Ilia, Paul and Daniel Hepner

The brothers Ilia, Paul and Daniel Hepner

Born in Bialystok, the merchant Ilia Hepner (1885-1933) came to Berlin with several siblings and relatives around 1920. His family, who had previously lived in Kiev, had fled to Germany to escape the civil war in Ukraine. In the fall of 1921, he bought two houses in Berlin-Charlottenburg: at Waitzstr. 4 and Clausewitzstr. 1.

While his relatives settled in Berlin immediately, Ilia Hepner apparently spent a lot of time outside of Germany. Until 1928, he gave the famous luxury Hotel Eden at Kudamm 246/47 as his registered address, after which he lived in a spacious apartment at Kudamm 65.

From 1922-33, he was the sole owner of Lunapark Grundstücks AG and Lunaterrassen-Betriebsgesellschaft mit Büro on Berlin's Kurfürstendamm. His brother Paul supported him as an authorized signatory in the companies. Together with his older brother Jules Hepner (1872-1938), he also held the shares in the ironworks L. Meyer jun. and Co. in Harzgerode.

Ilia Hepner died in Berlin in March 1933 and is buried in the Jewish cemetery in Berlin-Weißensee. His heirs were denied access to his possessions after his death. His brother Paul Hepner, who was particularly familiar with the business, was briefly imprisoned and deported to Poland.

The older brother Daniel Hepner (1877-1943), a merchant, lived with his wife Berta, née Gitis (1884-1935), in his brother Ilias' house at Waitzstrasse 4 until 1934. In 1937, he fled to Paris, where numerous family members were already living. In March 1943, he was deported to Auschwitz and murdered.