The couple Max and Edith Michaelis
The couple Max and Edith Michaelis lived in a house built in 1902–1903 by the architect Wilhelm Lopsch at Kurfürstendamm 185 – an upscale residential area in western Berlin. From April 1934 onwards, they lived there on the first floor of the front building, the Beletage, in seven rooms. For Edith Michaelis née Neustadt, this was her second marriage. She had married the merchant Louis Ludwig Lewin in 1908, who then died at an unknown date. Max and Edith Michaelis married in August 1927. Before moving into the apartment at Kurfürstendamm 185, Max Michaelis had lived at Pariser Straße 30–31 and Edith Michaelis at Steinacher Straße 1 in Berlin‑Schöneberg.
The owners and landlords of the house at Kurfürstendamm 185 were the Berglas family until 1941. As the family was persecuted as Jewish, the Geheime Staatspolizei(EN) Politische Polizei in der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus, die politische Gegner*innen sowie Jüdinnen*Juden überwachte und verfolgte. (Secrete State Police, Gestapo(EN) Politische Polizei in der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus, die politische Gegner*innen sowie Jüdinnen*Juden überwachte und verfolgte.) confiscatedBy confiscating assets, government officials initially deprived owners of the authority to dispose of their bank accounts, household furnishings, securities, etc., which were placed under state administration. More the property, and it passed into the ownership of the German Reich. In 1943, the former mining inspector Heinrich Kellermann “Arisiert(Aryanisation/Aryanised) The term “Arisierung” refers to the systematic expropriation of Jewish people. More” (aryanised(Aryanisation/Aryanised) The term “Arisierung” refers to the systematic expropriation of Jewish people. More) the property and thus also the house.
First page of the asset declaration of Max Michaelis, 20 June 1942. BLHA, Rep. 36A (II) no. 26893, fol. 2
“Jüdischer Konsulent(consultant) In September 1938, the National Socialist state revoked the general licence of the remaining lawyers who were persecuted as Jews. Instead of “lawyer”, those affected by the measures were now required to use “Konsulent” (Latin for “advisor”). More” (Jewish consultant)
Max Michaelis was admitted as a lawyer at the Berlin Court of Appeal and also worked as a notary. But from 1933 onwards, he and Edith Michaelis were persecuted by the National Socialist state as Jewish. From 1938, Max Michaelis was only permitted to work as a “Konsulent(consultant) In September 1938, the National Socialist state revoked the general licence of the remaining lawyers who were persecuted as Jews. Instead of “lawyer”, those affected by the measures were now required to use “Konsulent” (Latin for “advisor”). More” (consultant), which was not comparable to his previous professional practice: Jewish lawyers had their licences revoked and were only allowed to advise and represent Jewish clients. Furthermore, a substantial share of the fees had to be paid to the Reich Chamber of Lawyers. This money was administered by the specially established Ausgleichsstelle (Compensation Office)Authority established within the Reichs-Rechtsanwaltskammer (Reich Chamber of Lawyers) to regulate economic and professional matters among lawyers. More.
Michaelis also represented neighbours from the house at Kurfürstendamm 185, including Jacob Intrator and his wife Rosa, as well as Erich and Martha Kaufmann, who were likewise persecuted as Jewish. Max Michaelis also had his office rooms in the apartment at Kurfürstendamm 185.
Letterhead of Max Michaelis. BLHA, Rep. 36A (II) no. 16496, fol. 62
Deported and robbed
The deportationForced removal of people by state authorities from their place of residence or origin to another state territory or to remote regions where they are detained. More of the couple from Berlin took place on 24 June 1942 with the sixteenth “Osttransport(Eastern Transport) The Geheime Staatspolizeileitstelle Berlin used the term "Osttransport" to refer to deportation transports to the ghettos and extermination camps in the occupied eastern territories. More” (Eastern Transport(Eastern Transport) The Geheime Staatspolizeileitstelle Berlin used the term "Osttransport" to refer to deportation transports to the ghettos and extermination camps in the occupied eastern territories. More) to MinskMaly Trostinec was a Nazi forced labour and extermination camp near Minsk (now Belarus), where
the SS and Schutzpolizei murdered between 40,000 and 60,000 people between 1942 and 1944. More/Maly Trostinec. The same deportationForced removal of people by state authorities from their place of residence or origin to another state territory or to remote regions where they are detained. More list included more than fifty employees – some in senior positions – of the Reichsvereinigung der Juden(Reich Association of Jews in Germany) Compulsory association of all Jewish organisations and communities, founded in June 1939. More (Reich Association of Jews).
