Konnogvardeisky Boulevard, Ginzburg’s house. Photo 1870s, Buffa F.

The history of the famous Jewish dynasty of the barons Ginzburg suddenly became relevant in 1989–1991. A scandal in the then still existing USSR erupted over a collection of medieval Jewish manuscripts gathered by three generations of barons, kept in the Manuscripts Department of the Russian State Library (at that time the Lenin State Library of the USSR). Something unprecedented happened then. Hasidim, in protest against the ban on using texts sacred to Jews, barricaded themselves in the office of one of the leaders of the RSL…

Today, the Ginzburg collection is recognized as a particularly valuable cultural heritage not only in Israel but also in Russia. It is included in the All-Russian Register of Book Monuments of History and Culture as a federal monument-collection.

On November 7, the Russian State Library and the National Library of Israel announced that the Ginzburg collection, which has been held by the RSL since 1918, will be digitized and made freely accessible.

The book collection includes ancient manuscripts and printed books on Judaica, geography, mathematics, medicine, philosophy in ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic. Among them are works by Aristotle and the Jewish theologian Maimonides.

The collection is considered one of the largest and rarest private collections in the world. The library collection was gathered by three generations of the Ginzburg family. It was started by Evzel Gavriilovich Ginzburg, but the greatest contribution to collecting the “pearls of Hebraistics” was made by his grandson David Horatsievich Ginzburg — an orientalist, writer, and public figure, one of the two chief editors of the “Jewish Encyclopedia” in Russian.

After the death of the founder’s grandson, banker Baron David Ginzburg, the collection was purchased by activists of the Zionist movement. In 1917, the books were supposed to be sent to Jerusalem, but after the revolution, the Bolsheviks nationalized the collection. The dispute over the rights to the Ginzburg collection did not cease for a century. The National Library of Israel repeatedly tried to reclaim the collection. But, as explained by the library director Aviad Stolmann, the Russian side considered the evidence that David Ginzburg’s widow actually sold the library unconvincing.

Negotiations about its fate took place, including at the highest level, between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

What is remarkable about the life and fate of each member of the glorious Ginzburg dynasty?

Baron Evzel (Osip) Gavriilovich Ginzburg (1812–1878) bequeathed to his descendants to keep the faith of their ancestors and... Russian citizenship. This famous banker, gold miner, and philanthropist devoted his life to the struggle for the rights and emancipation of Jews and at the same time to serving the sovereign and the Fatherland. Such a combination was not only justified for him but the only possible one, because he firmly believed that the benefit and prosperity of Russia corresponded to the fundamental interests of Russian Jews.

The genealogy of the Ginzburgs (Gintsburgs) can be traced back to the mid-15th century. The surname comes from the city of the same name in the Swabian district of Bavaria. The founder of the dynasty was Rabbi Yehiel of Porto. His descendants in the 17th–18th centuries were among the most prominent rabbis of the German principalities and Poland. Only Evzel’s grandfather broke the family tradition and engaged in commerce. Following his footsteps was Evzel’s father, a native of Vilna, Gavriil-Yakov Ginzburg, who was involved in charity and helped the poor. The parent gave his son not only a traditional Jewish but also a broad general education, taught him various languages, among which Russian became one of the boy’s native tongues. The basics of commercial science were also taught to Evzel by his father, from whose shadow he, however, quickly emerged, becoming a cashier and the actual manager of affairs for a wealthy tax farmer.

As was customary among Jews, Evzel married early, at sixteen. Ginzburg had barely turned twenty when he became a first-guild merchant in Vitebsk. Enterprising and energetic, he mastered the main methods of working with wine tax farming and, having accumulated the necessary funds, in 1840 became a prominent tax farmer himself. It should be noted that at that time distilling belonged to the state and was only leased out to private individuals. A Jewish tax farmer, and at such a young age — was an exceptional phenomenon at the time!

Evzel established close contacts with financial institutions in the Podolsk and Kiev provinces, as well as with the Northern Palmyra, where he often traveled. Gradually, he gained connections in the highest capital circles, especially in financial ones, where he earned both favor and special trust. He established close relations with the Minister of Finance, on whose initiative Ginzburg was granted honorary hereditary citizenship “for services rendered to the Russian government,” just as his father had been. During the Crimean War, he held the wine tax lease in besieged Sevastopol. According to a contemporary, he left the city among the last, “almost simultaneously with the garrison commandant.” This and other brave deeds were recognized by the emperor with two gold medals “For Zeal” to be worn on the Vladimir and St. Andrew ribbons.

