Brothers friendly
The Gebr. Freundlich AG was a timber and parquet factory with a steam sawmill in Munich , branches in Stuttgart and Kirchberg in Tyrol , as well as wood storage facilities in Germany , Austria and import storage facilities in Eastern Europe and Russia .
Foundation and advancement
The Holzhandlung Gebr. Freundlich was founded in Munich in 1875 by Moritz Freundlich (1840-1892) and Julius Freundlich (born March 31, 1853 in Wittelsbach , died on September 28, 1937). From 1916 the company owned a sawmill, a warehouse at Elsenheimer Str. 23, a large timber warehouse in today's Landsberger Strasse 426/428 as well as considerable timber processing companies in Austria and Hungary . They delivered oak to almost every country in Europe. The office was on Sonnenstrasse. In 1912 it was converted into an OHG. In Kirchberg / Tirol, raw parquet was produced for Eastern Europe and the Balkans . After the First World War , Holz-Contor AG was founded in Zurich , which developed into a company of European standing. In 1921 the company bought a steam sawmill (today Landsbergerstrasse 432) which was expanded into a planing mill for parquet .
Honors
Julius Freundlich was awarded the title of Kommerzienrat in 1904 and was appointed honorary commercial judge at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
The family AG
In 1922 the OHG was converted into a family company. Due to the global economic crisis at the end of 1929, the family had to pledge securities from their private property to Swiss banks. Years later, this fact turned out to be an advantage. These assets were safe from access by the Nazi regime. However, it was only released ten years after the war ended.
The Freundlich and Prager families
Julius Freundlich came to Munich in 1868 at the age of 15 and worked as an assistant in a Munich wood shop. On June 29, 1885, he married Karolina (Lina) Prager (1863–1937) from Heilbronn. Daughter Cornelia was born on May 2, 1886. In 1907 Carolina Freundlich married the non-Jewish lawyer Dr. jur. Rolf Ritter and Edler von Paur (1883–1959). Two of Lina Freundlich's brothers joined the company: 1912 Ludwig Löb Prager (1866–1936) and 1916 Alfred Siegfried Prager (1883–1940). In 1919 son-in-law Rolf von Paur joined the company.
During the time of National Socialism
After Julius Freundlich's death in 1937, Paur's couple became the main shareholder (50%) and Rolf von Paur became chairman of the board. The last Jewish partner left the board. The company was now called "Holzhandel AG". The partners were Alfred Prager and Ludwig Prager's son, Fritz Peter Prager, with 25% each. In July 1938, Alfred Prager and Rolf von Paur were arrested and charged with moving their property to Switzerland. The proceedings were ultimately discontinued without result. However, due to arrest and indictment, the entrepreneurs consented to the appointment of a trustee and general agent. This post was taken over by an SS-Hauptsturmführer, who now had full control over the company. Alfred Prager was arrested again in August and then deported to the Dachau concentration camp during the Reichskristallnacht . Due to his poor health, he was transported to a clinic and placed there under arrest until the beginning of 1940. Alfred Prager died in custody in September 1940. His wife Lilly tried unsuccessfully to emigrate and was deported to Kaunas on November 20, 1941, where she was murdered in Fort IX on November 25 .
Rolf von Paur tried in vain to get the company recognized as a non-Jewish company. However, the Gestapo and the Reich Ministry of Economics did not agree. As late as the summer of 1938, the ministry stated that it must be feared that if the only non-Aryan were forced out of the company, this company, which is highly regarded abroad, could suffer severe damage from foreign boycotts. The Nazi regime put pressure on von Paur to get a divorce. However, he did not comply. The couple was arrested in 1942 and Cornelia von Paur was sentenced to seven months of forced labor. Son Claus did four years of military service, was wounded and finally had to do forced labor in a Thuringian salt mine. Rolf von Paur, 17 months in prison or arrest, gave in to the pressure in June 1942 and left the board. In October 1942 Fritz Peter Prager transferred his shares to his "Aryan" mother.
post war period
Rolf von Paur took over the management again. However, the company could no longer build on its successes. The office and warehouse were destroyed. Elsenheimer Str. 23 served as a warehouse. In 1956, the decision to liquidate the business was made in 1958.
literature
- Bernhard Koch: Delivered to compliant executors - Die Holzhandlung Gebrüder Freundlich, in: Moved into the light, Jüdische Lebenswege im Münchner Westen, Utz Munich 2008, pp. 85–98.
Web links
References and comments
- ↑ a b c Bernhard Koch in: Moved into the light, Jewish ways of life in the west of Munich. Utz Munich 2008, pp. 85–87 google books.
- ↑ Bernhard Koch in: Moved into the light, Jewish ways of life in the west of Munich. Utz Munich 2008, p. 85.
- ↑ Bernhard Koch in: Moved into the light, Jewish ways of life in the west of Munich . Utz Munich 2008, p. 86.
- ^ Alfred Gottwaldt, Diana Schulle: The "deportations of Jews" from the German Reich 1941–1945: a commented chronology. Marix, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-86539-059-5 , p. 106.
- ↑ Bernhard Koch in: Moved into the light, Jewish ways of life in the west of Munich . Utz Munich 2008, pp. 88-93.
- ↑ Bernhard Koch in: Moved into the light, Jewish ways of life in the west of Munich . Utz Munich 2008, p. 94.