Silberman, Curt C., n. 1908

Curt C. Silberman was born in Wuerzburg in 1908. He studied law in Berlin, Munich and Wuerzburg, where he received his JD in 1931. After 1933, he could no longer practice law, but he was granted permission to assist prospective emigres in economic and legal matters interpreting the stringent currency legislation. In 1935, he married Else Kleemann. He emigrated to the US in 1938 and practiced international private law in New Jersey from 1948 onwards, after receiving a JD from Rutgers University in 1947. He represented clients in restitution claims and large German corporations in the US and became a honorary trustee of the Leo Baeck Institute New York in 1962. He also served as president of the American Federation of Jews from Central Europe (1962-1986), past president of the Jewish Philanthropic Fund of 1933 (1971- 1987), past co-chairman of the Council of Jews from Germany (1974-1998), and chairman of the Research Foundation for Jewish Immigration. He established close contacts with leading prominent politicians both in the US and in Germany building bridges between Jews and Germans. In 1982, he was the principal guest lecturer at the 400th anniversary of the University of Wuerzburg. Curt Silberman died in 2002.

From the guide to the Curt C. Silberman Collection, 1930-2001, (Leo Baeck Institute Archives)