ABELES, OTTO

ABELES, OTTO (1879–1945), author and Zionist worker in Austria and Holland. Abeles, who was born in Bruen (Brno), Moravia, was a founder of the Jewish students' organization Veritas. He was also a founder of the Zionist movement in Bohemia and Moravia. After completing his studies at the University of Vienna, he became legal advisor to the Austrian railways. Abeles contributed articles to the Zionist newspaper die welt and other Zionist newspapers in German, and was an editor of the organ of the Zionist movement in Austria Juedische Zeitung. Together with Robert Stricker he founded the Zionist daily newspaper Wiener Morgenzeitung, working on its staff until 1926, when he became an emissary for keren hayesod and traveled through Western Europe as a lecturer. From 1930 he was director of Keren Hayesod in Amsterdam. He was deported to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, and died immediately after its liberation. Among his works are Besuch in Eretz Yisrael (1926), impressions of his first journey to Palestine; Die Genesung (1920), a book of poems; and Zehn Juedinnen (1931), a book about famous Jewish women. With L. Bato he edited the almanac Juedischer Nationalkalender (1915/16–1921/22). -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Haolam (Aug. 30, 1945 and Sept. 6, 1945); Haaretz (Aug. 24, 1945); Davar (Aug. 24, 1945). (Getzel Kressel)