D.A. Chwolson as an Expert Witness and Student of Abraham Geiger: Three Chapters from a Scientific Biography

Abstract

This article is based on unpublished sources from St. Petersburg archives (the Manuscript Department of the Russian National Library, the St. Petersburg Branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy, and the Russian State Historical Archive). It explores the forms and methods of Daniel Chwolson’s (1819-1911) work on academic protection for the Jewish minority. Apart from his well-known effort to refute blood libel accusations that spanned five decades (1861-1911), Chwolson’s activities on behalf of Jews included less obvious projects and approaches. For instance, he attempted (unsuccessfully) to establish an “associate professorship for Judaic Studies” at St. Petersburg University in 1896-97, which in due course would give birth to the “Academy of Baron Günzburg”. Less apparent, but equally important is his work in refuting anti-Jewish theological presuppositions; in this he followed the footsteps of his admired teacher, Abraham Geiger, and the methodologies of Wissenschaft des Judentums. In so doing, Chwolson argued against Christian confessional distortions of Judaism. His firm insistence that early Jewish sources be used in the study of the New Testament and early Christianity anticipated a turn that would become mainstream in the latter half of the 20th century.