Hertha Neufeld

Hertha Neufeld was born on 14.1.1886 in Berlin and died on 16.1.1975 in London. She was the younger sister of the famous social work pioneer Siddy Wronsky. In Berlin, where she lived until 1938, she held a leading position with the "Jüdische Kinderhilfe e.V." (Auguststrasse), that was founded after the end of the First World War to help immigrants from East European countries and their children. It rendered a variety of services, especially in the fields of health and education. Firstly, between 1920-1925, she worked there voluntarily, then she took over the management of the Jüdische Kinderhilfe and became board member. Hertha maintained a day care center and also looked after the health and educational needs of children, many of whom stemmed from Eastern Jewish families. She was responsible for all organizational and pedagogical questions and worked together with the 'Zentralwohlfahrtsstelle der Juden in Deutschland (Central welfare bureau of Jews in Germany, ZWST) and the Jewish community of Berlin. In 1938, she immigrated to Palestine, where she lived, and possibly worked, together with her sister Siddy Wronsky. Her activities were mainly devoted to the “Boarding school for deaf and dumb children” in Jerusalem, where she worked as a secretary between 1943-1954 run under the auspices of the Alliance Israelite Universelle. In 1955, she transferred all of Siddy Wronsky's personal inherent to the Central Zionist Archive in Jerusalem, and at that same year she immigrated to London and spent the years of her retirement with her brother Hans Neufeld, who was an economist. Yet, as long as her health permitted, she also voluntarily worked for the benefit of the former Jewish refugees by building up and administering the lending library run by the AJR (Association of Jewish Refugees). She was a highly regarded as a person who had a decisive share in the expansion and dynamic development of the 'Kinderhilfe'.

Authors: Ayana Halpern, Dayana Lau