Encyclopaedia Judaica

Aid organization: anti-Zionist Hilfsverein (Relief Organization)

Hilfsverein founded in 1901 analogue Alliance Israélite Universelle - German and Hebrew - conferences - financial aid - weekly 1905-1914 - "organized emigration" - blocking kaiser - anti-Zionist line against racist Herzl Zionists - emigration by Hilfsverein 1921-1936: about 350,000 - overseas emigration by Hilfsverein 1933-1941: over 90,000

Encyclopaedia Judaica (1971): [[anti-Zionist]] Hilfsverein [[Relief Organization]], vol. 8, col. 480: Children's home in Kaunas, Lithuania, built in 1931 with aid from the Hilfsverein der Deutschen Juden. From: "Bericht ueber die Arbeit des Hilfsvereins der Deutschen Juden", Berlin 1932

from: [[anti-Zionist]] Hilfsverein [[Relief Organization]]; In: Encyclopaedia Judaica 1971, vol. 8

presented by Michael Palomino (2008)

[[Introduction
Within the big anti-Semitism waves in Europe (provoked by "nationalism") the Hilfsverein was first promoting Jewish installations in Palestine, but then it turned against Zionism and was an island of help for the Jews. It was a help for independent emigration without racist Zionist orders and without the war trap of Palestine as an emigration destination]].

[Relief Organization founded in 1901 analogue the Alliance Israélite Universelle - German and Hebrew - Hebrew school system in Palestine set up]

<HILFSVEREIN DER DEUTSCHEN JUDEN ("Relief Organization of German Jews"), German Jewish organization founded in 1901 to improve the social and political conditions of the Jews in eastern Europe and the Orient.

The Hilfsverein was planned as a central body for German Jewry on the lines of the French *Alliance Israélite Universelle, and its establishment was opposed by the Alliance; some of the German members of the latter created the Deutsche Conferenz Gemeinschaft within the framework of their own organization. On occasions the Hilfsverein policy was guided by pro-German political objectives such as the introduction of German language teaching in its schools in the Balkans and Ottoman Empire.

The Hilfsverein established in Palestine a school system from kindergarten to teachers' training college level, with Hebrew as the language of instruction. The attempt to introduce teaching in German at the planned Haifa *Technion in 1913 caused an international furor in [[racist]] Zionist circles.

[Conferences in 1903 and 1905 after pogroms of 1903 - financial aid after 1905 revolution - weekly 1905-1914 - help only for "organized emigration" - kaiser blocking emigration from Russia]

After the Kishinev pogrom, the Hilfsverein called the Vienna Conference of 1903 to organize relief of Russian Jewry, and a similar conference in London in 1905. During the 1905 revolution in Russia it gave financial help to the self-defense groups of the [[Social-Democrat]] Bund and [[racist]] Zionists.

From 1905 to 1914 the Hilfsverein (col. 479)

published a weekly, Russische Korrespondenz [[Russian Correspondence]], in German, English, and French, on the position of the Jews and the liberal and revolutionary movements in Russia. [[The indication of the ideology of the Jews is missing]]. Following a policy of assisting only "organized emigration" of Rumanian [[Romanian]] Jews, the Hilfsverein decided in 1902 not to help those emigrants who were stranded in [[racist kaiser]] Germany, but instead to help the Jews in Rumania itself. The Hilfsverein became the agent of Jacob *Schiff's project to help Russian Jews to emigrate to the southern United States (the Galveston plan), but in view of the autocratic nature of the German [[racist kaiser]] regime was unwilling and unable to assist Jewish emigration to [[racist kaiser]] Germany.

On the eve of World War I the Hilfsverein had over 10,000 members in [[racist kaiser]] Germany, and followers in America, Russia, and Palestine.

[WW I: sharp conflicts with racist Zionists - collaboration with Joint - dominating racist Zionism since 1919]

During the war the Hilfsverein assisted in interdenominational relief work in the occupied territories in eastern Europe and distributed American relief funds. However, the assimilationist policy of the Hilfsverein and its eastern European agencies provoked sharp conflicts with the [[racist]] Zionists and other anti-assimilationist groups. As a result the *American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee began to participate to a greater degree in the allocation of funds formally channeled through the Hilfsverein.

After the defeat of Germany, the Hilfsverein ceased to play a major role in international Jewish matters

[[because in 1917 racist Empire Britain gave the Balfour Declaration, and because the Paris peace conference had acknowledged the Jewish religion as a "nation" and by this, the racist national Jewish Zionists were more and more dominating all Jewish communities]]

but joined the Alliance and other non-Zionist organization, though it refused to take part in the efforts for united Jewish representation at the League of Nations.

[About 350,000 Jews emigrated by Hilfsverein from 1921 to 1936 - local aid work in Germany since 1933 - anti-Zionist Hilfsverein advises to postpone emigration - all emigration destinations but Palestine - end in 1941 - over 90,000 Jews emigrated by Hilfsverein to overseas countries 1933-1941]

Through its 290 local committees in Germany (in 1930), the Hilfsverein concentrated mainly on helping Jewish emigration from and via Germany (about 350,000 between 1921 and 1936). After the advent of the Nazi Reich, the Hilfsverein (which in 1935 had to change its name to Hilfsverein der Juden in Deutschland, "Relief Organization of Jews in Germany") was unable to continue with relief work abroad. The Hilfsverein initially advised German Jewry to postpone emigration as long as possible but was forced by circumstances to aid those who wished to leave for destinations other than Palestine. It was officially dissolved in 1939 though it continued to exist until 1941 as an emigration section of the *Reichsvertretung der Juden in Deutschland [[Reich Deputation of German Jews]].

Between 1933 and 1941 the Hilfsverein assisted over 90,000 persons to emigrate to overseas countries, with the exception of Palestine. Leading personalities of the Hilfsverein were James *Simon (president until 1932), Eugen *Landau, Paul *Nathan, and Max M. *Warburg.

[[It's a pity that precise emigration data for every year and destination are missing. The relations to the Arabs as a non-Zionist organization is not mentioned either. It seems that the Hilfsverein knew about Middle East Conflict and did not want to lead the Jews into the war trap in Palestine]].

Bibliography

-- Festschrift anlaesslich der Feier des 25-jaehrigen Bestehens des Hilfsvereins (1926)
-- Z. Szajkowski, in: JSOS, 13 (1951), 47-70; 19 (1957), 29-50; 22 (1960), 131-58
-- idem, in: YLBI, 9 (1964), 131-58
-- Kahn, in: Die Arbeit des Hilfsvereins ... (1931), 77-82
-- E. Feder, in: HJ, 14 (1952), 3-26
-- E. Cohen: Mi-Zikhronot Ish Yerushalayim, 2 vols. (1933-36) [[...]] > (col. 480)

Sources

Encyclopaedia Judaica (1971): [[anti-Zionist]] Hilfsverein [[Relief Organization]], vol. 8, col. 479-480