Wiener , Alfred , 1885-1964 , founder of the Wiener Library

Alfred Wiener was a German Jew, born, 1885; trained as an Arabist; Middle East, 1909-1911; fought in the First World War, winning the Iron Cross 2nd Class; high-ranking official in the Centralverein deutscher Staatsbürger jüdischen Glaubens (Central Association of German Citizens of Jewish Faith, CV), 1919; created the Büro Wilhelmstrasse of the CV, which documented Nazi activities and issued anti-Nazi materials; fled to Amsterdam, 1933; founded the Jewish Central Information Office (JCIO, later the Weiner Library), 1933; In 1939 he and the JCIO transferred to London; USA, 1939-1945; returned to London in 1945 to transform the JCIO into a library and centre for the scholarly study of the Nazi era. Died 1964.