For a mere 650 euros (about $710), you can purchase Wer einmal war (“Who Once Was”), a who’s who of the golden age of Viennese Jewry. The Austrian city was home to Sigmund Freud, Theodor Herzl, the economist Ludwig von Mises, the composer Arnold Schoenberg, and the writers Stefan Zweig and Joseph Roth, along with countless other extraordinary figures. Giles MacDonogh writes:
Wer einmal war is a genealogy of the 500 leading Jewish families of Vienna between 1800 and 1938. . . . The author, Georg Gaugusch, is actually the owner of Jungmann und Neffe, Vienna’s most prominent tailor. It adjoins Sacher’s Hotel [famous home of the Sachertorte], between the two cultural poles of the Opera House and the Albertina [museum].
It surprises many to learn that Gaugusch is not Jewish; his family acquired the shop from Jews in the 1940s. The author is neither tailor nor historian: by training he’s a chemical engineer. In the cellars of the shop, however, he found an archive of its pre-war customers, many of whom were rich Jews. This he turned into a database, which became the starting point for the book. He befriended the archivist at the synagogue, Wolf-Erich Eckstein, who has been a pillar of support for him.
Read more on The Article: https://www.thearticle.com/lost-world-a-whos-who-of-prewar-jewish-vienna