The Council for German Jewry was established in 1936, in the aftermath of the Nuremberg race laws, with the objective of assisting German Jews to leave Germany through coordinated emigration. It succeeded the Central British Fund for the Relief of German Jewry, which was founded in 1933, shortly after the Nazis came to power.
An agreement was reached between Zionists and non-Zionists for an emigration plan and in January 1936 a delegation of leading British Jews went to the United States in order to establish a partnership with American Jewry to raise $15 million to assist in the emigration of 100,000 German Jews aged 17 to 35. Whilst they succeeded to a certain extent, a number of factors combined to impede their efforts including British immigration policy in Palestine, emigration obstacles in Germany and the growing impoverishment of German Jewry. After the war the organisation became known as the Central British Fund for Relief and Rehabilitation.
From the guide to the Council for German Jewry: correspondence (microfilm), 1934-1939, (Wiener Library)
