Biographical/Historical Information
Hermann (Chaim Aaron ben David) Struck was born in 1876 in Germany. He is best known as a master etcher, lithographer and early Zionist. He studied for five years at the Berlin Academy and in 1908 wrote "Die Kunst des Radierens" (The Art of Etching), while mentoring artists such as Marc Chagall, Max Liebermann and Lesser Ury. His art was included in an exhibition at the Fifth Zionist Congress and he helped establish the religious Zionist movement called Mizrachi. Struck was an Orthodox Jew but believed that culture and religion could thrive cooperatively in the Land of Israel. His outlook on the world was decidedly cosmopolitan; this is also evident in his countless portraits, from Friedrich Nietzsche to Sigmund Freud, and impressions from his wide travels. While on service in the German Army during World War I, he came into contact with the Jewish Communities of Galicia and Lithuania. During this time, he created a series of sketches in Eastern Europe, which he lated turned into a book together with Arnold Zweig, titled "The Face of East European Jewry". In 1923, he emigrated to Palestine. He emigrated to Haifa where he created an artistic community and participated in the development of the Tel Aviv Museum and the Bezalel art school in Jerusalem. Hermann Struck died in 1944.
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Citation
Struck, Hermann: Jewish store keeper, Eastern Europe, Leo Baeck Institute, 78.184.