Jakob Josef (Yaakov) Bachstitz (Bahat)

Born:	06-02-1910
Faculty:	Philosophical School
Category:	Expelled student

Jakob Josef BACHSTITZ (later: Yaakov BAHAT), born on June 2^nd, 1910 in Żurawno, Galicia/Austro-Hungarian Empire [later Poland, today: Schurawno|Журавно/Ukraine] (entitled residency ("heimatberechtigt") for Żurawno/Poland, Citizenship: Poland), son of Pinkas Bachstitz (merchant in Żurawno), lived in Vienna's 2^nd district, Untere Augartenstrasse 26/17. He had passed the school-leaving examination ("Reifepruefung"/"Matura") at the Jewish Gymnasium in Kraków, Poland, and began to study medicine at the University of Vienna in the spring term of 1933. However, he changed after two years and began to study History at the School of Philosophy in the fall term of 1935/36, where he was last enrolled in spring term 1938 in the 3^rd year of his studies. In October 1937, he had already applied for crediting of the four medical terms against the eight obligatory terms and for admission to the final examinations/viva voce (citing economic difficulties) and had already submitted his doctorat theses. But this was rejected at the time with a detailed justification by the pedagogue Prof. Richard Meister and he was obliged to continue studying for the fall term 1937/38 and the spring term focusing on the two viva subjects Medieval History and Philosophy.
As a Polish citizen, he was allowed to continue his studies after the "Anschluss" in the spring term of 1938 - as far as access to university buildings was still possible for Jewish students - and in May 1938 he submitted his dissertation theses and his application for credit for two medical semesters, which had already been submitted in October 1937 (for admission to the final examination/viva voce ("Rigorosen"), a mandatory eight term of study had to be completed, whereby individual terms from other faculties or universities could be credited). He urgently requested approval and admission to the Rigorosen and to the doctorate: "I ask you to take into account that - due to economic reasons - the completion of my studies at the University of Vienna depends on the kind fulfillment of my request". While his application was forwarded favorably by the appropriate commission, the provisional dean Prof. Viktor Christian decided on June 17^th, 1938: "After consultation with Prof. Meister rejected". Thus Jakob Josef Bachstitz was forced to abandon his almost completed studies and had to leave the University of Vienna without a degree, despite his dissertation. He had to flee Vienna and was able to emigrate to Palestine [Israel], where he became an educator and specialist for Hebrew language and literature. He was the Inspector of Education for Secondary Education in the Israeli Ministry of Education (from 1959) and in 1965 became a professor at the Department of Hebrew and Comparative Literature, Faculty of Humanities, University of Haifa, Israel, which he remained until his retirement in 1978.
Named after him as a founding member of the Department of Comparative Hebrew Literature at the University of Haifa, the prestigious "Bahat Prize" is awarded annually by the University of Haifa Publishing House and the Professor Yaakov Bahat Foundation for high quality, original manuscripts in Hebrew. Professor Yaakov Bahat, née Jakob Josef Bachstitz, died in Israel in 1988.

Lit.: Archive of the University of Vienna/enrollment forms ("Nationale") MED 1933-1935, PHIL 1935-1938, PHIL GZ 8 ex 1937/38 No. 11, 74; POSCH/INGRISCH/DRESSEL 2008, 357.

Herbert Posch