The Bernheim Petition

This article was updated on 27 July 2023. Reason for update: Added new information and a photograph of Dr Marek Reichmann.

The header image photograph above dates from about 1933 and shows the Deutsches Familien-Kaufhaus department store in Gleiwitz, from where Franz Bernheim was dismissed. The photograph is from the private collection of South Coast View.

Franz Bernheim

Born 15 September 1899 [1] in Salzburg – Died 22 December 1990 in New York [2]

The Bernheim Petition – About this article

This article is about Franz Bernheim from Gleiwitz, German Upper Silesia who, as a victim of Nazi anti-Jewish legislation, successfully took his grievance against the Third Reich to the League of Nations and won his case.

The Bernheim Petition had far reaching consequences. The League of Nation’s Irish Free State representative Seán Lester’s tenacity and skill in pursuing the case (as rapporteur on minorities), during difficult and protracted discussions, ultimately led to Nazi Germany suspending, until 1937, some of the worst aspects of anti-Jewish legislation in German Upper Silesia.

Dismissal of Jews from their posts in Germany

Dismissal of Franz Bernheim

Franz Bernheim was a 33-year-old shop assistant [6] at the DeFaKa department store in Gleiwitz. In line with the impending boycott of Jewish businesses, Bernheim received a letter from DeFaKa dated 31 March 1933, informing him that his employment would be terminated on 30 April 1933. [7]

Note: There are multiple differing descriptions in many documents of Bernheim’s job description at DeFaKa in Gleiwitz. Some I have come across are manager, warehousemen, accountant and sales assistant. I have settled on the latter as that is Bernheim’s occupation listed in the petition submitted to the League of Nations.

Preparation of a draft petition to The League of Nations

In mid-April 1933, the anti-Jewish onslaught in Germany prompted Arthur Kochmann and Georg Weissmann, both exiled German Jewish lawyers (from Gleiwitz and Beuthen respectively), in Katowice, Poland, to prepare a complaint to the League of Nations. At this point, the lawyers were still looking for a suitable person who would sign the petition. [8]

After fleeing Germany, Bernheim first travelled to Katowice in Poland and visited the law firm of Dr Marek Reichmann at 3 Marjacka Street [8a], where work on the petition continued in great secrecy.

The Polish historian Leszek Jodliński is the only source I have found mentioning this. Jodliński goes on to say that it is likely that both Arthur Kochman and Georg Weissmann took part in preparing the petition at Reichmann’s offices. Bernheim then travelled to Prague with his partially finished petition, where he was met by Kurt Grossmann at a Jewish refugee centre. A meeting took place in Prague with Dr Emil Margulies, a lawyer and prominent Zionist leader in Czechoslovakia. [9]

At this point a suitable petitioner had been found, and Bernheim agreed to sign the petition. [10]

Background to the League of Nations legislation that enabled the petition to succeed

In 1922, Germany and Poland had signed The German–Polish Convention on Upper Silesia. The convention’s legal status was to last for 15 years. [11]

Immediately following signing of the convention, The Upper Silesian Mixed Commission was established. This Commission was composed of two Germans and two Poles and presided over by a neutral Swiss judge, Felix Calonder.

The Commission had the task of an arbitration panel that attempted to resolve disputes bought by citizens of German Upper Silesia and Polish Upper Silesia. One of the key points of the Convention was safeguarding the rights of all minorities in these regions. ^[12]

Submission of the Bernheim Petition to the League of Nations

The wording of The German–Polish Convention on Upper Silesia had provision for the submission of complaints via The Upper Silesian Mixed Commission. Crucially, however, the wording of the Convention also allowed submission of complaints directly to the League of Nations, thus bypassing the Mixed Commission. [15]

Acceptance of the petition’s urgency at the League of Nations and behind-the-scenes activity

On 19 May 1933, The Secretary-General of the League of Nations accepted the petition as urgent. [16]

Seán Lester, the Irish Free State’s Permanent Representative at the League of Nations, was assigned to the case as rapporteur. [17]

As soon as the international Jewish community learnt of Lester’s crucial involvement, they enlisted the help of Nahum Sokolow, a prominent Zionist leader, who had the reputation of a skilled mediator. Together with the Chief Rabbi of Ireland, Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, they sought the help of Éamon de Valera, President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State, to whom Lester reported.

