Biographical/Historical Information
Berhard Kahn, born in Oscarshamm, Sweden, in 1876. He studied law and economics at the University of Wuerzburg. Following the pogrom in Kishineff (Kishinev) in 1903, and for the next fifty years, Dr. Kahn devoted his life to welfare and relief activities on behalf of needy Jews. In 1921 he joined the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) staff as director of the refugee department. From 1924 to 1939 he served as the European Director for the JDC and as Managing Director of the American Joint Reconstruction Foundation. Other titles held by Dr. Kahn during his long career included chairman of the advisory council of Oeuvre de secours aux enfants (OSE), honorary president of the American and European Friends of ORT, executive member of the Jewish Agency, and director of the Central Bank for Cooperative Institutions in Israel. In 1939, Berhard Kahn immigrated to the U.S.; he died in White Plains, New York in 1955.
Reproductions and Permissions
We welcome fair use of this content. Please credit the Leo Baeck Institute in your citation. For usage policies and to request higher resolution images, see Reproductions and Permissions.
Citation
Portrait of Bernhard Kahn / by Emile Marcovitch, Leo Baeck Institute, F 2260.