GERMANY. 'Drittes Reich'. 1933-1945. Cast Medal 1937 (Bronzed Tin, 93 mm, 84.68 g, 12 h), on the 500th anniversary of the birth of Don Isaak Abravanel (1437-1508), issued by the Fundraising Association of the Jewish Community of Berlin. ד״ר יצחק בן יהודה אברבנאל ('Dr. Isaak, son of Judah Abravanel' in Hebrew) Draped and capped bust of Isaak Abravanel to left. Rev. AUFBRINGUNGSWERK JÜDISCHE GEMEINDE BERLIN / DEM HELFER / SEINES VOLKES / in three lines above coat of arms; below, DEM WEISEN / GLÄUBIGEN / JUDEN / לחכם המאמין • עוזר לעמו • היהודי ('To the wise, faithful Jew, the helper of his people' in Hebrew). Very rare. Minor flaking, otherwise, extremely fine.



Like lot 552, this very rare medal was a product of the disenfranchisement and persecution of Berlin’s Jewish community and was issued to raise funds for the increasingly extensive social-welfare services that the 'Aufbringungswerk' was forced to provide.

Isaak Abravanel was one of the most prominent Jewish statesmen, financiers, and biblical scholars of the late Middle Ages, serving the royal courts of Portugal, Castile, and Naples before eventually settling in Venice. After unsuccessfully attempting to prevent the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, he chose exile rather than conversion and subsequently became especially influential through his extensive biblical commentaries and philosophical writings.