Hirschland Bank and Family Collection 1819-1999 bulk: 1925-1970

The Hirschland Bank and Family Collection contains the family papers and banking records of the Hirschland banking firm established by Simon Hirschland in Essen. Family papers pertain to members of the Hirschland, Grünebaum, Neumann and other families, with an emphasis on family members' emigration and role in the family firm. Banking records focus on the history of the family firm from the 1930s through the 1960s, including records of successor financial firms. The collection includes prolific correspondence, banking files and financial records, family papers, official documents, photographs and photo albums, contracts, and other papers.See the Hirschland Bank collection, AR 25342On September 1, 1841 Simon Hirschland founded a banking and commercial firm in Essen, Germany, which established business relationships with such industrialist families as Krupp, Stinnes and Dinnendahl. In 1874 Simon Hirschland's son Isaak Hirschland became a partner in the firm. During his years in the firm it was expanded to include smaller craftsmen, aiding in the development of Essen as a center of industry. For his work Isaak Hirschland received the title of Kommerzienrat and was awarded by being named a member of the Order of the Red Eagle. He was also head of the Jewish Community of Essen for 36 years, with members of the Hirschland family having been involved in civil and philanthropic work. Following the death of Isaak Hirschland on April 3, 1912 his sons Kurt Martin Hirschland and Georg Simon Hirschland took over the family banking firm. They fostered the connections of the firm in the industries and associations of the Rhine-Westfalen area, as well as developed its international connections. During the occupation of the Rhineland following World War I, the firm opened a branch in Hamburg.In 1923 Erich Otto Grünebaum, the son of Kurt and Georg Hirschland's sister Agathe and her husband Ernst Grünebaum, joined the Simon Hirschland bank, first working as a foreign exchange clerk, and eventually becoming head of the foreign exchange department. In 1933 he married Gabrielle Neumann, daughter of Emil and Ella Neumann. Three years later Erich Grünebaum was made a partner of the Simon Hirschland firm. In 1938 the Simon Hirschland bank was Aryanized, and renamed Burkhardt & Co. By 1938 most members of the family had left Germany, with many of them emigrating to England and the United States. After a short stay in Sweden, Erich Grünebaum lived in London and then Canada before eventually settling with his family in Westchester County, New York where his brother already resided. After immigration to the United States the family used the surname Grunebaum. Erich and Gabrielle Grunebaum, along with other Hirschland family members, assisted in providing financial support for emigration from Germany for many other family, friends and former Hirschland bank employees. The branch of the family banking firm that Erich Grünebaum helped to establish in New York was known as the New York Hanseatic Corporation.Processeddigitize