Rothschild, Siegfried (Pinchas)

Siegfried (Pinchas) Rothschild was born on September 13, 1907 in Halberstadt, Germany and died on November 9, 2001 in Jerusalem, Israel. He was the son of Dr. Leopold Jehuda Rothschild. He studied at the universities of Würzburg and Frankfurt (‘Anstaltskunde’) to become a teacher and educator. Between 1933-1936, he worked as an educator in the Jewish children's home Ahawah in Berlin and the orphan's home Dinslaken. In 1937 he became head of Ahawah. In that year, he emigrated to Antwerpen, Belgium, where he led a children's home of the Jewish community.  Siegfried was also a member of ESRA (Jewish orthodox youth union) and BJA (an orthodox union of Jewish academics).  When the Nazis conquered Belgium in 1940, he became a civilian detainee and was imprisoned in France. His wife Rose Rothschild stayed in Belgium and saved a lot of children from death. After liberation, she went to Brussels and lead a home for orphans, who returned from KZ. Siegfried escaped around 1943. The organization OSE (Oeuvre de Secours aux enfants) asked him to lead a group of Jewish children to Switzerland. He agreed and stayed in Basel, where he again led a home for Jewish children. After the war, he went to Brussels and worked with his wife until 1948, when they went to the U.S. There, he worked as a teacher for Jewish subjects. In 1950, they immigrated to Palestine, where he led a children's home in Afula for 25 years.