Paul Baerwald

Paul Baerwald (born September 27, 1871 in Frankfurt am Main ; † July 2, 1961 in New York City ) was a German-Jewish investment banker who co-founded the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee ( JDC ) in 1914 and headed it for many years. The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare , founded in 1958 with the support of JDC at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to train social workers, is named after him.

Life

Paul Baerwald's father, Hermann Baerwald , was director of the Jewish philanthropist in Frankfurt for 31 years . His son Paul Baerwald left Germany at the age of 19 to join the investment company Speyer & Brothers in London. In 1895 he was sent to New York City, where he became a partner at Lazard Freres in 1907 . He withdrew from this engagement in 1930 in order to devote himself entirely to his philanthropic work.

In 1909, Paul Baerwald married Edith Jacobi in New York (* 1878 in San Francisco - † August 8, 1965 in Neptune New Jersey ). Elisabeth Jacobi's parents were both of German descent. The mother's family, the Brandensteins, settled as peddlers in San Francisco during the time of the California gold rush . Her father came to America as an immigrant and together with his brother settled in California as a wine merchant. The two Jacobi brothers founded a successful wine trading company in San Francisco and married both Brandenstein sisters.

Edith first came to New York at the age of 12 and from then on remained closely connected on the east coast. She attended school here and was involved in voluntary social work. She was particularly active as a dance teacher in the settlement houses on the Lower East Side , where she made friends with Jewish women from the socially and economically disadvantaged classes.

During her life together with Paul Baerwald, she actively participated in the work of the JDC. Many other Jewish and social institutions were co-founded or actively supported by her. Andrea Lieber recognizes Edith Jacobi Baerwald as someone who recognized "the important role that social work played in improving the lives of poor and oppressed Jews and non-Jews in the United States and Europe" and who provided assistance through personal commitment.

Paul and Edith Baerwald had four children: a son, Herman, and three daughters, Pauline Falk, Jane Aron and Florence Doubilet. They all carried on the social tradition of their parents. Pauline Falk was President of the Jewish Family Services and founder of the New Lincoln School in New York, an institution dedicated to advanced education.

In 1914 Paul Baerwald was involved in founding the Joint Distribution Committee , from which the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) emerged as chairman and in the first years of the JDC one of its most important personalities was Felix M. Warburg , whom Baerwald was a loyal supporter and friend has been. “Baerwand was a very different person from Warburg, with his warm and dedicated personality. Baerwald was a serious but rather shy man. Baerwald tended to be cautious and cautious about where Warburg was innovative. Baerwald always wanted to do what the powers that be considered 'right'; he certainly had the courage to defend his convictions - but his convictions […] usually corresponded to the most cautious interpretation of a situation. Baerwald was more convincing in direct personal contact, where his overwhelming desire to do good and his great seriousness became apparent. As a chairman of JDC in the 1930s and after Warburg's death, he was rather a pale figure compared to his predecessor. "

Baerwald had withdrawn from his work at Lazard Freres in 1930 and initially worked as treasurer of the JDC and then from 1932 as its chairman. From 1945 until his death he was honorary chairman of the organization. In addition to his work for JDC , Baerwald served on President Franklin D. Roosevelt 's Advisory Committee on Political Refugees during World War II . He was a close friend of New York Governor and Senator Herbert H. Lehman , with whom he worked on JDC projects as well as other public and philanthropic projects. Baerwald was the founder and treasurer of the nonprofit New York Foundation and treasurer of the Palestine Economic Corporation , the Wollman Foundation, and the Solomon and Betty Loeb Memorial Home for Convalescents .

In 1949 , based on a concept by the Hungarian-born Philip Klein, professor at the New York School of Social Work (today's Columbia University School of Social Work ), the JDC founded a school in Versailles , in which social workers were trained, to provide support for the Jews in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East should accomplish. Heinrich Selver became the first director of this school, named after Paul Baerwald . The school was temporarily closed in 1954 and re-established in 1958 as the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Paul Baerwald died on July 2, 1961 in New York.

swell

Columbia University Libraries Archival Collections: Biographical Notes on the Paul Baerwald Papers, 1857-1961 bulk 1907-1950 . A detailed overview of the archival material can be found on The Papers Of Paul Baerwald .
undated portrait of Paul Baerwald .
Jewish Telegraphic Agency: JDC Honors Paul Baerwald Who Marks His 80th Birthday Today .
Andrea Lieber: EDITH JACOBI BAERWALD 1878 - 1965 , in: Jewish Women's Archive.

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ Unless otherwise specified, the presentation follows the biographical notes on the Paul Baerwald Papers in the Columbia University archive .
↑ ^a ^b Andrea Lieber names 1908 as the marriage date. Further information on Edith Jacobi follows Andrea Lieber.
^ New Lincoln School : "a private experimental coeducational school"
↑ For the founding history of JDC, see the introductory chapter of: Yehuda Bauer: The Guardian of My Brother. A History of the American Jewish United Distribution Committee, 1929-1939
↑ Yehuda Bauer: The Guardian of My Brother , Chapter 1.1. The structures of the joint and the leading people
^ New York Foundation: Who We Are & How We Work ; New York Foundation
^ Palestine Economic Corporation
^ FOUNDATION SET UP BY KATE WOLLMAN , The New York Times, June 13, 1938
↑ Guide to the Solomon and Betty Loeb Memorial Home for Convalescents annual reports, 1931-1934
^ Jewish Virtual Library: Philip Klein
↑ The institution's current homepage does not contain any information on the prehistory, but rather begins the historical overview with the year 1958. ( History of the School )

personal data
SURNAME	Baerwald, Paul
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German-Jewish investment banker, co-founder of the Joint Distribution Committee
DATE OF BIRTH	September 27, 1871
PLACE OF BIRTH	Frankfurt am Main
DATE OF DEATH	July 2nd, 1961
Place of death	New York City

[1] Unless otherwise specified, the presentation follows the biographical notes on the Paul Baerwald Papers in the Columbia University archive .

[Rieber-2] Andrea Lieber names 1908 as the marriage date. Further information on Edith Jacobi follows Andrea Lieber.

[3] New Lincoln School : "a private experimental coeducational school"

[4] For the founding history of JDC, see the introductory chapter of: Yehuda Bauer: The Guardian of My Brother. A History of the American Jewish United Distribution Committee, 1929-1939

[5] Yehuda Bauer: The Guardian of My Brother , Chapter 1.1. The structures of the joint and the leading people

[6] New York Foundation: Who We Are & How We Work ; New York Foundation

[7] Palestine Economic Corporation

[8] FOUNDATION SET UP BY KATE WOLLMAN , The New York Times, June 13, 1938

[9] Guide to the Solomon and Betty Loeb Memorial Home for Convalescents annual reports, 1931-1934

[10] Jewish Virtual Library: Philip Klein

[11] The institution's current homepage does not contain any information on the prehistory, but rather begins the historical overview with the year 1958. ( History of the School )