Oscar Wassermann

Oscar Wassermann
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-08459, Oscar Wassermann.jpg Template:Right
Born	Oscar Angelo Wassermann 4 April 1869 Bamberg, Upper Franconia, Bavaria
Died	8 September 1934(1934-09-08) (aged 65) Garmisch, Bavaria, Germany
Occupation(s)	Banker Bank director
Spouse(s)	1. Margarethe "Grete" Fürst (1892–1924) 2. Katharina "Käthe" Niemann/Haupt (1882–1942)
Children	1. Hedwig "Heddy" Wassermann (1912–1939) Karin "Käthe" Wassermann/Grunebaum (1918–1958)
Parents	Emil Wassermann (1842–1911) (father) Emma Oppenheimer/Wassermann (1847–1889) (mother)

Oscar Wassermann (born 4 April 1869 – died 8 September 1934) was a distinguished German banker who held executive roles at Deutsche Bank.

Life

Oscar Angelo Wassermann entered the world in Bamberg as a member of a banking lineage: his grandfather Samuel Wassermann established the bank A. E. Wassermann, which was subsequently managed by Oscar’s father Emil and his uncle Angelo. After completing banking apprenticeships in Munich and Paris, Oscar joined the family bank’s Berlin branch in 1889 and, by 1900, assumed leadership alongside his cousin Max Wassermann. Under Oscar’s direction, the Berlin division’s securities trading surpassed that of the Bamberg headquarters, although this success generated friction between the two cousins.

In a notable career shift in 1912, Oscar accepted a position on the executive board of Deutsche Bank in Berlin, where he co-managed stock exchange operations with Paul Mankiewitz. This move represented a transition from managing a regional family institution to playing a key role at one of Germany’s foremost banking establishments.

After World War I, Wassermann contributed to the German Standing Finance Commission under Max Warburg, participating in post-war financial negotiations despite having limited impact on the Versailles Treaty conditions. He also became instrumental in Deutsche Bank’s global engagements and, in 1925, joined the General Council of the Reichsbank, influencing monetary policy amid the economic instability of the Weimar era.

In response to Chancellor Wilhelm Cuno’s request during the 1922 reparations crisis, he devised a plan aimed at resolving Germany’s financial obligations; although it was ultimately blocked by French opposition, it shaped later initiatives such as the Dawes Plan.

From 1923 until 1933, Wassermann served as the spokesman ("Sprecher") for Deutsche Bank’s executive board—a position comparable to chief executive officer but requiring consensus among senior executives. His leadership encountered resistance internally, partly due to his considerable personal wealth and affiliations with Jewish organizations. Georg Solmssen briefly succeeded him in this capacity.

A defining accomplishment during his leadership was orchestrating the 1929 merger between Deutsche Bank and Berlin’s Disconto-Gesellschaft. This consolidation responded to demands for greater banking efficiency and resulted in a financially robust institution with diversified industrial holdings. The merged entity successfully navigated the Great Depression and subsequent banking crises without relying on government intervention, later acquiring parts of Creditanstalt following its collapse in 1931.

The political turmoil and surge of antisemitism accompanying the National Socialists’ ascent in 1933 affected Wassermann profoundly. Around April that year, at age 64, he was compelled to resign from Deutsche Bank amid growing hostility. Although health issues initially delayed his departure, his resignation was finalized by May 1933 as part of an arranged succession.

Personal

Oscar Wassermann was married twice. His first wife was Margarethe "Grete" Fürst (1892–1924), originally from Hungary, with whom he had two daughters: Karin (born 1912) and Hedwig (born 1918). Later, he wed Katharina "Käthe" Haupt (1882–1942), the widow of Prof. Dr. Albert Niemann. Between 1925 and 1933, the family lived at Tiergartenstraße 8d in Berlin-Mitte.

Wassermann passed away on 8 September 1934, shortly after stepping down from his professional duties, described by contemporaries as "a broken man." His funeral was conducted by Leo Baeck at the Jewish cemetery located in Berlin-Weissensee. It is noteworthy that none of his former associates from Deutsche Bank attended the service.

Judaism

Oscar Wassermann was part of the distinguished group of "haut-bourgeois" German-Jewish financiers who rose alongside Germany's commercial and industrial bourgeoisie during the 18th and 19th centuries. Unlike many peers within this elite circle, he was raised with a strong Orthodox Jewish foundation and maintained a profound dedication to Judaism, actively engaging in Jewish philanthropic and communal organizations. Although he refrained from affiliating with political Jewish movements, he was widely acknowledged as a Zionist.

In 1898, Wassermann became a member of a Berlin-based Jewish welfare organization, later serving as its president between 1924 and 1934. He led the German division of "jüdische Palästinawerkes" ("Keren Hayesod") as well as its affiliated funding entity, "Palästina Grundfonds (KH) e. V," which concentrated on land purchases in Mandatory Palestine. The majority of financial support originated from affluent Jewish individuals within his personal network. Upon the establishment of the Jewish Agency in 1929, Wassermann assumed chairmanship of its German branch without publicly declaring political Zionist affiliations.

Additionally, he held the position of deputy chairman for the "Verein zur Gründung und Erhaltung einer Akademie für die Wissenschaft des Judentums," an institution founded in 1919 to promote Judaic scholarship and humanities, where he played a key role in fundraising activities. Even during his later years, he consistently took part in a Talmud study circle.

National Socialism

Prior to the 1933 Machtergreifung, Wassermann was already subjected to violent antisemitic assaults and unjustly accused as a "representative of Jewish high finance" blamed for the so-called "Versailles Treaty of Shame." Following the rise to power of the Hitler-Papen administration in January 1933, his removal from Deutsche Bank’s executive board became unavoidable. It seems that Wassermann and senior executives at the bank accepted his early departure partly due to political pressures. Although initially intended to remain chairman until late 1933, he retired shortly before that year's annual general meeting, officially citing "age" as the reason.

Art collection

After Oscar Wassermann’s death, his heirs—comprising his two daughters and widow Katharina—sold portions of his art collection through dealers Alfred Berkhahn and Paul Graupe. As of 2016, over ten items from their collection were still recorded in the Lost Art Database. These forced sales were triggered by Nazi-imposed emigration taxes targeting wealthy Jews. Among these works, one significant painting sold in June 1936 via Paul Graupe was Der Heiratskontrakt ("The Marriage Contract" / O Casamento Desigual), attributed to Flemish artist Quentin Matsys. The artwork later appeared in Brazil, leading to a legal dispute in 2013 between the São Paulo Museum of Art—which had received it as a donation—and Wassermann’s heirs who had been compelled to sell it under duress to evade persecution during the Holocaust. The attribution to Matsys has also been subject to debate.

Literature

• Avraham Barkai: Oscar Wassermann and Deutsche Bank: A Banker in Challenging Times. Beck, Munich 2005, .
• Joseph Walk (editor): Biography of Wassermann in: Brief Biographies on the History of Jews 1918–1945. Munich: Saur, 1988, , p. 379

External links

• Profile at Historische Gesellschaft der Deutschen Bank e.V.