Abraham Silberschein
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Adolf Henryk Silberschein, also known as Abraham Silberschein (born March 30, 1882, in
Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
,
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, today
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
, died December 30, 1951, in
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
,
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) was a Polish-Jewish lawyer, activist of the
World Jewish Congress The World Jewish Congress (WJC) is an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations, founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress's main purpose is to act as ...
,
Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
, member of the Polish
Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...
(1922–1927). During
the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
he was a member of the
Ładoś Group Ładoś Group, Bernese Group ( or ''grupa Ładosia'', ) is a name given to a group of Polish diplomats and Jewish activists who during Second World War elaborated in Switzerland a system of illegal production of Latin American passports aimed at ...
also called the Bernese Group, an informal cooperation of
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
organizations and
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
diplomats who fabricated and smuggled illegal
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n passports to occupied Poland, saving their holders and their families from immediate deportation to German Nazi death camps.


Early life and political career

Silberschein was born in
Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
as the son of Jakub Silberschein, a dentist and his wife Anna née Polturak. He did his university studies in
Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
and
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, obtaining a PhD in law and in philosophy. After coming back, he opened a law practice in
Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
at Trybunalska Street (today Shevs'ka, ukr. Шевська). During the Interwar period, he was active in
Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
organizations, and part of the board of the short-lived Hitachdut Zionist Labor Party (Mifleget haAvoda haTzionit Hitachdut, 1925–1938). Dr. Silberschein left for
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
on August 9, 1939, three weeks before the
German invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
.


Ładoś Group and Holocaust rescue action

During
the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
, Silberschein took an active part in the attempt to save Jews by organizing passports of
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n countries. He did so under the "RELICO" Assistance Committee established in
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
and in full co-operation with the
World Jewish Congress The World Jewish Congress (WJC) is an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations, founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress's main purpose is to act as ...
. Initially, these activities had an incidental character, but in 1942–43 began to be carried out on a massive scale. Silberschein remained in close contact with Polish diplomats Juliusz Kühl, Stefan Ryniewicz and Konstanty Rokicki. He raised funds to bribe corrupted
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n honorary consuls and had the lists of beneficiaries smuggled from and into the ghettoes of the German-occupied Poland. He also collaborated with
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
vian Consul José María Barreto, later recognized as
Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...
, and probably also – independently – with consuls of
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
and
Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
. In the autumn of 1943, he was briefly arrested by the Swiss police. He then testified that he had acted on behalf of Ryniewicz and Rokicki, from whom he had learned about the passport mechanism itself and who had asked him to coordinate the activities. This way, passports could be bought in bulk, which reduced their price. Silberschein said:
''"A few months ago, I had a meeting in Bern, at the Polish Legation, with Mr Ryniewicz, first secretary of the Legation, and with Mr Rokicki, who heads the consular section in
Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
. They drew my attention to the fact that certain persons in
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
had taken on the task of providing passports from
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n countries to
Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...
who found themselves in various countries under
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occupation. Those passports enabled those concerned to obtain an improvement in their lot.'' ''It was a case of a real "black market" in passports, and those gentlemen of the Legation made known to me their desire that I should take charge of the matter; I accepted the proposal in the name of RELICO. That way, those concerned could avoid having to pay enormous sums of money. I can state that 80% of the passports were paid for by the Universal Committee of Jewry.'' ''I reached an agreement with Mr Rockicki of the consular section of the Polish legation in Bern, who took on the task, which he still has, of handing passports from Paraguay over to me"''.Abraham Silberschein's interrogation, 9/1/1943, Federal Archives in Bern
The bearers of the passports were interned by the Germans as citizens of neutral countries, and not deported to the death camps as most of the Polish Jewish population. ''"I must say that the difference in treatment was enormous, and that one could even say that often, in that way, the person concerned escaped death"'', he testified. According to the Swiss police reports Rokicki hand-filled the Paraguayan passports and delivered the bribes to Hügli sometimes helped by his
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
subordinate,
attaché In diplomacy, an attaché () is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified ac ...
Juliusz Kühl. The head of the Legation,
Aleksander Ładoś Aleksander Wacław Ładoś lɛ'ksandɛr 'wadoɕ(27 December 1891 – 29 December 1963) was a Polish politician and diplomat, who 1940–45 headed the Legation of Poland to Switzerland. Ładoś was a member and de facto leader of the Ładoś ...
and his deputy Stefan Ryniewicz would secure the diplomatic coverage of the action and intervened with the police.Heinrich Rothmund's note one meeting with Stefan Ryniewicz, 9/6/1943, Federal Archives in Bern., the MFA of Switzerland. and the Legation of the US1. Silberschein stated he had acted 'only for a charitable end' and 'in full cooperation with the Polish diplomatic authorities in Switzerland'. . Silberschein also testified to have obtained a number of passports from the consulates of
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
,
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
and
Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
. After the arrest of Silberschein, counsel Stefan Ryniewicz successfully intervened in his defense with police chief Heinrich Rothmund.


Legacy and later life

It is estimated that the actions of the
Ładoś Group Ładoś Group, Bernese Group ( or ''grupa Ładosia'', ) is a name given to a group of Polish diplomats and Jewish activists who during Second World War elaborated in Switzerland a system of illegal production of Latin American passports aimed at ...
have saved the lives of hundreds of people – mostly
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
and
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Jews who survived as holders of Paraguay's passports after Paraguay – pressured by
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
and the
Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
recognized the validity of the latter. In the case of Silberschein, this number should also include some of the survivors thanks to other passports, mostly Honduran ones. The role of the Legation of Poland in producing and obtaining the latter is unclear. After the war Silberschein remained in
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
, where he married Fanny Schulthess-Hirsch, the Director of the International Committee for the Placement of Intellectual Refugees. He died on December 30, 1951, in
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
and is buried in the local Jewish cemetery.


See also

* Chaim Yisroel Eiss


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silberschein, Abraham 1882 births 1951 deaths Ładoś Group members Lawyers from Lviv Politicians from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Jews from Austria-Hungary Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) Jewish Polish politicians Polish Zionists Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1922–1927) Polish exiles People who rescued Jews during the Holocaust Recipients of the Virtus et Fraternitas Medal 20th-century Ukrainian lawyers Zionists from Austria-Hungary