Sigmund Feist (Mainz, 12 June 1865–Copenhagen, 23 March 1943) was aGerman Jewish pedagogue and historical linguist. He was the author of theGermanic substrate hypothesis as well as a number of important works concerningJewish ethnic and racial identity. Feist served as the director of theJewish Reichenheim Orphanage inBerlin from 1906 to 1935. In 1907 he became a member of theGesellschaft der Freunde society.
Feist emigrated toDenmark in 1939 where he died four years later.
As director of the Reichenheim Orphanage, Feist established and maintained close relationships with his wards, 77 of whom corresponded with him during their time of service in theFirst World War. The correspondence consists of 745 letters which Feist received between the years 1914 and 1918, and offers a glimpse into the lives of Jewish soldiers who served in World War I.
Several of the soldiers who wrote the letters later went on to attain notoriety in academic circles, an example beingHermann Teuchert.
The collected correspondence has been archived in theCentrum Judaicum of theNew Synagogue in Berlin since 1995. The letters were published as a collection in 2002.
