Final Sale in Berlin : The Destruction of Jewish Commercial Activity, 1930-1945

Before the Great Depression Jewish businesspeople in Berlin thrived alongside their non-Jewish neighbors. But Nazi racism changed that, gradually destroying Jewish businesses before murdering the Jews themselves. Reconstructing the fate of more than 8,000 companies, this bookoffers the first comprehensive analysis of Jewish economic activity and its destruction in Berlin. Rather than just examining violent and bureaucratic steps taken by the persecutors, it also tells the stories of Jewish strategies in countering the effects of persecution. In doing so, this book exposes a fascinating paradox where Berlin, serving as the administrative heart of the Third Reich, was also the site of a dense network for Jewish self-help and assertion.