Dalck Feith

Dalck Feith, father of Douglas Feith, was a Holocaust survivor who came to America as a refugee and ultimately gained success as a businessman and philanthropist.

Before World War II, he was a member of Betar (a right-wing Zionist organization) in 1930s Poland.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer's October 19, 2005 obituary: "Mr. Feith served in the British Merchant Marine before coming to the United States in January 1942. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Merchant Marine. He survived the sinking of three ships, his son said. At the end of the war, Mr. Feith learned that four of his sisters, his three brothers, his mother, and his father had all perished in the Holocaust.

With financial help from the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, he started a business, Dalco Manufacturing. The Philadelphia firm produced metal components for the electronics industry.

In the 1950s, he began manufacturing materials for Jerrold Electronics, a pioneer in cable television. He eventually became part owner of Jerrold, which was later acquired by General Instruments Corp. He continued to operate Dalco Manufacturing until 1990.

In the 1960s, Mr. Feith was chairman of the committee to construct the Philadelphia Holocaust Memorial. He was later appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the commission to raise funds and oversee the construction of the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington.

In 1997, he and former U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Drew Lewis purchased the archives of Edith Hahn Beer, an Austrian Jewish woman who had survived the Holocaust by marrying a Nazi; they donated the archives to the Holocaust Museum in Washington.

Mr. Feith was former cochairman of the Allied Jewish Appeal in Philadelphia and was an active supporter of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, the Police Athletic League, Boys' Towns of Italy, and the Golden Slipper camps for handicapped children.

In 1978, he received an honorary degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for his support of Jewish organizations. He was past president of the Philadelphia Psychiatric Center."