Meier Teich

Teich was born on January 6, 1890, in Suceava, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire within the Duchy of Bukovina. When he was 17 years old, he got involved in the Zionist movement, co-founding the local Poale Zion group in Bukovina.^[1]

After completing his schooling, Teich pursued his studies in law at the University of Vienna and at the University of Czernowitz. He earned his doctorate in law in 1913 and subsequently practiced law in Susceava, Vienna, and Bucharest. During the inter-war period, he became involved in the local politics of his hometown, serving as a member of the city council and later as vice-mayor.^[1] He also wrote for various Jewish newspapers and attended the World Jewish Congressin 1929.^[2] Until 1941, Teich had further been involved in various Jewish and Zionist organisations in the region.^[3]

By the 1940s, Teich had established himself as a local community leader in Suceava. In 1941, Romania, aligned with Nazi Germany, initiated the deportation of its Jewish population to occupied Transnistria. Teich, along with approximately 5,000 Bukovian and Bessarabian Jews, was sent to Sharhorod. There, they were forced to dwell under desolate conditions in a ghetto alongside the 2,000 predominantly Ukrainian-speaking Jews native to the town. For his knowledge in Romanian and German languages and law, Teich was elected chairman of a joint council representing the various communities in the ghetto on November 17, 1941, with Abraham Reicher serving as his deputy. Until the ghetto's liberation in 1944, Teich remained the leading representative of the community.^[4]

Teich's leadership as chairman was met with controversy, particularly due to suspicions of favoritisms towards community members from Suceava. These accusations were grave, as the Romanian authorities pressured the council to identify individuals for removal from the ghetto for forced labor, a fate often resulting in death. However, historians have viewed Teich's council as relatively impartial and successful compared to other ghetto self-administrations under Romanian or German jurisdiction. For instance, in Sharhorod, the Jewish community's leadership remained unified across national and linguistic divides, effectively providing mutual support. The self-organized Jewish police force maintained respect, enabling some degree of support for local partisan activity.^[4]

Personally, Teich experienced the loss of his wife and both of his sons due to the harsh conditions of the ghetto.^[1]

After the liberation of the ghetto by Soviet forces on March 20, 1944, Teich and other council members faced accusations of treason and underwent trial under the Soviet occupation. Despite some incriminating testimony, Teich was acquitted, attributed to his support of partisans.^[5]

In 1950, Teich arrived in Israel and began writing for various papers, including Yediot Hadashot and Davar. Throughout the 1950s, he also made contributions to anthologies and monographs of Yad Vashem, documenting his intimate knowledge of the Jewish self-administration in Sharhorod.^[6][7] From 1965 until his death he was also editor of the German-language newspaper Die Stimme (קול העולה) of the Bukovian community in Israel.^[8]

Teich died in Tel Aviv in October 1975.^[1]