Arnold Bernstein

Arnold Bernstein (23 January 1888, in Breslau – 1971 in Palm Beach, Florida) was a German-American shipowner and pioneer of transatlantic car transport, which he revolutionised since he was transporting cars without boxing them up in wooden crates as was usual before and was thus able to reduce freight rates.[1] When the 1929 Great Depression made the use of 'swimming garages' impractical, Bernstein then turned his cargo ships into passenger ships, with just one travel class (which he called tourist class) rather than the three that were usual. One of the first Jewish 'merchant princes', he was one of the victims of the Nazi appropriation policies.

Early life

The eldest son of the Jewish businessman Max Bernstein and his wife Franziska Altmann, Arnold Bernstein was born 23 January 1888 in Breslau, capital city of the Prussian province of Silesia (today Wrocław, Poland). He had three sisters - Else, Alice, and Rose. Arnold considered himself to be a lazy student contrary to the values of his family. His primary education ended by age 14 and his attitude began to change when he apprenticed to his father in 1902. By the age of 21 he had adopted his father's culture of a strict work ethic and honor code for business which he carried in 1909 to the Hanseatic port city of Hamburg.

He fought in the German artillery during the First World War rising from sergeant to captain (but not allowed into the Officer Corps because of his religion). He fought in battles at Noyon, Ypern, and at the Somme, and was awarded the Iron Cross first class.[2]

Career

He founded his first shipping company then became a soldier in World War One, then returned to his business as the Arnold Bernstein Line. Over the course of the next decade, he grew the value of his shipping enterprises.

During the early 1930s, Bernstein personally experienced the growing anti-Semitism even though he did not consider himself a practicing religious Jew. Bernstein did not trust Hitler's promise to Hindenburg that he would not harm Jews who had fought in the first World War, but his wife did not want to emigrate. Bernstein founded the Palestine Shipping Company (1934),[3] which emerged as an important link for Jewish emigration to Palestine during the late 1930s.

Bernstein was tried in 1937 and imprisoned on charges of foreign exchange offenses, but released in 1939. At the time of his arrest, he was the owner of one of the largest Jewish businesses in Germany. After making a payment of $30,000 in U.S. currency (equivalent to $551,411.48 in 2019), he was allowed to leave Germany for Holland. The funds were raised by friends, who withheld payment until Bernstein arrived at the border crossing. Bernstein and his wife Lilli left Europe for New York aboard the SS Nieuw Amsterdam at Southampton on August 25, 1939, and arrived in New York on September 1, the day that Germany invaded Poland. On board were 1286 passengers, about 150 more than normal capacity. The Nieuw Amsterdam, a ship owned by the Holland America Line, was called the "first war refugee" ship, since it was the first to take on passengers in excess of capacity because of the fear of war breaking out.[4]

He had very little money but was highly regarded in his business skills. He recruited investors while assets and credit were difficult to obtain during wartime. In 1940 he founded the Arnold Bernstein Steamship Corporation in New York. In 1945, Bernstein sued in US District Court for the recovery of his two shipping lines, arguing that he had been forced under threat of death to sign them over to the Nazi government. Some ships from the Arnold Bernstein Line had been taken over by the Allies, but the Red Star Line had been sold to the Holland America Line. The two lines were valued at $4,800,000 (equivalent to $45,698,141.26 in 2019).[5]

Bernstein was a flexible thinker who preferred straightforward methods, but would develop complex transactions to match the needs of investors, customers and regulators. Along with other shipping industry executives, in the late 1940s he saw an opportunity to provide a quality passenger cruise ship experience that would allow visits to smaller and older ports that the larger trans-Atlantic cruise ships were not able to meet.

Bernstein once said, "All business is a kind of war and you stand a fair chance of winning if you stick to your guns."[6]

His first attempt to purchase the defunct partially converted cargo ship Nilla, previously the World War II-era LST HMS Bruiser, for conversion to a small passenger cruise ship began with a negotiation with its owners. Using Triora S.A., Panama, his investor group planned to purchase the ship and rename her Silver Star (not Silverstar). Triora S.A. was named in honor of the people of Triora who aided Francesco Moraldo in hiding two Jewish orphans from the Nazis. On 2 February 1950 the vessel left Antwerp under tow for Hamburg. However the sale to Triora S.A. had fallen through. Finally in May 1950 her owners closed the sale of Nilla to a "Swiss" investor, Mr. Vasile Ladislau "Leslie" Winkler (b. 12 Aug 1914 in Romania), who had a residence in Paris at the time. He registered the ship in Panama, owned by Compania de Naviera Rio Grande. (The brilliant Mr. Winkler was an example of a highly capable shipping industry agent displaced by war.[7][8][9]) The Nilla was still an attractive vessel to Bernstein because it could be converted for either full passenger ship or partial passenger/car carrier ship. Mr. Winkler's purchase was a way to fulfill Bernstein's assurance of a sale to the original sellers.

