Isidor Petschek

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Isidor Petschek (born March 15, 1854 in Kolin , Kingdom of Bohemia , † June 18, 1919 in Prague , Czechoslovakia ) was a German-speaking lawyer and entrepreneur. Together with his brother Julius Petschek , he founded the Prague line of the Petschek entrepreneurial dynasty , which was one of the richest Jewish families in Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Life

Isidor Petschek was the first-born child of Moses Petschek (1822–1888) and Sara Petschek, b. Wiener (1827-1894). He had a sister, Rosa Petschek (1855–1934), and two brothers, Julius Petschek (1856–1932) and Ignaz Petschek (1857–1934). The family was German speaking . As a moneylender and land speculator, his father acquired the family dynasty's first major fortune . In 1876, Moses Petschek was expelled from the Kolin Jewish community for usury and settled with his family in Prague. The reputation of the Pechek in Kolin was so damaged that even Moses' grandchildren avoided visiting the city throughout their lives.

The father raised the sons in the spirit of his principles, which included a ruthless elbow mentality and a relentless pursuit of profit . He also instilled in them that in business you shouldn't even trust your brother. These teachings later bore fruit, but had no effect on the relationship between Isidor and Julius Petschek, who had been very closely connected since their school days and later, both in their family and in business. Another maxim of the father was: "Buy cheap, sell high", which became the basic business principle of all Petscheks.

Isidor and Julius Petschek attended the kk high school in Pilsen together with boarding school . Both received certificates with preference . The strict boarding school rules as well as the environment with predominantly Catholic teachers and classmates certainly contributed to a lasting bond between Isidor and Julius Petschek. After graduating from high school, they studied law together at the German-speaking Charles University . Isidor Petschek completed his seven-month court practice from December 1877 to June 1878 at the Imperial and Royal Bohemian Higher Regional Court in Prague and completed his studies as Dr. iur.

Two years later , his brother Julius also received his doctorate . While Isidor Petschek was opening a law firm in Prague , Julius Petschek initially worked in the civil service at the Imperial and Royal Bohemian Financial Procuratorate . Isidor Petschek married in 1881. His marriage to Camilla Robitschek had four sons: Otto (1882–1934), Paul (1886–1946), Friedrich (1890–1940) and Hans (1895–1968). A short time later, Julius Petschek also married - Bertha Robitschek, the sister of Isidor Petschek's wife. The marriage between Julius and Bertha Petschek resulted in three children who spent their childhood together with the children of Isidor and Camilla Petschek.

After the death of his father, Moses Petschek died in Prague on July 30, 1888, Isidor Petschek's law firm developed into the center of the family empire. The brothers gradually acquired shares in companies in the coal, paper, glass and chemical industries. In 1894, Isidor Petschek was elected vice-president of the supervisory board of the Brix coal mining company. From this point on, the name Petschek became a synonym for lignite in Austria-Hungary . The Brüxer Kohlen-Bergbau-Gesellschaft was considered the largest mining company in the Danube Monarchy . The company's shares were among the Petscheks' most important speculative objects on the Vienna Stock Exchange . Moses Petschek had already acquired the company's first securities in 1871.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Julius Petschek gave up his civil service and became Isidor Petschek's business partner. This is how they founded the Petschek family's “Prague Line ”. This stood opposite the "Aussiger line" of the family of her brother Ignaz Petschek. Ignaz Petschek had shown little interest in school and studies. He left grammar school after the 6th grade, but inherited great entrepreneurial talent and his father's lack of business considerations. At the age of 23 he founded his first own coal trading company in Aussig in 1880 and was considered the inventor of the coal commission business .

Initially still together, the Petschek brothers also intensified their activities abroad from 1905 by purchasing shares in mining companies and joining the supervisory boards of coal companies and banks. In many mines, they gained a majority or blocking minority of shares through hostile takeovers and began to outbid one another in the process. In Germany, the brothers brought 27.8% of the lignite industry under their control by 1912. In 1913 Ignaz Petschek succeeded in the spectacular takeover of Hohenlohe Werke AG in Upper Silesia , with which he penetrated the East Elbe lignite mining area without the participation of his brothers .

In contrast, Isidor and Julius Petschek acquired the majority of the Brüxer Kohlen-Bergbau-Gesellschaft in 1917 and excluded Ignaz Petschek from participating. At this time there was a final break between the "Prager Petscheks" and the "Aussiger Petscheks". The cause was a power struggle in the central German lignite district for the majority of Werschen-Weißenfelser Braunkohlen AG and Anhaltischen Kohlenwerke AG , which Julius Petschek ultimately won. Although both were active in the same business fields, Julius and Ignaz Petschek in particular fought each other bitterly from then on and often argued personally in public in supervisory board meetings and in domestic and foreign courts.

