Collection of pre-war German-Jewish business flyers (1930s)

A remarkable and poignant collection of 22 printed handbills advertising German-Jewish businesses in the 1930s, primarily from Mannheim, with additional examples from Berlin and Breslau.

Together, these ephemeral documents offer a rare and powerful window into Jewish life and entrepreneurship in pre-Holocaust Germany. They reflect the vibrancy and resilience of Jewish communities on the eve of catastrophe, promoting kosher food, a café, fashion, home appliances, and an insurance scheme.

Highlights of the collection:

• Membership List of the Jewish Craftsmen's Association (Mannheim, ca. 1930s):
  Folded double leaf listing dozens of tradespeople, from bakers to jewelers and clockmakers.

• Grand Opening of Hellmann’s Restaurant (Mannheim, 1936):
  A handbill celebrating the launch of a kosher establishment in the August Lamey Lodge (B’nai B’rith). A space, it claims, where “all shall and will feel at home.”

• Two Pesach Order Forms from Hermann Rieder (Mannheim, 1937/1938):
  These forms, issued by a kosher grocery under rabbinical supervision, list matzos, kosher wine, tea, soap, and more, printed just months before Kristallnacht.

  At the time, the business was run by Cilli Daube (née Cohen), who later fled to the U.S. via the Gurs camp in France. Her husband, David Daube, did not survive the war. (Read more about Cilli on our blog.)

• M. Süss Coal Trading Handbill (Mannheim):
  A visually striking flyer with a cartoon coal merchant and stylized German-Jewish type, urging shoppers to “buy cheaper now.”

• Advertisements for fashion, cigars, groceries, home furnishings, and even refrigeration technology.
  From Herzberg Fashion House, Schmoller Groceries, Radio AG Loewe, Centawer, and more.

These handbills do more than promote goods and services—they document a world that would soon be erased. Many of the businesses featured were closed, Aryanized, or destroyed; their owners displaced or murdered. This collection ensures their names and trades are not forgotten.

A historically important archive of Jewish life, commerce, and community, tangible remnants of a vanished world.

The collection includes:

Verein selbst. Jüdischer Handwerker und Gewerbetreibender in Mannheim / Gegründet 1914 / Mitglieder Verzeichnis.

Mannheim, [1930s?]. Folded double leaf. 

Hellman’s Gaststätten eröffnet.

Mannheim, August 1936. 

Hermann Rieder, Mannheim. [...] Bestellzettel für Pessachwaren.

Mannheim, Pessach 1937.

Hermann Rieder, Mannheim. [...] Bestellzettel für Pessachwaren.

Mannheim, Pessach 1938.

Jetzt ist es Zeit billiger einzukaufen.

Mannheim, M. Süss, Kohlenhandlung, [1930s]. Folded doubled leaf, illustrated.

Three handbills advertising the fashion house Herzberg am Messplatz (Mittelstrasse 16).

Lebesmittel immer billig und gut.

Mannheim, Schmoller, [1930s?].

Zigarren-Stock Mannheim.

Mannheim, [1930s?].

Ihre Füsse sollen leistungsfähig sein.

Mannheim, Paul Gretsch, [1930s?].

Alles für die Innendekoration.

Mannheim, Leipziger & Koessler, [1930s?]. A4 folded as a letter.

Seelig - Seelig - 3 x Seelig sei Eure Devise!

Breslau, Eugen Seelig’s Konditorie am Karlplatz 3, [1930s?].

Bielefelder Wäscherei. Breslau 21, Augustastrasse 9. Fernsprecher 86451. Preis Liste.

Breslau, 1936. Ca. A5, double leaf.

Schutz der Familie! Dieser zentralen Aufgabe dient in Schwerer Zeit der gemeinnützige Verein. Familienschutz bewahrt die jüdische Familie vor schweren Erschütterungen durch Versicherung seiner Mitglieder auf gemeinnütziger Grundlage.

Berlin, 1930s. 23 x 14,5 cm. Folded double leaf. 

Auf den Ton kommt es an!

[Berlin?], Radio AG DS Loewe, [1930s?]. 6 pp. Illustrated folder.

Elektrische Kühlschränke.

Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Gimbel & Neumond Gmbh, [1930s?]. A5.

Elektrische Kühlschränke.

Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Gimbel & Neumond Gmbh, [1930s?]. A5.

Hausfrau! Jetzt die Augen auf: Grünfeld Sommer-Schluss-Verkauf.

Berlin, F.V. Grünfeld, [1930s?]. 47,3 x 31,4. Folded horizontally.

Neu Eingänge der Frühlingsmode.

Neukölln, H. Joseph & Co., [1933]. 45,7 x 31 cm. Folded horizontally. Richly illustrated.

Seit 70 Jahren nur Originalität.

Breslau, Centawer, [1930s?]. 46,5 x 30,7 cm. Folded vertically. Illustrated.

Drucksachen aller Art für Industrie, Handel und Privat [...] Zu Chanukah: Papierkasetten und Geschenkmappen.

Mannheim, Ferd. Steinhardt & Cie., [1930s?].