The Landesrabbinerschule was opened in 1877. It has remained a state institution, administration and staff being appointed by the government, which approved the syllabus and also administered the fund. The course of study was ten years; five years of high school and five years at the seminary proper. During the latter period students were required to enroll at the university and obtain a degree. The following were directors of the seminary: M. Bloch (1877–1907), W. Bacher (1907–13), L. Blau (1914–32), M. Guttmann (1933–42), D. S. Loewinger (1943–50), A. Scheiber (1950–: between 1952 and 1956 with E. Roth). Other well-known scholars who taught in the seminary were D. Kaufmann, I. Goldziher, S. Kohn, L. Venetianer, B. Heller, M. Weisz, D. Friedmann, S. Hevesi, and H. J. Fisher. The seminary's annual reports (1878–1917 in German, since 1921, Hungarian) generally contain scholarly essays by the teaching staff. A jubilee volume (ed. by L. Blau) was published in 1927. The learned periodical Magyar Zsid\ Szemle ("Hungarian Jewish Review," 1–65, 1884–1948) was initiated by seminary circles, as were Ha-Zofeh me-Erez Hagar (later Ha-Zofeh le-Hokhmat Yisrael, 1–15, 1911–31) and Ha-Soker (1–6, 1932–39). The Jewish Literary Society also owed its inspiration to the seminary. Its library, which began with Lelio della Torre's collection and grew to over 40,000 volumes, includes many manuscripts and incunabula. When the Nazis occupied Hungary on March 19, 1944, the seminary building was sacked. By admitting all applicants - there were 174 students registered in 1944 - it saved some young men from deportation. Ninety graduates and over 60 students died in the Holocaust. With the liberation of Hungary by the Russians in 1945, the seminary gradually rebuilt its life under the present government, though on a limited scale. It trains Hebrew teachers and has expanded the Tarbut high school with special emphasis on modern Hebrew. It maintains contact with Jewish scholars the world over. In 1970 the seminary had about 10 students.