YIVO Receives the Archive of Zishe Siegmund Breitbart

Sep 29, 2025

“If there were a thousand Breitbarts, the war against the Jews would end!”

— Zishe Breitbart

On the 100th anniversary of his death, the Archive of Zishe Siegmund Breitbart, the Jewish Superman, was donated to YIVO.

Hailed as the “Strongest Man in the World” in Pre-Nazi Germany, the internationally renowned Breitbart was the powerful defender against a proliferation of virulent antisemitism. Fighting against destiny, his impassioned speeches of defiance gave hope and inspiration to the downtrodden masses of Jews.

There are many who believe, with good reason, that Zishe Breitbart was the inspiration for Jerry Siegal and Joe Shuster to create the iconic superhero, SUPERMAN.

The fact that Breitbart’s fame came as the result of his physical strength made his body into the battleground upon which the conflicts of the time were waged. In Germany, where his performances attracted the most attention, antisemites branded him a swindler and, by extension, maligned the Jewish people as a whole; his appearances often provoked bitter antisemitic demonstrations. Breitbart quickly became a symbol of Jewish empowerment, shattering the image of a weakling Jew. The adulation of the Jewish masses led him to believe that he was destined to uplift Jewish honor and play an important role in the redemption of his people. A staunch Zionist, he galvanized that movement aimed at regaining Jewish political power and conquering the ancient land of Israel by strength of force. With missionary fanaticism he preached Jewish might will liberate the Jewish people. His audiences were infected with his fiery self-confident enthusiasm. He was aware of the martyr’s role he was to play.

After his unrivaled successful tour of America, he returned to Poland. While driving a large nail through a stack of boards with his bare hand, he accidentally stabbed the nail into his knee, from which he would later develop blood poisoning. He died tragically 12 weeks later at the age of 32. For a brief time, we had a Jewish folk hero, but that flame was extinguished and dark clouds descended upon European Jews.

After 65 years of dedicated research, the archive is being donated by Gary Bart, a grand-nephew to Breitbart. It includes first hand accounts, biographies and autobiographies, seven filing drawers of newspaper, magazine articles from numerous countries, original photographs, photo postcards, programs, correspondence, honorary coins and stamps, original art work, original circus posters, physical culture course, exercise routines, tape measure, scripts, movies, and more.