Following the takeover of the store , Wilfrid Israel , who had run the business with his brother , emigrated to England , where he took up a research position at Balliol College , Oxford . From there , he tried to establish contact with the German underground through Sir Stafford Cripps , Britain 's foreign minister , and organized ship transports for Jewish children escaping from Europe . He died in 1943 along with the actor Leslie Howard , when their civilian plane was shot down by the Luftwaffe over the Bay of Biscay . They were allegedly flying as a decoy so that another plane , which carried Prime Minister Winston Churchill , could land safely
civilian plane was shot down
BOAC Flight 777
Nathan Israel Department Store