Christoph Kreutzmüller Book order

Focusing on the impact of Nazi racism, this book details the rise and fall of over 8,000 Jewish businesses in Berlin before and during the regime's reign. It provides a comprehensive analysis of Jewish economic activity and the systematic destruction of these enterprises, while also highlighting the resilience and strategies employed by Jewish businesspeople in response to persecution. The narrative reveals a complex paradox, showcasing Berlin as both the center of Nazi administration and a hub for Jewish self-help and community resilience.

Before the Nazis took power, Jewish businesspeople in Berlin thrived alongside their non-Jewish neighbors. But Nazi racism changed that, gradually destroying Jewish businesses before murdering the Jews themselves. Reconstructing the fate of more than 8,000 companies, this book offers the first comprehensive analysis of Jewish economic activity and its obliteration. Rather than just examining the steps taken by the persecutors, it also tells the stories of Jewish strategies in countering the effects of persecution. In doing so, this book exposes a fascinating paradox where Berlin, serving as the administrative heart of the Third Reich, was also the site of a dense network for Jewish self-help and assertion.

Nissim Zacouto, scion of an an old Sephardic family, built up a respected wholesale carpet business in 1920s Berlin. After 1933, his Turkish nationality protected him from direct attack by the Nazis. Nevertheless faced with increasing harrassment and trade restrictions, he gradually relocated his business to Paris, finally emigrating in 1939. On France’s occupation, Zacouto went into hiding with his family and narrowly escaped deportation. Nissim Zacouto’s unusual and moving life story is introduced in a foreword by his son Fred Zacouto.