But then the tax farming was replaced by a government wine monopoly, and many tax farmers went bankrupt. But not Ginzburg! He began creating a private banking system in Russia: first the Private Commercial Kiev Bank, then the Accounting Odessa Bank and the St. Petersburg Accounting and Loan Bank. Finally, in 1859, Evzel, together with his son Horace, opened the banking house “I.E. Ginzburg” in the capital — the largest in Russia, with a branch in Paris (managed by his other son — Solomon). After a while, “I.E. Ginzburg” became the leading St. Petersburg bank, displacing the famous bank of Baron Stieglitz from the money market. The Ginzburg banking house worked closely with leading banks of Western Europe. It became the main credit bridge through which foreign investors’ money was invested in the Russian economy.

The fate of co-religionists always concerned Evzel Ginzburg, and at the peak of his financial success, when great opportunities opened up to help them, especially so. Consistently and methodically, he bombarded the authorities with petitions to improve the situation of Jews. The insularity of the Jewish community was infinitely far from the goal Evzel Ginzburg set for himself — achieving full participation of Jews in Russian life.

Being a passionate bibliophile, he laid the foundation of the book and manuscript collection that researchers would later call the collection of the barons Ginzburg. To the work in the library, which he began seriously collecting from 1840, Evzel Gavriilovich attracted prominent scholars, so the book repository was replenished with many medieval manuscripts and rare editions.

In 1863, he founded the “Society for the Dissemination of Enlightenment among the Jews of Russia,” supporting it almost exclusively at his own expense. The society was actively engaged in publishing activities. A significant part of the society’s budget was spent on helping students of higher and secondary educational institutions. In particular, a scholarship was established for Jews studying at the Medical-Surgical Academy. Thanks in part to Ginzburg, the first certified doctors of the Jewish faith appeared in Russia.

The attention of our philanthropist and human rights activist also turned to Jewish artisans, for whom he obtained government permission to live outside the Pale of Settlement. Thus, Evzel encouraged Jews to engage in productive activities despite prevailing prejudices!

He also advocated for the introduction of agricultural labor among Jews, submitting a memorandum to the government in 1862, and created a special fund under the Ministry of State Property to reward the best Jewish farmers.

Thanks to the tireless petitions of Evzel Ginzburg and with the active assistance of his son Horace, residence outside the Pale of Settlement was permitted for the following categories of Jews: first-guild merchants (1859); so-called Nikolaev soldiers, i.e., those who served military duty under the recruitment statute (1867); all engaged in so-called “liberal” professions, i.e., midwives, pharmacists, dentists, etc. (1869). Furthermore, Evzel Gavriilovich managed to achieve what seemed impossible — the highest permission to build the Choral Synagogue in St. Petersburg. For a long time, he was recognized as the leader of the capital’s Jewish community.

He was elevated to baronial dignity by the charter of the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1874. His two sons, Naftali-Hertz and Solomon-David Ginzburg, were granted the highest permission to use this title in Russia in 1879. All three are buried in Paris, where the Ginzburgs gradually moved their operations due to the rise of anti-Semitic sentiments in Russia. The baronial title was granted at the request of Prince Alexander of Hesse, brother of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, whom the Ginzburgs financially supported. Evzel Gavriilovich passed away in January 1878 surrounded by his large family. He was granted a successful and happy life as a creator. Together with the banks, enterprises, joint-stock companies he created, and the beneficial changes in the position of Russian Jews that occurred thanks to his efforts, Evzel Ginzburg created himself — a charming and exceptionally attractive personality who left a noticeable mark in Russian history.

Horace (Hertz) Ginzburg became manager after Evzel’s death, inheriting not only capital and a prosperous business but also, for example, estates in Tavrida, 50,000 desyatinas of land, the income from which was to be directed to charity. Since 1879, the Ginzburgs were granted hereditary permission to use the baronial title in Russia. That is why the ex libris of his son David Ginzburg depicts the family coat of arms. The coat of arms was approved by the Heraldry Department, and the surname was entered into the book of titled nobility.

The library collection was gathered by three generations of the Ginzburg family. It was started by Evzel Gavriilovich Ginzburg, but the greatest contribution to collecting the “pearls of Hebraistics” was made by his grandson David — an orientalist, writer, and public figure, one of the two chief editors of the “Jewish Encyclopedia” in Russian.

Sources:

Lev Berdnikov: THE LEGACY OF THE BARONS GINZBURG

Andrey Nikolaevich Artizov, Petr Vladimirovich Stegniy: The Difficult Fate of Baron Ginzburg’s Library

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