Council of Jews from Germany
COUNCIL OF JEWS FROM GERMANY
COUNCIL OF JEWS FROM GERMANY , organization representing the German-speaking Jewish émigrés of the Nazi period from Central Europe. Originally known as the Council for the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Jews from Germany, the Council was established in 1945 by the American Federation of Jews from Central Europe, the Association of Jewish Refugees in Great Britain, Irgun Olej Merkas Europa (formerly Hitachduth Olej Germania w'Austria) in Tel Aviv, and also joined by some refugee organizations from Belgium and France, by Centra, and the Union of Jewish Communities in Latin America in Montevideo. The Council cooperated with leading Jewish organizations dealing with restitution and compensation from Germany and Austria, and was a founding member of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. It has established and supports social welfare agencies and looks after the various interests of German-speaking victims of the Nazi era living outside Germany and Austria, especially in the care of aging refugees, and maintains a link with the cultural past of German-speaking Jews through publications and conferences and the support of cultural institutions. The Council initiated the establishment of the United Restitution Organization (*URO) in March 1947 and in 1954 founded the *Leo Baeck Institute, Rabbi Leo Baeck serving as the first president of the Council. The goals of the Council are to act as the organizational framework for German-speaking Jews worldwide, and to commemorate and preserve the achievements of their heritage for future generations.
[Shalom Adler-Rudel /
Saul Kagan (2nd ed.)]