On May 6, 1934, friends and family assembled to bid a final farewell to Mr. Anton Felberbaum (b. in Vienna 1901), who died at his home on Jinkee Road under tragic circumstances. An Austrian by birth with a war record, the deceased was a member of the freemason lodge Lux Orientis of Shanghai. Master Dr. Frederick Reiss spoke on behalf of Felberbaum’s brothers, then prayers were offered.*
The banner of the Shanghai freemason lodge Lux Orientis; note the Temple of Heaven (天壇) and bagua (八卦) embroidery (L) and Frederick Reiss’ name (M)(Liveauctioneers.com) AND Dr. F. Reiss in 1933 (Israel’s Messenger via Brill)
“The Light of the Orient” – Lux Orientis was established in 1932 in Shanghai by the renowned Hungarian-Austrian dermatologist professor Frederick Reiss. Uniting a multinational membership, the lodge was formed mostly by former Austro-Hungarian soldiers who fled Russian captivity to China after World War One. In addition to the other, mostly English-speaking lodges already existing in the Far Eastern metropolis, Lux Orientis aimed to unite German-speaking freemasons. Initially, the lodge adhered to the Grand Lodge of Vienna (Grossloge von Wien), maintaining its transcontinental ties for almost a decade. However, following the Austrian freemasonry’s dissolution after the 1938 Nazi occupation (Anschluss), the fraternity continued to operate independently until 1947.
Dr. Reiss (b. Sámuel Reisz, aka Frigyes/Friedrich Reisz in Nemesvölgy/Edelstahl in 1891), was a Hungarian-born Jewish physician who sometime during the 1920s became an Austrian citizen. Reiss went to the Pozsony (Pressburg, today Bratislava, Slovakia) Catholic Highschool, then graduated from the Budapest Royal Hungarian University (today’s Semmelweiss University). Traveling extensively in Europe, he studied under many famous physicians and later specialized in skin diseases. Due to Hungary’s rising antisemitic environment, Reiss left for Shanghai in 1922, where he quickly became a renowned dermatologist coveted by hospitals and universities. Among other things, Reiss founded China’s first National Leprosarium and later became a leader of Shanghai’s medical assistance efforts, provided to Jewish refugees fleeing Hitler’s Europe. Reiss left China for the United States in 1941, just before Pearl Harbor, and spent four decades and a remarkable career in New York City. He was a socially active man; wherever he went, he participated in organizing the community. His involvement in freemasonry must be seen as a manifestation of his interest in philanthropy and, of course, fellowship with like-minded men.
There is much yet to be explored about the Shanghai freemason lodge Lux Orientis. However, one thing seems to be certain. As another node in the network of Central European connections in Republican China, it will definitely be a fascinating object if inquiry!
LEARN MORE about Dr.Frederick Reiss and Shanghai’s post-Habsburg (Austrians, Czechoslovaks, and Hungarians) diaspora by joining my talk via Zoom on Thursday, October 22.!
References
*freely based on contemporary newspaper reports from Shanghai:
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