N. Israel Berlin

"In 1741 the king of Prussia granted Israel Jacob the right to live in Berlin. After a quarter of a century of selling used garments and laces from an open stall, Israel Jacob finally accumulated enough wealth to buy a house in Berlin and operate his business on a more permanent basis. In 1815 his grandson Nathan Israel took advantage of liberalized economoc laws to open a firm which eventually began to sell both new and used clothing as well as trading in fabrics. By now, Israel had been adopted as the family name. Nathan's son and grandson steadily expanded the business. By the early twentieth century, their firm had developed into one of Berlin's greatest department stores, which specialized in direct and mail-order sales of linens and clothing and tailoring of fine garments but also offered furniture and housewares. By the 1930s the N. Israel department store was one of the largest and most versatile commercial enterprises in Berlin.

(...) during the Kristallnacht progrom of November 1938, Nazi thugs attacked the store and destroyed huge amounts of merchandise. By Ferbruary 1939, in accordance with Nazi decrees, ownership of the store had been transferred to an non-Jewish firm."

Christopher R. Friedrichs: "From Rags to Riches - Jews as Producers and Purveyors of Fashion." In: Roberta S. Kremer: "Broken Threads", S. 27 ff.

Katalog von N. Israel, Winter 1932. Auf dem Titelbild Leni Riefenstahl.
C Jahnke Collection