Silver plate marking the visit of Dr. Goldman, president of the World Zionist Congress in Hamburg. Hamburg, 1966.

Silver plate marking the visit of Dr. Goldman, president of the World Zionist Congress in Hamburg. Hamburg, 1966.

Silver Plate in Honor of the Visit of the President of the World Zionist Congress Dr. Nachum Goldberg, in Germany. Made by H. J. Wilm. Hamburg 1966, Rare

Description: Beautiful, decorated silver plate, diameter: 34 cm. Weight: 982 grams. Made by the H. J. Wilm company. Along the circumference of the plate there are grape leaves, branches and grapes, along with three gilt medals that were dedicated to the three central personalities in the history of Zionism and the State of Israel: Theodore Herzl, Chaim Weizmann, and Ben Gurion. At center of the plate there is a picture of a seven-stemmed menorah with a star of David at its right and the emblem of the city of Hamburg on its left. These illustrations are encircled with text in German noting the event for which the plate was designed to mark. 

Dr. Nachum Goldman (1895-1982) was a Zionist leader, a member of the Vaad HaPoel HaTzioni since 1927, a founder of the World Jewish Congress and its president from 1956-1968. He was one of the most prominent players involved in procuring the German reparations agreement that was signed in 1952 and worked actively on behalf of the Jews in the Soviet Union.

H. J. Wilm is a silversmith and jewelry company that was founded in Berlin which specialized in jewelry and silver and gold pieces. The company was an official supplier for the emperors' courts and its creations were exhibited in prominent exhibitions in Europe. During the Second World War, the company supplied jewelry to the leaders of the Nazi regime and earned their esteem. After the war, the company moved to Hamburg and continued manufacturing Jewelry and artistic silver pieces by special commission.

Background: Apparently the visit of the president of the World Jewish Congress in West Germany in the 1960s, just a few years after the Eichmann Trial, was considered an important, dramatic occurrence for the Germans. Dr. Goldman's visit to Germany and his activities to promote the reparations agreement allowed the Germans to present the "Other Germany" that disassociated itself from the era of the Holocaust. It seems that this magnificent plate made by the H. J. Wilm company, which clearly expresses the German appreciation for the Jews and Zionism, was intended to transmit this message.

Condition: Very fine. The plate is in its original, elegant case.