HOCHSCHILD, MAURICIO

HOCHSCHILD, MAURICIO (1881–1965), engineer and mining magnate. Born in Biblis, Germany, Hochschild studied mining engineering, joined his uncle's metal trading firm, and was sent to Australia in 1907. In 1912, he left the firm and went to Chile, where he established his own company. During World War I he worked in Germany and Austria and afterward returned to Chile. In 1920 Hochschild went to Bolivia, where, after engaging in the purchase of ores for several years, he ultimately established one of the great Bolivian mining companies. When the Bolivian mines were nationalized, after the 1952 Revolution, Hochschild's company continued to operate throughout Chile, Peru, and Argentina and also purchased products from the nationalized mines in Bolivia. Though estranged from Judaism, Hochschild helped to bring Jewish refugees from Europe to Bolivia during the 1930s and employed some of them in his companies. He established an agricultural settlement for Jewish immigrants near Coroico, spending almost $1,000,000 on the project, which ultimately failed. While generously assisting thousands of Jews individually he refused to be identified with Jewish institutional life. (Netanel Lorch)