Department store Leonhard Tietz

The large Kaufhof building between Hohe Straße and Schildergasse in Cologne's city center catches the eye even as you pass by. Less obvious, however, is the building's history, which dates back to 1891, when Jewish merchant Leonhard Tietz set up his business in Cologne. 

With the help of his wife Flora Tietz, he opened his first department store in downtown Cologne that same year. Thanks to the great popularity of his revolutionary sales concept, which was characterized primarily by fixed prices, Tietz moved to a larger department store on Hohe Strasse in 1895. After various renovations, the department store encompassed the entire block of buildings in 1914 and became the flagship of Leonhard Tietz AG. It appealed to people from both the working class and the middle classes with its low prices, which led to continuous success until 1930. The management of the company distinguished itself, among other things, by offering above-average social benefits to its employees. In addition, the Tietz family was always involved in Jewish and interdenominational institutions. 
When Leonhard Tietz died in 1914 as one of the most important German entrepreneurs of his time, his son Alfred Tietz took over the management of the company and continued his father's success.

As early as 1930, the company suffered from the smear campaigns of the National Socialists. In the course of the "Aryanization" all Jewish owners and employees had to leave the company in 1933. The name was changed to "Westdeutsche Kaufhof AG (vorm. Leonhard Tietz AG)", and in 1936 the addition was also dropped. This ended the history of the place as a Jewish Place.
The Tietz family fled to the Netherlands in 1934 and later to Jerusalem. The still living relatives were compensated in 1951 with a lump-sum cash settlement by the Kaufhof Group's management board.

Today, the building on Hohe Straße is still used as a branch of the successor company Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof.