| Popis: |
Among German Jewish refugees, my late father (1904–76) took an unusual path. Professor of Law at Breslau university aged 28, he was attacked from November 1932 by students who did not want German law taught by a Jew. After three months of intermittent rioting, the university suspended him eight weeks before the April 1933 law dismissing Jewish civil servants. In England from May 1933, he practiced as an expert in German law and qualified as a barrister. He stood guarantor for 14 family members who were saved from the fate of many others. After three wartime years in the Royal Artillery he was recruited to prepare for the occupation of Germany and the resetting of its legal system by SHAEF and the Foreign Office. Post-war he featured as expert witness in German, Swiss and international law, probably the only Jewish refugee to become a full-time barrister. He resumed his academic publications, which altogether numbered fourteen books and nearly 200 papers, was a frequent correspondent in The Times and Jewish Chronicle, and became honorary professor at Kings College London and Frankfurt (Main). Much in demand as a humorous lecturer in Jewish and wider circles, he was active in the World Jewish Congress (British Section), his Reform synagogue (of which he became president), and several Jewish cultural institutions. He was proud to be a conciliator between Germans and Jews, Zionists and non-Zionists, and Orthodox and Reform Jews. |
