Hitler, Mother Mary and my Newest Haggadah

My children brought me two new/ old Haggadot for my collection as a Pesach present. Both have English translations and both are from the early 20^th century. One was printed in Frankfort-on-the Main (Rődelheim) by M. Lehberger & Co. in 1914 while the other is a Seder Service Hagadah Translated by Rachel Mayer edited and printed by "Union" (Appel Brothers) in Austria in 1922*.I have not yet found any information about Rachel Mayer except the fact that she also translated a siddur for the same printing house*. But the Vienna address of the Union printing house yielded some interesting results. In 1922, Union/ Appel Brothers was located in IX, Liechtensteinstrasse 21, Vienna.

This is the same street pre-WWI Hitler tried to peddle his art work. He actually sold some of his work to Jewish art galleries in this street, particularly to Samuel Morgenstern whose gallery was located in Liechtensteinstrasse 4.

Hilter came here for the first time in 1911/1912 to sell three pictures. Morgenstern sold several pictures that Hitler made. But in 1913, Hitler moved to Munich so he was not around in 1922 to see Mayer's Haggadah in the shop window of Liechtensteinstrasse 21. It is very likely that when he returned to Vienna for a quick visit in 1941, the Appel Brothers had already closed shop although I do not (yet) have any information about them.

Liechtensteinstrasse 21 is further interesting because it has a life-size statue of Mother Mary in its garden celebrating the virgin birth.

Nowadays the address houses a jewelry store

The perfect address to produce a Haggadah I would say…

* Union was in close contact with the Ziegelheim Library in Vienna (The Apple Brothers printed quite a few Haggadot for the library). When Ziegelheim produced their own Haggadah in 1928 (Yudlov #3126), they used Rachel’s translation without giving her credit.

** More about Rachel Mayer HERE