דער אידנשטאט א פארזוך פאר א מאדערנער ליזונג פון דער אידנפרראגע - Theodore Herzl - The Jewish State - Yiddish edition translated by A. L. Schussheim. Buenos Aires, 1948, with introduction by Chaim Weizmann, published by the South American Office of the Jewish Agency.
This edition includes an autobiography about Herzl, and a long introduction by Chaim Weizmann about the historical importance of the book "The Jewish State" to the Zionist movement, about the prophetic spirit in which it was written, and about the spirit it breathed into many of the younger generation of the Zionist movement since its publication.
In 'The Jewish State' [Der Judenstaat] Herzl outlines his vision for the future Jewish state in great detail. Herzl outlined the structure of the future state, in days when it was considered a distant dream by most Jews. The book was first published in Vienna and Leipzig by M. Breitenstein in February 14, 1896, under the subtitle: "An Attempt at a Modern Solution to the Jewish Question", a year and a half before the convening of the First Zionist Congress. About the writing method of the book, Herzl wrote: "I do not remember writing anything in my life in such a state of exaltation as when I wrote this book...In writing this book, I worked on it day after day until all my strength ran out". None of the reputable publishers wanted to publish the book, including Herzl's regular publishers Dunkner and Humboldt from Leipzig. Also the Cronbach House in Berlin, which was Jewish owned, refused to publish it. Ultimately Herzl published it with Max Breitenstein, an assimilated Jew and owner of a small bookstore in Vienna. Breitenstein himself did not believe in the Zionist idea as a whole, nor in the commercial success of the book, and agreed to publish it based on his personal acquaintance with Herzl's close family circle. Upon publication most public figures scorned the ideas presented in it, and one Jewish newspaper editor even offered his carriage to take Herzl to the insane asylum. Despite this, the ideas brought in the book began to gain momentum and additional editions - in Yiddish, Russian, English and more - appeared soon after the German edition, and within a short time it became the foundational book of the Zionist movement's initiators.
139 [1] p. Reinforced spine with adhesive paper. Minor tears on the edges of the front cover. Good condition.
