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Obermayer German Jewish History Award 2015 

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150 years ago today: First Jewish merchant registered a business in Altenburg

WolffWolffThe anniversary we remember today is a very special one. Today 150 years ago, the first Jewish merchant registered a retail shop after the regular recurrent expulsions from the 14th to the 17th century. Three days later, on 11th May 1869, the shop in the Moritzstraße 19 opened its doors. The man in the photo, Wolff (Wilhelm) Wolff, born in 1844 in Pinne/Warthe (Pniewy), offered men´s wardrobe in his "Berliner Bazar". The business was quickly known all over town and Wolff ultimately also made sure that Jewish merchants were able to prosper economically after a long phase of exclusion in the residential town of Altenburg.
Wolff AZ1869 01 Erffnung AZ11051869
At the latest in 1885 Wolff Wolff bought the property Moritzstraße 19, probably at 1880 he also used a second residency in the house but lived mainly in Berlin with his family. His brother-in-law Simon Lewinsohn had already moved to Altenburg in 1877. As a master tailor he found a job in the business and was the representant for the bearer. When Wolff Wolff gave up his business in Altenburg in 1889 the gates of the "Berliner Bazar" remained open. Simon Lewinsohn took over the business until 1897 and still after that the business name "W. Wolff" remained. Wolff Wolff died on 24th May 1918 in his hometown Berlin.

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