Tänzer, Arnold, 1871-1937

Aron Tänzer was born in 1871 in Pressburg, Hungary (now Bratislava, Slovakia) to Heinrich and Marie Tänzer née Schlesinger. He began religious study at a very early age, and attended school in Pressburg. In 1885 he contined his education at the rabbinical college in Pressburg before completing his academic studies in universities in Berlin and Bern. After receiving his Ph.D. in 1895, he spent the next year traveling. In 1896 he married his first wife, Rosa.

From December 1896 until February 1905 Tänzer was rabbi for the towns of Hohenems (Vorarlberg) in Austria, then served until 1907 as rabbi in Merano, in the southern Tirol area of Italy. In September 1907 he became rabbi of Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg. In 1912 his wife died; the next year he was married for the second time, to a woman named Bertha. While in Göppingen, Tänzer became increasingly interested in advocating the establishment and support of a public library for the city. He assisted in the creation and development of this institution, which was established in 1911, and also assisted in its administration.

In 1914 Tänzer volunteered for military service and was assigned to the position of Army chaplain ( Armeerabbiner ) for the Bug-Armee (later called the Heeresgruppe Linsingen-Eichhorn-Kiew ) and remained in this position for the duration of the war. In November 1918 he was sent home because of illness and was released from his position on January 20, 1919. It was in 1924 that he changed his first name to Arnold. Tänzer's military service earned him several awards, including the Iron Cross Second Class. In 1933 he was dismissed from the Göppingen War Veterans' Association ( Veteranen- und Militär- Verein "Kampfgenossenschaft" Göppingen ) for being a Non-Aryan.

Following his participation in World War I, Arnold Tänzer spent much of his time writing. Tänzer was perhaps most well-known for his scholarly and historical writing. Several of his manuscripts on Moritz Lazarus and his histories on local Jewish communities were written at this time. In addition to works of a religious or cultural nature, such as Die Mischehe in Religion, Geschichte, und Statistik der Juden, he also produced several works on local Jewish history in the areas where he worked as rabbi. These works include his Geschichte der Juden in Tirol und Vorarlberg (1905); Brest-Litowsk: Ein Wahrzeichen russischer Kultur im Weltkriege (1917); Die Geschichte der Juden in Jebenhausen und Göppingen (1927) and Die Geschichte der Juden in Württemberg (1937).

Arnold Tänzer died in 1937 in Göppingen at the age of 66.

From the guide to the Arnold Taenzer Collection, 1904-1996, bulk 1912-1937, (Leo Baeck Institute)