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Mór Brett

Mór Brett (1841-1919)

Teacher, school principal. He was born in Érsekújvár (then Neuhäusel, today Nové Zámky, Slovakia) in 1841, died in Balassagyarmat on 14. March 1919. 

He was the first principal of the Israelite Elementary School which was located in "Új utca" (today Hunyadi st.). (The elementary school lasted for 4 years in the contemporary school system starting with grade 1 and culminating with grade 4).  Mór Brett was also the notary of the school board. He served for 48 years as a leading teacher.

The Israelite Elementary School lived its golden age in the 1880-s under his management.  In 1887-283 children between 6 and 10 years of age (134 girls and 149 boys) attended  the school. It had the most pupils (327 children) in the school year 1889/1890.

In 1887 a comprehensive decription was published about the educational situation of Balassagyarmat in the county newspaper "Nógrádi Lapok - Honti Híradó" (Nógrád Papers - Hont News) in several issues. At this time in the city kindergaten 82 of the 113 children were Jewish. In the six classes of the "stately funded  higher elementary (civil) boys' school"
86 of the total 143 pupils, in the girls' school 38 of the 59 pupils were Jewish.
From 1873 in the higher elementary school Mór Brett was the taecher of the religious education for the girls.

„The local public elementary school of the Israelites, as we  happily commemorated on the columns of our newspaper in the previous years, is under very careful teaching and patriotic education. The unbiased, objective listener can be easily convinced by the results of the year exams, which pass the most stringent criticism." - as they wrote. 

He wrote and published several textbooks for elementary school pupils (German language practicioner, Hungarian grammar, biblical stories and religious education books) When he was retired he set up a foundation of 200 Korona. The county newspaper "Nógrádi Lapok - Honti Híradó" (Nógrád Papers - Hont News) greeted him in the occasion of his retirement as a man who "immigrated from abroad and Hungarianised"  and who was the principal of the Israelite elementary school for decades.  Nógrád County celebrated him with gifts and  with a reception. The newspaper notes that until this time the celebrated didn't received any permanent recognition from the "rich faith commune of Balassagyarmat".

His son, dr. József Somló lawyer later became the president of the local Social Democratic Party (SzDP).

His main works:

  • Mór Brett and Adolf Singer: German practicioner on grammatic bases for public elementary schools teaching in in Hungarian language. For first grade pupils.  Balassagyarmat, 1889. 
  •                                                      2nd. revised and expanded edition. Balassagyarmat, 1894.     
  • Mór Brett and Adolf Singer: Hungarian grammar for second grade pupils of  public elementary schools. Part I. Balassagyarmat, 1892.
  •                                                      id. Part II. For third grade pupils. Balassagyarmat, 1892.
  •                                                      id. Part III. For fourth grade pupils. Balassagyarmat, 1892.
  • Mór Brett: Biblical stories and religious education for jewish public schools. By the generally accepted curriculum. 2nd. expanded edition. Balassagyarmat, 1889.
  •                                                      3rd, expanded and revised edition. Balassagyarmat, 1894.
  •                                                      4th, expanded and revised edition. Balassagyarmat, 1898.

 

Sources:

 

(Yechiel)

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