Edith Stein (Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) October 12, 1891- August 9, 1942

“Come! We are going for our people.”
These are the last words of a woman of wisdom and perseverance. A fellow human being whose calling was to serve God through mundane acts. Once an atheist but later realized the value of religion. A feminist who wanted woman empowerment, and a fighter who voiced out her ideology even to the Pope.

Edith Stein is indeed an epitome of a modern-day hero. She did not shed blood nor fought in battles against the Nazis. In fact, she was also one of the victims of the holocaust. But what set her apart from the rest was that, she knew something was wrong and she did try to take actions.

Edith Stein’s Humble Beginning

Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross or Edith Stein was born on October 12, 1891 in Breslau, Germany. She was the 11th child of a religious Jewish couple, Siegried Stein and Auguste Courant.
Just like other teenagers, she had spent her childhood years under the influence and guidance of her parents. She admired her mother’s strong faith the most; but later on she became an atheist during her teenage years.

However, atheism had nothing to do with her desire to learn. Edith Stein’s family favor professions in the field of Medicine. Her sister became a Gynecologist. She, on the other hand was one of the few who were interested in a branch of medicine we now call psychiatry.

She took it in order to unlock questions like how the mind works, what trouble pains the heart, and how to cure or heal the soul. Her passion about it was reflected on her works and actions during her time.

Edith Stein’s Calling: Phenomenology and Service

In 1911 at the age of 19, she studied philology and philosophy at the University of Breslau.

Upon her discovery of the book published by Edmund Husserl entitled Logical Investigations, Edith decided to transfer to the University of Göttingen.. At the age of 21, she become initiated into the new philosophy of science called Phenomenology. under the teaching of Husserl. She was one of the first women students to enroll at the said university.

At the beginning of World War I in 1914, she volunteered at a military hospital, where she also found inspiration for her philosophical work on the subject of empathy.

She later earned her doctorate in philosophy Suma Cum Laude in 1916, still under Husserl’s tutelage at the University of Freiburg. She then worked for him as a research and teaching assistant for 18 months. After which, she quit but she continued to work in various projects of his former mentor.

From 1916 through 1921, this is the period when she wrote her four treatises: first “On the Problem of Empathy,” 1916, second, “Sentient Causality,”1918, third, “Individual and Community,” 1919 and lastly, “On the state” 1921. All her published works present new perspectives and were somehow unconventional.

Due to some issues on gender and women empowerment, it took her a decade to have a university career in 1930′s. She was just starting to teach at Münster when the anti-Semtic regulations of 1933 was implemented taking her job away.

While she was doing her studies, Edith Stein was searching not only for the truth, but for Truth itself. After reading the autobiography of Saint Teresa of Avila she found what she was looking for. After she was enlightened, she converted into Catholic. She was baptized on New Year’s Day, January 1, 1922.

After her conversion, at the age of 42, she was accepted into the Carmel at Cologne. This has been a major step in fulfilling her vocation. She spent her days serving the people through teaching, lecturing, writing and translating. She offered herself to God by touching people’s lives. Later, her brilliance was acknowledge and she became a renowned philosopher and an author.

On October 14, 1933, Edith Stein entered the Discalced Carmelie Nuns’ cloistered community at Cologne-Lindentha upon the approval of he Benedictine spiritual director. She received the religious name “Teresia Benedicta ac Cruce” the moment she received the Habit of Carmel. She made her Profession of Vows on April 21, 1935.
Because of the holocaust, Edith Stein soon sensed danger and decided to transfer to a foreign monastery. It was on December 31, 1938 when she crossed the border into Holland and was received by the Carmel of Echt. This time, she wrote The Science of the Cross which became her last work.

When the Nazis invaded Holland, all the Catholics of Jewish including Edith Stein was taken away from Echt Carmel. They were brought into the death camp of Auschwitz on August 2, 1942. The four-day trip was brutal and the they were treated inhumanly. Many died and her fate was not different from the other Jews. On August 9, 1942, Edith Stein died in gas chambers.

In 1955, an American organization of Roman Catholic converts was named Edith Stein Guild in honor of Edith Stein. After 45 years, she was beatified as Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross on 1 May 1987 by Pope John Paul II. She was canonized on October 11, 1998 and became a patron saint of Europe In 1999.

