Document Creator
Jean Nordmann
Biography
Jean Nordmann (1908-1986) was a son of Isidore Nordmann, merchant, and Alice Bloch. After leaving the college of Saint-Michel in 1925, Nordmann was trained in Germany, England and France. During the Second World War, he worked with his wife to help Jewish refugees. He was elected to the Jewish Central Committee (1943), then to the Directorate (1944) of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities, over which he presided from 1973 to 1980. He sat on the Committee of the Swiss Jewish Christian Community from 1948 to 1986, and presided over the Jewish Community of Friburg from 1957 to 1986. In 1964, He was the first Jew to become a colonel in the Swiss Army. Radical member of the Grand Council of Friburg (1967-1971). Through his contacts with the political world and the clergy, and thanks to his political talent, Nordmann contributed greatly to the dialogue between Jews and Christians.
System of Arrangement
Arranged in six series: 1. Materials for the biography of Jean Nordmann: Curriculum vitae, testimonies, poems, family events, photos; 2. Activities in the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (SIG) and other organizations, 1944-1980: commitment to politically prosecuted persons, refugee aids, etc.; 3. Correspondence with Dr. Willy Guggenheim, Peter Woog, Alec Plaut, and other records related to various Jewish organizations; 4 Speeches by Jean Nordmann; 5. Documentation on antisemitism, Holocaust, assistance to Jewish refugees, Israel affairs; 6. Additional materials delivered to the Archiv für Zeitgeschichte (AfZ) in 2011 (Jewish Community Fribourg, and family papers of Isidore Nordmann, Claude Nordmann, Bluette Nordmann-Giger).
The pre-arrangement of papers was made by Jean Nordmann and was largely followed.