Paul Schiff
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Younger brother of Jeanette Schenker (née Schiff), thus from 1919 brother-in-law to Heinrich Schenker. His wife was Anna; the couple had a daughter, Lisl. By 1933 the family was living at Prague, Na Rokytec 1081 (OJ 14/10, [5]), and by 1935 at Karlsbad, Petersberg 630 (OJ 14/10, [16]), and in 1938 they moved back from Karlsbad to Prague (OJ 14/8, [15], February 2, 1938).
Little is known of Paul's early life other than that his parents died when he was very young, and that he studied at the Technical High School in Prague. He served at the front in Russia, Herzegovina, Albania, and elsewhere in World War I in 1915 and 1918–1919. In September 1919, the year in which he enrolled in philosophy and chemistry at Leipzig University, Paul also joined the Social Democrat Party. As a reward for his political activism, in 1920 he was appointed political and economic editor for the social democrat newspaper Vorwärts. In 1923 he wrote articles and gave lectures, and was imprisoned for three weeks for speaking out on mobilization. He was again imprisoned in 1925, this time for three months for incitement to overthrow the government (OJ 14/8, [1], March 19, 1925). In Anna’s words: “He had that fervent belief that is lacking in most people who are active in politics but who perhaps out of that very lack emerge as victors.” Such views were inimical to Heinrich Schenker, who on reading that letter responded “Paul is apparently traveling a precipitous path, since a feeling of revenge against the state will inevitably overcome him, which will lead him to further conflict.” (diary, March 24, 1925).
In 1934, Rosa Weil remarked “Paul can barely cope with wife, child, and mother-in-law" (OJ 14/10, [15]). In 1938 Rosa describes him as having for many years worked in the insurance business (OJ 14/10, [34] – with the company Riunione Adriatica), and that his salary had been reduced to a level unsustainable for the family. Rosa also reported that Paul had “mastered gold-working,” and that in late 1939 he was due to visit Palestine with a group (OJ 14/10, [37]). Nothing is known of his life thereafter.
In April 1936, when Jeanette Schenker embarked on her six-month voyage to Santiago, Chile and back, heading first to Aussig to see her parents’ old house and the town, she spent from teatime on the 27th to 11 p.m. with Paul and Anna, and Paul and Anna were at the station on the 30th to see her off on the next leg to Genoa.
Correspondence with the Schenkers
Two-way correspondence between Paul Schiff and Jeanette, as recorded in Heinrich Schenker’s diary, began much earlier than that with other Schiff siblings. The earliest recorded communication from Paul was in 1913 while still at school, making accusations against Jeanette, to which she responded. There were at least twenty written communications during the period spanning 1915 to early 1919, while Paul was serving in World War I. Paul’s antagonism continued throughout that period, Jeanette just striving to keep the correspondence going. The relationship warmed later in 1919 thanks to offers of help with his future career from Heinrich, becoming cordial as Paul took Jeanette’s side in her struggle against her first husband’s continual legal obstructions in 1920.
The surviving correspondence between the Schenkers and Paul and Anna Schiff is preserved at OJ 14/8 (15 items: 1925-38), the Schenker side of which is unfortunately lost.
Source
Contributor
- Ian Bent