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A Sephardi Life in Southeastern Europe
The Autobiography and Journal of Gabriel Arié, 1863–1939
A Sephardi Life in Southeastern Europe
The Autobiography and Journal of Gabriel Arié, 1863–1939
Edited by
Esther Benbassa and Aron Rodrigue
Translated by Jane Marie Todd
A SAMUEL AND ALTHEA STROUM BOOK
University of Washington Press
Seattle and London
To the memory of the Jewish communities of Bulgaria
This book is published
with the assistance of a grant
from the Stroum Book Fund,
established through the generosity
of Samuel and Althea Stroum.
Copyright © 1998 by the University of Washington Press
Printed in the United States of America
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Arié, Gabriel, 1863–1939.
[Vie judéo-espagnole à I’Est. English]
A Sephardi life in Southeastern Europe : the autobiography and journal of Gabriel Arié, 1863–1939 / edited by Esther Benbassa and Aron Rodrigue: translated by Jane Marie Todd.
p. cm.
“A Samuel and Althea Stroum book.”
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-295-97674-8 (alk. paper)
1. Arié, Gabriel, 1863–1939. 2. Jews—Bulgaria—Sofia—Biography. 3. Sephardim—Bulgaria—Sofia—Biography. 4. Sofia (Bulgaria)—Biography. I. Benbassa, Esther. II. Rodrigue, Aron. III. Title.
| DS135.B85A75313 1998 | 97-33415 |
| 949.9’004924’0092—dc21 | CIP |
| [B] | r97 |
The paper used in this publication is acid-free and recycled from 10 percent post-consumer and at least 50 percent pre-consumer waste. It meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48–1984. ∞
Contents
Preface to the English Edition
Map of Bulgaria and Neighboring Regions
Genealogy of Gabriel Arié’s Immediate Family
AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND CORRESPONDENCE (1863–OCTOBER 1906)
1 / My Parents, Childhood Memories (1863–1873)
2 / Primary School (1874–1877)
3 / Constantinople (1877–1878)
5 / Constantinople (1881–1885)
6 / Sofia, in Business (1885–1887)
7 / The School in Sofia (1887–1893)
8 / Smyrna, First Period (1893–1901)
9 / Smyrna, Second Period (1901–1906)
JOURNAL AND CORRESPONDENCE (1906–1939)
11 / The Balkan Wars and World War I (1913–1918)
12 / The Interwar Period (1919–1939)
Illustrations
Map of Bulgaria and neighboring regions
Genealogy of Gabriel Arié based on the manuscripts and documents of the Arié family
PHOTOGRAPHS
Gabriel Arié’s father, Nissim Arié, in Samakov
Gabriel Arié, fifteen years old
Gabriel Arié, at the beginning of his career as an Alliance instructor, in Istanbul
Gabriel Arié with his brother Elia in Geneva in 1897
Gabriel Arié, around the turn of the century, in Izmir
Gabriel Arié, in Geneva in 1902
Gabriel Arié in 1903 or 1904 being treated in a sanatorium in Switzerland
Gabriel Arié, daughter Jeanne, mother Jaël, son Narcisse, wife Rachel, and brother Elia, in Davos, Switzerland, winter 1909
Gabriel Arié with his nephew Félix in Sophia in 1911