After the arrival of the deportationForced removal of people by state authorities from their place of residence or origin to another state territory or to remote regions where they are detained. More train, members of the Waffen‑SS and the uniformed police murdered most of the deportees in a forest near Maly TrostinecMaly Trostinec was a Nazi forced labour and extermination camp near Minsk (now Belarus), where
the SS and Schutzpolizei murdered between 40,000 and 60,000 people between 1942 and 1944. More, around 12 km southeast of MinskMaly Trostinec was a Nazi forced labour and extermination camp near Minsk (now Belarus), where
the SS and Schutzpolizei murdered between 40,000 and 60,000 people between 1942 and 1944. More. Whether the couple were among them has not been clarified to this day.
Transport list of the Secret State Police Berlin. Max and Edith Michaelis appear under the numbers 186 and 187. Arolsen Archives, transport list: sixteenth “Osttransport(Eastern Transport) The Geheime Staatspolizeileitstelle Berlin used the term "Osttransport" to refer to deportation transports to the ghettos and extermination camps in the occupied eastern territories. More“ to MinskMaly Trostinec was a Nazi forced labour and extermination camp near Minsk (now Belarus), where
the SS and Schutzpolizei murdered between 40,000 and 60,000 people between 1942 and 1944. More/Maly Trostinec, 24 June 1942, DocID: 127187918
Before their deportationForced removal of people by state authorities from their place of residence or origin to another state territory or to remote regions where they are detained. More, Max and Edith Michaelis had to complete the sixteen‑page Vermögenserklärung(declaration of assets) Before their deportation he persecuted persons had to provide information about their assets located in Germany. For this purpose, the tax authorities developed a multi-page form that had to be filled out in advance. More (declaration of assets). The handwritten declaration is the last trace of the couple. Max Michaelis’s asset declaration is dated 20 June 1942, that of Edith Michaelis 22 June 1942. In the section on household inventory and furnishings, the couple provided no information; in Max Michaelis’s declaration, the corresponding lines are additionally marked with question marks.
With the deportationForced removal of people by state authorities from their place of residence or origin to another state territory or to remote regions where they are detained. More of Max Michaelis, his legal cases were transferred in July 1942 to Dr Bruno Apt. He too was authorised to practise only as a “Konsulent(consultant) In September 1938, the National Socialist state revoked the general licence of the remaining lawyers who were persecuted as Jews. Instead of “lawyer”, those affected by the measures were now required to use “Konsulent” (Latin for “advisor”). More”.
A formal notification or order of confiscationBy confiscating assets, government officials initially deprived owners of the authority to dispose of their bank accounts, household furnishings, securities, etc., which were placed under state administration. More to the couple by the National Socialist authorities was no longer required. Because the deportationForced removal of people by state authorities from their place of residence or origin to another state territory or to remote regions where they are detained. More was carried out abroad, the Elfte Verordnung zum Reichsbürgergesetz (Eleventh Decree to the Reich Citizenship Law) applied automatically.
The “bevorzugte” “Verwertung“Verwertung” (liquidation) refers to all measures taken by the Reich financial administration to transfer stolen assets to the state treasury and, if necessary, convert material goods into cash. More” (preferred liquidation)
Following the receipt of the Vermögenserklärungen(declaration of assets) Before their deportation he persecuted persons had to provide information about their assets located in Germany. For this purpose, the tax authorities developed a multi-page form that had to be filled out in advance. More from Max and Edith Michaelis by the Vermögensverwertungsstelle, the tax officials began their work. They opened a file on the couple in which they documented the “Vermögensverwertung” (asset liquidation). On the first page of the file – a kind of overview sheet for the officials – the handwritten note “bevorzugt” (preferred) appears next to the names and address of the persecuted couple. Does this indicate that the couple’s property to be treated as “bevorzugte”?
