Oscar from Kohorn
Oscar Kohorn , since 1918 Freiherr von Kohorn zu Kornegg , (born October 12, 1882 in Dürrmaul , Bohemia ; † June 30, 1963 in New York City ) was a German entrepreneur in the textile industry , he was one of the most influential Jewish entrepreneurs in the first third of the 20th century in Chemnitz .
Life
Oscar Kohorn was born the tenth child of a liquor manufacturer. After school and apprenticeship, he attended the higher weaving school in Chemnitz until 1903 and was then hired as weaving director in the textile factory of Siegmund Goeritz oHG in Chemnitz, founded in 1882 . At the end of 1909 he founded his own company on the property at Zwickauer Straße 108, the Chemnitz carpet factory Oscar Kohorn , which he relocated there at the end of 1921 after purchasing the large industrial site Kauffahrtei 31. As a specialty, the company produced hair-yarn rugs , which, as a contemporary commemorative put it, sold well due to their enormous durability and extremely tasteful design. From 1918 to 1925 there was also a branch in Crottendorf ( Ore Mountains ). In addition, Kohorn was involved in a large number of stock corporations in and outside Germany, including from 1915 to 1917 as a partner in the Chemnitz-based German-Austrian trading company .
In June 1912 Oscar Kohorn married Valerie b. Wirth , the daughter of the editor-in-chief of the Viennese newspaper “ Neue Freie Presse ”, who died in 1892 . From this marriage two sons were born. In April 1917 Kohorn acquired the Villa Oscar Freiherr von Kohorn zu Kornegg , Parkstrasse 35 in Chemnitz, built in 1908 for the entrepreneur FA Hempel , where he has lived with his family ever since.
On June 12, 1918, Oscar Kohorn received the Austrian title of " Imperial Councilor " and was raised to hereditary nobility by the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as Baron von Kohorn zu Kornegg . Kohorn was also known for its cultural and social patronage . He donated large sums of money with which the Freiherr Kohorn Foundation was established on May 15, 1922 for the benefit of the Chemnitz Children 's Recreational Care . The first municipal children's recreation home in Dönschten near Schmiedeberg was only able to accommodate almost 1,700 boys and girls in need in the first five years of its existence thanks to Kohorn's commitment. Oscar von Kohorn was also one of the donors for the renovation of the municipal theater in Chemnitz. He was also deputy chairman of the Chemnitz Golf and Country Club and a member of the Rotary Club Chemnitz , which was founded on November 19, 1929 .
During the Great Depression in 1931 had Kohorns carpet factory in August bankruptcy login. However , Oscar von Kohorn soon saw a new challenge in setting up complete artificial silk factories. So three years later, with his nephew Leo, who was 14 years his junior, he founded Oscar Kohorn & Co. GmbH , which had 20 employees and delivered machines to Belgium, Japan, Poland, China and Turkey. Nevertheless, after the beginning of the Nazi persecution of Jews in Germany , the internationally active and thinking entrepreneur saw no future for himself and his family in the country where he had lived for over three decades. Therefore, he did not return from a business trip to Japan in mid-1935. His wife later followed him to Yokohama . In February 1940, Kohorn and his family were expatriated from Germany and their assets were confiscated. Five months later, Auto Union acquired the industrial site on Kauffahrtei.
From the late 1930s, Oscar von Kohorn lived with his wife in New York City, where he successfully continued his extraordinary entrepreneurial commitment until his death on June 30, 1963.
Entrepreneurship
Oscar von Kohorn was z. B. active in the following companies:
- Chemnitz carpet factory Oscar Kohorn & Co. (as sole owner)
- Oscar Kohorn & Co. GmbH, machine factory (main shareholder)
- Deutsch-Österreichische Handelsgesellschaft mbH, Chemnitz (co-partner)
- Carpet and Möbelstoff AG, Chemnitz (Chairman of the Supervisory Board )
- Metropol-Theater AG, Chemnitz (member of the supervisory board)
- Hotel "Chemnitzer Hof" AG, Chemnitz (Chairman of the Supervisory Board)
- United Kammgarnspinnereien AG, Harthau near Chemnitz (member of the supervisory board)
- Sondermann & Stier AG, Chemnitz (member of the supervisory board)
- Textil-Werke AG, Lomnitz- Brünn (President)
- First Böhmische Kunstseidenfabrik AG, Theresienthal (Vice President)
- Negedly-Werke AG, Vienna (Vice President)
- Textiliana AG, Budapest (Vice President)
- Serbian Carpet Factory ( Lazar Dundjerski ) AG, Veliki Bečkerek (Vice President)
- Wegelin & Hübner AG, machine factory and iron foundry, Halle (Saale) (Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board)
- Tetra AG, Vienna (Member of the Board of Directors)
literature
- Stefan Weingart: Former Villa Kohorn. In: Searching for traces. Jewish citizens in Chemnitz. Places of their life and work. Places of remembrance. Ed. from the city archive of Chemnitz. Chemnitz 2002, p. 45.
- Chemnitz in words and pictures. Festschrift for the inauguration of the New Town Hall. Published by Robert Friese's Buchhandlung, Chemnitz 1911, p. 268.
- Lothar Schilde: Where the white balls were once hit in Chemnitz. The establishment of the Chemnitz Golf and Country Club. In: Top Magazin Chemnitz , No. 2 (2004), pp. 107–110.
Web links
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kohorn, Oscar of |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Kohorn zu Kornegg, Oscar Freiherr von (full name); Kohorn, Oscar |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German entrepreneur and patron |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 12, 1882 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Dürrmaul , Bohemia |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 30, 1963 |
| Place of death | New York City |