Emil Oppenheimer & Co.

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Emil Oppenheimer & Co. was a trading company for casings and spices in Heilbronn , founded in 1860. After the " Aryanization " in 1939 , it was renamed Ried & Cie. OHG, intestinal and spice wholesaler, existed until 1958.

history

Emil Oppenheimer & Co. in Heilbronn, invoice issued on September 24, 1908.
Pauline Einstein was the housekeeper of the widowed Emil from 1911 to 1918.

Emil Oppenheimer (born November 24, 1844 in Michelfeld ; † January 25, 1922 in Heilbronn) came from Michelfeld in Baden (near Angelbachtal ), where the Oppenheimer family had been based since the early 18th century. In 1860 he founded the company Emil Oppenheimer & Co , a spice - and intestines - import business . Co-owners were his brothers Hermann (1837-1919) and Adolf (1840-1914).

In 1872 the shop was located at Untere Allee 4 in Heilbronn, and from 1885 the company also sold charcuterie materials and machines . A branch was opened in Frankfurt am Main in 1887 , and two years later (1889) Max Levi became a partner in the company. From 1899 the company was located at Allee 42 in Heilbronn, at the same time company branches were opened in New York and Chicago . Goods were handled via warehouses in Rotterdam , Hamburg and Cologne .

In addition to Emil Oppenheimer and Max Levi, Emils Neffen, Richard (1872–1941; son of Hermann Oppenheimer) and Heinrich (son of Adolf Oppenheimer) also became partners in 1906. Emil, now a widower, his wife Bertha geb. Strauss (* 1852) had already died in 1903 and employed Albert Einstein's mother Pauline (1858–1920) as housekeeper , who ran his household at Titotstrasse 14 in Heilbronn from 1911–1914 and August 1915 to April 1918. Einstein visited his mother several times in Emil Oppenheimer's house and on this occasion taught the young Trude Victoria Victor, who became famous as Victoria Wolff , in mathematics . Pauline Einstein's mother was Jette Koch, a cousin of Fanny, Victoria's grandmother. In addition, her aunt Auguste Hochberger (1967-1936), the sister of Victoria's father, the leather manufacturer Jacob Victor (1869-1918), was a close friend of Pauline. The close contacts to Albert Einstein arose from this family relationship.

Richard, Heinrich and Emil were shareholders from 1917, the founder died in 1922. On March 8th of the same year the workers of the intestinal and spice import companies in Heilbronn, including the employees of Emil Oppenheimer & Co. , went on strike because their demand for a 60 Mark wage surcharge had previously been rejected.

The company's profits made the founder one of the millionaires living in Württemberg at the time . After his death, the trading company was continued by his heirs, the shareholders in 1925 were Richard and Heinrich Oppenheimer as well as the Munich businessman David Freitag, in 1936 only Richard Oppenheimer and David Freitag were shareholders. Last headed by his nephew Richard Oppenheimer, the company had its headquarters at Wilhelmstrasse 26 in 1937 . Under him the company was "Aryanized" , after which it traded as Ried & Cie. OHG, intestinal and spice wholesaler . The wholesaler existed in this form in Heilbronn until 1958.

literature

  • Hans Franke : History and Fate of the Jews in Heilbronn. From the Middle Ages to the time of the National Socialist persecution (1050–1945). Heilbronn City Archives, Heilbronn 1963, ISBN 3-928990-04-7 ( PDF, 1.2 MB ).
  • Christhard Schrenk, Hubert Weckbach: "... for your account and risk". Invoices and letterheads from Heilbronn companies . Heilbronn City Archives, Heilbronn 1994, ISBN 3-928990-48-9 ( Small series of publications by the Heilbronn City Archives . Volume 30).
  • Rudolf Martin: Yearbook of the wealth and income of the millionaires in Württemberg with Hohenzollern , Berlin 1914.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Digital Edition - Heilbronn Jewish Cemetery, Inv.-No. 0163 Steinheim Institute
  2. ↑ John M. Spalek, Joseph Strelka, Sandra H. Hawrylchak: German-language exile literature since 1933, volume 3 "USA" (= German exile literature since 1933, volume 5), KG Saur 2005, ISBN 3-908255-42-2 , p. 272
  3. ↑ Christhard Schrenk (Ed.): Heilbronnica: Contributions to City History, Volume 4 , City Archives Heilbronn 2008. [1]
  4. ↑ John M. Spalek, Joseph Strelka, Sandra H. Hawrylchak: German-language exile literature since 1933, volume 3 "USA" (= German exile literature since 1933, volume 5), KG Saur 2005, ISBN 3-908255-42-2 , p. 273
  5. ↑ Chronik HN, 1922–1933, p. 15
  6. ↑ Martin: Yearbook of the wealth and income of the millionaires in Württemberg with Hohenzollern , p. 30.
  7. ^ Franke: History and fate of the Jews in Heilbronn ... , p. 290 [Israelite community list of April 1, 1937]
  8. ↑ Schrenk / Weckbach: "... for your account and risk". Invoices and letterheads Heilbronner Firmen , p. 86 [Emil Oppenheimer & Co. - invoice issued on September 24, 1908]