Insight into the background of why the apartment and furnishings of Max and Edith Michaelis were to receive special treatment is provided by a letter from the Continentale Öl Aktiengesellschaft to the Oberfinanzpräsident(Senior Finance President) Until 1937, Landesfinanzämter (regional finance offices). OFPs were the highest regional authorities responsible for the Reich’s financial administration. From the end of 1941, they were tasked with planning and carrying out the theft of property from deported Jews. More (Senior Finance President(Senior Finance President) Until 1937, Landesfinanzämter (regional finance offices). OFPs were the highest regional authorities responsible for the Reich’s financial administration. From the end of 1941, they were tasked with planning and carrying out the theft of property from deported Jews. More) dated 11 July 1942:
The apartment in which Max and Edith Michaelis had lived was intended for use by the Continentale Öl Aktiengesellschaft. The company stated that it required the rooms to carry out a task assigned by General Field Marshal and Reich Minister of Economics Hermann Göring. Göring had ordered the Continentale Öl Aktiengesellschaft to secure, administer, and economically exploit oil deposits, extraction facilities, and oil companies in territories occupied or influenced by the German Reich, and to ensure the supply of fuel essential to the war effort. The apartment was presumably intended to serve as office space.
As early as 2 July 1942, about a week after the deportationForced removal of people by state authorities from their place of residence or origin to another state territory or to remote regions where they are detained. More of the couple, the Vermögensverwertungsstelle therefore began to “verwerten” the household furnishings piece by piece. The authority sold the couple’s property directly from the apartment at Kurfürstendamm 185.
Assessment by an auctioneer
For a specific part of the furnishings, an appraisal was carried out before their “Verwertung“Verwertung” (liquidation) refers to all measures taken by the Reich financial administration to transfer stolen assets to the state treasury and, if necessary, convert material goods into cash. More“ by Leo Spik, the owner of the Union art auction house. In two expert reports, he valued a total of sixty-five objects.
Appraisal list by Leo Spik, 1942. BLHA, Rep. 36A (II) no. 26893, fol. 30
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Appraisal list by Leo Spik, 1942. BLHA, Rep. 36A (II) no. 26893, fol. 25 -
Appraisal list by Leo Spik, 1942. BLHA, Rep. 36A (II) no. 26893, fol. 31 -
Appraisal list by Leo Spik, 1942. BLHA, Rep. 36A (II) no. 26893, fol. 32
Buyers “Überreiter” and “Kornfeld”
The furnishings from the apartment at Kurfürstendamm 185 were subsequently sold in several lots through private salesIn the context of the “Verwertung” (liquidation) of assets looted during the Nazi era: sale of seized or confiscated items directly to buyers outside of a public auction. More.
In researching the buyers who profited from the theft of the Michaelis’s property, two stand out in particular – those who acquired the items separately appraised by Leo Spik.
On 4 July 1942, the Vermögensverwertungsstelle sold eleven objects to a person named Gottfried Kornfeld, residing at Flensburger Straße 20, at the appraised price of 1,241 reichsmarks. These included furniture, household items, and framed prints. Two days later, the remaining fifty-four separately appraised objects were purchased by a Sophie Überreiter, residing at Pariser Straße 55, for a total of 13,231 reichsmarks. She thus acquired the largest part of the household furnishings belonging to Max and Edith Michaelis, including several artworks.
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Receipt for private sale to Gottfried Kornfeld, 4 July 1942. BLHA, Rep. 36A (II) no. 26893, fol. 24 -
Receipt for private sale to Gottfried Kornfeld, 4 July 1942. BLHA, Rep. 36A (II) no. 26893, fol. 24v -
Receipt for private sale to Sophie Überreiter, 6 July 1942. BLHA, Rep. 36A (II) no. 26893, fol. 29 -
Receipt for private sale to Sophie Überreiter, 6 July 1942. BLHA, Rep. 36A (II) no. 26893, fol. 29v
Deposit slip, 8 July 1942. BLHA, Rep. 36A (II) no. 26893, fol. 35
The further documents in the file relating to these two purchases raise questions: the deposit slips in the Vermögensverwertungsstelle how that the total amount of both private salesIn the context of the “Verwertung” (liquidation) of assets looted during the Nazi era: sale of seized or confiscated items directly to buyers outside of a public auction. More – 14,472 reichsmarks – was paid into the Oberfinanzkasse (Senior Prasident treasury) as a single sum, even though the purchases were made separately.
