For sale is a rare and historically important set of original Jewish student fraternity memorabilia from interwar Austria (circa 1930-1938).

This complete lot belonged to a member of the Zionist-Jewish academic fraternity Libanonia, affiliated to the Cartellverband Jüdischer Verbindungen (CVJV) organization.

Included in this lot:

6 original Lebensfreundschafts-Ribbons (friendship ribbons), engraved with names (e.g., Pinsl, Gutmann) and fraternity titles (e.g., s.l.l.b., s.l.c.b.), with some featuring the Star of David, Hebrew mottos, and monograms. One of them bears bears the Zionist phrase:

“בעד כבוד עמנו” – “For the honor of our people”

5 are 6*1.3 cm approx & 1 is 8.5*2.8 cm approx.

2 full ceremonial sashes (worn across the chest), in the colors of Libanonia (black–gold–purple), with embroidered Magen David (Star of David) and one marked “Pinsl.”

1 is 94*3 cm approx and the second is 120*3 cm approx. 

1 enameled fraternity stickpin, showing the fraternity’s tri-color shield.

Length is 4.5 cm approx. head of the pin is 0.4 cm approx. 

These items come from a Jewish-Zionist academic fraternity in Vienna active during the 1930s, prior to the Nazi Anschluss. Such groups were vital spaces for Jewish students banned from German nationalist fraternities. Most were disbanded or persecuted after 1938, making surviving artifacts extremely rare.

This lot provides a unique glimpse into pre-Holocaust Jewish intellectual and Zionist life in Austria.

This set originates from a private collection in Europe and belonged to a Jewish student in Vienna during the early 1930s. The items were part of the ceremonial and fraternal life of Libanonia, a Jewish-Zionist student fraternity affiliated with the Cartellverband der jüdischen Verbindungen (CVJV) - a federation of Jewish academic associations active in Austria and Germany prior to WWII.

All items were preserved together as a personal fraternity archive, passed down within the same family. This lot has never been previously offered on the open market and remains in original, unrestored condition.

Background:

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Jewish students in German-speaking Europe were barred from joining nationalist academic fraternities (Verbindungen). In response, they founded their own organizations, including Kadimah, Hasmonea, and Libanonia, which promoted Jewish identity, academic achievement, and Zionist values. These groups formed the Cartellverband Jüdischer Verbindungen (CVJV) — a powerful intellectual and cultural network.

After the Nazi rise to power in Austria in 1938, almost all Jewish fraternities were dissolved. Many members were persecuted, and the material culture of these groups was nearly erased. Very few complete collections survived — making this set an exceptional relic of Jewish student life in interwar Vienna.

Jewish student fraternity, Judaica, Libanonia, Hasmonea, Kadimah, CVJV, Austria 1930s, Zionist memorabilia, Magen David, Jewish resistance, Hebrew, Jewish academic life, Hebrew motto, Pinsl, Gutmann, Holocaust era, Jewish history.