Ira Arthur Hirschmann (July 7, 1901 – October 9, 1989) was an American businessman and diplomat.

Biography

Hirschmann was born into a wealthy family in Baltimore. He attended

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

before starting work as an advertising and sales manager for L. Bamberger & Co. Using his advertising experience, he eventually became the vice president of marketing for

Bloomingdale's Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain founded in 1861 by Joseph Bloomingdale and Lyman Bloomingdale. It was acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1930, which purchased the Macy's department store chain in 1994, ...

. In 1935 he was elected as the vice president of

Saks Fifth Avenue Saks Fifth Avenue (Colloquialism, colloquially Saks) is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain founded in 1867 by Andrew Saks. The first store opened in the F Street and 7th Street shopping districts, F Street shopping distric ...

. He resigned from the vice-president position in 1938. Hirschmann was an amateur pianist who studied with

Artur Schnabel Artur Schnabel (17 April 1882 – 15 August 1951) was an Austrian-born classical pianist, composer and Pedagogy, pedagogue. Schnabel was known for his intellectual seriousness as a musician, avoiding pure technical bravura. Among the 20th ...

. In 1936, Hirschmann organized a boycott of

Wilhelm Furtwängler Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , ; ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is regarded as one of the greatest Symphony, symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a majo ...

when he was proposed as a successor to

Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orche ...

for the conductor of the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

. After the war, he continued to criticize Furtwängler, arguing against

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...

's argument that Furtwängler had aided Jewish musicians. Hirschmann founded the New Friends of Music in 1937, a group promoting chamber music in New York that sponsored performances by

Rudolf Serkin Rudolf Serkin (28 March 1903 – 8 May 1991) was a Bohemian-born Austrian-American pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Beethoven interpreters of the 20th century. Early life, childhood debut, and education Serkin was born in ...

and

Adolf Busch Adolf Georg Wilhelm Busch (8 August 1891 – 9 June 1952) was a German-Swiss violinist, conductor, and composer. Life and career Busch was born in Siegen in Westphalia. He studied at the Cologne Conservatory with Willy Hess and Bram Eldering. ...

, among others. The group attempted to increase access to music with low-priced tickets and to show that there was "a large public for the best in music". In addition to his business and music interests, Hirschmann was active in politics. Hirschmann attended the

Évian Conference The Évian Conference was convened 6–15 July 1938 at Évian-les-Bains, France, to address the problem of German and Austrian Jewish refugees wishing to flee persecution by Nazi Germany. It was the initiative of United States President Franklin ...

but left early, describing it as "a facade behind which the civilized governments could hide their inability to act". Hirschmann was appointed as the

War Refugee Board The War Refugee Board, established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in January 1944, was a U.S. executive agency to aid civilian victims of the Axis powers. The Board was, in the words of historian Rebecca Erbelding, "the only time in American hi ...

's special attaché in Romania, where he convinced the Romanian government to allow the immigration 48,000 Jews from

Transnistria Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a Landlocked country, landlocked Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria, breakaway state internationally recogn ...

into Romania. He later served as special agent of the War Refugee Board in Ankara In this post, Hirschmann assisted in the rescue of Jews from Eastern Europe, by pressuring governments to allow Jewish immigration through Turkey. Using funds provided by the

Joint Distribution Committee Advert Where and how does this article resemble an advert and how should it be improved? See: Wikipedia:Spam (you might trthe Teahouseif you have questions). American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, also known as Joint or JDC, is a Jewish ...

, Hirschmann hired ship captains to transport Jews from Romania to Turkey and provided them with travel visas. In 1944, the year Hirschmann started work in Turkey with

Laurence Steinhardt Laurence Adolph Steinhardt (October 6, 1892 – March 28, 1950) was an American economist, lawyer, and senior diplomat of the United States Department of State who served as U.S. Ambassador to six countries. He served as U.S. First Minister to Sw ...

, 14,164 refugees were able to travel through Turkey to Palestine. Hirschmann was critical of Truman's policy towards post-war Germany, signing a statement in 1946 that accused his government of shielding Nazis from punishment for "hope of future gain and control of a base of operations in the dangerous game of power politics". He was friends with

Fiorello La Guardia Fiorello Henry La Guardia (born Fiorello Raffaele Enrico La Guardia; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives and served as the 99th mayor of New Yo ...

, often accompanying him to performances at the New York Philharmonic. Hirschmann used this connection for his diplomatic work, since La Guardia became head of the

United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA, pronounced ) was an international relief agency founded in November 1943 on the joint initiative of the United States, United Kingdom, USSR, and the Republic of China. Its purpose ...

in 1946. Hirschmann supported the

Bergson Group The Bergson Group was group of Jewish activitists whose actions included trying to convince the Roosevelt administration to save Jews from the Nazi genocide in Europe. The group was active in the United States between 1940 and 1948. History Fou ...

, which attempted to raise awareness about the treatment of Jews in post-war Europe. He was a sponsor of the

Cultural and Scientific Conference for World Peace The World Peace Council (WPC) is an international organization created in 1949 by the Cominform and propped up by the Soviet Union. Throughout the Cold War, WPC engaged in propaganda efforts on behalf of the Soviet Union, whereby it criticized ...

held in New York in March 1949. In 1951, he spoke as a representative of the State Department at the Zagreb Peace Conference, defending the government's policy in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. In 1962, a group of New York businessmen tried to convince

Robert F. Wagner Robert Ferdinand Wagner I (June 8, 1877May 4, 1953) was a German-born American attorney and Democratic Party politician who represented the state of New York in the United States Senate from 1927 to 1949. Born in Prussia, Wagner immigrated ...

to nominate Hirschmann as the Democratic nominee for mayor. He was a sponsor of the

National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy Peace Action is a peace organization whose focus is on preventing the deployment of nuclear weapons in space, thwarting weapons sales to countries with human rights violations, and promoting a new United States foreign policy based on common sec ...

, signing a 1963 advertisement in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' asking the Senate to ratify the nuclear test-ban agreement proposed by Averill Harriman and

Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

Bibliography

* ''Life Line to a Promised Land.'' Vanguard Press, 1946 * ''Oil and Blood Don't Mix.'' Independent Citizens. Committee of the Arts, Sciences and Professions, 1946 * ''The Embers Still Burn:An Eye-witness View of the Postwar Ferment in Europe and the Middle East and Our Disastrous Get-soft-with-Germany Policy.'' University of California, 1949 * ''Caution to the Winds.'' D. McKay, 1962 * ''Red Star Over Bethlehem: Russia Drives to Capture the Middle East.'' Simon & Schuster, 1971, * ''The Awakening: The Story of the Jewish National Fund.'' Shengold, 1981, * ''Questions and Answers about Arabs and Jews.'' Bantam, 1977, * ''Obligato: Untold tales from a life with music.'' Fromm International Publishing, New York,

References

{{Authority control 1901 births 1989 deaths Businesspeople from Baltimore Diplomats from Baltimore American advertising people Diplomats for the United States Johns Hopkins University alumni Jewish American people in New York City politics American non-fiction writers