This is a postcard with an 1871 painting by the Jewish artist Moritz Oppenheim. Oppenheim painted Jewish soldiers in the Franco-Prussian War, gathering together in prayer on Yom Kippur. The name of the painting is Jahrzeit, the Yiddish word for the anniversary of a death. This may signify the fact that the soldiers were commemorating those who had died in the war or that were reciting the memorial prayer, Yizkor, on Yom Kippur. The caption beneath the painting says, “Yom Kippur on the battlefield.”
The soldiers in the painting are wearing army uniforms and some are wearing war medals. They have a variety of hats and helmets, including the spiked helmet, Pickelhaube, which was worn by Prussian soldiers. Only one of the soldiers is wrapped in a tallit (prayer shawl). The soldiers are standing or sitting around a room, all facing different directions. They are all looking down either at a prayer book or in a reverent manner, except for one who is looking up with an expression of supplication. One soldier is wearing a Red Cross armband. Two women, perhaps a mother and daughter, are looking through the window into the room.
The soldiers in the painting are Prussian-Jewish soldiers fighting in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, which ended with the defeat of France. During this war Jews fought in both the French and Prussian armies, thus highlighting many conflicts that faced the Jews of Europe: the relationship between country and religion, the conflict between Jewish brotherhood and national loyalty, and the tension between integration into the surrounding society and the preservation of tradition.
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Yom Kippur – Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the Jewish year. The date of Yom Kippur is 10 Tishrei, and it marks the end of the ten-day period beginning with Rosh Hashanah which is called the High Holy Days and the Ten Days of Repentance. According to tradition, God evaluates each person’s life and writes their name in either the Book of Life or the Book of Death during the Ten Days of Repentance; on Yom Kippur, the books are sealed. While reflection and prayer take place throughout the ten days, Yom Kippur is the most solemn day, and it is traditional to pray, fast, and refrain from bathing and wearing leather shoes. It is also traditional to give tzedakah (charity), during this time period. Another unusual custom is wearing a tallit for all of the prayers, when it is usually only worn during the day, and in some communities men wear a special white robe named a kittel. There are five services on Yom Kippur, beginning with the Kol Nidrei prayer and the Maariv service in the evening. Prayers are resumed the following day with Shacharit (morning service) and the Musaf (additional service) which includes a description of the special ceremonies that took place in the Temple on Yom Kippur. Later in the day is the Mincha service, during which the Book of Jonah is read, and the day comes to close with the Neilah service, considered to be the final opportunity to ask God to be written in the Book of Life, which ends with the congregation saying the Shema and the blowing of the shofar.
Franco-Prussian War – The Franco-Prussian war was a conflict that took place in 1870–1871 between France and a group of German states led by the King of Prussia. The war began when the French Parliament declared war on Prussia to prevent them from expanding their power by uniting with additional German states and capturing parts of France. The German-Prussian forces were much stronger than the French and quickly defeated them. A major victory occurred at the Battle of Metz, followed by the Battle of Sedan which ended with Napoleon II’s capture. The war ended after the Siege of Paris in January 1871. As a result of the war, the German states united to form the German Empire under the leadership of Kaiser Wilhelm I and Germany annexed Alsace and Lorraine, originally part of France. One of the major figures during this time was Prussian statesman Otto von Bismarck, who became the first chancellor of the German Empire. The new strength of the German Empire was one of the factors contributing to the start of World War I.
Moritz Oppenheim – Moritz Oppenheim (1800–1882) is considered the first European Jewish painter, since he was the first to receive a classical art education and to gain recognition from non-Jewish German society. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Oppenheim was very connected to his Jewish background and sought to depict it in a positive light through his paintings. He worked during a complicated period for German Jewry: on the one hand, they were trying to become emancipated, free-thinking Jews who were assimilated into German society, while they were also striving to retain their Jewish identity. Oppenheim’s paintings reflect the pre-Emancipation world of the ghetto in a positive light for both his non-Jewish and Jewish audiences. Jewish life in Oppenheim’s paintings is a warm, family experience filled with books and learning in which children look to their elders for guidance and inspiration. Copies of Oppenheim’s works appeared in books and on postcards and porcelain and pewter plates.
