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Wertheim (department store)
Encyclopedia
Wertheim was a large department store chain in pre-WWII Germany
. It was founded by Georg Wertheim
and operated four stores in Berlin, one in Rostock, one in Stralsund (where it had been founded), and one in Breslau.
The chain's most famous store, on Leipziger Platz
in Berlin, was constructed in 1896. It featured 83 elevators and a glass-roofed atrium, and was one of the three largest department stores (Warenhäuser) in Berlin, the others being Hermann Tietz
and Kaufhaus des Westens
. Brian Ladd called it “the crown jewel of the main shopping street." http://www.policyreview.org/apr01/matus.html The building was badly damaged in WWII and fell in the no man's land betwewen East and West Berlin after the division of the city. The ruins were demolished in the 1950s.
The company was subjected to the Nazi Aryanization
policies in the 1930s. Jewish employees were forced from their positions by government mandate. The Wertheim family attempted to avoid losing control of the company by making Georg's wife, Ursula, the principal shareholder, since she was considered "Aryan" under Nazi law. In the end this was unsuccessful, even though they divorced to keep the shares in purely "Aryan" hands. The family was made to sell all its shares at reduced prices to "Aryans". and in 1939 the store was renamed AWAG, an acronym for Allgemeine Warenhandelsgesellschaft A.G. (General Retailing Corporation),
For many years there were two remaining stores in Berlin which operated under the Wertheim name, even though they were owned by Karstadt
. The flagship store was on the Kurfürstendamm
. It was built in 1969-71 and was converted to a Karstadt in 2008. The other store was on the Schloßstraße in the Steglitz
district. It was demolished in 2009 for construction of a new shopping center.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It was founded by Georg Wertheim
Georg Wertheim
Georg Wertheim was a German merchant and founder of the popular Wertheim chain of department stores.Wertheim grew up in Stralsund...
and operated four stores in Berlin, one in Rostock, one in Stralsund (where it had been founded), and one in Breslau.
Leipziger Platz
Leipziger Platz is an octagonal square in the center of Berlin. It is located along Leipziger Straße just east of and adjacent to the Potsdamer Platz...
in Berlin, was constructed in 1896. It featured 83 elevators and a glass-roofed atrium, and was one of the three largest department stores (Warenhäuser) in Berlin, the others being Hermann Tietz
Hermann Tietz
Hermann Tietz was a German merchant of Jewish origin. Tietz was born on April 29, 1837 in Birnbaum an der Warthe near Posen and died on May 3, 1907 in Berlin)...
and Kaufhaus des Westens
Kaufhaus des Westens
The Kaufhaus des Westens is a department store in Berlin. With over 60,000 square metres of selling space and more than 380,000 articles available, it is the second largest department store in Europe; trumped only by Harrods in London...
. Brian Ladd called it “the crown jewel of the main shopping street." http://www.policyreview.org/apr01/matus.html The building was badly damaged in WWII and fell in the no man's land betwewen East and West Berlin after the division of the city. The ruins were demolished in the 1950s.
Aryanization
Aryanization is a term coined during Nazism referring to the forced expulsion of so-called "non-Aryans", mainly Jews, from business life in Nazi Germany and the territories it controlled....
policies in the 1930s. Jewish employees were forced from their positions by government mandate. The Wertheim family attempted to avoid losing control of the company by making Georg's wife, Ursula, the principal shareholder, since she was considered "Aryan" under Nazi law. In the end this was unsuccessful, even though they divorced to keep the shares in purely "Aryan" hands. The family was made to sell all its shares at reduced prices to "Aryans". and in 1939 the store was renamed AWAG, an acronym for Allgemeine Warenhandelsgesellschaft A.G. (General Retailing Corporation),
Karstädt
Karstädt is a municipality in the Prignitz district, in Brandenburg, Germany....
. The flagship store was on the Kurfürstendamm
Kurfürstendamm
The Kurfürstendamm, known locally as the Ku'damm, is one of the most famous avenues in Berlin. The street takes its name from the former Kurfürsten of Brandenburg. This very broad, long boulevard can be considered the Champs-Élysées of Berlin — full of shops, houses, hotels and restaurants...
. It was built in 1969-71 and was converted to a Karstadt in 2008. The other store was on the Schloßstraße in the Steglitz
Steglitz
Steglitz is a locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in the south-west of Berlin, the capital of Germany. The locality also includes the neighbourhood of Südende.-History:...
district. It was demolished in 2009 for construction of a new shopping center.