Cloth factory - Süskind & Sternau

In 1887, the Jewish factory owners Siegmund Sternau (1847–1895) from Büren and Albert Süskind (b. 1847)  from Oberdollendorf  founded the cloth factory „Ritz & Vogel“ in Charlottenstraße and brought their cloth factory „Süskind & Sternau“ from Lothringer Straße in Aachen into the new company as capital.The business flourished and the company quickly developed into one of the largest cloth factories in Aachen. After the death of Siegmund Sternau in 1895 at the age of 48 and the departure of the co-partner Albert Süskind, and since the takeover of the company by Sternau´s sons was not possible due to their young age, the company was converted to a stock corporation in 1897 - henceforth under the name „Tuchfabrik Aachen vormals Süskind und Sternau AG“. Since Sternau´s two sons took a different career path and had no interest in running the company, and the business was run by non-Jews, the company was almost spared during the times of the " Aryanization of Jewish companies ". The name of the Jewish founders of the company, Süskind & Sternau " however, had to give way. Kurt Sternau, born in Aachen in 1881, died in Berlin in 1938. His brother Alfred Paul Sternau, born in 1890 was murdered in Auschwitz on October 13, 1943.