- Siegfried Guggenheim
Siegfried Guggenheim (1873-1961) was a German
lawyer ,notary and art collector. He emigrated fromGermany to theUnited States in 1938 due to fear of persecution due to hisJewish faith.Biography
Guggenheim was born to Jewish parents in 1873. His father was a
merchant . In 1900, he became the "jurist doctorate" inOffenbach , working as a lawyer. In 1919, he became anotary public order. Guggenheim was heavily engaged in Offenbach's cultural and social life and was a member of many organizations. He enjoyedfine arts andJewish culture . He was apatron to the artistRudolf Koch . From Guggenheim's patronage emerged two great works: The "OffenderHaggadah "tapestries , which can be found in theKlingspor Museum , and the so-called "OffenbacherHaggadah ", a tapestry byFritz Kredel . [ [http://www.klingspor-museum.de/Sammlungen/Schriftkunst.html Klingspor-Museum zur " Klingspor Museum for the "Offenbacher Haggadah"] ]Likewise, he participated in the lively Jewish life. He was a member of the Central Association of German citizens of Jewish faith, and from 1933 to 1939 chairman of the Offenbach Jewish community. He initiated 1912 with Max Goldschmidt, the then chairman of the Jewish community, the construction of a synagogue in Offenbach. [ [http://www.eventlocation-rhein-main.de/web/eventlocation/historie/historische-location.html The Capitol in Offenbach] ]
With the seizure of power by the
Nazi s in 1933, his notary license was withdrawn. In November 1938, Guggenheim lost his license to practice law. He was deported to theBuchenwald concentration camp onNovember 9 , 1938, making him a victim ofKristallnacht . After a few weeks he was released in December under the condition that he must leave Germany. Later that month, he emigrated with his wife, Eugenie (1878-1984) toFlushing, New York . Their Germancitizenship was officially withdrawn in 1941. The Guggenheim's correspondence with the Frankfurt journalist and social worker Martha Wertheimer during their stay in the United States survived the war.In 1948, the city of Offenbach appointed Siegfried Guggenheim an honorary citizen and named a street after him. Siegfried Guggenheim died in 1961, while his wife outlived him by over twenty years, dying in 1984. Both he and his wife were
cremated after their deaths. Theirurns were buried in Offenbach.Notes
*Fritz Bauer Institute (ed.): Martha Wertheimer: "In me is the great dark silence came" Letters to Siegfried Guggenheim in New York. Written by 27.5.1939 - 2.9.1941, Frankfurt am Main, 1996
*Dr. Ed Guggenheim: Offenbacher Haggadah. Illustrations by Fritz Kredel, 1927 (2nd edition 1960).References
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