Personalitatea lui Wilhelm Filderman în istoriografia israeliană
Wilhelm Filderman’s Figure in Israeli Historiography

Summary/Abstract: This paper aims to highlight the multiple representations of Wilhelm Filderman as reflected in Israeli historiography, whose authors I classify in a three-generation typology: a) the generation of historians, publicists, and memorialists born in Romania in the first two decades of the 20th century, who emigrated to Israel and knew Filderman personally; b) the generation of professional historians born in Romania in the third decade of the 20th century, who immigrated to Israel as adults and did doctoral studies in Israeli universities at a late age; c) the third generation which includes professional historians of Romanian origin, born in the 30s and the beginning of the 40s, who partly studied in Romania, partly in Israel, and worked in Israeli research institutions. Those belonging to the first generation are somewhat apologetic, while those of the second and mainly of the third generation emphasize his qualities as well as his errors. Overall, Filderman is portrayed as moderate, non-religious, a Romanian patriot, and a devoted Jew. The Israeli historiography that I analyze focuses on Filderman’s relations with the Zionists, the Zionist movement, the Jewish Agency, and the National Jewish funds, but also his efforts to improve Jewish people’s lives and their emigration to Palestine during the Holocaust period.

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