Retirement of Hella Moritz

25 November 2009

After 45 years of continuous service Hella Moritz has decided to retire from her full time position as Executive Assistant of the World Jewish Congress and to move to Sao Paulo and to join her family. This is effective as from the end of November. She has agreed, however, to continue to serve our organization in a more limited capacity.
 
Hella's tenure has been inextricably interwoven with the history of the World Jewish Congress. She has served every President since Nahum Goldman. She has played an important role in every major episode of our organization, from the early development of the Claims Conference, the fight to free Soviet Jewry, the exposure of Kurt Waldheim, the outreach to Jews behind the former iron curtain, the restitution of stolen Jewish assets, the Swiss banks and Insurance  episodes, to name but a few..
 
Throughout the turbulent tides of World Jewish Congress history Hella has calmly done her job with modesty, professionalism and efficiency. She has achieved iconic status throughout our large Jewish family, serving as a moral compass to both staff and Lay Leadership alike. She has worked in Geneva, Paris and New York and in the early days was known to take her trusted typewriter "Josephine" wherever she travelled. Her profficiency in languages enabled her to travel with Presidents and she was present at many critical meetings where important negotiations were concluded through her competent interpretation.
 
Thanks to modern technology and the miracle of the internet Hella will continue to produce the weekly report. She will  perform written translation duties. She will be a resource for her successor when one is found to succeed her. And, most importantly, she will continue to serve as the cornerstone of our institutional memory.

Michael Schneider
Secretary General
World Jewish Congress

See also Tributes to Hella Moritz by WJC staff at the WJC Plenary Assembly on 26 January 2009 in Jerusalem