A meeting between the Jewish activists and de Valera occurred in Dublin at which de Valera agreed to a timely and discrete intervention with Lester, urging to him the utmost importance of the Bernheim Petition receiving a due hearing and progressing to a successful outcome. [18] *See additional information below.

Presentation of documents to the German representative at the League of Nations

Initially, the League of Nations German representative Friedrich von Keller, attempted to suppress debate on the petition, [19] which, of course, was not going to be the end of the matter.

The Bernheim Petition at the League of Nations – Key Meetings

League of Nations session held on Friday, 26 May 1933

Mr. von Keller said that he had immediately communicated to his Government the Bernheim petition submitted a few days previously. The German Government had authorised him to make the following declaration:

It is obvious that international Conventions concluded by Germany cannot be affected by internal legislation. Should the provisions of the Geneva Convention have been violated in German Upper Silesia, this can only be due to mistakes on the part of subordinate organs acting under a mistaken interpretation of the laws. [20]

Blaming officials at a local level was an unexpected yet substantial and humiliating climb down by Germany, which paved the way forward for the petition to proceed.

Public Meeting held on 6 June 1933 – The League of Nations votes to uphold the Bernheim Petition

Von Keller stated that while he did not accept the League’s findings, he would not vote against them. [21] In a decision (Germany and Italy abstaining), the League of Nations upheld the petition.

At conclusion of the session, Lester said: that now that the report had been adopted by the Council, and the Council had left him with certain duties to fulfil in connection with it, he would like to express his firm conviction that the Council would not again be called upon to consider the question in any form as, in common with his colleagues, he had not had the slightest doubt that the German Government was determined to carry out its international obligations. [22]

What changed for Franz Bernheim following the successful outcome of his petition

While Bernheim’s reinstatement at DeFaKa in Gleiwitz might, in theory have been possible, he never returned to Germany, but did pursue a financial compensation case for loss of earnings due to his unfair dismissal.

Franz Bernheim’s case for compensation due to loss of earnings

Bernheim’s unfair dismissal case was heard between 17 October 1933 and 2 December 1935 at The Upper Silesian Mixed Commission in Katowice, Poland and the Office for Minorities in Oppeln, Germany. [23]

Bernheim was represented by his lawyers Dr Marek Reichmann and Emil Margulies, who had, as previously mentioned, drafted his petition to the League of Nations. The court’s verdict was that Bernheim had been unfairly dismissed. [24]

DeFaKa initially offered Bernheim 380 marks compensation, although they eventually increased their offer to 1,600 marks and this was accepted. [25]

Before the case was finalised, Bernheim had emigrated to the United States and settled in New York. [26]

German Government strips Franz Bernheim of Citizenship

Following the expiration of the German–Polish Convention on Upper Silesia in 1937, Bernheim was stripped of his German citizenship. [27]

What changed for the Jews of Upper Silesia following the successful outcome of the petition

Germany continued to be bound by the German–Polish Convention on Upper Silesia. In particular, Germany did not wish to alienate the German-speaking minority in Polish Upper Silesia, who also depended on protection of the Convention. [28]

During the few years left until the expiration of the German–Polish Convention on Upper Silesia in 1937, it is true that some of the legal protection promised was fulfilled. German Jews of the region could keep their passports and leave Germany if they wished. While local officials remained obstructive, some Jewish lawyers, doctors and civil servants were able to continue their work and, in some cases, receive back their positions. Nazi laws banning marriages between Jews and non-Jews were lifted, as was the ban on kosher slaughter. [29]

The historian Karch tells us that those Jews of German Upper Silesia who benefited from protection and their enemies alike, described the area as “A Jewish nature Preserve”. [30]

Following expiration of the convention in 1937, the full force of Nazi anti-Jewish legislation was unleashed. [31]

*Policy of the Irish Government on acceptance of Jewish refugees between 1933 and 1939

There is no doubt about the honourable and significant role that Seán Lester played in defending the rights of Jews and non-Jews during his work as rapporteur on minorities at the League of Nations.

