Papers on Otto Schiff

Otto Schiff was born in Frankfurt am Main on 8 May 1875 to Philipp and Bertha (née Dreyfus) Schiff. He came from a distinguished family of bankers. Schiff arrived in London in 1896, where he established the stockbroking firm Bourke, Schiff & Co. In 1901 he became a British subject. Schiff also devoted himself to charitable work on behalf of Jewish immigrants, working on the Jewish Board of Guardians and the Jews’ Temporary Shelter. He developed a good working relationship with the Aliens Department at the Home Office. During the First World War, he not only supported Belgian Jewish refugees but also enlisted in the Royal Artillery as a Gunner and fought on the Western Front.

In March 1933, in response to the Nazi accession to power, he helped set up the Jewish Refugees Committee. Soon he devoted himself entirely to this position, and he played an important part in shaping government policy on refugees. In June 1939, he was awarded a CBE for his work. During the Second World War, he continued to lobby the British government tirelessly on behalf of Jewish refugees. Contemporaries and later commentators commend him for his instrumental role in admitting 80,000 Jews to Britain as well as for his personal generosity. Some historians have criticised him for being too conciliatory vis-à-vis the British authorities. He died in London in November 1952 of a cardiac arrest.