Felix M. Warburg
Encyclopedia
Felix Moritz Warburg was a member of the Warburg banking family
of Hamburg
, Germany
.
. He is known as a leading advocate of a Federal Reserve System
for the United States. He married Frieda Schiff (1876 – 1958), daughter of Jacob H. Schiff and Therese Loeb Schiff, in 1895. They had four sons, Frederick Marcus, Gerald Felix, Paul Felix and Edward Mortimer Morris and one daughter, Carola. All were active in community service.
Warburg was an important leader in the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
to help the Jews in Europe in the period leading up to, and especially during, the Great Depression
. Warburg actively raised funds in the United States on behalf of European Jews who faced hunger following World War I
. As early as 1919, he was quoted in the New York Times discussing the dire situation of Jewish war sufferers.
Warburg and the Joint Distribution Committee were also instrumental in the 1930s after the global Great Depression following the crash of the New York stock exchange 1929.
As a result of his philanthropic
activities, a new Jewish village established in Mandate Palestine in 1939, Kfar Warburg
, was named after him.
His former house, the Felix M. Warburg House
, in New York's Upper East side was donated by his widow and today houses the Jewish Museum
.
Warburg family
The Warburg family is a financial dynasty of German Jewish origin, noted for their accomplishments in physics, classical music, art history, pharmacology, physiology, finance, private equity and philanthropy. They are believed to be descended from the Venetian Jewish del Banco family, in the early...
of Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Biography
He was a grandson of Moses Marcus Warburg, one of the founders of the bank, M. M. Warburg (in 1798). Felix Warburg was a partner in Kuhn, Loeb & Co.Kuhn, Loeb & Co.
Kuhn, Loeb & Co. was a bulge bracket, investment bank founded in 1867 by Abraham Kuhn and Solomon Loeb. Under the leadership of Jacob H. Schiff, it grew to be one of the most influential investment banks in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, financing America's expanding railways and growth...
. He is known as a leading advocate of a Federal Reserve System
Federal Reserve System
The Federal Reserve System is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913 with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, largely in response to a series of financial panics, particularly a severe panic in 1907...
for the United States. He married Frieda Schiff (1876 – 1958), daughter of Jacob H. Schiff and Therese Loeb Schiff, in 1895. They had four sons, Frederick Marcus, Gerald Felix, Paul Felix and Edward Mortimer Morris and one daughter, Carola. All were active in community service.
Warburg was an important leader in the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee is a worldwide Jewish relief organization headquartered in New York. It was established in 1914 and is active in more than 70 countries....
to help the Jews in Europe in the period leading up to, and especially during, the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Warburg actively raised funds in the United States on behalf of European Jews who faced hunger following World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. As early as 1919, he was quoted in the New York Times discussing the dire situation of Jewish war sufferers.
Warburg and the Joint Distribution Committee were also instrumental in the 1930s after the global Great Depression following the crash of the New York stock exchange 1929.
As a result of his philanthropic
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
activities, a new Jewish village established in Mandate Palestine in 1939, Kfar Warburg
Kfar Warburg
Kfar Warburg is a large moshav in central Israel. Located near Kiryat Malakhi with 98 farms covering an area of 6,000 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Be'er Tuvia Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 873....
, was named after him.
His former house, the Felix M. Warburg House
Felix M. Warburg House
The Felix M. Warburg House is a mansion located on 1109 Fifth Avenue and 92nd Street in the Upper East Side in New York City. Today the Jewish Museum is located there.- History :...
, in New York's Upper East side was donated by his widow and today houses the Jewish Museum
Jewish Museum (New York)
The Jewish Museum of New York, an art museum and repository of cultural artifacts, is the leading Jewish museum in the United States. With over 26,000 objects, it contains the largest collection of art and Jewish culture outside of museums in Israel. The museum is housed at 1109 Fifth Avenue, in...
.
Further reading
- Yehuda Bauer (1974) My Brother's Keeper. A History of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee 1929-1939 Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, ISBN 0-8276-0048-8