Quakers celebrate life of philanthropist and Kindertransport passenger Alfred Bader
Quakers and others gathered to commemorate the 100th birthday of scientist and philanthropist Alfred Bader at Friends House last weekend.
One of a score of celebratory events around the world, the gathering on Sunday, 28 April, was jointly hosted by Quakers in Britain, the Wiener Holocaust Museum and Symphonova UK.
Music played included discovered pieces by Jewish composers persecuted by the Nazis.
Lost for decades, the music was performed for the first time ever by renowned soprano Helen Bailey and conductor, pianist and inventor Shelley Katz.
Bader, who made his fortune as an industrial chemist, escaped Vienna as a Jewish child on the Kindertransport, aged 14, ten months before the outbreak of World War II.
His aunt and adoptive mother, Gisela Reich, remained behind, dying in Theresienstadt in 1942, Barbara Warnock of the Wiener Holocaust Museum told around 65 attendees.
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He never forgot the acts of human kindness which saved his life.
- Paul Parker
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Grateful for Quakers who worked with the Jewish community on the Kindertransport, which brought children at risk out of Nazi Germany, renowned philanthropist Bader supported Quakers all his life.
The Quaker Asylum and Refugee Network's Marian McNichol told the gathering of the challenges faced by refugees today, and Quaker work to support them.
And that very day, news broke of government plans to round up refugees to send to Rwanda.
Following his arrival in the UK, Bader was interned by the British government in 1940 and then transported to a Canadian prisoner-of-war camp.
On his release in 1941, he attended Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, before earning a PhD in organic chemistry at Harvard University.
In 1950 he founded Aldrich Chemicals, which today, as MilliporeSigma, is the world's largest supplier of research chemicals.
Later Bader became a renowned art collector, dealer and benefactor of chemistry, education and Jewish interests.
Founded more than three decades ago, Bader Philanthropies now give a grant supporting the local development programme which supports and strengthens Quaker communities in Britain.
Paul Parker, recording clerk for Quakers in Britain, who attended the event, said: “We are grateful for the grace of God shown in the life of Alfred Bader.
“He never forgot the acts of human kindness which saved his life, and we are so grateful for his generosity.
“We urge the government to reconsider the policies which threaten those who continue to seek safety on our shores, offering us the potential of their unique, precious lives."