Otto Schiff (humanitarian)
Otto Moritz Schiff | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Frankfurt, Germany |
| Died | November 15, 1952 (aged 77) London, United Kingdom |
| Occupation(s) | Financier, benefactor |
| Known for | Aid to refugees, public welfare contributions |
Otto Moritz Schiff CBE (born 8 May 1875 in Frankfurt – died 15 November 1952 in London) was a prominent British Jewish financier and benefactor. He was distinguished for his dedication to aiding refugees and his contributions to public welfare, earning the MBE in 1920, OBE in 1924, and CBE in 1939. After his passing, he was recognized as a British Hero of the Holocaust.
Life and career
Born into a banking family and nephew to the German-American financier Jacob Schiff, Otto Schiff relocated to London in 1896 at the age of twenty-one. He became a partner at the merchant banking firm Bourke, Schiff and Co., which later included his brother Ernst as a partner. During the First World War, the Schiff brothers operated accommodations for Belgian refugees; Ernst was awarded an MBE in 1918 for overseeing the Poland Street Refuge.
Between 1927 and 1948, Schiff held the presidency of the Jews' Temporary Shelter in London, providing assistance to Jews escaping political oppression in Eastern Europe.
Beginning in 1933, he chaired the Jewish Refugees Committee, later renamed the German-Jewish Aid Committee, which played a crucial role in facilitating Jewish refugee settlement within Britain. Schiff successfully negotiated with British authorities to permit refugee admission on the condition that financial responsibility rested with Jewish organizations rather than the government.
His honors include an MBE awarded in 1920 for his efforts with wartime refugees, an OBE granted in 1924 recognizing his public service, and a CBE bestowed in 1939 while serving as chairman of the German Jewish Aid Committee.
In 1940, Otto Schiff was listed in the Nazi 'Black Book', identifying individuals targeted for arrest should Germany invade Britain.
In recognition of his leadership and humanitarian work during the Nazi regime, he was posthumously awarded the British Hero of the Holocaust medal in 2018.
See also
- Belgian refugees in Britain during the First World War
- Jewish refugees from German-occupied Europe in the United Kingdom
- Joan Stiebel
References
- 1875 births
- 1952 deaths
- British philanthropists
- Businesspeople from Frankfurt
- Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
- German emigrants to the United Kingdom
- Schiff family
- British investment bankers
- Rescue of Jews during the Holocaust
- British Heroes of the Holocaust
- 20th-century British Jews
- 19th-century British Jews