Alexander Kristianpoller

Alexander Kristianpoller was born in Lanowce, Ukraine in 1884. He came from a long, nearly unbroken line of rabbis. He grew up in Brody and attended the German grammar school there.

After his studies in Vienna, he was called to Linz as rabbi designate in 1918. They needed his services there to offer spiritual aid to refugees and to teach religion in secondary schools. As a young teacher, he supported the Zionist youth in their commitment to reform.

Dr. Kristianpoller was denied a longer teaching contract in Linz, so in 1919  he moved back to Vienna shortly before his marriage. There, he continued teaching and devoted himself primarily to scientific research. His main occupation was studying dreams in the Talmud and their interpretation.

He might have escaped the Nazi regime after the German Wehrmacht marched into Austria by accepting a post as a rabbi for a congregation in New York. But the American ambassador refused to define him as a member of the “clergy” and denied him a visa. Alexander Kristianpoller and his wife had to pay for this decision with their lives.