Department store - Wilh. Jonas

The Jonas department store was built in 1907 by Alfons Jonas' father in Kiel - Gaarden. After the First World War, his son Alfons took over the business. Shortly after the National Socialists seized power in 1933, there was a call for a boycott of all Jewish businesses on April 1, 1933, which of course also affected the Jonas department store. In 1934, Alfons Jonas decided to emigrate. The family emigrated to Palestine via Switzerland. There, Alfons Jonas built up a new life for himself and his family in Haifa by founding a household goods business. In the 1950s, Alfons Jonas returned to Kiel - Gaarden and tried to make a new start by re-establishing his department store. Health reasons  forced him to abandon the continuation of the Jonas & Wagner department store, which reopened on July 20, 1956. After selling his share of the business in 1957, Alfons Jonas returned to his family in Israel. He died there in 1976.

On July 9, 1997, Alfons Jonas Square was dedicated in memory of the department store owner Alfons Jonas, who left Germany in 1934 because, as a Jew, he had to fear for his life and that of his family.