Julius Obermeier
Julius Obermeier (born October 11, 1867 in Bamberg ; died April 14, 1936 in Kronach ) was a German businessman .
Live and act
Julius Obermeier was born in Bamberg as the son of the Jewish businessman David Obermeier and his wife Cäcilia, née Morgenroth. There he married the widow Marie Margaretha Dessauer, née Kellermann, who was almost 15 years his senior in 1894.
In 1898 Obermeier acquired a brick factory in Gundelsdorf in Upper Franconia - today a district of the town of Kronach - which he called "Marie" as a thank you to his wife, who had brought the necessary capital into the marriage. In the following years, he expanded the steam brickworks significantly, so that despite several setbacks, it developed into one of the most important employers for Gundelsdorf and the neighboring towns of Glosberg and Reitsch and played a major role in the economic boom of the community. Since brick production was not possible during the First World War due to a lack of male workers, Obermeier switched to the production of baskets, which was carried out by women.
In 1910, the Obermeier couple moved into a newly built representative villa in Gundelsdorf, which is now used as a kindergarten . Although Julius Obermeier was formally a member of the Jewish community in Kronach, he apparently took little part in community life there. The childless spouses were much more involved in community life in Gundelsdorf and the surrounding areas. For example, Obermeier campaigned for the construction of a chapel for those who died in the World War in Gundelsdorf or made donations for the construction of the churches in Burggrub and Haig . Marie Obermeier died on October 21, 1928 at the age of 75.
A few days after the National Socialists " seized power " , Julius Obermeier was arrested for the first time in March 1933. A month later he was taken into “ protective custody ” again and held for several days in Kronach and Bayreuth . The arrests probably had no real basis, but merely served to intimidate the Jewish businessman. A little later, Obermeier was arrested again on charges of tax evasion . Due to increasing reprisals, he converted his company into a GmbH in 1934 and withdrew from the management.
After the Nuremberg Race Laws came into force in September 1935, Julius Obermeier was arrested again at the beginning of March 1936 on charges of " racial disgrace " because he was said to have had a longstanding relationship with a married woman from Kronach. On April 15, 1936, the 68-year-old Obermeier was found dead in his cell in the district court prison in Kronach. The exact circumstances of his death are unclear. Officially, a heart condition was given as the cause of death, but it is likely that Obermeier died as a result of abuse. The very next day the body was cremated in a crematorium in Coburg, although cremation is not permitted in Judaism. Perhaps this should remove traces of the abuse. Obermeier's urn was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Bamberg.
In the last years of the Second World War , a subcamp of the Flossenbürg concentration camp was built on the site of the steam brick Marie .
literature
- Gerd Fleischmann: With Julius Obermeier came the economic boom . In: Local history yearbook of the district of Kronach . tape 23 - 2001/02 , p. 197-203 .
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c d e Christian Porzelt: Julius Obermeier: respected and integrated. In: inFranken.de. April 15, 2016, accessed August 29, 2019 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Obermeier, Julius |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German businessman |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 11, 1867 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bamberg |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 14, 1936 |
| Place of death | Kronach |