture of Peoples in Bukowina


Größere Kartenansicht

Wissenschaftliche Beilage der Leipziger Zeitung
N° 87. Donnerstag, den 23. Juli 1891

Im Völkergemisch der Bukowina.
Ethnographische Studien von Fritz Racher.

Nach der Geschäfte Drang und Mühen winkt endlich wieder ein freier Tag, den ich dazu benütze, meine Kenntnisse von Land und Leuten zu bereichern, und dierin bietet wohl kaum ein Ländchen der Erde vielseitigere Gelegenheit, als das Land der grünen Buchen, die gesegnete Bukowina. An einem herrlichen Morgen besteigen wir den flinken Zauberwagen, der uns in Zeit von wenigen Stunden das Leben und Treiben 10 verschiedener Volksstämme vor Augen zu führen im Stande ist, möge mich der freundliche Leser auf dieser Rundfahrt begleiten. Das Gefährt rollt in nördlicher Richtung von dannen, Schloß und Dorf Waszkoutz [Vășcăuți: 47.9692655,26.022749] liegen bald fern hinter uns, der Weg schlängelt sich durch die Weidenbrüche des Sereth, die diesen Fluß auf seinem ganzen Laufe in weiter Ausdehnung umrahmen, und in einen eigenartigen Landschafts-Charakter sehen wir uns da versetzt. Continue reading →

The Czernowitzer Philipp Rubel at the Outbreak of WW I

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Exactly 100 years ago today, on July 5, 1914 the Austrian magazine “Wiener Bilder” leaded on the front page with a photograph, which became an icon of photography for the coming decades. It shows allegedly the capture of Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife and provided the pretext for Austria-Hungary’s invasion of Serbia, which then led to World War I.

But was the detained person really Gavrilo Princip? Who was the photographer? How did it come into the media? Questions upon questions! We get the right answers by the Austrian editor and photo historian Anton Holzer, who published his research under the headline “The Murderer, Who Wasn’t”:

http://diepresse.com/home/spectrum/zeichenderzeit/766288/Der-Morder-der-keiner-war

To make a long story short: It wasn’t Gavrilo Princip on the photo, but his schoolmate Ferdo Behr, mistaken for the assassin. The photographer remains anonymus, but the CZERNOWITZER, who brought this photo into orbit was PHILIPP RUBEL, who ran a small postcard publishing company in Vienna, Porzellangasse 60. Above all, Philipp Rubel is related to our fellow member Ken Cutler, who wrote to me in 2012:

“A complete bio of Philipp Rubel, from my standpoint is as yet not possible. What I do know is that he was one of 12 sibs from Cz. He moved to Vienna, married twice and his daughter, Erika, came to the US in 1939 and stayed with my cousin Stanley for about 1 year. Stan lost track of her and I tracked her down and found her son and his children, she passed by the time I found her. Philipp and his wife Sabine were killed or died in the Shoah and Erika made an application for reparations in Austria. I have the address where Philipp and I believe other family members lived from researches and it’s the address indicated at his death. That address matches the letterhead on his letters to Stan’s mother, Helen. He was born 12 Dec 1871 and died 26 Oct 1938. That address was 1090 Porzellangasse 60, Wien, Austria. You have me hooked now, what is the mystery??”

What a thrilling story, but unfortunately, dear Ken, although I tried hard, I didn’t succeed to discover more on Philipp Rubel. On the other hand I’m positive, that you – and others – will enjoy Philipp’s contribution to WW I.

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Porzellangasse 60 in Vienna

Austrian Newspaper Article – Ruth Gold’s Speech

I am [presenting] an article from an Austrian newspaper concerning the ceremony on January 27, Holocaust Memorial Day.
The letters I receive from teachers and students are heartwarming.
Ruth Glasberg Gold

Click on Article to enlarge

Click on Article to enlarge

The video of the speech is here:
http://ehpes.com/blog1/2014/01/27/ruth-glasberg-golds-speech-on-the-occasion-of-the-holocaust-memorial-day/