Sadly, the same cannot be said of the Irish Government, which obstructed the many requests from Jews seeking entry to Ireland during the period covering Hitler’s rise to power in 1933 and the outbreak of war in 1939.

Holocaust Education Ireland has written extensively about this in their publication Irish Responses to The Jewish Refugee Crisis in the 1930s.

The players in the Franz Bernheim Petition

Franz Bernheim

As previously mentioned, Bernheim had emigrated to the United States in 1935 and settled in New York, where he died in 1990. Little is known about his life in the USA. He did not keep in touch with any Jewish or Zionist organisations.

His nephew, George Wyland-Herzfelde recalled his uncle as warm and somewhat withdrawn. On occasions, he accompanied his uncle to a Czech restaurant, as a recall of his time in Prague. Even then Bernheim was reluctant to talk about the days of the petition, saying that it was “the only possible way to stop Hitler, and that was his motivation for participating.”   [32]

To the best of my knowledge, there are no photographs of Franz Bernheim accessible via the Internet. If you have a photograph of Franz Bernheim and would allow me to use it on this website, please contact me.

In 1934 Lester became the League of Nations High Commissioner to the Free City of Danzig (today Gdańsk in Poland). Lester’s role included upholding the human rights of Gdansk’s minorities (Jewish and Polish), when these were violated by the constitution of the city. Violations lodged with him were reported to the League of Nations in Geneva.

The task of guaranteeing these rights in Gdansk became increasingly difficult as the Nazis aimed to ban all democratic activities of opposition parties and individuals. Lester’s effectiveness in his role was further diminished by lack of support from the Leage of Nations but also by hostility from the Polish Government. Before Lester’s tenure in Gdansk would expire, Lester resigned from his post in 1937. [34]

Lester became the last Secretary-General of the League of Nations in 1940. [35] and died on 13 June 1959 in County Galway, Irish Republic. [36]

In 2010 Lester’s daughter Ann Górski, together with his granddaughter Lucy Kilroy and great-grandson Brian Gageby, attended a ceremony at Gdańsk City Hall in honour of Lester. Earlier that year, the main parliamentary party meeting room at the city hall had been renamed as The Seán Lester Room. [37]

Georg Weissmann

Weissmann, also one of Bernheim’s Lawyers, emigrated to Palestine and died in Tel Aviv in 1963. [41] To the best of my knowledge, there are no photographs of Georg Weissmann accessible via the Internet.

Recent developments in Gliwice

On 31 March 2021, the organisation Młodzi Aktywni Gliwice (Active Youth in Gliwice) petitioned City Hall in Gliwice to mount a plaque commemorating Franz Bernheim, outside his former residence in Gliwice, Schillerstrasse 6b, now known as Wybrzeże Wojska Polskiego 6. [44]

On 13 May 2021, the Deputy Mayor of Gliwice responded that permission would not be granted for the erection of the plaque. The city authority cited multiple reasons for their refusal, stating there was already sufficient public information about Franz Bernheim and the Jews of Upper Silesia at the Museum of Gliwice and in various named publications relating to the Jews of the area. [45]

The consequence of this decision suppresses awareness of The Bernheim Petition and its creator

Unless you specifically visit the Museum in Gliwice or consult one of the named publications in the city’s reply, the average resident of Gliwice or tourist passing Franz Bernheim’s former residence remains ignorant that a person of significant importance in the history of the Jews of Upper Silesia once lived at the premises.

View a map showing Bernheim’s short walk from his home to where he worked

You can view a map on Google Maps that will show you Bernheim’s 4 minute walk from his former home at Schillerstrasse 6b (today ul. Wybrzeże Wojska Polskiego 6) to the DeFaKa store. The store building is today known as IKAR.

Conclusion

How many Jews were saved because of the Bernheim Petition?

As previously mentioned, Jews could keep their passports and leave German Upper Silesia for safer countries, if they wished. Since there are no statistics on the number of Jews leaving the area for safe lands, this is an impossible question to answer. For sure, some Jews would not have received deportation orders. Yet those who chose to stay would, in most cases, be murdered in concentration camps, once deportations started following the expiration of protections in 1937.

