Council for German Jewry

Council for German Jewry 

The Council for German Jewry was a British Jewish organization established in 1936 to help German Jews leave Germany. British Jewish leaders instituted the Council for German Jewry in response to the racial Nuremberg Laws of 1935; they designed an emigration plan whereby 100,000 German Jews aged 17-35 could leave Germany in an organized manner. Half were to move to Palestine, and half to other countries. The CFGJ also hoped that another 100,000 German Jews would emigrate without their help. The American Joint Distribution Committee formally joined the council in 1936-08. The CFGJ was never able to achieve the prominence to which it had aspired. It was blocked by many obstacles. Nonetheless, the CFGJ was able to help almost 100,000 Jews leave Germany by the time World War II broke out. It also financed several work training programs in Germany and other countries. During the war, the CFGJ was limited to helping refugees already in Britain.