Since 1906 Julius Petschek was a member of the supervisory board of the Anglo-Österreichische Bank in Vienna , which was behind the business activities of the Prager Petschek. The bank contacts enabled Isidor and Julius Petschek to conduct extensive stock trading. Together they founded the “Prager Kommorzgesellschaft GmbH” in 1917 to manage their financial transactions and in the same year, demonstratively in the area of ​​their brother, the “Aussiger Montangesellschaft mbH”. Through this company, the Prager Petscheks regulated the sale of coal throughout northern Bohemia, which meant that Ignaz Petschek completely lost the sales opportunities in the northern Bohemian lignite district. In addition, Isidor and Julius Petschek acquired the majority of shares in Nordböhmische Kohlenwerke AG in Brüx and, after the complete takeover of Montan- und Industrialwerke AG, acquired vorm. JD Starck held a decisive position in the Falkenauer Revier , the second largest lignite basin in what was then Austria-Hungary.

After the First World War , Isidor and Julius acquired stakes in many other branches of industry and finance across Europe. When they took over, the Petscheks benefited from the fact that they had become Czechoslovak citizens in accordance with the Washington Declaration in 1918 . This newly formed republic achieved an upswing in the early years that was in stark contrast to inflation in Germany and Austria. After the lost war, the German Reich in particular had become a popular shopping destination for foreigners, where not only very cheap shoes, clothes and cameras could be bought, but also complete blocks of shares and entire companies. At that time, the Czechoslovak krona was a hard currency alongside the Swiss franc in Central Europe . The Petscheks were among the richest Jews in Europe during the interwar period and had considerable reserves in hard currency, which gave them unique transactions and competitive advantages.

Ultimately, the Petschek entrepreneurial dynasty together controlled 50 percent of European coal production and 30 percent of German lignite plants. East of the Elbe, their share fluctuated between 66 and 70 percent. In addition, Isidor and Julius Petschek became the main shareholders of the Böhmische Escompte-Bank and Creditanstalt, the Böhmische Unions-Bank as well as shareholders in several banks in Germany, Holland, Spain, England and the USA. The cash cows that generated the most profit for the Prague Petscheks were the following companies:

Isidor Petschek did not live to see the founding of the Prager Petschek's own bank (Petschek & Co., Bankhaus Prag) in January 1920, which flourished into the largest private bank in the first Czechoslovak Republic. He suffered from atherosclerosis , but until his death was considered the “head” of the Prague Petschek and the actual founder of the Petschek & Co. bank. In the business world he was called “Großer Petschek” and Ignaz Petschek “Kleiner Petschek”. Isidor Petschek died on June 18, 1919 at the age of 66 from a coronary thrombosis . His grave is in the New Jewish Cemetery in Prague .

Descendants

Uncle Julius left Otto Petschek , Isidor Petschek's first-born son, the management of all common property of the family's Prague line, including the management of the Petschek & Co. banking house. His second-born son, Paul Petschek, represented the interests of the family in Germany and from October 1928 lived in Berlin-Wannsee . From May 1936 he was the family representative in London. Julius Petschek died in January 1932 and Otto Petschek in July 1934. Thereafter, the assets of the Prague Petscheks were owned by seven families (descendants of Isidor and Julius Petschek) who until mid-1936 held all their property and holdings in Czechoslovakia and Germany transferred to a specially formed British company.

In the course of the Great Depression (1929), which hit the Bohemian industry particularly hard, the currency of the Czechoslovak krona fell dramatically . The country experienced the greatest slump in the spring of 1933, when other European countries had already bottomed out. The industrial production index fell below 60 percent of its pre-crisis level. This set in a far-reaching flight of capital , in which the Prague Petscheks took part from August 1934 at the latest. They transferred their capital on a large scale to Switzerland, Great Britain and the USA and did not undertake any more investments or modernization of their companies in Central Europe.

The Prager Petschek line now comprised 60 family members, all of whom traveled to the USA via Great Britain between 1934 and 1937. As a result, they did not flee from Central Europe long before Czechoslovakia was broken up . This means that, in contrast to the Aussiger Petscheks, whose assets were largely expropriated by the National Socialists between 1939 and 1940, the Prager Petscheks had managed all the mines alongside the Petschek & Co. Bank and all company holdings in Czechoslovakia as well as by May 1938 for sale in Germany in hard currency (US dollars), albeit partially at a loss.