Because the Bernheim Petition was upheld, there was a route to safe lands, for those who chose to leave. For this reason, the success of the Bernheim Petition was, in my view, a significant event in the history of the Jews of German Upper Silesia.

---

Historical note: Following post-WWII border changes, Gleiwitz came within the new Polish borders and is today known as Gliwice.

Should you notice errors in this article or know of new information, please contact me. You can write to me in English or Polish.

This article is copyright © South Coast View.

References

Please note that page numbers listed in externally linked PDF files are the numbers in the PDF navigation and take precedence over any page numbers in the actual online documents.

1. UN Archives Geneva. Jews in Upper Silesia – Jews in Upper Silesia – Petition from Mr Franz Bernheim, a German national from Pleinitz, based on Article 147 of the German-Polish Convention of 15 May 1922. Council document C.314.1933. 12. Birth date.

2. Franz Bernheim in Famous People Throughout History. Myheritage.com.

3. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Boycott of Jewish Businesses.

4. Karch, Brendan. Nation and Loyalty in a German-Polish Borderland: Upper Silesia, 1848–1960. Publications of the German Historical Institute. 199. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. doi:10.1017/9781108560955.

5. Press advertisement, “Erklärung,” Werkszeitung der Vereinigte Oberschlesische Hüttenwerke A. G., Gleiwitz. May 15, 1933, 8. Silesian Digital Library.

6. UN Archives Geneva. Jews in Upper Silesia – Jews in Upper Silesia – Petition from Mr Franz Bernheim, a German national from Pleinitz, based on Article 147 of the German-Polish Convention of 15 May 1922. Council document C.314.1933. 21.

7. Ibid, 91

8. Feigue Cieplinski, “The Bernheim Petition: A Last Stand of Gegenwartsarbeit” (Master of Arts, New Brunswick
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey) Pages 46-48.

8a. The Katowice newspaper “Polonia” dated 19 February 1933 carried an advertisement from Dr Marek Reichmann showing his address. 11.

9. Leszek Jodliński, “Pan Bernheim z Gliwic idzie na wojnę z III Rzeszą,” Gazeta Wyborcza, April 2014.

10. Feigue Cieplinski, “The Bernheim Petition: A Last Stand of Gegenwartsarbeit” (Master of Arts, New Brunswick. Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey) Page 48.

11. Feigue Cieplinski, “The Bernheim Petition: A Last Stand of Gegenwartsarbeit” (Master of Arts, New Brunswick. Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey) Page 3.

12. Feigue Cieplinski, “The Bernheim Petition: A Last Stand of Gegenwartsarbeit” (Master of Arts, New Brunswick. Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey) Page 20.

13. Greg Burgess. The League of Nations and the Refugees from Nazi Germany. 37. https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/25772/9781474276627.pdf.

14. Feigue Cieplinski, “The Bernheim Petition: A Last Stand of Gegenwartsarbeit” (Master of Arts, New Brunswick. Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey) Page 33.

15. Feigue Cieplinski, “The Bernheim Petition: A Last Stand of Gegenwartsarbeit” (Master of Arts, New Brunswick. Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey) Page 33.

16. C-314-1933-I_EN – Protection Of Minorities. Application Of The Germano-Polish Convention Of May 15th, 1922, Concerning Upper Silesia. Petition of M. Franz Bernheim, of May 12th, 1933, concerning the situation of the Jewish Minority in German Upper Silesia. Acceptance of the petition as urgent.

17. Eliash Shulamit. The Harp and the Shield of David Ireland, Zionism and the State of Israel. Routledge, 2007. 32. https://www.routledge.com/The-Harp-and-the-Shield-of-David-Ireland-Zionism-and-the-State-of-Israel/Eliash/p/book/9781138869783.

18. Ibid, 32.

19. Karch, Brendan. “A Jewish ‘Nature Preserve’: League of Nations Minority Protections in Nazi Upper Silesia, 1933-1937.” Central European History 46, no. 1 (2013): 137. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43280552.

