Karl Amson Joel
Encyclopedia
Karl Amson Joel was a German
-Jewish textile
merchant and manufacturer. He is the grandfather of conductor Alexander Joel
and musician Billy Joel
.
Joel, born in Colmberg
as the son of a textile merchant, founded a Nuremberg
based mail order
textile and clothing company in 1928. The following year he also started manufacturing. Joel's company soon became one of the leading mail order sellers in Germany (along with Quelle or Schöpflin).
After the rise to power
of Nazism
(1933), Joel was increasingly discriminated against by the regional Nazi Party leaders, especially Julius Streicher
. Therefore, Joel moved his company to Berlin
in 1934 where he rented a factory site in Wedding
and installed new packing machines. The stitching department, however, had to remain in Nuremberg. As discrimination further increased (e.g. deliveries had to be marked with a "J" for Juden, or Jew), and Jewish firms became "Aryanized,"
Joel was forced to sell his company to Josef Neckermann
for an unrealistic purchase price in 1938. The original agreement of 2.3 million marks was further reduced by Neckermann to 1.1 million marks. The money was transferred to a trust account at the banking house Hardy & Co. in Berlin.
Meanwhile Joel and his wife Meta had emigrated to Switzerland
in July 1938. Their son Helmut (later called Howard) attended boarding school there. As a so-called "Devisenausländer" (currency foreigner) Joel could not get access to the trust account in Berlin. In August 1938 he was expatriated and his firm was confiscated the following month. Via France and England the Joels flew to Cuba. Finally, they reached the United States, where Joel started a new enterprise in 1942.
In 1957 Joel got a compensation of 2 million German mark
s for his former company from Neckermann who ran the most successful German mail order selling company at the time. In 1964 Joel returned to Nuremberg, where he stayed until his death.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-Jewish textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
merchant and manufacturer. He is the grandfather of conductor Alexander Joel
Alexander Joel (conductor)
Alexander Joel is a pianist and conductor.He began his conducting career in Nürnberg, followed by positions at Baden bei Wien, Klagenfurt and the Vienna Volksoper...
and musician Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
.
Joel, born in Colmberg
Colmberg
Colmberg is a municipality in the district of Ansbach in Bavaria in Germany....
as the son of a textile merchant, founded a Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
based mail order
Mail order
Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...
textile and clothing company in 1928. The following year he also started manufacturing. Joel's company soon became one of the leading mail order sellers in Germany (along with Quelle or Schöpflin).
After the rise to power
Machtergreifung
Machtergreifung is a German word meaning "seizure of power". It is normally used specifically to refer to the Nazi takeover of power in the democratic Weimar Republic on 30 January 1933, the day Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany, turning it into the Nazi German dictatorship.-Term:The...
of Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
(1933), Joel was increasingly discriminated against by the regional Nazi Party leaders, especially Julius Streicher
Julius Streicher
Julius Streicher was a prominent Nazi prior to World War II. He was the founder and publisher of Der Stürmer newspaper, which became a central element of the Nazi propaganda machine...
. Therefore, Joel moved his company to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1934 where he rented a factory site in Wedding
Wedding (Berlin)
Wedding is a locality in the borough of Mitte, Berlin, Germany and was a separate borough in the north-western inner city until it was fused with Tiergarten and Mitte in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform...
and installed new packing machines. The stitching department, however, had to remain in Nuremberg. As discrimination further increased (e.g. deliveries had to be marked with a "J" for Juden, or Jew), and Jewish firms became "Aryanized,"
Aryanization
Aryanization is a term coined during Nazism referring to the forced expulsion of so-called "non-Aryans", mainly Jews, from business life in Nazi Germany and the territories it controlled....
Joel was forced to sell his company to Josef Neckermann
Josef Neckermann
Josef Carl Peter Neckermann was a German equestrian and Olympic champion...
for an unrealistic purchase price in 1938. The original agreement of 2.3 million marks was further reduced by Neckermann to 1.1 million marks. The money was transferred to a trust account at the banking house Hardy & Co. in Berlin.
Meanwhile Joel and his wife Meta had emigrated to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
in July 1938. Their son Helmut (later called Howard) attended boarding school there. As a so-called "Devisenausländer" (currency foreigner) Joel could not get access to the trust account in Berlin. In August 1938 he was expatriated and his firm was confiscated the following month. Via France and England the Joels flew to Cuba. Finally, they reached the United States, where Joel started a new enterprise in 1942.
In 1957 Joel got a compensation of 2 million German mark
German mark
The Deutsche Mark |mark]], abbreviated "DM") was the official currency of West Germany and Germany until the adoption of the euro in 2002. It is commonly called the "Deutschmark" in English but not in German. Germans often say "Mark" or "D-Mark"...
s for his former company from Neckermann who ran the most successful German mail order selling company at the time. In 1964 Joel returned to Nuremberg, where he stayed until his death.