Henry Schiff and His Actions that Saved a Generation

Henry Schiff was a German-born American businessman, banker and philanthropist. He was known as one of financiers of the Russo-Japanese War, helping the efforts of the Japanese military against Tsarist Russia. Schiff was born on January 10, 1847 in Frankfurt, Germany. Following the American Civil War, Schiff migrated to the US. In the US, he ended up in Wall Street, joining the firm Kuhn, Loeb & Co.

For his involvement in solving the issues and problems concerning the Jews between 1880 and 1920, Schiff was credited for that period of time called “Schiff era”. Among the issues he helped solve were the plight of the Russian Jews under the anti-semitism in Russia and America. He cared for the needs of the Jewish immigrants. While being involved in various civic actions, Schiff became active in business, becoming the director of significant companies including Equitable Life Assurance Society, National City Bank of New York and Wells Fargo & Co.

Perhaps, the most important action of Schiff was that of the Russo-Japanese War. Schiff extended loans to the Empire of Japan amounting to $200 million through his connections in the Kuhn, Loeb & Co. For the first time, Japanese bonds floated in the Wall Street. According to Schiff, the loan was his answer to the anti-semitic tendencies of the Russian Empire.