Siegfried Guggenheim (1873–1961) was a German

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is distin ...

and art collector. He emigrated from

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 ...

to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1938 due to fear of persecution due to his

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

faith.

Biography

Guggenheim was born to Jewish parents in 1873. His father was a

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

. In 1900, he became the ''

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

doctorate'' in Offenbach, working as a lawyer. In 1919, he became a

public order. Guggenheim was heavily engaged in Offenbach's cultural and social life and was a member of many organizations. He enjoyed

fine arts In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...

and

Jewish culture Jewish culture is the culture of the Jewish people, from its formation in ancient times until the current age. Judaism itself is not simply a faith-based religion, but an orthopraxy and Ethnoreligious group, ethnoreligion, pertaining to deed, ...

. He was a

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

to the artist

Rudolf Koch Rudolf Koch (20 November 1876 – 9 April 1934) was a German type designer, professor, and a master of lettering, calligraphy, typography and illustration. Commonly known for his typefaces created for the Klingspor Type Foundry, his most widely ...

. From Guggenheim's patronage emerged two great works: The ''Offender

Haggadah The Haggadah (, "telling"; plural: Haggadot) is a foundational Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. According to Jewish practice, reading the Haggadah at the Seder table fulfills the mitzvah incumbent on every Jew to reco ...

tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art which was traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical pieces are intended to han ...

, which can be found in the Klingspor Museum, and the so-called ''Offenbacher

'', a tapestry by Fritz Kredel. He also 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.The Capitol in Offenbach
With the seizure of power by the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

s in 1933, his notary license was withdrawn. In November 1938, Guggenheim lost his license to practice law. He was deported to the

Buchenwald concentration camp Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Nazi Germany, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (pre-1938 ...

on November 9, 1938, making him a victim of

Kristallnacht ( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...

. 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) to Flushing, New York. Their German

citizenship Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...

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 War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

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, dying in 1984. Both he and his wife were

cremated Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...

after their deaths and their

urns An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape ...

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guggenheim, Siegfried 1873 births 1961 deaths Notaries Emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States