Hirsch, Maurice Von (1831–1896)

Maurice Von Hirsch (b. 9 December 1831; d. 21 April 1896), European-born philanthropist and founder of the Jewish Colonization Association. Baron Maurice von Hirsch established himself as a generous benefactor in Jewish affairs in Europe and as an important leader in efforts to resettle European Jews in Latin America.

Born in Munich to a wealthy and influential banking family, Hirsch likewise pursued a banking career, first in his family's business, than later with the firm of Bischoffsheim and Goldschmidt. Hirsch further increased his personal fortune by investing in the railroad and sugar industries.

The Hirsch family had long been involved in assisting persecuted Jews in Europe, a tradition Hirsch continued with efforts to provide relief in Russia. Pessimistic about the future in Europe, Hirsch looked to colonization in the Americas as a new beginning for persecuted Jews. He founded the Jewish Colonization Association in London in 1891 with precisely this goal in mind.

During the late nineteenth century, Argentina welcomed the prospect of immigration from Europe, particularly to its rural agricultural areas. Thus, in 1892 the Jewish Colonization Association chose Buenos Aires as the location for its headquarters in Latin America and established colonies throughout Argentina. These colonies organized around agricultural development and livestock, provided homes for nearly thirty thousand Jews by the start of World War II, by which time the majority of new settlers had emigrated, to escape the rise of Nazism in Germany.

As his legacy, Maurice von Hirsch left not only a tremendous personal fortune but also an association which after his death became one of the world's largest charitable organizations.

See alsoArgentina: The Twentieth Century; Jews; Livestock.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Theodore Norman, An Outstretched Arm: A History of the Jewish Colonization Association (1985).

Additional Bibliography

Sheinin, David, and Lois Baer Barr. The Jewish Diaspora in Latin America: New Studies on History and Literature. New York: Garland Publishers, 1996.

Zablotsky, Edgardo Enrique. Filantropía no asistencialista: El caso del Baron Maurice de Hirsch. Buenos Aires: Universidad del CEMA, 2004.

                                              John Dudley