Book Gifted to Richard Schifter

United States 1940

As a young boy in Vienna, Austria in the 1930s, Richard Schifter would often walk with his father past the Austrian Consular Academy. Richard would tell his parents that one day he wanted to be a diplomat. One time, his father pulled him aside and explained, “We are Jews. Jews can't get jobs as diplomats.” Young Richard was crushed.

This book given to Schifter by a mentor in August 1940 includes the inscription, “May you succeed in your desire to be an ambassador.” Decades later, Richard did -- becoming a U.S. representative to the UNESCO Committee on Conventions and Recommendations. He served in other prominent diplomatic positions in the following years.

  • Source/Credit: Gift of the Family of Ambassador Richard Schifter
  • Catalog Number: 2023.0020.01
  • Created: 1940
  • Acquired: 2023

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MLA Format

Book Gifted to Richard Schifter. 1940. National Museum of American Diplomacy, https://diplomacy.state.gov/items/book-gifted-to-richard-schifter

Chicago Format

Book Gifted to Richard Schifter, 1940, National Museum of American Diplomacy, Washington, DC, https://diplomacy.state.gov/items/book-gifted-to-richard-schifter

APA Format

(Book Gifted to Richard Schifter). 1940 [Object]. National Museum of American Diplomacy, Washington, D.C., United States. https://diplomacy.state.gov/items/book-gifted-to-richard-schifter