S M von Rothschild was a

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

ing enterprise established in 1820 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. ...

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

by Salomon Mayer Rothschild, the founder of the

Rothschild banking family of Austria The Rothschild banking family of Austria () was the Austrian branch of the Rothschild family. It was founded in 1820 by Salomon Mayer von Rothschild in Vienna, which was then part of the Austrian Empire. History Salomon Mayer had been sent to A ...

and a member of the Mayer Amschel Rothschild family of

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The business prospered, financing various Austrian government undertakings where large amounts of capital had to be raised. The bank played a major role in the building of the country's economic infrastructure including the first

rail transport Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

networks. Passed down to Salomon Mayer Rothschild's male heirs, the bank would be run by Anselm von Rothschild (President: 1848–1874),

Albert Salomon von Rothschild Albert Salomon Anselm Freiherr von Rothschild (29 October 1844 – 11 February 1911) was a banker in Austria-Hungary and a member of the Rothschild banking family of Austria. Businesses that he owned included Creditanstalt and the Norther ...

(President: 1874–1911), and

Louis Nathaniel von Rothschild Louis Nathaniel, Baron von Schwartz de Rothschild () was an Austrian Baron from the Rothschild family. Early life Rothschild was born in Vienna on 5 March 1882. He was the son of Baron Albert Salomon Anselm von Rothschild (1844–1911) and h ...

(President: 1911–1939). The 13 March 1938

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

of Austria to

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

marked the forced end of the Rothschild's business in Austria. Because he was

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish, Baron Louis von Rothschild, head of the bank at the time, was held in prison for a year and only released after a substantial ransom was paid by his family. After Baron Louis was stripped of his Austrian citizenship and allowed to leave the country empty-handed, in March 1939 the Nazis placed the firm of S M von Rothschild under compulsory administration and then sold it to the German private bank Merck, Finck & Co. in October of that year, and S.M.v Rothschild became E.v. Nicolai & Co. After the Allies occupied Austria, Louis Rothschild asserted a claim to recover ''Südosttextil Gesellschaft m.b.H.'', a company that had been founded by E.v. Nicolai & Co. on January 29, 1942.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:S M Von Rothschild Banks of Austria Jewish Austrian history ! Companies acquired from Jews under Nazi rule

See also

References