2008年（32）
分类：
2008-08-08 21:47:00
| 雅各布·希夫 Jacob Henry Schiff | |
|---|---|
|
雅各布·希夫 | |
| 出生 | |
| 去世 | |
雅各布·希夫（Jacob Hirsch Schiff、Jacob Henry Schiff， – ）是一位出生在德国的美国银行家和慈善家，曾经以巨额贷款资助军队击败沙皇，赢得。
雅各布·希夫以纽约为基地，是许多重要公司的主管，包括、美国公平人寿保险协会、和；他也是所谓“希夫时代”最重要的美国犹太人领袖，举凡当时世界上有关犹太人的几乎每一个重大问题，包括沙皇统治下俄国犹太人的困境，美国和国际的反犹太主义，贫困犹太移民的照顾，以及的兴起，雅各布·希夫都涉足其中。
目录 |
，雅各布·希夫出生在德国一个显赫的犹太人家族，该家族在的世系可以追溯到。希夫家族与另一个犹太人的名门望族——家族都世代居住在法兰克福的犹太人隔都。，18岁的雅各布·希夫移居美国纽约，从事银行工作。，他与库恩-洛布公司（Kuhn, Loeb & Co.）总裁所罗门·洛布的女儿结婚，随后进入这间公司。，所罗门·洛布去世后，他得以接手负责库恩-洛布公司，将其发展成为“西半球2个最有实力的私营国际银行之一”(Adler 8)。希夫始终强烈的感受到他与的联系，这在他全部的慈善事业中都得到了体现。他支持 relief efforts for 俄国大屠杀牺牲品，并帮助成立和发展（Hebrew Union College）、（Jewish Theological Seminary），以及的犹太部。不过，他也资助许多美国的重大工程。最后，他在和其他许多铁路公司改组了破产的，成为美国最主要的铁路银行家之一。
希夫是美国犹太人中最重要的慈善家之一，他捐款的对象包括几乎每一个重要的犹太事业，以及许多美国机构，例如、以及
在到的期间，希夫通过库恩-洛布公司进行了他最著名的一次金融行动，向日本放出一系列风险极大的贷款，总数达到2亿美元。他情愿为这项借款承担巨大的风险，因为当时日本的实力显然处于劣势，并且此前尚无一个欧洲国家被非欧洲国家击败的先例。但是希夫同情日本的努力和愿望，称这些比金钱更重要，要帮助日本赢得这场战争，当然更重要的原因是代表犹太人，向采取反犹太主义行动（特别是新近发生的大屠杀）的沙皇政权进行复仇。
这次贷款引起了全世界的注意，产生了重大影响。赢得了这场战争，此后日本政府深信犹太人由于彼此忠诚，而在全世界拥有巨大的势力，甚至准备控制世界（Protocols of the Elders of Zion）。这一思维后来发展为失败的，拯救了数千名犹太人来到日本控制下的中国，服务于日本的经济利益，从而逃脱了。希夫也获得了明治天皇颁发的旭日勋章，成为第一个获此荣誉的外国人。，英国国王也私下接见了希夫。
希夫除了贷款给日本以外，还贷款给许多国家，包括后来加入的国家。当终于爆发时，他利用自己的名誉和影响催促美国总统，即使协约国不能获胜，也要尽快结束这场战争。他担心他的家族的生存，回到德国，也是为了这个国家的未来。他也为了人道主义目的，贷款给法国和其他国家，还声明反对进行潜水艇战争。
1906年，美国犹太人委员会成立，雅各布·希夫是第一批领袖之一。
在第一次世界大战前后的那些年间，雅各布·希夫的公司向全世界许多国家贷款，但是他下达了禁令，不许将一分钱借给俄国，因为该国一贯严厉地镇压犹太人。沙皇政府倒台时，希夫相信对犹太人的压迫将要结束。他同情政府，在公司内正式废除了不允许贷款给俄国的禁令。然而，当和的苏维埃政府的学说和政策明朗化的时候，希夫又再一次严厉地禁止以任何方式帮助俄国。
1920年秋季，雅各布·希夫病逝。
由于雅各布·希夫的名望，巨额的财富和权势，以及与大量的事业、事件和组织有关，一些人受到《》的影响，认为他是阴谋论的主题。他和家族、Warburgs、奥本海默家族等犹太人一起，被指为用神秘的阴谋控制世界经济和各国政府的几个关键人物。事实上，他确实在的美国总统选举中扮演重要角色，曾经数次直接与伍德罗·威尔逊和两位总统交谈，也与英国国王爱德华七世和日本进行个人会面。他向日本和许多国家贷款，以及捐款给全世界无数的公司和组织，使他成为各种阴谋论现成的目标，其中一些充满着充满敌意的反犹太主义气质。
: | | | |
Jacob Henry Schiff, born Jacob Hirsch Schiff (, – , ) was a -born New York City and philanthropist, who helped finance, among many other things, the and the military efforts against Tsarist in the .
