Heinrich Arnhold
Heinrich Arnhold | |
|---|---|
| Born | Heinrich Gustav Arnhold 22 July 1885 Dresden, Germany |
| Died | 10 October 1935 (aged 50) |
| Occupation(s) | Banker, art collector, patron of the arts, Esperantist |
| Known for | Partner in Arnhold Brothers bank; president of Saxon Esperanto Federation; art collection including Meissen porcelain; patronage of arts |
Heinrich Arnhold, whose full name was Heinrich Gustav Arnhold (born July 22, 1885 – died October 10, 1935), was a prominent German banker, art collector, patron of the arts, and advocate of Esperanto.
Life and career
Originating from the Dresden-based Arnhold family, known for establishing Arnhold Brothers, Saxony's foremost private banking institution founded by his father Georg and uncle Max Arnhold, Heinrich was raised in a forward-thinking upper-middle-class setting. In 1907, he accompanied his father to the 16th World Peace Congress held in Munich; his father was a supporter of the German Peace Society. Early exposure to Esperanto came through Dresden poet Marie Hankel, influenced by pacifist Bertha Suttner. Heinrich played a key role in organizing the 4th Esperanto World Congress in Dresden in 1908 and served as president of the Saxon Esperanto Federation from 1911 to 1914. Additionally, he held the position of treasurer for the German Esperanto Federation beginning in 1912.
He completed his doctorate in law at the University of Leipzig in 1908 and entered the family banking business as a partner two years later.
In 1914, he wed Lisa Mattersdorff (1890–1972), who also descended from a banking family in Dresden. The couple had five children: Ruth (later Steiner), Sigrid (later Edwards), Rainer, Esther (later Seligmann), and Heinrich-Hartmut (known as Henry H. Arnhold). Their home on Tiergartenstraße became an important cultural venue, hosting salons that attracted luminaries such as Albert Einstein and Wassily Kandinsky. In 1927, Heinrich commissioned landscape architect Erwin Barth to redesign their garden.
Together, Heinrich and Lisa amassed a significant collection of modern art alongside an extensive array of Meissen porcelain, reflecting their family's longstanding involvement with porcelain and ceramics.
He was instrumental in founding the Society of Sponsors and Friends of the Dresden University of Technology (GFF) and received the title of honorary senator in recognition of his enduring support.
Under Nazi rule
Following the Nazi regime’s ascent in 1933, Arnhold’s family and business endured persecution due to their Jewish background.
At first, he pursued legal avenues to contest anti-Jewish measures. However, after suffering strokes in 1934 and again in 1935—events later attributed to Nazi oppression—he passed away. His wife Lisa, with assistance from her brother-in-law Kurt Arnhold, succeeded in safeguarding their family and treasured porcelain collection by relocating initially to Switzerland, then traveling through Portugal and Brazil before settling in the United States.
Per Artdaily, Heinrich acquired Emil Nolde's painting "Buchsbaumgarten" during the auction of the Ismar Littmann Art Collection at Berlin’s Max Perl auction house in February 1935. Upon emigrating to America, his widow brought this artwork with her and eventually sold it in 1956 via the Stuttgarter Kunstkabinett. The Lehmbruck Museum purchased it but initially dismissed restitution claims made by Littmann's heirs in 2000 on grounds that the sale predated the Nuremberg Laws and that Arnhold himself was Jewish. However, in 2021, the museum reversed this stance after recognizing that Ismar Littmann and his family had been subjected to racial persecution by Nazi Germany following March 30, 1933, which compelled them to part with their collection.
Enduring impact
Heinrich’s son, Henry H. Arnhold, escaped from Nazi-occupied Norway to the United States in 1941. During World War II, he served with U.S. army intelligence as one of the Ritchie Boys. Post-war, he joined the family firm based in New York, Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder, eventually becoming its non-executive chairman during the 1970s.
Since 2001, Henry Arnhold has been a benefactor of the Lisa and Heinrich Arnhold Lecture series. This event is organized biennially by Dresden Heritage e.V. in collaboration with the American Academy in Berlin.
Publications
- Das Stimmrecht lombardierter Aktien. Leipzig University dissertation, 1908
Bibliography
- Heike Biedermann: Die Sammlung Lisa und Heinrich Arnhold. Featured in: Von Monet bis Mondrian, 2006, pages 101–111
- Maureen Cassidy-Geiger (editor): The Arnhold Collection of Meissen Porcelain 1710–50. Exhibition catalog, Frick Collection, New York, 2008
- Simone Lässig: Nationalsozialistische 'Judenpolitik' und jüdische Selbstbehauptung vor dem Novemberpogrom. Das Beispiel der Bankiersfamilie Arnhold. In: Reiner Pommerin (editor): Dresden unterm Hakenkreuz, Böhlau, 1998, pages 129–192