In the Czech archives there are detailed export lists of items subject to duty, which the Prague Pechek created in English and Czech. There is evidence that they not only exported valuables such as paintings, silver, tapestries, porcelain, crystal, chandeliers and pianos, but also all household items; Starting with dining room and garden furniture, tables, chairs, to wine boxes, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, kitchen utensils, children's stools, pillows, bedside tables, flower pots, books, toys. The documented volume of items taken via the Vltava port alone comprised 127 shiploads.

The descendants of the Prague Petscheks now live in the USA. 13 luxurious villas in Prague testify to the immense wealth of the family dynasty. Three of these now serve as residences for the Chinese, Russian and US embassies .

Picture gallery (selection)

  • Petschek Villa in Prague-Bubeneč, today's residence of the US ambassador

  • Petschek Villa in Prague-Bubeneč, today the Russian Embassy

  • Petschek Villa in Prague-Bubeneč, today the Embassy of the People's Republic of China

  • Bathroom of a Petschek villa

  • Originally preserved kitchen of a Petschek villa

  • Dressing room of a Petschek villa with wall cupboards

Literature (selection)

  • Karel Kratochvíl: Bankéři. Praha Nakladatelelství politické literatury, 1962, pp. 140, 220–221, 294–295, 324.
  • Joseph C. Pick: The Economy. In: Guido Kisch , Hans Kohn u. a. (Ed.): The Jews of Czechoslovakia. Historical studies and surveys. Vol. 1. Jewish Publication Society of America (Philadelphia), 1968, pp. 359-438.
  • Gustav Otruba : The share of Jews in the economic life of the Bohemian countries since the beginning of industrialization. in: Ferdinand Seibt (Ed.): The Jews in the Bohemian countries. Oldenbourg, 1983, pp. 209-268.

