Margarete Eisenmann (née Ledermann-Wartberg, 1867–1942) was a Jewish art collector with a wide range of interests from paintings to prints, from porcelain to tapestries. Tragically, she could not escape from Germany in time and suffered from persecution, was deprived of her rights, citizenship and property; deported; and murdered during the Nazi era.
Margarete and her husband Samuel Felix Eisenmann (1855–1918) resided on the Landwehrkanal in Tiergartenviertel [FIG. 1] on Königin-Augusta-Strasse, which after 1933 became Tirpitzufer 84, [FIG. 2,3] nearby Potsdamer Brücke. [FIG. 4]
Samuel was Portuguese vice-consul and partner of the fuel factory R. Eisenmann. Margarete was the daughter of Wolf Wilhelm von Ledermann-Wartberg, a banker, and his wife Elise (née Frankenstein). The Eisenmanns had two children, Günther Bernhard (1890–1963) and Raphaela Babette (1894–1944).The latter went missing during the war and was declared dead
The Eisenmanns’ broad collection ranged from Old Master paintings by Lucas Cranach, Franz Mieris the Elder, Jan Miense Molenaer, Nicolaes Berchem and Johannes Cornelisz Verspronck to prints by Daniel Chodowiecki and Theodor Hosemann, sculptures, porcelain, furniture and decorative arts.
In 1933 when the Nazis came to power, Samuel had already passed away. The persecution of Margarete began, and her art collection was targeted by the authorities.
A series of auctions of the Eisenmann collection were documented in 1935–36. The first auction ‘Kunstsammlung und Wohnungseinrichtung Generalkonsul Eisenmann’ at Rudolph Lepke’s Kunst-Auctions-Haus [‘Art auction house’] gives an idea of the breadth of their collection as a total of 1072 lots was offered. [FIG. 5, 6] A second auction at Rudolph Lepke’s in February 1936 and a third at the Union auction house possibly offered the unsold objects from the first sale. The circumstances of these auctions cannot be confirmed, but assumedly they occurred under duress and were most likely connected with the conversion of Margarete’s house at Tirpitzufer 84, which was divided into nine rental flats in the course of 1936.
The year 1938 brought new discriminative regulations by the Nazis. First, all Jewish citizens were obliged to register their property, before the Judenvermögensabgabe (Jewish property tax) was implemented. Due to this levy, Margarete’s remaining artworks were seized by the Tiergarten tax office in that same year.
Another bill was passed in January 1939 for every Jewish woman to take the additional first name ‘Sara’ so from then on, Margarete was officially identified as ‘Margarete Sara Eisenmann’ [FIG. 7, 8].
In 1940, Margarete was forced to sell the house at Tirpitzufer 84 to the High Command of Navy, [FIG. 9] who resided in the neighbourhood. Part of the proceeds of the sale were again seized by the tax office for further levies.
At the age of 75, Margarete was deported from her last address in Berlin, Bleibtreustrasse 17, where she was living at the pension Fuchs Fremdenheim [FIGS. 10-12] to the Theresienstadt ghetto-camp on 1 September 1942. [FIG. 13] She was murdered in the Treblinka concentration camp on 29 September 1942. [FIG. 14]
The whereabouts of many objects of the Eisenmann collection remain unclear and the efforts of the heirs of Margarete Eisenmann to recover the lost artworks are ongoing.
Before 2021 Lucas Cranach’s painting The Resurrection from the Eisenmann collection appeared at Christie’s for sale. Margarete had inherited the painting from her father-in-law Rafael Eisenmann (c. 1821–?). After November 1938, she was forced to sell the painting under duress to the Reichskanzlei, Berlin, as partial payment of the discriminatory taxes. After 1945 the painting surfaced on the international art market. Christie's research illuminated the forgotten ownership history of the painting which was later sold pursuant to a settlement agreement between the owner and the heir of Margarete Eisenmann. [FIG. 15]
All Buildings are destroyed except the one on Bleibtreustrasse.