What was the relationship between these buyers? Who was Sophie Überreiter, the buyer who purchased a large lotDirectory containing detailed information on objects or lots offered at an auction. More of furnishings including several artworks and thus profited significantly from the dispossession of Max and Edith Michaelis? And who was Gottfried Kornfeld? Answers to these questions cannot be found in the file of the Vermögensverwertungsstelle.
“Verwertung“Verwertung” (liquidation) refers to all measures taken by the Reich financial administration to transfer stolen assets to the state treasury and, if necessary, convert material goods into cash. More” (liquidation) of a library
As evidenced by a delivery note, the haulage company Willy Kulka also delivered a large quantity of books from Kurfürstendamm 185 to the Vermögensverwertungsstelle on 6 July 1942. There, the expert specialising in books, Max Niederlechner, valued them at 2,200 reichsmarks and proposed a buyer: the antiquarian bookseller Gustav Schmidt in Berlin‑Halensee.
The library of Max and Edith Michaelis contained both legal and classical literature. This is shown by a list that the expert sent to the Vermögensverwertungsstelle. It includes those works he did not classify as “minderwertig” (inferior). Gustav Schmidt purchased the books and received them on 23 July 1942.
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List compiled by the expert Max Niederlechner, 21 July 1942. BLHA, Rep. 36A (II) no. 26893, fol. 47 -
List compiled by the expert Max Niederlechner, 21 July 1942. BLHA, Rep. 36A (II) no. 26893, fol. 47v
“Verwertung“Verwertung” (liquidation) refers to all measures taken by the Reich financial administration to transfer stolen assets to the state treasury and, if necessary, convert material goods into cash. More” (liquidation) of household furnishings
Other furnishings from the apartment at Kurfürstendamm 185 that were not part of Leo Spik’s separate appraisal were likewise sold through private salesIn the context of the “Verwertung” (liquidation) of assets looted during the Nazi era: sale of seized or confiscated items directly to buyers outside of a public auction. More.
Furniture and everyday household items went to various individuals, including an interpreter named Rudolf F. Gross from the Referat Sprachendienst (Language Service Department) of the Auswärtiges Amt (Reich Minister of Foreign Affairs), and a Lieutenant Buck. The caretaker of the building at Kurfürstendamm 185, Fritz Schaletzke, also profited by purchasing the couple’s kitchen furnishings. What remained of the household contents was sold on 27 July 1942 to the retailer of the Wirtschaftsgruppe Einzelhandel (Retail Trade Economic Group) Karl Gentsch for 352 reichsmarks.
Where are the objects?
The sale of the entire household furnishings was completed in August 1942, only two months after the deportationForced removal of people by state authorities from their place of residence or origin to another state territory or to remote regions where they are detained. More of the couple. The “bevorzugte” “Verwertung“Verwertung” (liquidation) refers to all measures taken by the Reich financial administration to transfer stolen assets to the state treasury and, if necessary, convert material goods into cash. More” (preferred liquidation) by the Vermögensverwertungsstelle was therefore carried out as quickly as possible so that the Continentale Öl Aktiengesellschaft could take possession of the rooms.
With their sale by the National Socialist authorities, the objects from the apartment at Kurfürstendamm 185 entered private ownership; their subsequent whereabouts remain unclear to this day. It cannot be ruled out that some of the artworks may have found their way into public collections by other means. Tracing them, however, is difficult, as the files contain only limited information on the works and do not include details such as the artists’ first names.
The file of the Vermögensverwertungsstelle also offers hardly any insight into the biographies of the couple, making it nearly impossible to reconstruct a picture of their lives from it alone. Further research in the restitutionReturn of confiscated property to its rightful owners or their heirs. and compensation files, which had been initiated by descendants, was therefore indispensable.
Find out more about the history after 1945 in the chapter on Responsibility.