Bernhard Reichenbach

Bernhard Reichenbach (1888 in Berlin – 1975 in London) was a member of the Executive Committee of the Communist International. He was a member of the Communist Workers' Party of Germany and acted as their delegate to the Third Congress of the Third International.

Bernhard was born in Berlin in 1888, the son of Bruno Reichenbach. Bernhard's younger brother was Hans Reichenbach who would go on to become a leading philosopher of science. Bernhard was a conscientious objector but between 1915–17 served in the German army during the First World War in the medical corps including at the Battle of Verdun. Bernhard then joined the German Foreign Office where he served in until 1919. Bernhard would join the Communist Workers' Party of Germany and, shortly after the birth of his son, Hanno, he travelled to the Soviet Union as one of his party's representatives and would go on to hold discussions with Lenin.

Bernard was a trained economist and he worked as a purchasing agent for a chemical company.

With the coming to power of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party, Bernhard, as a German of Jewish descent and with communist political beliefs, came under threat and fled to Great Britain via the Netherlands. During the Second World War, Bernhard worked for the British Foreign office where he worked on various anti-Nazi publications which were distributed around Germany and would be awarded the Verdienstkreuz 1, Klasse, the German equivalent of an O.B.E., for his work.

Bernard married Ilze Rosendorn with whom he had two children, Hanno and Tania. Hanno attended Great Ayton Friends' School as one of several German and Austrian refugees.