When Berlin Meant Business

Published: May 20, 2013, 4 a.m.

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Berlin has long had an anti-capitalist bent, part of its countercultural charm. But before the war, it was a more enterprising and bustling place, due in no small part to the nearly 50,000 Jewish-owned businesses located there. What happened to those businesses under Hitler is at the core of meticulous research by Humboldt University historian Christoph Kreutzm\\xfcller. While most of us are familiar with images of Nazi boycotts and smashed storefront windows, Kreutzm\\xfcller and his research team have assembled less familiar details about the escalating campaign of violence and administrative harassment that led to the demise of Jewish enterprises and, ultimately, the demise of the idea of Berlin as a center of industry and commerce.

Kreutzm\\xfcller\\u2019s findings were on display earlier this month in an exhibit at the Berlin Chamber of Commerce as part of the city\\u2019s yearlong reckoning with the 80th anniversary of Hitler\\u2019s rise to power. They can also be found (in German) in his new book,


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