Norbert Masur

Norbert Masur (Mazur) (1901–1971) was Sweden's representative to the World Jewish Congress (WJC). The WJC was founded in Geneva in 1936 to unite the Jewish people and to mobilise the world against the Nazis.[2] He aided in the rescue of 7000 Nazi concentration camp victims during World War II.

Masur was born in Friedrichstadt, Germany, one of ten children of Leiser Masur and Hanna Masur (née Levy). He was a German Jew who emigrated to Stockholm and then to Tel Aviv after WW2.^[1]

With the help of Heinrich Himmler's Swedish doctor, Felix Kersten, the Swedish section of the WJC arranged a secret meeting on 21 April 1945 between Masur and Himmler about 70 kilometres north of Berlin.[2] As a result of this meeting and subsequent negotiations with the head of the Swedish Red Cross, Folke Bernadotte, the WJC was given custody of about 7,000 women from the women's Ravensbrück concentration camp. Approximately half (45%) of these women  (who had been deported from over 40 nations) were Jewish.[3] After their liberation they were housed in camps in southern Sweden. Masur expressed his shock at the poor health of the women after several years'of imprisonment in various camps. His view was that return to their home countries was impossible for these women and that emigration to Palestine was the only option open to these women in order for them to regain their dignity.[4]

References

1. ↑ Mitteilungsblatt der Gesellschaft Für Friedrichstädter Stadtgeschichte (1980), vol. 17, p.270/272 (in German)
2. ↑ Penkower, Monty Noam (1988). The Jews Were Expendable: Free World Diplomacy and the Holocaust. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-1952-9
3. ↑ http://www.ravensbrueck.de/mgr/index.html History of Ravensbrueck concentration camp from 1939-1945 (German)
4. ↑ http://www.brookdalecc.edu/pages/992.asp Report to the World Jewish Congress by Mr. Norbert Masur