Wilhelm Filderman (last name also spelled Fieldermann; 14 November 1882 – 1963) was a lawyer and the leader of the Romanian-Jewish community between 1919 and 1947; in addition, he was a representative of the Jews in the Romanian parliament.
[1][2] Filderman became the representative of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) in Romania in 1920, and he was elected president of the Union of Romanian Jews three years later, in 1923.
[1][2] In addition, Filderman also campaigned on the behalf of Jewish refugees who fled to Romania in response to pogroms and/or the fear of ending up under Nazi rule.
[1] In 1943, Filderman publicly stated his opposition to the additional taxation of the Romanian Jews, and was subsequently deported by Antonescu to Transnistria, being released after three months due to the intervention of the Papal nuncio and the Swiss and Swedish ambassadors.
[1][2] After the Soviet Army conquered Romania in 1944, Filderman led the struggle to reclaim Jewish property and again became the president of the Federation of Communities and of the Union of Romanian Jews and representative of the JDC.