From his base on , he was the foremost leader in what became known as the "Schiff era," grappling with all major issues and problems of the day, including the plight of Russian Jews under the , American and international anti-Semitism, care of needy Jewish immigrants, and the rise of . He also became the director of many important corporations, including the , the , and the .
Contents |
He was born in , Germany to a distinguished rabbinical family that traced its lineage in back to . He lived with Rothschild in the ghetto in Frankfurt. In , Schiff moved to the US at the age of 18. After several banking jobs, he eventually became the head of the banking firm of , which grew to become "one of the two most influential private international banking houses on the Western Hemisphere" (Adler 8). Schiff always felt strongly about his connection to the , and showed this through his philanthropy. He supported relief efforts for the victims of pogroms in Russia, and helped establish and develop , the , and the Jewish Division in the . However, he also financed many major American projects, believing strongly in the need to further develop and bring together the US. To this end, he reorganized the bankrupt in , as well as a number of other railroad companies.
Schiff grew to be one of American Jewry's top philanthropists and leaders, donating to nearly every major Jewish cause, as well as many secular American causes such as the , and a number of other organizations for civil rights and the disadvantaged, such as the and . He also played a role in the municipal affairs of , and worked to shrink the reliance on machine bureaucracy in this arena.
During the , in and , in perhaps his most famous financial action, Schiff, again through Kuhn, Loeb & Co., extended a critical series of loans to , in the amount of $200 million. He was willing to extend this loan due, in part, to his belief that gold is not as important as national effort and desire, in helping win a war, and due to the apparent underdog status of Japan at the time; no European nation had ever been defeated by a non-European nation before then. It is quite likely Schiff also saw this loan as a means of taking revenge, on behalf of the Jewish people, for the anti-Semitic actions of the Tsarist regime, specifically the then-recent in .
This loan attracted worldwide attention, and had major consequences. won the war, and elements of its government took this as evidence of the power of Jews all around the world, of their loyalty to one another, and as proof of the truth of the . This thinking later led to the failed , which would have saved many thousands of Jews from the , bringing them to Japan-controlled to work for the benefit of Japan's economy. In any case, Schiff was conferred the of Japan by , becoming the first foreigner to be offered this rare honor. He was also invited to a private audience in 1904 with .
In addition to his famous loan to Japan, Schiff financed loans to many other nations, including those that would come to comprise the . When finally did break out, he used his reputation and influence to urge President , and others, to put an end to the war as quickly as possible, even without an Allied victory. He feared for the lives of his family, back in Germany, but also for the future of his adopted land. He engineered loans to France, and other nations for humanitarian purposes, and spoke out against submarine warfare.
In 1906, when the was formed, Schiff was one of its first leaders.
Over the years, before, during, and after World War I, his firm extended loans to many nations all around the world, but Schiff made sure none of the funds ever went to Russia, which continued to severely oppress the Jewish people. When the government fell in , Schiff believed that the oppression of Jews (and other peoples) would end. He became sympathetic for government, and formally repealed the impediments within his firm against lending to Russia. Of course, once the policies and doctrines of and Soviet government became apparent, Schiff once more became bitterly opposed to aiding Russia in any way.
Perhaps surprisingly, Schiff stood opposed to political, secular . He claimed to identify with Jews by faith, not by race. However, despite not agreeing fully with the ideas of , and in fact believing that Zionism was not compatible with American citizenship, he donated to many Jewish projects in , including the . As the situation for Eastern European Jews grew more dire, with the , and pogroms in , Schiff made more considerable contributions to the Zionist effort; he even offered to join the Zionist organization, provided he could publish a statement he'd prepared. This offer was denied, and so he never formally joined the Zionist camp.
Schiff fell ill and died in the autumn of 1920 in .
Due to his fame, great wealth and power, and the large number of causes, events, and organizations he was involved in, Jacob Schiff has been the subject of , some inspired in part by the . He is accused, along with the Rothschilds, Warburgs, Oppenheimers and others, of being one of the key players in a gnostic Jewish conspiracy to dominate the economies, and therefore the governments, of the world. In truth, he did play a significant role in the election campaign of in , and spoke directly to Presidents Wilson and on several occasions, and he met personally with King Edward VII of England and of Japan. His loans to Japan and other nations, along with his contributions to countless companies and organizations around the world made him a ready target for various conspiracy theories, some of which are steeped in the ethos of .
Ironically, he has also, in other texts, been accused of anti-Semitism, for his purported opposition to Zionism; and anti-Americanism, due to his support for bolshevism. Schiff demonstrated time after time his dedication not only to the Jewish community, but also to his adopted homeland of America. Over the course of his lifetime, Schiff donated many hundreds of thousands of dollars to American corporations and organizations, and to Jewish causes in the US, Palestine, and around the world.
| NAME | Schiff, Jacob |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Banker and Philanthropist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | , |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | , |
| DATE OF DEATH | , |
| PLACE OF DEATH | , |
: | | | | | | | | | | | | |
