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Theodor (Tovia) Philipp was born in Wandsbek in 1837. His parents were Simon (Shimshon) Philipp and Hannchen née Wolff who was born in Reckendorf in Franconia (just like the ancestors of the Simon Heinemann family). From 1852-1860, Theodor Philipp trained as a merchant and worked in Altona and Dannenberg. Afterwards he decided on a new profession: From 1861-1863 he attended the educational institute for Jewish teachers in Hanover. He took up his first position in 1863 as a religious teacher in Wunstorf, in the region of Hanover.
His next position saw him staying much longer: From July 14, 1865 to March 31, 1909, he was the teacher of Lüneburg"s Jewish community - much to their relief, since Philipp"s predecessors Simon Moses Warenheim and Louis Löwenstein had only stayed in Lüneburg for a few years.
At the time, the teacher"s duties not only included leading the community in prayer, being their cantor, and teaching the children: He was also responsible for weddings and funerals, as well as ritual slaughter.
After his first two years in Lüneburg, Theodor Philipp married Rosa Wallach, a native of Rendsburg. In 1868 their son Samuel was born, and in 1869 their daughter Olga. In the 1870s, Theodor and Rosa Philipp ran a paper business at Große Bäckerstraße 10. The teacher"s income at the time was not always enough to support a family.
In the 1860s, teacher Philipp moved frequently as subtenant; from 1877 to 1892, the Philipps finally lived in their own apartment at Heiligengeiststraße 15. Theodor"s beloved wife Rosa died in 1902. He himself retired in 1909.
The national Jewish weekly newspaper "Der Israelit" published an obituary, which stated, among other things: "To his community, he was always a role model in devoted fulfillment of duty and in the cultivation of peace. His excellent qualities earned him the unqualified admiration of the community, and he was also held in high esteem in wide circles of the local citizenry."
Joseph Isaak Wolff##, a native of Aurich, was appointed as his successor. Theodor Philipp moved in with his daughter Olga Baruch and her family in Harburg. He died there on 9/3/1911 and was buried next to his wife Rosa in the Jewish Cemetery in Lüneburg.
Around 2010, a book turned up at the State and University Library in Hamburg that had been owned by Theodor Philipp. He had apparently used it often, studied it carefully and added many handwritten notes. It was a “Vorbeterschule” for rabbis and teachers, a collection of synagogue hymns with texts in Hebrew and Latin script. In 1941, the Hamburg Gestapo had “donated” the volume to the Hamburg library, together with thousands of other books stolen from Jewish households. Theodor Philipp"s book had probably been confiscated from the household of his daughter Olga Baruch, who had been deported from Hamburg with her family. In 2018, the book was returned to Theodor Philipp"s great-granddaughter and heir Ruth Lustig as Nazi-looted property. She decided to donate it to the Museum Lüneburg. There, a film about Ruth Lustig née Marx and the history of her family in Lüneburg can be seen in the permanent exhibition. Since 2018, the display has also included some facsimile pages from Theodor Philipp"s book.
Sources and info (in German):
Gravestone for Theodor Philipp (based on historic photographs): epidat - Forschungsplattform jüdische Grabsteinepigraphik, Lüneburg, lbg-1005
Entry "Philipp, Theodor" about the Hamburg restitution of the "Vorbeterschule"
Zvi Asaria, Die Juden in Niedersachsen, pp. 126/127.
Nachruf auf Theodor Philipp, Der Israelit, 15.04.1909.
Name variants: Tovia
