Alfred Cohn was born in Berlin in 1890. He studied medicine at the universities in Berlin and Göttingen though his studies were interrupted by World War I. During the war he was stationed in Belgium where he worked as an assistant surgeon as a member of Infantry Regiment No. 360. In 1916 he married Edith Buchholz of Hannover. Following the war he returned to Berlin and completed his medical studies, acquiring the title of Doctor in 1919. He specialized in venereal diseases and was affiliated with the Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases. When in 1933 his license was revoked as a result of anti-Semitic legislation he immediately left Germany, living initially in London and in 1934 emigrating to the United States. Here he was successful in establishing himself anew and received his license to practice medicine in the United States already in 1934. He died in 1965.
From the guide to the Alfred Cohn Collection, 1899-1965, (Leo Baeck Institute Archives)
