The Jews of Königsberg at the turn of the 20th century
„It’s the economy, Baby!” The flourishing border trade
Economy
“The commissionaires, mostly Jews […] had Russian backgrounds, and in their often distant homelands they had relatives serving as wholesale buyers; they were the true pioneers of trade and it would have been impossible for it to have been done without them. They imported a variety of Russian export articles; in addition to grain, there were legumes, lentils […] pelts, flax, hemp, and other things.”
(Aron Liebeck)
Warehouse of the merchant Max Mordechai Perlmann
Advertisement for the merchant Alexander Kadisch
“Trade and industry blossomed, as did the traffic with nearby Russia, which did a huge amount of business […] with Königsberg. From this there was the quite natural consequence that the Russia businessmen either alone or with their families visited the nearby beach resorts, especially Cranz.”
(Aron Liebeck)
The married couple Johanna and Richard Heymann. Heymann was a successful grain merchant.
Passport of the merchant Joachim Eichelbaum with his business visa to Russia
The merchant and kerosene dealer Salomon Aschkanasy with one of the first automobiles in Königsberg
Letterhead of the merchant Sambursky
Letterhead of Jacob Towbin from Odessa
Letterhead from the soap factory of Moses Selzowsky
Director's Cut
The grandchild from London
Above you see the picture of the merchant and kerosene dealer Salomon Aschkanasy and his wife Flora née Lubliner with one of the first cars in Königsberg. We received this picture from his granddaughter from London in the preparation of the exhibition. We were very pleased that she and her husband came to Kaliningrad for the opening of the exhibition in November 2017. She told us that her grandfather was a great supporter of the Polish Synagogue, which was located in the backyard of his office building in the street “Vordere Vorstadt”.
The invitation to the inauguration ceremony of the Polish Synagogue found in an archive in Jerusalem.
