the world of private banking
the world of private banking
the world of private banking
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254<br />
THE WORLD OF PRIVAtE BANKING<br />
wealth to philanthropy was not unusual for nineteenth-century businessmen <strong>of</strong><br />
all religious persuasions, though few could make donations to match <strong>the</strong> size and<br />
range <strong>of</strong> those <strong>of</strong> Hirsch.<br />
He had become active in humane causes before his son’s death, probably due<br />
to his wife’s influence but also to his observing <strong>the</strong> poverty <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Jews <strong>of</strong> Turkey<br />
and <strong>the</strong> Balkans as he travelled in connection with his railway transactions. He<br />
primarily exerted himself to relieve <strong>the</strong> poverty and persecution suffered by Jews<br />
in Turkey, <strong>the</strong> Balkans, and later in Russia and Galicia. Clara had been secretary<br />
to her fa<strong>the</strong>r when he was a member <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> General Committee <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Alliance<br />
Israélite Universelle, which was <strong>the</strong> major channel for assistance from rich Jews<br />
<strong>of</strong> prosperous parts <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>world</strong> to <strong>the</strong> poor and persecuted. Hirsch also became a<br />
committee member in 1876. In December 1873 he donated a million francs to <strong>the</strong><br />
Alliance for <strong>the</strong> fur<strong>the</strong>rance <strong>of</strong> education in Turkey. From 1879 he contributed an<br />
annual 50,000 francs for <strong>the</strong> artisans training scheme <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Alliance. From 1882<br />
he underwrote its large annual deficit, keeping it in independent existence. In 1882<br />
he contributed a million francs to an emergency fund for refugees from <strong>the</strong> Russian<br />
pogroms. By <strong>the</strong> time <strong>of</strong> his death he had donated at least 12 million francs to <strong>the</strong><br />
Alliance. An equivalent amount went primarily for <strong>the</strong> education and training <strong>of</strong><br />
Jews in Austria, in <strong>the</strong> face <strong>of</strong> opposition from <strong>the</strong> government <strong>of</strong> Austria. In 1889<br />
he opened welfare agencies in towns in central and eastern Europe, dispensing<br />
aid to those in need. These also he supervised closely. His policy was only to give<br />
relief in such a way as positively to assist people to become self-supporting, for<br />
example through acquiring training or <strong>the</strong> tools <strong>of</strong> a trade. He claimed not to give<br />
to communities which had substantial o<strong>the</strong>r sources <strong>of</strong> relief, such as <strong>the</strong> poor <strong>of</strong><br />
London and Paris, though he evidently made an exception for <strong>the</strong> hospital charities<br />
favoured by <strong>the</strong> Prince <strong>of</strong> Wales.<br />
He sought to introduce relief schemes in Russia, but faced with <strong>the</strong> resolute<br />
opposition <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> government, sought instead to assist mass emigration <strong>of</strong> Jews.<br />
He gave large sums to poor Jews arriving in America through <strong>the</strong> Baron de Hirsch<br />
Fund, which was established in 1891.<br />
Above all, Hirsch wished to establish and endow a safe Jewish colony. He<br />
initially expected this to be located somewhere in <strong>the</strong> Americas, through <strong>the</strong><br />
instrument <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Jewish Colonization Society which he established in 1891,<br />
with headquarters in London, to raise money for this enterprise and make it a<br />
reality. It was floated with a capital <strong>of</strong> £2 million issued in shares <strong>of</strong> £100 each.<br />
He held 19,993 <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se, <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs being taken up by prominent London Jews. He<br />
distributed his shares around prominent European Jewish organizations. He was<br />
to invest at least £38 million in this enterprise before his death. He had high hopes<br />
<strong>of</strong> establishing a colony in Argentina, where a large amount <strong>of</strong> land was purchased<br />
and Jews settled. Smaller colonies were funded elsewhere, including Palestine,<br />
after Hirsch’s death.<br />
Jewish colonization had become <strong>the</strong> centre <strong>of</strong> Hirsch’s life and <strong>of</strong> his incessant<br />
work (though his financial dealings never ceased) by <strong>the</strong> time <strong>of</strong> his sudden death in<br />
Hungary in 1896. He was interred in <strong>the</strong> family vault at <strong>the</strong> Montmartre Cemetery,