Gustav Seligmann

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Gustav Seligmann
The mineral seligmannite named after Seligmann

Gustav Seligmann (born May 31, 1849 in Koblenz ; † June 28, 1920 there ) was a German banker . From 1872 to 1920 he headed the Seligmann bank . In addition to his professional activity, he worked as a mineralogist recognized in specialist circles .

biography

Professional and social career

Gustav Seligmann was the only child of Sarah, née Rosenik (1829–1890), and Bernhard Seligmann (1815–1899). The father ran the Seligmann bank in Koblenz . The family was originally of Jewish origin. Gustav Seligmann was the first member of his family to be baptized Christian as a baby.

After graduating from the Royal Prussian Gymnasium in Koblenz in 1868, Gustav Seligmann did his one-year military service. In 1870 he took part in the Franco-German War as a lieutenant in the 2nd Rhenish Hussar Regiment No. 9 , but was not involved in combat operations. He then completed a commercial apprenticeship and in 1872 - the only heir from his father - joined the family's banking house, which had a branch in Cologne in addition to the Koblenz parent company. In the same year he married Maria Liebermann von Sonnenberg, called "Mieze", who came from a Prussian officer's family. The couple had four children: two sons, Georg and Paul , who joined the bank, and two daughters, Helene and Elisabeth, who married Prussian officers.

After his father's death in 1899, Gustav Seligmann moved the bank's headquarters to the Neustadt 6 building in Koblenz; He had the adjoining house number 5 converted into a representative city villa with rooms for parties and concerts. On July 2, 1911, the bank celebrated its 100th birthday in a festive setting.

When the First World War broke out , the Seligmann bank took part in the sale of war bonds . Gustav Seligmann went beyond that by investing all of his private fortune - an estimated four to five million marks - as well as parts of the bank's equity in war bonds. Presumably he also invested customer funds in war bonds. Because of the defeat of the German Reich in the war , the money was lost. After the bank went bankrupt in 1932, trustee Max Rhee announced at a creditors' meeting that these failed investments had contributed to it.

In 1905 Gustav Seligmann was awarded the title of Commerce Councilor in recognition of his services to the common good and in 1918 he was awarded the title of Privy Commercial Councilor.

After the German defeat in the First World War, Gustav Seligmann withdrew from many of his honorary posts. He and his wife Maria died within five hours on June 28, 1920, which gave rise to speculation. In both cases, “ heartbeat ” was given as the cause on the obituary.

Politics, culture and social issues

From 1896 Gustav Seligmann was a member of the Koblenz city council, politically he was close to the National Liberal Party . In this function he was particularly committed to the interests of the Prussian Army . For example, he campaigned for an expansion of the barracks in the Moselweißer Feld at the expense of the city of Koblenz, which had to take out a loan of 2.5 million marks for this. From 1914 to 1919 he was the city councilor. He was also a member of the German Naval Association , the purpose of which was to arouse the population's interest in the global political role of the Imperial Navy . The historian Ulrich Offerhaus: “In agreement with the militarization of politics under Kaiser Wilhelm II [...] Seligmann's commitment to military armament went far beyond his parents' very personal admiration for the 'old' Prussian-German imperial couple . “During the war he donated large sums to the Red Cross and the National Foundation for the bereaved of those who died in the war .

Gustav Seligmann had inherited an art collection from his grandfather Leopold Seligmann and his uncle Jakob, which he was constantly expanding. It was an extensive collection of furniture and pictures, carpets, mirrors and other objects with which he adorned his city palace in Koblenz. After his death, the collection was gradually auctioned off in the 1920s and 1930s, in an unsuccessful attempt to secure the bank's existence. Auctioneers included Paul Cassirer and Hugo Helbing , and the art historian Otto von Falke was responsible for evaluating the collections.