20. Ibid, 137-138.

21. Seventy Third session of the Council. 11. https://archives.ungeneva.org/juifs-en-haute-silesie-allemande-petition-du-12-mai-de-m-franz-bernheim-basee-sur-lart-147-de-la-convention-germano-polonaise-du-15-mai-1922-examen-a-la-72eme-session-du-conseil-mai-1933.

22. Ibid, 14.

23. Leszek Jodliński, “Pan Bernheim z Gliwic idzie na wojnę z III Rzeszą,” Gazeta Wyborcza, April 2014.

24. Ibid.

25. Ibid.

26. Ibid.

27. Ibid.

28. Karch, Brendan. “A Jewish ‘Nature Preserve’: League of Nations Minority Protections in Nazi Upper Silesia, 1933-1937.” Central European History 46, no. 1 (2013): 143. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43280552_28.

29. Ibid, 144.

30. Karch, Brendan. “A Jewish ‘Nature Preserve’: League of Nations Minority Protections in Nazi Upper Silesia, 1933-1937.” Central European History 46, no. 1 (2013): 128. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43280552_30.

31. Karch, Brendan. Nation and Loyalty in a German-Polish Borderland: Upper Silesia, 1848–1960. Publications of the German Historical Institute. 213. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. doi:10.1017/9781108560955.

32. Leszek Jodliński, “Pan Bernheim z Gliwic idzie na wojnę z III Rzeszą,” Gazeta Wyborcza, April 2014.

33. Eliash Shulamit. The Harp and the Shield of David Ireland, Zionism and the State of Israel. Routledge, 2007. 32. https://www.routledge.com/The-Harp-and-the-Shield-of-David-Ireland-Zionism-and-the-State-of-Israel/Eliash/p/book/9781138869783.

34. Prill, Felician. “Seán Lester: High Commissioner in Danzig, 1933-1937.” Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review 49, no. 195 (1960): 263–267. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30099228.

35. Read the Plaque – Sean Lester. Accessed 9 February 2023.
https://readtheplaque.com/plaque/sean-lester-plaque-belfast.

36. Dictionary of Irish Biography. Lester, Seán (John Ernest). Accessed 9 February 2023. https://www.dib.ie/biography/lester-sean-john-ernest-a4809.

37. Irishman honoured in Polish city where he warned of Nazi danger. The Irish Times, August 27 2010. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/irishman-honoured-in-polish-city-where-he-warned-of-nazi-danger-1.642893.

38. Arthur Kochmann – Database of digitised documents. Accessed 9 February 2023. https://www.holocaust.cz/en/database-of-victims/victim/19206-arthur-kochmann/.

39. Kurt Grossmann. Center for Jewish History, Kurt Grossmann Collection. Accessed 09 February 2023. https://archives.cjh.org/repositories/5/resources/16194.

40. Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Dr. Emil Margulies, Co-author of the “Bernheim Petition”, Dies in Palestine. February 21, 1943. https://www.jta.org/archive/dr-emil-margulies-co-author-of-the-bernheim-petition-dies-in-palestine.

41. Obituary. Dr. Georg Weissmann. Association of Jewish Refugees newspaper, 1963, 13. https://ajr.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/1963_march.pdf.

42. IrishCentral, On This Day: former Irish President Éamon de Valera dies in 1975. Accessed February 9 2023. https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/eamon-de-valera-the-irish-machiavelli.

43. Wikipedia, Friedrich von Keller (diplomat). Accessed February 9, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_von_Keller_(diplomat).

44. Urząd Miasta w Gliwicach (City Hall in Gliwice), “Stowarzyszenie Młodzi Aktywni Gliwice”. March 31, 2021. https://bip.gliwice.eu/storage/bpm-152-13-2021.pdf.

45. Zastępca Prezydenta Miasta (Deputy Mayor of The City), “Stowarzyszenie Młodzi Aktywni Gliwice”. May 13, 2021. https://bip.gliwice.eu/storage/bpm-152-13-2021-odpowiedz-na-petycje.doc.

Articles tagged Germany. View all in Germany.