The large industrialists Hahn/Eisner as charities, patrons and collectors

The painting “Eisenwalzwerk” by Hans Baluschek from 1910 depicts a newly built rolling mill by the mining company “Hahnsche Werke” in Großenbaum (now Duisburg). It was owned by Heinrich Eisner, who was the founding socius of Albert Hahn and the first chairman of the Jewish Community of Berlin. Today, the painting is part of the Bröhan Museum collection and is currently in the process of restitution.

The headquarters of “Hahnsche Werke AG” were located in the Tiergarten district, as were several residences of the Hahn and Eisner families of directors. The addresses are Bellevuestrasse 14 and 6a, Tiergartenstraße 21, Matthäikirchstraße 2 and Große Querallee 2.

Research on the provenance of the painting required the reconstruction of the company's history and its Aryanization (forced sale) to the Mannesmannröhren-Werke and sheds light on the biographies of both highly respected families and their social commitment. Dr. Georg and Frida Hahn were among the co-founders and financers of the initially private Folklore Museum, later Royal Museums in Berlin, and Councillor of Commerce Dipl.-Ing. Paul Eisner owned valuable carpets, furniture and paintings, including the “Realms of the Blessed” by Hans Thoma. The families fled from Nazi persecution in 1938 and 1939. Their belongings were expropriated or destroyed, and the names of the two families were forgotten.

A presentation by Dr. Sabine Meister, Bröhan Museum

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