Two Documents Related to the Account Management of the Jewish Woman Sophia Levin from Eretz Israel at the Deutsche Bank Branch in Wiesbaden. In order to process her request to use her available credit, Deutsche Bank asks to verify whether she is Jewish. In accordance with the nationalization of Jewish money and property under the Nuremberg Laws, which revoked the civil rights of Jews in Nazi Germany.
A letter from the Deutsche Bank branch in Wiesbaden, Germany, to a Jewish woman named Sophia Levin. After Mrs. Levin requested to use the credit she has in her account, the bank addresses her with the question of whether she is Jewish: “In order for us to take the necessary steps, we ask you to inform us whether you are Jewish and until when you resided permanently in Germany…”, and they also request to know her last residential address in Germany. The letter was sent on August 22, 1939.
An earlier account statement of Sophia Levin from the German Bank, dated August 31, 1938, attesting that she maintained an account at the same branch in Wiesbaden, while she was residing at 62 Yehuda Halevi Street in Tel Aviv, Eretz Israel.
During the Nazi regime, Deutsche Bank was one of the central banks that provided financial support to the Nazi regime. It financially supported various Nazi government projects, including investments in heavy industry and factories that supplied weapons and products to the German war machine. The bank was involved in the nationalization of Jewish property under the Nuremberg Laws, whereby Jewish assets were transferred to the ownership of the bank and later sold at a profit. In many cases, these involved assets of companies, lands, and real estate acquired at very low prices or forcibly transferred. Additionally, Deutsche Bank was involved in financing projects that led to the establishment of concentration and extermination camps, such as Auschwitz. Deutsche Bank collaborated with companies involved in building the infrastructure for these camps. After World War II, Deutsche Bank faced investigations and widespread criticism for its actions during the Nazi regime. As part of the denazification process, the bank was divided into several smaller banks, but it was reconstituted into a single bank in the 1950s. In the years following, Deutsche Bank publicly apologized for its involvement in the crimes committed by the Nazi regime. The bank also funded historical research intended to uncover the extent of its involvement during the war.
[2] leaves. Fold marks on both documents. Good condition.
