John F. Mueller - The Kaiser, Hitler and the Jewish Department Store: The Reichs Retailer

The Kaiser, Hitler and the Jewish Department Store

The Kaiser, Hitler and the Jewish Department Store

The Reichs Retailer

John F. Mueller

BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC

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First published in Great Britain 2022

Copyright John F. Mueller, 2022

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Cover image: Works meeting at Wertheim in Leipziger Strasse, Berlin, approx. 19331939; Jewish Museum Berlin, Inv. No. 2007/218/0

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ISBN: HB: 978-1-3501-4177-3

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Contents

Figures

Tables

Map

Long before Wes Anderson used the department store in Grlitz as a set for his film the Grand Budapest Hotel , it inspired my research. During the time of the German Democratic Republic, in which building materials were in short supply, the people of that town took it upon themselves to restore this early twentieth-century store to its full grandeur. They did so in their own time and at their own cost. It is to these people, who in a socialist state renovated a seemingly capitalist symbol, that I owe a debt of gratitude. Through their dedication, I got a tantalizing glimpse into the world as it was a hundred years before, and I began asking questions about the purpose of the building, the people who frequented it and the context in which it existed.

This led to a PhD at the University of Cambridge under Professor Sir Richard J. Evans, who has been the most reliable and supportive mentor of my work. I am deeply grateful to him for all he has done for me and in particular for his to my mind surprising faith in my abilities. He and Professor Sir Christopher Clark helped me shape the thesis out of which this book was developed. It was, however, Maja Hattesen, from the German public broadcaster who, after filming a documentary on the history of department stores with me, finally got me to expand and adapt the work for a broader audience.

Sir Richard and Dr Helen Bettinson made the biggest impact on what you are about to read, as they share an ability to be bluntly critical and highly constructive at the same time. I am thankful to them as well as to Charlotte Perry and Charles F. M. Wright for reading drafts of this book. My colleagues and friends Dr Oliver Coates, Dr Christine Corton and Dr Matthew Neal have been wonderful in their encouragement and companionship over the years. Samuel R. Burns, also a dear colleague, produced the map for me. I have had the privilege to work together with wonderful people, including almost everyone at St Edmunds College, University of Cambridge, the staff at Bloomsbury Academic, especially Laura Reeves and Rhodri Mogford, and my former employer Helen Cornish. I thank John Barber, Roger Carver, Esme Fay, John Nolan and Paul Coles for their support and friendship.