Department store - Ury Brothers

The brothers Moritz (1872–1939) and Julius Ury (1873–1940) were born in Birnbaum in the province of Posen.On March 4, 1896, the brothers opened their department store on the first floor of the Café Royal in Leipzig, which was so well received that in 1906  the sales floor could be enlarged. On March 18, 1901, they founded the Ury Gebrüder, Zwickau / Leipzig department store in Zwickau. Simon Schocken, who had married into the Ury family, was a personally liable partner in the department store.Salman Schocken followed his brother's call and also joined the business.1904 In 1906, the Zwickau department store became the sole property of Simon Schocken. In 1907, Simon Schocken and Salman Schocken founded the company I. Schocken Söhne Zwickau. In addition, the brothers founded a purchasing center based in Zwickau, which supplied both department stores. In the years 1909-1930, the Schocken brothers formed one of the largest department store chains in Germany (fourth largest) - Schocken Kaufhäuser. The Ury company continued to exist. Around 1914, the Leipzig department store was rebuilt and expanded by purchasing the neighboring property. In 1924 the company had 400 employees. In 1928, the company was transformed into a stock corporation with additional stores in Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt. Julius and Moritz Ury and his son Walter were ousted from their positions as shareholders and managers of the company in the course of the Aryanization. Moritz and Selma Ury emigrated to Switzerland in October 1937, followed by Walter Ury and Tanja in 1938. Julius Ury´s emigration failed. Having come only as far as France, he had to hide there and died there in 1940 in an unknown place.Julius wife Klara was still able to escape to Switzerland with their two children.Moritz Ury died in the same year as his brother.The liquidation of the company took place in 1941.