Clive Schmitthoff, pictured here seated fifth from left, originally from Germany, was an expert in international and commercial law. He read law at the University of Freiburg and later at the University of Berlin and obtained a doctorate in law at Berlin, 1927. He became a successful advocate in the Berlin Kammergericht (Court of Appeal).
When the Nazi’s came to power and introduced anti-semitic legislation, he had his qualifications revoked and was forced to flee Germany for England in 1933. In England he obtained an LLM degree at the London School of Economics, 1936, was called to the bar in Gray's Inn. He became a part-time lecturer in German at the City of London College and later a lecturer in law 1948-1958, senior lecturer 1958-1963, and Principal lecturer 1963-1971. Schmitthoff was also joint vice-chairman of the Centre for Commercial Law Studies at Queen Mary College, University of London, 1985, where he introduced and co-taught an LLM course on international trade law, at the same time establishing and organising a series of annual conferences on international commercial law.
Schmitthoff’s archives relate to the whole course of his career and departure from Germany, and also contain the archives of his wife, Isle Auerbach, and her sister, the art historian Erna Auerbach.