The History of Lisbon's Mysterious Orphan Library ( When Volumes Speak)
No, not a real link to a Paris tale, but have a read anyway!
In modern bustling Lisbon is a solemn aging orphaned library. An unclaimed artifact from Portugal’s fading history when untold thousands, fleeing persecution and fear, arrived in Lisbon. In the process they created a library, a forgotten gem that still exists and that today is safeguarded by the country's only Ashkenazi synagogue, Ohel Jacob.
It is a library of accidental provenance. The consequence of the juggernauting mayhem afflicting a Europe teetering on the edge of, and then plunging headlong into, the cataclysm that was World War II. It is a slender collection of mute witnesses forever welded to the mid-point of that century’s savagely destructive era.
The Setting: World War II, Refugees, Espionage, Despair & Hope
Its the late 30's and early ’40’s ….and Lisbon is inundated with beleaguered, traumatized refugees fleeing persecution and conflicts blighting their homelands. As a neutral Portugal was the destination, the literal safe harbour for so many.
To help set the mood, think of the Hollywood classic Casablanca. Got it? Lisbon was the adult Casablanca, all grown up and way past prom-night. Had Hollywood a finer grasp of world affairs its ‘Boigie’/Bergman classic might have been tittled …..’Lisbon’. Lisbon was Casablanca . (Ian Fleming supposedly had Lisbon in mind when creating 'James Bond’. See Fascinating Spies side-bar, below.
Lured to Lisbon: As a neutral with a free open port, Lisbon was Intrigue-Central – a city aswarm with elite shadowy intrigue and awash in espionage – spies of double or triple stripes legally plying their trades alongside that peculiar assemblage always present at the nexus of tragedy, fear, money and mayhem: the loosely-moraled and ethically-flexible…as in: con-artists, schemers, charlatans, adventurers, ...you know the ones.
Add to this a swathe of (ex?) Euro-Royalty, and a dash of the artistic clique, all packed couture-shoulder to threadbare sweater amid untold scrambling refugees. At the cafés, fingering stale, frozen coffees, with furtive glances and nerves set to 'high alert'. Or, in endless queues waiting for the 'thump' of some clerks priceless 15-centavo stamp to somewhere else. A world of unknowing. All lured to Lisbon for a shot at freedom. All jockeying for that Holy Grail ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ visa to safer climes. And remember, as Ilsa boards that mist-shrouded plane, it is to Lisbon and freedom that she bounds.
“In 1940 Lisbon, happiness was staged so that God could believe it still existed,” “…wrote famous French writer (and future fighter pilot) Antoine de Saint-Exupery. ”
Sanctuary from the Spreading Plague. One of the few safe havens during WWII, Lisbon (Portugal) remained neutral for its duration, a reality that for untold desperate thousands was a beaming Klieg-light of hope via its open European Atlantic port. (One estimate puts the number of refugees that fled Nazi Germany alone through neutral Lisbon at 100,000). Untold other foreign nationals also vied for escape. There seems debate over the exact number of Jews who escaped via Portugal, so to side-step that one, I'll go with NYU’s Marion Kaplan. See her great lecture “Lives in Limbo: Jewish Refugees in Portugal, 1940 – 45”
Back to Our Library: For Jewish or any refugees, its easy to imagine them packing whatever mattered most and that could be easily transported. For many this meant books. We tend to cherish books. And, in Judaism books enjoy a particular status, being seen as precious and offering a link with the past while being a source of comfort, guidance and inspiration.
But, prized objects or not, many were lost or cast-off amid the whirlwind hunt for visas, passports, ship berths, plus the dozens of unknowns. With a steady stream of refugees coming and going their abandoned books grew steadily until, suddenly, there was a library! A library in the small congregation of Ohel Jacob, a synagogue frequented by untold Ashkenazi Jewish refugees arriving in Lisbon. (As Ashkenazi Jews* they naturally chose a congregation matching their faith).
*Explainer: Briefly, the difference between Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews is basically one of historical origins. Ashkenazi (Hebrew for 'Germany') initially referred to those residing in Germany. For Sephardi think areas of Spain, North Africa, the Middle East, and parts of south-east Europe. Sephardi means 'Spain' . Yes, it is rather more complex, but for here and now....!
Ohel Jacob in Lisbon – Origins
That the library even exists is thanks to a large community of Ashkenazi Jews*, mostly from Poland, which eventually became Ohel Jacob. It gathered, kept and preserved the collection. *Initially this community was quite large (for Portuguese standards) with several hundreds of families.
