American Jewish Committee Mourns Death of Kirstein

The American Jewish Committee today issued the following statement under the signatures of Mr. Maurice Wertheim, its president and of Morris D. Waldman, general secretary.

“The Executive Committee of the American Jewish Committee record their profound sorrow at the passing of their beloved colleague, Louis E. Kirstein, Mr. Kirstein was a distinguished and beloved leader in the Jewish community, He was ever mindful of his Jewish heritage and brought his diversified talents to the solution of perplexing Jewish problems, locally, regionally and nationally.

“He was for almost two decades and active and a leader in its councils. He was a member of its Executive Committee since 1930. He was elected Vice-President in 1933, and chairman of the General Committee in 1941, In these positions he gave generously of his time and energy and demonstrated great qualities of leadership, a deep wisdom and a sympathetic understanding of the Committe’s problems. During recent years, as the beloved “first citizen” of Boston, he was very closely associated with the Committee’s New England Regional Office, which benefited immeasurably from his guidance. In recent months, he accepted the chairmanship of an important sub-committee of the American Jewish Committee, in which capacity he was making a vital contribution to the solution of issues of broad communal implications.

“Mr. Kirstein was a distinguished leader in the general as well as in the Jewish community. His national preeminence in the field of commerce and finance was due not merely to his material success and his great ability in the business world, but to his broad social outlook and deep human sympathy. Having achieved his distinguished position the hard way, in typically American pioneering fashion, he was always deeply conscious of his responsibilities to his fellow-men, regardless of race or creed, and his philanthropic and humanitarian activities have contributed greatly to the general welfare.

“The passing of Mr.Kirstein will be widely mourned, His colleagues on the Executive Committee of the American Jewish Committee, who had come to love and admire him and to lean heavily upon his counsel, feel a deep sense of loss in being deprived of his genial company and his able leadership, To his family we extend our sincerest sympathy in their bereavement.”