Israel Family Collection

The House of Israel was started in 1815 by Nathan Israel at the Molkenmarkt in Berlin, as a small second-hand store that soon developed into a world-renowned wholesale, retail, and export business which occupied a unique position in Germany. The firm was known for the high standard of its interiors, as well as the highly trained staff. In 1925, Kaufhaus N. Israel started its own business school whose exams were recognized by the state. From 1915 until 1935, the sole owners after Nathan Israel were his son Jakob and later his grandson Berthold. After Berthold Israel's death, the firm was owned by his two sons, Wilfrid and Herbert, for a total of four generations of ownership.

In addition to its retail business, the firm was engaged in supplying hospitals, hotels, theaters, military establishments, and other public and private concerns. In 1888, at the death of Emperor Wilhelm I, the firm supplied the entire funeral decorations for all the streets through which the funeral procession passed. The firm worked only with its own capital, relying upon neither credits nor mortgages, and became an important member in financial circles. This practice served the firm well in 1933 after the Nazis came to power as they were able to continue to operate without pressure to aryanize by German financial institutions. The firm was a member of the Berlin stock exchange until the Nazi era.

Berthold Israel was especially concerned with the welfare of his employees, who numbered 2,000 in 1925. In 1895, in memory of Jakob Israel, the firm founded the employee, widows' and orphans' pension fund with 250,000 RM, a considerable amount at that time. In addition, the firm had a matching fund program, which at that time was rather unusual. After the aryanization of the firm, neither the obligations of the pension fund nor the matching fund were fulfilled. The firm published an annual album on various topics such as Die Frau und die Welt 1910, a book on the position of women in politics, art, beauty, fashion, theater and in unusual professions such as a lady in St. Petersburg who supplied "wailing wives and mourners for funerals."

On April 1, 1933, N. Israel was boycotted, as were most Jewish establishments, with Nazis in uniform planted in front of the store carrying signs intimidating Germans from visiting the store. In 1938, the firm was sold to Emil Köster AG, and in 1939 the aryanization of the House of Israel was completed and the firm reopened as Das Haus im Zentrum.

Following the takeover of the N. Israel store, Wilfrid and his brother Herbert emigrated. Wilfrid, who was born in England, had a small research assignment at the University of Balliol College. From this position, he tried to establish contacts between the German underground opposition forces through Adam von Trott, a personal friend of his and Sir Stafford Cripps, Britain's foreign minister. He was also instrumental in organizing ship transports for Jewish children out of occupied Europe. Wilfrid Israel died, together with the actor Leslie Howard, on one of his missions when his civilian plane was shot down between Lisbon and London. This plane was sent as a decoy so that the plane carrying Winston Churchill could land safely.

Herbert Israel emigrated to the United States as did their mother, Amy Israel. After the war, the accounting firm of Richard M. Henschke undertook the filing of restitution claims. Only minimal reparations were paid as the main properties were in East Germany. Only after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reconstruction phase in Germany did the heirs begin to receive any sizable compensation.