Very briefly, following the Russian Revolution many Jews arrived in Portugal, and then later, fleeing Nazism, even more arrived. From this group came congregation Hehaver (1925) and then Ohel Jacob (the ‘Tent of Jacob’) in 1934. Its goal was to offer the kind of support and help their community needed.
That goal survives and motivates its activities still. Interestingly, as Portugal’s only Ashkenazi synagogue, Ohel Jacob is an open, progressive environment welcoming Jews of all origins (and even non Jews who share spiritual values) without distinction or qualification, especially so-called Marranos (b’nei Anusim) the ‘sons of the forced.’
The Library: I learned of Ohel Jacobs’ amazing library while preparing to visit Lisbon. And, was inescapably mesmerized by it. Where are the books from? Who left them? Did they gain safe passage to Brazil, New York or, fade into the historical margins? I quickly contacted Andre (Israel) Falcao who is president of the Ohel Jacob board. Despite an unforgiving work schedule (he is both professor of computer science and chair of its department) and being an indefatigable congregation volunteer/proponent, Israel is generous with his time and energy. We made plans for a tour.
A Quiet Lisbon Street
If you visit Ohel Jacob don’t expect plaques at the door. None exist. It lives quietly on a nondescript urban street. A low-key affair atop a 3rd floor walk-up, operated on a shoe-string budget so anemic its DNA strains are visible. That said, the synagogue is a well-appointed, tranquil apartment bathed in muted grays and blues. Within are found the usual synagogue accouterments – there are Torahs in the ark (Aron Kodesh). Even these are unique, with specimens easily the envy of any museum.
One, a blue Ashkenazi Torah, is 250 years old and finely decorated with mother of pearl and ivory engraving. Another, over 500 years old, is of Mizrahi origin, most probably from Iraq.
They are wonders to behold. The ark is in a room which can easily handle a minyan* or two. (More if its raining). Further down a hallway, you wade into a soft pool of sunlight flooding a spacious meeting space, which itself abuts a kitchen whose aura and walls whisper of meals. minglings and Seders past. * (In Judaism, the minimum number required for certain services).
All seems quite normal until you enter a place which belies that normalcy: A back room/time capsule holding a 600-odd collection of old books (and sadly, book remnants) strangely at peace in very modern IKEA style bookcases.
Scents & Senses of Time and History
Open the mini-library doors and your first impact is olfactory. Nothing compares to the heady magical scent of old leathery books. It's a fragrance laced with intrigue and the earthy mustiness of history, and of the lives of others. The quality of the books vary. Some are elaborately designed volumes with, in one case, gold trimmed pages or, in another, elaborately decorated interiors and covers. Others are simple unadorned affairs, dog-eared, ….basic.
They are mostly prayer books, along with some history and Hebrew language primers. One is a child's songbook. Another. a World War I history of Russia. They are from Germany, Poland, Russia, and Austria, written in German and Hebrew with a sprinkling of Yiddish and Polish. A historian's delight!
The collection is both a symbolic and tangible artifact from a fading slice of Lisbon history. A link to when those in flight left a part of their lives, their identities, behind. Deliberately or otherwise.
A Library of Marvels - Annie, Fanny & FDR
Examining one book offers a glimpse into at least one captivating identity: Annie Krieger. Among hers is the first ever (European?) prayer book edited by a woman, one Fann(y) Neuda! (9th edition, 1874) My trusty cell translation app says the book is for ‘young women and virgins‘?…)
From Annie Krieger to then US president Franklin D. Roosevelt, a.k.a. ‘FDR’, here on the cover, and which may say (in Yiddish?), ‘The Paralyzed President’
The Shanghai Link
Another book, called a Chumash* is extraordinary simply by virtue of being printed in Shanghai, China in 1939, by the Jewish Book Shop.
The WWII-era Jewish presence in Shanghai is a fascinating by-road of Jewish history worth exploring. *(A Torah in printed & bound form – as opposed to a hand-written scroll form which is a Sefer Torah. Or, to use the Latinised Greek term, the Pentateuch).
Paul Max Hechinger ('Barmizvah’)
One book (a prayer book or Siddur) commemorates the 1937 bar-mitvah of Paul Max Hechinger in a Munich synagogue.
Years ago a German scholar (see below) visited the Lisbon library, and researched Hechinger and learned the synagogue where he had his bar-mitvah was destroyed in 1938. Paul Max was arrested….yet surprisingly appears on a list of arriving ship passengers in New York City in 1941. A related address is given: ‘121 East 52nd Street’. There, the trail ends. (“Did you make it, Paul Max? Did you have kids who’s own may some day find and cherish this?”)
