The diaries (1933-1945) of Moshe Ya´akov Ben-Gavriel

Moshe Ya`akov ben Gavriêl (born 1891 as Eugen Hoeflich in Vienna - died 1965 in Jerusalem) was a writer, publicist, journalist and a politically active cultural Zionist. Between 1915 und 1956 he wrote diaries (with minor gaps), which are part of his literary estate kept in the Department of Manuscripts of the "Jewish National and University Library" (JNUL, Jerusalem). Worth emphasising is his lifelong commitment to Jewish-Arab understanding and his pioneering work as a mediator between post-war Germany and the young state of Israel. After his emigration from Vienna to Jerusalem in 1927 he had first become a Palestinian and then an Israeli citizen, participating in the 40s and 50s in the various military conflicts as a soldier, i.e. as an officer, and as a member of Jewish formations such as Haganah, Palmach, the Jewish Brigade of the British Army, and Zahal. Because of his numerous, long-standing and productive contacts with personalities of the cultural life in Palestine/Israel and the German-speaking world, and his intensive literary and journalistic activity, he is also an outstanding member of the German-speaking cultural scene. The publication of the first diaries, which cover the years 1915 until 1927 (Böhlau: Vienna 1999), edited and published by Armin A. Wallas (1962-2003), is witness to the historic-cultural relevance of these notes and the remarkable life history of this native Austrian. The diaries, spanning the years 1927 to 1932, transcribed and commented by Wallas, are part of his unpublished literary estate. The aims of the proposed project are: 1. The complete transcription first of the diaries of the years between 1933 and 1945. As a follow-up project we are planning the years 1945 to 1956. 2. Detailed scientific annotation for all persons, institutions and historical events mentioned in these notes; 3. An epilogue that deals centrally with the biography of the diarist and the historic-cultural presentation of the period between January 1933 and May 1945. Commentary and epilogue will take into account the voluminous correspondence and unpublished autobiographic reflexions and texts by Ben-Gavriêl as well as appropriate secondary literature. We believe that the exploration of these valuable historical documents will also be of importance to other disciplines.

FWF Project: The 1933 to 1945 diaries of Moshe Yaacov Ben-gavriêl (18911965) Short report by ao. Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Werner Drobesch (Project Leader) und Mag. Andrea Lauritsch (Project Researcher) Moshe Yaacov Ben-gavriêl (known until 1927 by his birth name, Eugen Hoeflich), was a writer, journalist and significant cultural Zionist. Born in Vienna, he was resident in Jerusalem from early 1927. From 1915 to 1956 Ben-gavriêl kept diaries, which are of great cultural-historical importance. The diaries mostly written in notebooks but with one typescript form part of his literary estate and are held in the Archive of the Jewish National and University Library (JNUL). Ben-gavriêls diaries include records of biographical and political events, of encounters and cooperations with his contemporaries, along with notes on his own literary and journalistic work. The first part of the diaries, covering the years from 1915 to 1927, was published with a critical commentary by Armin A. Wallas in 1999. Before his death in 2003, Wallas had almost completed the work of transcribing and providing a commentary to the second part of the diary entries, those dating from 1927 to the end of 1932. This extensive work has not yet been published. A three-year FWF project (2011-2014) has enabled the third part of this valuable corpus to be transcribed and commented on. The diaries in this third part, which cover the period from January 1933 to July 1945, when Ben-gavriêl returned to civilian life, are in two different formats. The first, filling one and a half notebooks, with several gaps in the entries, exists in manuscript. The second, in which the author has typed up notes he had made at various places in Palestine and Egypt while serving as a soldier (1943 to 1945) is in typescript. The central themes of his private diary entries are local events in the context of constant political unrest; his efforts to achieve equality of relations between the Arab and Jewish populations (as early as 1918 Ben-gavriêl had been the proponent of a bi-national concept for Palestine); the origin of the ideas for, and conditions surrounding the creation of, his literary and journalistic work; and also his time in the British army. Ben-gavriêl repeatedly worked over his diary material and expanded it for publication. He also undertook public responsibilities, e.g. he was a member of the Haganah, the Jewish underground military force; for a time he worked with Magen-David; and also acted as an auxiliary policeman for the British Mandate in Jerusalem. His home offered a warm welcome to visitors, and there were many friendly gatherings with local contacts, colleagues, and people in transit. It also provided a temporary place to stay for many Jews who were fleeing Europe. Famous guests included Arthur Koestler, Max Brod, Arthur Zweig, Else Lasker-Schüler, Mascha Kaleko, Gabriele Tergit, C. Z. Kloetzel, Leo Baum, Albert Ehrenstein and Oskar Kokoschka, with some of whom Ben-gavriêl maintained an extensive correspondence, which is referred to in the commentaries (quoted in excerpts or in full). All the institutions, (political) events, and individuals mentioned in the diary entries, as well as Ben-gavriêls own literary and journalistic work, are treated in the commentaries. The diary entries also reveal significant details about his life and writing which have come to light for the first time and which are of great importance for his further development as a homo politicus and writer. The diaries provide intimate insights into the hopes and disappointments of someone who had wished for the creation in its original cultural setting of a new Jewish society that would have a mutually accommodating relationship with both its Arab neighbours and with neighbouring countries.