Many questioned her canonization because of some religion issues. However, one’s past is not important. Whether you were a Jew or a Catholic, what important is the person you are today. Just like Edith Stein,she made her choices along the way. She did not become influential in Germany but Europe as a whole.

Sources:

http://www.ewtn.com/faith/edith_stein.htm

http://www.library.nd.edu/colldev/subject_home_pages/catholic/personal_connections.shtml

http://womenshistory.about.com/od/jewishwomen/p/edith_stein.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Stein

Jerome “Jerry” Siegel (October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996)

Who will not be familiar with the man who wore a big “S” on his chest and whose only weakness was a Kryptonite? Everybody who was born in the era of comics and cartoons will surely recognize this man. Avid fans might have memorized all the characters, knew all the lines, but do they know who were the people behind this epic superhero?

Before Superman was made into cartoons and adapted into movies, it started as a comic book. On the 20th century, it undoubtedly became one of the most recognizable superhero characters. And one of the two men who brought this character into life was Jerome “Jerry” Siegel.

Born on October 17, 1914 in Cleveland, Ohio, Jerome Siegel was a son of Jewish immigrants from Lithuania. He was the youngest of the six children of Sarah Fine and Mitchell Siegel.

Siegel loved watching movies, reading comic strips, and later on developed a liking on science fiction pulp magazines. His father saw the artist’s side of Siegel that he had encouraged him to make a career out of it. Unfortunately, when he was in junior high school his father died of heart attack.

In 1929 after that seatback, he produced SF fanzine and Cosmic Stories using a manual typewriter. He advertised these creations in the section of Science Wonder Stories.

While in high school, he worked in a student newspaper called The Torch. Despite his shyness and being unpopular, his creation Tarzan parody, “Goober the Mighty” made him achieved a bit of fame.

It was in Glenville where he met Joe Shuster. They became friends and later on the two of them collaborated as comic-artists. They made their debut with the musketeer swashbuckler “Henri Duval” and the supernatural-crimefighter strip Doctor Occult in issue #6 (Oct. 1935).

Later on, they created one of the most unforgettable comic characters. It all started with a bald telepathic villain named “The Superman” who wanted to dominate the entire world. The character made its first appearance in the short story “The Reign of the Super-Man” from Science Fiction #3, a science fiction fanzine that Siegel published in 1933.

Unfortunately, the debut of the most acclaimed superhero was not successful. It was in 1934 when Siegel finally had made a good character out of the villain.

The concept of the new hero was inspired by Gladiator, Samson and Hercules legends. Unfortunately, when the comic book was rejected, Shuster destroyed the artwork. Fortunately, Siegel had rescued the cover art.

The duo then began a six-year quest to find a publisher. Their attempt to publish it was a failure. Shuster burned all pages of the story and only the cover page was rescued by Siegel.
In 1938, Vin Sullivan, editor of DC Comics chose it as the cover feature for National’s Action Comics #1. Siegel & Shuster initiated the syndicated Superman comic strip and created the ghostly avenger “The Spectre” the following year.

  Nearing the end of their 10-year contract to produce Superman stories in 1946, they sued National over rights to the characters.

It was after the World War II when DC produced Superboy, a hero with similar features and story to the one that Siegel and Shuster proposed. They once again sued DC over the Superman rights. They won in the hearing and was compensated with a big amount of money. However, compared to the millions that the company earned for producing such character, the duo artists were not given justice.

In his later works, Siegel used the pseudonym “Joe Carter”. He was invited by DC Comics’ editor Julius Schwartz invited Siegel to write an “imaginary” final story for Superman in 1986. He declined the offer.

  Being one of the most creative writers in his time, he was inducted into the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1993.

Siegel died on January 28, 1996 in Los Angeles. He maybe one of the many authors who succeeded in creating their masterpieces, but only few can actually recall their names.
This is one of the sad realities in an artist’s life. Everybody knows the superhero. Everyone knows the line “It’s a bird…it’s a plane…It’s Superman”. On the contrary, try to ask them one by one if who created the legendary character; you’ll be surprised of their answers. Some will surely give you a blank stare or a nod but the exact name or names that you want to hear, they simply forgot.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Siegel

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=343

http://www.comic-art.com/biographies/siegel01.html