Wilfrid B. Israel

Wilfrid ( born July 11, 1899 in London, † June 1, 1943 in the Gulf of Biscay ) was a philanthropist and businessman.

Life

With 22 years of Israel entered the traditional department store in Berlin Nathan Israel, Spandau 28, his father a Berthold Israel ( 1868-1935 ). There he founded an in-house school for commercial apprentices. He sat by that social worker for the care of the employees were hired in his father's department stores.

In 1928 he took over the commercial management of the company together with his brother Herbert Israel.

After the Nazis ' seizure of power " in 1933 Israel founded several organizations that exclusively catered to the needs of the Jewish emigrants. The best known among them were the central committee for relief and reconstruction, and the Children and Youth Aliyah. The Relief Association of Jews in Germany called Israel in 1937 in its Board of Directors.

In 1939, when the political pressure became too great, Israel had to give up the family business, founded in 1938 Emil Köster AG; while it was a " sham linearization ", as the Emil Köster AG which in 1931 from Germany emigrated, the Jewish entrepreneur Jakob Michael was what the Nazi authorities, however, was unknown. Israel emigrated to London and served there as a liaison between government agencies and Jewish refugee organizations. He was a friend to Solz at Balliol College, Oxford, with Adam von Trott. He worked as a consultant for the Royal Institute of International Affairs.

In 1943 he organized the emigration of Jewish refugees from Spain and Portugal to Palestine. On the return flight from Lisbon to London Israel was shot down by the Luftwaffe over the Bay of Biscay. Also on board was the film star Leslie Howard.

Honor

In October 2004, a stumbling stone in front of the former site of the department store Nathan Israel, Berlin -Mitte, Spandau road 26-32 (today Spandauerstrasse 17) laid.

Museum

The Wilfrid Israel Museum, Kibbutz Hazorea shows since 1951, the art collection of Wilfried Israel.