In addition to his political activities, Seligmann held numerous offices and memberships, including in the arts, crafts and antiquity association for the Coblenz administrative district , the beautification association for Coblenz and the surrounding area , the association for the preservation of monuments and heritage protection , the Rhenish Society for Scientific Research and the Philharmonic Association . In addition, together with family members, he set up a foundation to support young people from Koblenz who attended the commercial college in Cologne. Together with his wife Maria, Gustav Seligmann also supported social institutions that looked after single pregnant women in particular. They financed the construction of the Kaiserin-Augusta-Haus , a home for women who have recently given birth . Seligmann also campaigned for the establishment of a lung sanatorium .

mineralogy

After his military service in 1868 and before joining the bank, studied Seligmann few semesters Geology and Mineralogy at Gustav Rose at the University in Berlin . While traveling he collected minerals; He received more from other mineral collectors and examined them. In particular, he devoted himself to crystallography . He presented his findings in lectures at scientific societies and in magazines and made a name for himself in the professional world. He had particularly close contact with Gerhard vom Rath . He was also involved in this area on a voluntary basis, for example as "Sections Director" for the mineralogy area in the Natural History Association .

Gustav Seligmann made mineralogical study trips, mainly to the Binntal in Switzerland . There he collected minerals mainly in the Lengenbach mine . In 1899 he became a member of the Swiss Geological Society . He kept the collection in his house in a separate room next to his office.

Many specimens from Gustav Seligmann's mineral collection were photographed in the textbook Das Mineralreich (1903) by Reinhard Brauns . In 1901 the mineralogist Heinrich Baumhauer named a rare mineral seligmannite after him . The University of Bonn recognized his achievements with the title of honorary doctor . When Seligmann died in 1920, his friend Victor Goldschmidt wrote the obituary and published it in his journal articles on crystallography and mineralogy . Seligmann's findings were characterized by “the delicacy of observation and the precision of measurement and drawing”: “Seligmann loved every single item in his collection and knew it according to its location, type of acquisition and crystallographic significance.”

literature

  • Ulrich Offerhaus: Family and banking house Seligmann in Koblenz and Cologne . Socrates & Friends, 2016, ISBN 978-3-9814234-9-5 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Offerhaus, Bankhaus Seligmann , p. 215.
  2. ^ Offerhaus, Bankhaus Seligmann , pp. 216/17.
  3. ↑ Maria Liebermann von Sonnenberg was related to the anti-Semitic politician and publicist Max Liebermann von Sonnenberg , the exact relationship is not known.
  4. ^ Offerhaus, Bankhaus Seligmann , p. 242.
  5. ^ Offerhaus, Bankhaus Seligmann , p. 227.
  6. ^ Offerhaus, Bankhaus Seligmann , p. 228.
  7. ^ Offerhaus, Bankhaus Seligmann , pp. 229/230.
  8. ^ Offerhaus, Bankhaus Seligmann , p. 230.
  9. ^ Offerhaus, Bankhaus Seligmann , p. 246.
  10. ^ Offerhaus, Bankhaus Seligmann , p. 247.
  11. ↑ a b Offerhaus, Bankhaus Seligmann , p. 231.
  12. ^ Offerhaus, Bankhaus Seligmann , p. 247.
  13. ^ Offerhaus, Bankhaus Seligmann , pp. 233/234.
  14. ↑ Gustav Seligmann Collection, Koblenz and Cologne . Paul Cassirer and Hugo Helbing, 1928 ( limited preview in Google book search).
  15. ^ Paul Cassirer Art Salon [editor]; Hugo Helbing <Munich> [editor]. Gustav Seligmann Collection, Koblenz and Cologne: Auctioned on March 27 and 28, 1928. In: digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de. March 28, 1928, accessed August 9, 2020 .
  16. ^ Offerhaus, Bankhaus Seligmann , p. 234 ff.
  17. ^ Offerhaus, Bankhaus Seligmann , pp. 236/237.
  18. ^ Offerhaus, Bankhaus Seligmann , p. 237.
  19. ^ Offerhaus, Bankhaus Seligmann , pp. 217, 239.
  20. ↑ a b Offerhaus, Bankhaus Seligmann , p. 240.
  21. ↑ a b Offerhaus, Bankhaus Seligmann , p. 241.
  22. ↑ Seligmannite: Mineral information, data and localities. In: mindat.org. June 28, 1920, accessed August 9, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Seligmann, Gustav
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German banker
DATE OF BIRTH May 31, 1849
PLACE OF BIRTH Koblenz
DATE OF DEATH June 28, 1920
Place of death Koblenz