There are many other names…R. Rabinowitz (Optician), ‘Babette’ Koch, Ludwig Rapp, Hedwig Goldschnidt, Jacob Landau, Leo Frank, A. Kahn, Rabbiner Samuel Hager…Julius Rothstern (Ruthstern?) and on and on. To see, and touch these names, is to wonder. Did they fare well?
Library Preservation: Israel says in 2017 members recognized the unique nature of the library and began preservation efforts. Part of the problem with the books, as well as establishing Ohel Jacobs history, identities of early members, documentation, or even the names of those book owners etc., is that many first members have since moved to Israel (what is called 'making Aliyah' or, moving to Israel). The snag is that many who moved took congregation historical research with them! Today, apparently much of that material sits in boxes in Israel’s National Library. One can only imagine what research into those boxes – the historical gems, unknown tales or keys to forgotten people might reveal.
Beyond Books
Ohel Jacob also possesses a riveting cornucopia of historical curiosities.
One sombre example is a rare, burnt yet somehow saved Torah (above) a witness to the horrors of Kristallnacht. Its so real, so present, you’re tempted to lean over to sniff for traces of smoke. (There are none…and 'No' I didn’t).
If you're visiting Lisbon for the Insta-perks, the beach, food, or just to bathe in its restorative balmy cool funky vibe, try adding a way out of the box experience. As an inveterate news type, always ahunt for ideas that whisper “different” I couldn't resist. A visit is rewarding. It is a chance to see, smell and hold a real slice of Portugal’s (and Lisbon's) leathery history in your hands.
Even if this experience comes in the form of holding or reading what may have been the last words of someone dreaming of a life far, far away.
Your call.
Fascinating Sidebars
1 - Serpa Pinto, The Ship that Ferried Thousands The - T'was a Dark & Stormy Sea
Photo Credit: This image or other work is of Australian origin and is now in the public domain because its term of copyright has expired. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StateLibQld_1_170591_Serpa_Pinto_(ship).jpg
The Serpa Pinto did journeymen duty during WWII ferrying probably more refugees to freedom than any other vessel. But her voyages could be hair-raising affairs! She was often stopped by both Allied and Axis power ships for inspections.
In May 1944 she was stopped mid-ocean by a U-Boat (U-541) and the crew and passengers told to abandon ship. In what may seem an oddly polite event, our U-Boat captain radioed Germany for permission to torpedo her, but after waiting all night for an answer, (spent with everyone bobbing about in lifeboats) Kriegsmarine admiral Karl Dönitz refused the request. Spared, the ship sailed on — minus 3 who drowned overnight and, add conspiracy theory…. here, not before two ‘US military-aged’ passengers were dragged from the ship, stuffed into the U-boat and.. disappeared.
As is said in Cheese & War … C’est la Gruyère/Guerre..
Fascinating Sidebars
2 Lisbon - Famous Writers/Spies, Double, Triple…
Both Ian Fleming and Graham Green were British spies who lived for a time in wartime Lisbon and then penned novels about those experiences. Fleming gave us ‘Casino Royale’ whose main character is purportedly based on the very real, very daring sangfroid exploits of Yugoslav spy Dusko Popov a.k.a. “Tricycle” (….he ran a network of triple agents…wink, wink).
Greene’s ‘Our Man in Havana’ features ‘Wormold’, …supposedly based on famous Uber-double agent ‘Garbo’ – he of ‘fake D-day invasion plans’ fobbed off to the Germans’ fame, etc). Garbo was actually one Juan Pujol García. And Just How Good was Garbo? Well, on Hitler’s say-so Garcia (as the German spy ‘Alaric‘) won an Iron Cross (a rather unique feat as the medal was usually only awarded to front-line fighters). Then, in 1944, Britain’s King George VI bestowed an MBE on Garbo.
(Still think your LinkedIn page is hot stuff?)
Select Great Reads on WWII Lisbon
The Night in Lisbon (Erich Maria Remarque)
Spy/Counterspy” – Dusko Popov
A Small Death in Lisbon (R. Wilson) – Gives all the scintillating wartime details, history and even the Nazi-gold-for-Tungsten story via compelling crime novel.
Lisbon: War in the Shadows of the City of Light, 1939-45 – N. Lochery
Estoril – Dejan Tiago-Stankovic
For Ohel Jacob generally click here
Foreign Help: Some years back German scholar Anette Boeckler visited Lisbon to study the Ohel Jacob library. Her meticulous efforts are a moving, highly emotive walk back in time that sheds light some of those involved, and their probably fates. She went on to catalog and record every volume. See her efforts : here.
That’s all I got, kids. Thanks for reading. And, Yes we do know this has scant to do with Paris, but gosh darn it all, a good story is a good story! N’est Pas!?
Please share with anyone who might find this little tale interesting!