Romi Goldmuntz (

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, 1882–1960) was a Belgian businessman who played an essential role in the survival of the diamond business in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. In 1920, his diamond company employed about 600 workers. Romi and his brother Léopold were important customers of the

Diamond Trading Company The Diamond Trading Company (DTC) is the rough diamond sales and distribution arm of the De Beers Group. The DTC sorts, values and sells about 35% of the world’s rough diamonds by value. The DTC has a combination of wholly owned and joint vent ...

(DTC, a subsidiary of De Beers). After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, in 1918 he persuaded the people who had lived in exile in

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

during the war, to return to Antwerp. He succeeded again after

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 ...

in 1945, to convince those living in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

to return to Belgium. Romi Goldmuntz also founded the Diamond Office in Antwerp. The cultural center ''Romi Goldmuntz Center'' and the ''Great Synagogue Romi Goldmuntz'' in Antwerp are named after him.

Sources

Belgian Jewish Heritage

Diamond cutter
1882 births 1960 deaths 20th-century Belgian businesspeople Belgian Jews {{Belgium-business-bio-stub

See also

Sources