Moriz Pollack, ''

Ritter Ritter (German for "knight") is a designation used as a title of nobility in German-speaking areas. Traditionally it denotes the second-lowest rank within the nobility, standing above " Edler" and below "" (Baron). As with most titles and desig ...

von'' Borkenau (24 December 1827 in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

– 20 August 1904 in Vienna) was a Jewish Austrian financier. After leaving the secondary school gymnasium in Vienna, at the age of 22, he took charge of his father's wholesale leather business and soon succeeded in extending his export trade to France and Germany. In 1857 he was elected to the municipal council of Vienna and took an active part in the relief and construction works in the year of the great flood (1862). Soon afterwards he took charge of the budget of the city of Vienna, acting as auditor until his resignation in 1885. In 1867 he was sent by the city of Vienna as one of the delegates on the occasion of the coronation of the King of Hungary at Budapest, and in 1873 he was made chairman of the executive committee of the

Vienna Exposition The 1873 Vienna World's Fair () was the large world exposition that was held from 1 May to 31 October 1873 in the Austria-Hungarian capital Vienna. Its motto was "Culture and Education" (). History As well as being a chance to showcase Austro- ...

. He entered the Niederösterreichische Escomptebank as examiner, and was director-general and vice-president from 1885 to 1898, also officiating as deputy of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, director of the Wiener Kaufmannshalle, and examiner of the

Austro-Hungarian Bank The Austro-Hungarian Bank (, , , , , , ) was the central bank of the Habsburg Monarchy in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The institution was founded in 1816 as the privilegirte oesterreichische National-Bank (), and changed its name in 1878 ...

. Pollak took a very active part in the affairs of the Jewish community, filling various offices, including finally that of president of the

IKG Wien The Jewish Community of Vienna ( or IKG) is the body that represents Vienna's Orthodox Jewish community. Today, the IKG has around 10,000 members. Throughout history, it has represented almost all of Austria's Jews, whose numbers are sufficient ...

from 4 May 1884 to 27 December 1885. Besides many other decorations he received the

cross of the Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was o ...

, in recognition of his services at the Paris Exposition of 1878; five years before, for his services in connection with the Exposition of Vienna, he had received from the Austrian emperor the

patent of nobility The patent of nobility, also letters of nobility (always ), or diploma of nobility documented the legal act of ennoblement (granting rights of a nobleman to a "new man" and his family). The ennoblement was an event of ultimate importance in a feuda ...

with the title ''"Von Borkenau"''.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20110717034651/http://www.compactmemory.de/library/seiten.aspx?context=pages&ID_0=7&ID_1=164&ID_2=176&ID_3=7863&&tzpid=7 (photography) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pollack von Borkenau, Moriz 1827 births 1904 deaths Businesspeople from Austria-Hungary Jews from Austria-Hungary Businesspeople from Vienna Jews and Judaism in Vienna