Alfred Fleishman (June 16, 1905 – May 28, 2002) was an American businessman renowned for co-founding Fleishman-Hillard alongside his business partner Robert Hillard. Throughout his professional journey, Fleishman became known as a trailblazer in the field of

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

. He was also recognized for his contributions as an

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an ideology centered on the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotiona ...

, and advocate for the state of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Early life

Born on June 16, 1905, in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, Fleishman pursued his education at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy. Following his studies, he served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

, attaining the rank of major in the Army Air Corps during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Throughout the war, he primarily fulfilled the role of a

Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon () is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple polygon, simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simple or list of self-intersecting polygons, self-intersecting. A self-intersecting ...

-based public information officer.

Jewish community work

Appointed as a special consultant to the

Secretary of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

by the

American Jewish Congress The American Jewish Congress (AJCongress) is an association of American Jews organized to defend Jewish interests in the US and internationally through public policy advocacy, using diplomacy, legislation, and the courts. History The idea for a ...

, Fleishman embarked on a mission to war-torn

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in October 1945. There, he led a survey committee tasked with assessing the

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

, and

social needs Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a conceptualisation of the needs (or goals) that motivate human behaviour, which was proposed by the American psychologist Abraham Maslow. According to Maslow's original formulation, there are five sets of basic n ...

of displaced individuals in Germany and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. Fleishman's firsthand experience with the atrocities of 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 ...

positioned him as an early observer. His research and ensuing report played a pivotal role in raising awareness among numerous organizations in the United States regarding the plight of

Jews 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 ...

displaced by World War II. After finalizing his report, Fleishman embarked on a lecture tour across 60 cities in the United States. During these engagements, he addressed the topic of relief and rehabilitation needs for

refugees A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

, shedding light on their pressing concerns. Following his tour, Fleishman became actively engaged in various Jewish causes and broader minority affairs initiatives. As a dedicated member of the

Jewish Agency for Israel The Jewish Agency for Israel (), formerly known as the Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. It was established in 1929 as the operative branch of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). As an ...

, Fleishman undertook 57 visits to Israel spanning from 1955 to 1997. During these visits, he cultivated personal relationships with numerous founders and leaders of the state. Following his military service, Fleishman received recognition for his contributions to the rehabilitation of World War II combat casualties and amputees. Notably, he was honored with the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

award. His achievements included the creation of a widely disseminated publication titled ''Coming Home''. Additionally, he was awarded the Americanism Medal by the

Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States Armed Forces, United States war veterans who fought in wars, Military campaign, campaig ...

. Fleishman held leadership positions in several Jewish organizations, including serving as a former president of Congregation B'nai Amoona in Creve Coeur, and as a former president and campaign chairman of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis. He was also a co-founder of the

St. Louis Jewish Light The ''St. Louis Jewish Light'' is a biweekly Jewish newspaper distributed in St. Louis, Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of th ...

newspaper.

Partnership with Hillard

Upon returning from Europe in 1946, Fleishman established a business partnership with Robert Hillard. The two had a longstanding acquaintance dating back over a decade to Fleishman's tenure as chief deputy to the city’s circuit clerk, while Hillard worked as a reporter for the St. Louis Star-Times. Their firm began in a rented room above a Woolworths store and has since expanded to become one of the world’s largest public relations agencies. Fleishman held the position of the firm’s chairman until his retirement in 1975 at the age of 70. In 1996, he and co-founder Hillard were honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from ''Inside PR'' (now known as ''The Holmes Report'').

General semantics

In addition to his contributions to the public relations field, Fleishman made significant contributions to the field of

general semantics General semantics is a school of thought that incorporates philosophy, philosophic and science, scientific aspects. Although it does not stand on its own as a separate list of schools of philosophy, school of philosophy, a separate science, or ...

, authoring three books on the subject: ''Sense and Nonsense: A Study in Human Communication'', ''Troubled Talk'', and ''Dialogue With Street Fighters''. Each of Fleishman's books was recognized as Book of the Year by the International Society of General Semantics. He authored numerous articles on public relations and human communication and delivered lectures extensively on those topics across the country.

Awards and honors

Fleishman garnered various awards and recognition throughout his career. These included the Distinguished Service Medal for Civic Achievement by the

United States Junior Chamber of Commerce The United States Junior Chamber, also known as the Jaycees, JCs or JCI USA, is a leadership training service organization and civic organization for people between the ages of 18 and 40. It is a branch of Junior Chamber International (JCI). ...

, the Community Service Award and the Humanitarian Award from the St. Louis Human Development Corporation, and the Community Service Award from the

American Jewish Committee The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is a civil rights group and Jewish advocacy group established on November 11, 1906. It is one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations and, according to ''The New York Times'', is "widely regarded as the wi ...

References

External links

Alfred Fleishman Papers Digital Collection
a
St. Louis Public LibraryAlfred Fleishman Papers
a
St. Louis Public Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleishman, Alfred 1905 births 2002 deaths 20th-century American Jews Businesspeople from St. Louis American Jewish Congress members American public relations people Jewish American military personnel Recipients of the Legion of Merit 20th-century American businesspeople University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis alumni United States Army personnel of World War II