Kahn, Bernhard 1876-1955

Berhard Kahn was born on April 9, 1876, in Oscarshamm, Sweden, as the son of Jacob and Jetta (Sandel) Kahn. He studied law and economics in the University of Wuerzburg where he received his LLD in 1899.

After the pogrom in Kishineff (Kishinev) in 1903, Dr. Kahn joined the protest movement against the oppression of Jews and in 1904 became Secretary-General of the Hilfsverein der Deutschen Juden . The following 50 years of his life he devoted 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. He successively became a German, French and U.S. citizen. When he migrated to the U.S. in 1939 Dr. Kahn was elected Honorary Chairman of the JDC European Council, a post which he held until 1950 when he was elected a JDC Vice-Chairman.

On April 26, 1955 Bernhard Kahn died in White Plains, New York, at the age of 79, leaving behind his wife, Mrs. Dora F. Kahn and his son, Ludwig Werner Kahn.

From the guide to the Bernhard Kahn Collection, 1901-1955, (Leo Baeck Institute)