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The year 1938 brought new discriminative regulations by the Nazis. First, all Jewish citizens were obliged to register their property, before the Judenvermögensabgabe (Jewish property tax) was implemented. Due to this levy, Margarete’s remaining artworks were seized by the Tiergarten tax office in that same year.
Another bill was passed in January 1939 for every Jewish woman to take the additional first name ‘Sara’ so from then on, Margarete was officially identified as ‘Margarete Sara Eisenmann’ [FIG. 7, 8].
In 1940, Margarete was forced to sell the house at Tirpitzufer 84 to the High Command of Navy, [FIG. 9] who resided in the neighbourhood. Part of the proceeds of the sale were again seized by the tax office for further levies.
At the age of 75, Margarete was deported from her last address in Berlin, Bleibtreustrasse 17, where she was living at the pension Fuchs Fremdenheim [FIGS. 10-12] to the Theresienstadt ghetto-camp on 1 September 1942. [FIG. 13] She was murdered in the Treblinka concentration camp on 29 September 1942. [FIG. 14]
The whereabouts of many objects of the Eisenmann collection remain unclear and the efforts of the heirs of Margarete Eisenmann to recover the lost artworks are ongoing.
Before 2021 Lucas Cranach’s painting The Resurrection from the Eisenmann collection appeared at Christie’s for sale. Margarete had inherited the painting from her father-in-law Rafael Eisenmann (c. 1821–?). After November 1938, she was forced to sell the painting under duress to the Reichskanzlei, Berlin, as partial payment of the discriminatory taxes. After 1945 the painting surfaced on the international art market. Christie's research illuminated the forgotten ownership history of the painting which was later sold pursuant to a settlement agreement between the owner and the heir of Margarete Eisenmann. [FIG. 15]
All Buildings are destroyed except the one on Bleibtreustrasse.
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Related addresses: Koenigin-Augusta-Strasse 46, in 1933 becomes Tirpitzufer 84, in 1947 becomes Reichpietschufer. Her last address in Berlin before deportation to Theresienstadt Bleibtreustrasse 17.
Related addresses: Koenigin-Augusta-Strasse 46, in 1933 becomes Tirpitzufer 84, in 1947 becomes Reichpietschufer. Her last address in Berlin before deportation to Theresienstadt Bleibtreustrasse 17.
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Related addresses: Schöneberger Ufer 38 until May 1935 (Architect: Heinrich Schweitzer); Schöneberger Ufer 71
Budapester Strasse (1932) not identical with today’s Budapester Strasse; Lützowstrasse 32 I (October 1925–1930); Königin-Augusta-Strasse 22 (October 1930–1932) - in 1933 this street becomes Tirpitzufer 84 and in 1947 it was renamed to Reichpietschufer. Lützowufer 19a (November 1932–1937), since 1933: Galerie Nierendorf; Großadmiral-von-Koester-Ufer 65 (1935–1947), Schöneberger Ufer.
Potsdamer Strasse 134c (Mid-Oct 1918-Sept 1924); Schöneberger Ufer 38 (July 1927-1931); Großadmiral-von-Koester-Ufer 39 respectively (since 1936) Großadmiral-von-Koester-Ufer 73 (1935-1939);Kluckstrasse 12 (May 1939 –Dec 1949)
Employee and partner at the Galerie / Kunstsalon Paul Cassirer
Related addresses: Street partially still exists as Hitzigallee.
Related addresses: Koenigin-Augusta-Strasse 46, in 1933 becomes Tirpitzufer 84, in 1947 becomes Reichpietschufer. Her last address in Berlin before deportation to Theresienstadt Bleibtreustrasse 17.
ALL BUILDINGS ARE DESTROYED
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Henry van de Velde (1894-1943), designer of the interior of the reading room at the gallery Paul Cassirer, Victoria Strasse 35.
(Street and building are destroyed)
Related addresses: Reichskammer der Bildenden Künste, Government agency 1933-1945; Blumes Hof 4-6 (since June 1934; street and building are destroyed; today's postcode 10785), Derfflingerstrasse 7 (from October 1935 until March 1937), Ahornstrasse 2 (1938). Today's postcode 10785