Web links

Commons : Petschek villas in Prague  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Birth and circumcision register of the Jewish community Kolin Národní archiv Badatelna, accessed on April 19, 2020.
  2. ↑ Petschek & Co. Books Discovered Once Again, accessed on May 15, 2020.
  3. ↑ Židé a finance - Petschkové: Magnáti od Kolína finmag of June 9, 2008, accessed on May 17, 2020.
  4. ↑ Karel Kratochvil: Bankéři. Praha Nakladatelelství politické literatury, 1962, pp. 140 f.
  5. ↑ Cesta od lichvářů po uhlobarony skončila pro Petschky za oceánem Mladá fronta Dnes of February 6, 2018, accessed on May 15, 2020.
  6. ^ KK Gymnasium zu Pilsen (Ed.): Annual report of the KK Gymnasium zu Pilsen for the school year 1867. Carl Maasch Pilsen, 1867, p. 59 and appendix statistics.
  7. ↑ Helena Krejčová, Mario Vlček: Výkupné za život. V Šenově u Ostravy, nakl. Tilia, 2009. p. 333.
  8. ↑ R. Nowak (responsible editor): Allgemeine Österreichische Rechts-Zeitung. Volume 29. Verlag der Manz'schen kk Hof-Verlags- und Universitäts-Buchhandlung Wien, 1878, p. 4.
  9. ^ Petschek, Julius Deutsche Biographie , accessed on May 17, 2020.
  10. ↑ Helena Krejčová, Mario Vlček: Výkupné za život. V Šenově u Ostravy, nakl. Tilia, 2009. p. 333.
  11. ^ Norman Eisen: The Last Palace. Europe's Extraordinary Century Through Five Lives and One House in Prague. Hachette UK, 2018, p. 15 f.
  12. ↑ Central Association of Mine Owners Austria (ed.): Montanistische Rundschau . XI Volume 1. Verlag für Fachliteratur, Vienna, 1919, p. 429.
  13. ↑ Petschek, Isidor Beit Hatefutsot , accessed on May 18, 2020.
  14. ↑ Židé a finance - Petschkové: Magnáti od Kolína finmag of June 9, 2008, accessed on May 17, 2020.
  15. ^ Petschek, Julius Deutsche Biographie, accessed on May 17, 2020.
  16. ↑ Karel Kratochvil: Bankéři. Praha Nakladatelelství politické literatury, 1962, pp. 140 f.
  17. ^ Wiener Bank and Börsen Zeitung of February 16, 1934 HWWA, accessed on May 18, 2020.
  18. ^ Walter Herrmann: The capital in the central German lignite mining. Dissertation. Philosophical Faculty of the University of Leipzig, 1930. Georg Weigel publishing house, 1933, p. 47f.
  19. ^ Richard Lewinsohn: Histoire de l'inflation. Le déplacement de la richesse en Europe. Payot, 1926, p. 310.
  20. ↑ Kdo byli Petschkové? Český rozhlas from May 21, 2015, accessed on May 15, 2020.
  21. ^ Ingolf Strassmann: Jewish labor and Jewish capital in the brown coal mining area in and around the Duchy of Saxony-Altenburg. S. 9. juedische-geschichte.de, accessed on April 22, 2020.
  22. ↑ Central Association of Mine Owners Austria (ed.): Montanistische Rundschau. Volume 15. Verlag für Fachliteratur, 1923, p. 357.
  23. ^ The bank: monthly books for finance and banking. Bank-Verlag., 1916, page 1083.
  24. ↑ Karel Kratochvil: Bankéři. Praha Nakladatelelství politické literatury, 1962, pp. 140 f.
  25. ↑ Biography Petschek, Ignaz Deutsche Biographie, accessed on April 19, 2020.
  26. ^ Petschek, Julius Deutsche Biographie, accessed on May 17, 2020.
  27. ↑ Židé a finance - Petschkové: Magnáti od Kolína finmag of June 9, 2008, accessed on May 17, 2020.
  28. ↑ Petschek, Julius (1856-1932), industrialist and banker Austrian Biographical Lexicon, accessed on May 19, 2020.
  29. ^ Ingolf Strassmann: Jewish labor and Jewish capital in the brown coal mining area in and around the Duchy of Saxony-Altenburg. S. 9. juedische-geschichte.de, accessed on May 19, 2020.
  30. ↑ Jana Gerslová: Petschek, Julius Deutsche Biografie, accessed on May 19, 2019
  31. ↑ Christopher Kobrak, Per H. Hansen: European Business, Dictatorship, and Political Risk, 1920–1945. Berghahn Books, 2004, p. 216.
  32. ↑ Jutta Günther, Dagmara Jajeśniak-Quast: Welcome investors or national sell-off? Foreign direct investment in East Central Europe in the 20th century. BWV Verlag, 2006, p. 77.
  33. ↑ Death register of the Jewish community Prague Národní archiv Badatelna, accessed on April 19, 2020.
  34. ↑ Central Association of Mine Owners Austria (ed.): Montanistische Rundschau. Volume 15. Verlag für Fachliteratur, 1923, p. 357.
  35. ↑ Grave site of Dr. Isidor Petschek BillionGraves Holdings, accessed on April 19, 2020.
  36. ↑ Helena Krejčová, Mario Vlček: Výkupné za život. V Šenově u Ostravy, nakl. Tilia, 2009. p. 334.
  37. ↑ Petschek. Encyclopaedia Judaica, accessed May 18, 2020.
  38. ↑ Great Depression of the 1930s - Czechoslovakia was hit particularly hard Radio Praha International from October 17, 2009, accessed on April 19, 2020.
  39. ↑ Jutta Günther, Dagmara Jajeśniak-Quast: Welcome investors or national sell-off? Foreign direct investment in East Central Europe in the 20th century. BWV Verlag, 2006, p. 77.
  40. ↑ Karel Kratochvil: Bankéři. Praha Nakladatelelství politické literatury, 1962, pp. 140 f.
  41. ↑ Petr Štěrba: Rodina Petschků: Čeští Rothschildové? (1. část). Univerzity Karlovy, November 15, 2017. finmag from June 9, 2008, accessed on May 20, 2020.
  42. ↑ Petschek. Encyclopaedia Judaica, accessed May 18, 2020.
  43. ↑ Uwe Johnson's commentary on the Petschek family, University of Rostock, accessed on May 20, 2020.
  44. ↑ Petschek & Co. Books Discovered Once Again, accessed on May 15, 2020.
  45. ↑ Karel Kratochvil: Bankéři. Praha Nakladatelelství politické literatury, 1962, pp. 140 f.
  46. ↑ Petr Urlich u. a .: Slavné vily Prahy 6 - Bubeneč Praha. Foibos, 2017, ISBN 978-8087073995 , pp. 29-31.
personal data
SURNAME Petschek, Isidore
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bohemian entrepreneur and lawyer
DATE OF BIRTH March 15, 1854
PLACE OF BIRTH Kolin , Kingdom of Bohemia
DATE OF DEATH June 18, 1919
Place of death Prague , Czechoslovakia