Store/Shop

The Hirsch shoe store was founded by Moritz Hirsch before World War I and was originally located in the family's own house at Hochstraße 50. When Moritz Hirsch died in 1927, his widow Meta Hirsch needed the support of their son Rudolf Hirsch to continue the business. He was only 20 years old at the time. He moved the business to a rented store at Hochstraße 130. Even during the Great Depression, the shoe business was still expanding and employed 30 people. Nevertheless, the company had to contend with sales losses.

In August 1879, the Jewish textile merchant Leonhard Tietz opened a textile store in Stralsund that was just 25m² in size. From this, the large and prestigious department store chain "Leonhard Tietz AG" was to emerge in the coming decades. The largest department store group in Germany was also located in Krefeld on the corner of Friedrichstraße and St. Anton Straße from 1904. With 43 locations throughout Germany, the Jewish company employed around 15,000 people. 

Alexander Kamp came to the city shortly after the synagogue was built on the corner of Marktstraße and Petersstraße and set up his business on Petersstraße with his brother Adolf. They sold hides and casings for butcher shops. At the end of the 1870s, he and his business moved to the acquired and larger house on Petersstraße 51-53. Alexander Kamp retired in 1896.

In 1904, the silk and velvet wholesale business "Merländer, Strauß & Co" was founded by Richard Merländer, Hermann Heymann and Siegfried Strauß. At that time, the Heymanns family had lived in Krefeld for almost 300 years. 

Since the 1920s, the company had its business premises on the third floor in the so-called "Sinn-Haus" on Neusser Straße. The Sinn-Haus was the first department store in Krefeld and was designed by Otto Engler in 1906. 

Adolf Abraham and his brother Julius worked towards the end of the 19th century in the Bonn branch of Leonhard Tietz's department store group, which was also Jewish. In 1901, the brothers left this branch and opened their own department store in rented premises at Hauptstraße 59 in Rheydt.

Jonas Benjamin Jonas founded together with his brother Abraham Jonas on 1.11.1869 the leather shop "A. & J.B. Jonas", which moved into its business premises at Lüpertzender Straße 71. In January 1878 Abraham Jonas left the joint enterprise, but the business name did not change. A short time later, a shank factory was added to the leather shop. Although the business continued into the 20th century, Jonas Benjamin Jonas retired from the business at an early age and devoted himself to honorary functions.

In 1869, Salomon Bellerstein, who was just 21 years old at the time, founded his own manufactory goods shop. He moved into his business premises at the former Krefelder Straße 51, which meant that he was in the direct vicinity of Jonas Lennhoff's store, thus competing with him. The Bellerstein fashion house quickly became one of the largest of its kind in Gladbach. In 1888, 20 Jewish employees were employed here in addition to Christian ones. It is possible that Bellerstein's economic success was one reason for Josef Lennhoff's closing down the business.

In 1868, Josef Lennhoff, who had come to Gladbach only a year earlier, founded the "Manufaktur- und Modewarenhandlung Lennhoff". Lennhoff moved into his business premises at the former Krefelder Straße 47, today's Hindenburgstraße.

Josef Lennhoff advertised a lot in the Gladbach daily newspaper. Among them also reports that he had his store closed on (high) Jewish holidays. However, this does not seem to have harmed his business economically.

Already in 1856, Jacob Rothschild opened the " First Weinheimer Kleidermagazin " in Weinheim on Steinweg ( today's Hauptstraße).

In the center of Süchteln, on Hochstraße, the brothers Nathan and Jacob Lifges had their "textile store N.Lifges". The store rooms were on the lower floor, the family lived in the upper.

By 1900, the Lifges brothers had abandoned their butcher shop and moved into the textile trade. In this field they proved to be very successful economically. After the death of Nathan Lifges in 1902, Jacob Lifges took over the business alone.