In 1951 Bernstein arranged the purchase of the vessel by SGS Société de Surveillance S. A. in Geneva, Switzerland (with registered owner: Compania Naviera Estrella de Plata S. A., Panama, call sign: HOHX) and renamed Silverstar. (Estrella de Plata is the specific Spanish language way of translating Silver Star, the award first granted during World War II to U.S. Forces for gallantry in action against an enemy.) Because of his vast and detailed knowledge and experience in passenger shipping, Bernstein involved himself in the details of conversion. A successful operation of the vessel would be essential to the growth of his personal wealth; every penny he could save would make the possibility of success more likely. Every aid to efficient operation he could add during conversion would potentially increase profitability and safety.

The Silverstar was brought into the ship yard of Howaldtswerke AG, Hamburg for conversion into a cruise liner while at the same time she was lengthened by 22 feet (6.71 m) at the stern. Bernstein had personal and professional connections with executives of the shipyard, and so did Winkler.[7] To accommodate a maximum of 420 passengers, 171 air-conditioned passenger cabins were provided at time when air-conditioned cabins were not standard. Beginning in 1952 the Bernstein-controlled Silver Star Line sailed the Silverstar for "informal" vacation cruises from Washington DC,[10] Charleston, Miami, and New Orleans to the Caribbean Sea, calling mainly in ports like Bermuda, Nassau, Havana and Vera Cruz. At the end of each summer, she sailed to West Germany for annual dry docking. In March of 1955 Silverstar made a port of call in Tunis on a Mediterranean cruise. In December of 1956 the charter on the vessel was transferred to Caribbean Cruise Lines and she sailed for one additional voyage. In January of 1957, Silverstar was sold to state-owned Flota Argentina de Navegación Fluvial (Buenos Aires) and renamed Ciudad de Santa Fé.

In 1957, Bernstein founded the American Banner Lines in New York and arranged the financing for purchase and conversion of the freighter Badger Mariner into a passenger ship. In 1958 it was put into service as the passenger vessel Atlantic in the New York-Antwerp-Amsterdam trade but burgeoning airline competition underlay difficulty in financing a sister ship. In 1959 the Atlantic was sold to American Export Lines to be refitted as a warm weather cruise liner and at the age of 71, Bernstein retired from business to his home in New Rochelle, New York because of his declining health. He spent the last years of his life in Florida and died of a heart ailment in Ocean Ridge, Florida at the age of 83.[6]

Personal life

Surviving his death were his widow, the former Lilli Kimmelstiel (born 20 June 1896 in Hamburg, married 1 May 1919); a son, Ronald Barnes; a daughter, Mrs. Stephanie Lanxner, and two sisters, Mrs. Else Kugelman and Mrs. Alice Wolff.[6]

Ships

Under German Flag

  • Max, Freighter
  • Keilberg, Freighter
  • Betty, Tugboat
  • Odin, Freighter
  • Aegir, Freighter
  • Frithjof, Freighter
  • Max Bernstein, Freighter
  • Falkenstein, Freighter
  • Johanna, Freighter
  • Charlotte, Lighter
  • Schleswig-Holstein, Freighter
  • Eberstein, Freighter
  • Hohenstein, Freighter, renamed the Tel Aviv in 1935
  • Gerolstein, Freighter & Passenger Ship
  • Königstein, Freighter & Passenger Ship
  • Ilsenstein, Freighter & Passenger Ship
  • Lichtenstein, Freighter
  • Lahnstein, Freighter
  • Traunstein, Freighter
  • Drachenstein, Freighter
  • Gravenstein, Freighter
  • Pennland, Freighter & Passenger Ship
  • Westernland, Freighter & Passenger Ship

Under non-German flag

  • Panamanian, Freighter
  • Orbis, Freighter
  • Continental, Passenger Ship
  • Europa, Passenger Ship
  • Silverstar, Passenger Ship (1952-56)
  • Atlantic, Passenger Ship (1958-59)

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-07-28. Retrieved 2014-07-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Siegel, Björn. "Arnold Bernstein." In Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present, vol. 5, edited by R. Daniel Wadhwani. German Historical Institute. Last modified June 22, 2015.
  3. Arnold Bernstein is a Backer of New Palestine Shipping Line, JTA archive, 1935 January 14. Accessed February 2020.
  4. "Times Wide World (1939, Sep 2). Fleeing Tourists Jam Arriving Ship: Nieuw Amsterdam Here With 1,286 Passengers. New York Times". Missing or empty |url= (help)
  5. "Our Staff Correspondents (1945, Jun 5). Return of Ships Sought; Claim of Forced Sale. Sydney Morning Herald". Missing or empty |url= (help)
  6. New York Times: Arnold Bernstein Dead at 83, 9 March 1971, page 41. Accessed February 2020.
  7. Ships and Friendships. Author: Arne Larsson, pp. 193-197; accessed January 2020
  8. American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) Archives: Italy, Transfer of Funds: V. Winkler, 1950-1952, accessed January 2020
  9. Narrative regarding 1963 activities of Mr. Winkler, Vice President, Exhibitions de France, holder of the operation franchise for the French Pavilion at the World's Fair, and other people. Excerpt from Records & Briefs New York State Appellate Division, 30 AD 2nd, pages 950, Volume 216. Accessed January 2020.
  10. The Second Supplemental Appropriation Bill, 1955: Hearings Before Subcommittees of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, Eighty-fourth Congress, First Session, page 298. Accessed February 2020
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