{"id":1248,"date":"2021-11-10T12:55:20","date_gmt":"2021-11-10T11:55:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/?page_id=1248"},"modified":"2022-11-18T16:08:18","modified_gmt":"2022-11-18T15:08:18","slug":"the-coppel-family","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/en\/the-coppel-family\/","title":{"rendered":"The Coppel family"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div id=\"maps-marker-pro-4e6e5dec\" class=\"maps-marker-pro\" style=\"width: 100%;\">\r\n\t\t\t<div id=\"mmp-map-wrap-4e6e5dec\" class=\"mmp-map-wrap\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"mmp-map-4e6e5dec\" class=\"mmp-map\" style=\"height: 500px;\"><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-bde36809-e02f-47ff-a377-df7a3655d8e1\"><em>By Dietmar Gaida and Simone Sassin, translated from German by Martina R. Jones<\/em>,<em> November 2021<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Stop 1: Alexander-Coppel-Stra\u00dfe<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stop 2: <a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/en\/the-coppel-family\/2\/\">The stumbling stone of Dr Alexander Coppel<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stop 3: <a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/en\/the-coppel-family\/3\/\">The Alcoso company<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stop 4: <a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/en\/the-coppel-family\/4\/\">The Solingen synagogue<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stop 5: <a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/en\/the-coppel-family\/5\/\">Gustav Coppel Park<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stop 6: <a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/en\/the-coppel-family\/6\/\">The Coppelstift foundation<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stop 7: <a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/en\/the-coppel-family\/7\/\">Alexander Coppel Comprehensive School<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stop 8: <a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/en\/the-coppel-family\/8\/\">The Jewish cemetery<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-b6493450-b88d-49ef-a853-e9b422e377ce\">Stops 1-7 can be walked to without an escort. The Jewish cemetery (stop 8) is not open to the public and can only be visited as part of a guided tour. Individual guided tours can be arranged via <a href=\"mailto:info@max-leven-zentrum.de\">info@max-leven-zentrum.de.<\/a> The length of the route is just under 4 km.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can listen to the audio guide at each stop. It was spoken and recorded by Nadine Sadler, November 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" id=\"block-c7b1415d-c79c-432e-a591-c88e00062a11\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"block-0f3b5233-9353-492c-b61f-f4402f6c9739\">Stop 1: Alexander-Coppel-Stra\u00dfe<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Stop-1-alles.mp3\"><\/audio><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">go to <a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/en\/the-coppel-family\/2\/\">next stop<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\" id=\"block-9d8b506f-ea68-4e3c-a583-6c681dfc20cb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/mmp\/fullscreen\/3\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/S1_ACS.jpg\" alt=\"Dieses Bild hat ein leeres Alt-Attribut. Der Dateiname ist S1_ACS.jpg\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p id=\"block-ab2ae578-81e0-4e75-bc0a-87f47783dec0\"><em>Alexander-Coppel-Stra\u00dfe \u2013 <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/mmp\/fullscreen\/3\/\" target=\"_blank\">go to map<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We start our tour of the history of the Coppel family in the street called Alexander-Coppel-Stra\u00dfe. The Coppel family played an important role in Solingen\u2019s economy and city society until the mid-1930s. However, the family completely disappeared from the address books of the city of Solingen after the National Socialist reign of terror. Any memory of them was also forgotten for a very long time. It was not until 1994 that a large biography on the family was published and since September 2000, there has been a small exhibition on the history of the company and family in the Coppelstift foundation in Wupperstra\u00dfe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All attempts to name a street or a school after the family or after a family member failed until 1 September 2005. On that day, the district council of Mitte, at the request of the Greens, the SPD, the Free Citizens Union and the Citizens\u2019 Association for Solingen, all decided not to name a new street \u201c<em>S\u00fcdpark\u201d \u2013 <\/em>as suggested by the administration \u2013 but \u201c<em>Alexander-Coppel-Stra\u00dfe\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"block-4873c984-090b-4a1d-9846-17c800436ab0\"><strong>Who was Dr Alexander Coppel?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"block-6729007b-174b-4064-9984-28d4bb2d9ad5\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/RS-20007_Buch_Stolpersteine_Seite_58_Coppel_Alex-742x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Dieses Bild hat ein leeres Alt-Attribut. Der Dateiname ist RS-20007_Buch_Stolpersteine_Seite_58_Coppel_Alex-742x1024.jpg\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dr. Alexander Coppel, Source: City Archive of Solingen, RS 20007<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.solingen.de\/de\/archiv\/stolperstein-coppel-dr.-alexander-94058\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><u>Alexander Coppel<\/u> <\/a>was born in Solingen on 18 September 1865. He was the youngest son of Gustav Coppel, an honorary citizen of Solingen. After he got his doctorate in law in Erlangen, he joined his (grand)father\u2019s company \u201cAlexander Coppel\u201d. Like his parents, Alexander Coppel made exemplary efforts to improve the social well-being of the company\u2019s staff and the general public. In particular, he saw himself as a trustee of the Coppelstift foundation, which his parents had founded in 1912. On the occasion of the 100<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary of the founding of the company in 1921, the Alexander Coppel company donated two million marks to various social causes. Alexander Coppel never married.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like his father, Alexander Coppel played a prominent role in the public life of the city. When the newly established <em>Volkshochschule<\/em> (an adult education college) was founded in 1912, he became its first treasurer. From 1914 to 1929, he was a city councillor for the left-liberal German Democratic Party (DDP). Until 1933, he was a member of the supervisory board of the Solinger Spar- und Bauverein, a savings club and building society. From 1915 to 1942, he was a member of the board of the Solingen synagogue community. He was its deputy chairman for 25 years and its chairman from 1940 onwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite their services to Solingen, the Coppel family was also persecuted by the National Socialists. Sophie Coppel (1875-1951), widow of the brother Hermann Coppel, who died in 1931, emigrated to Switzerland as early as 1934, together with her son Heinz (1898-1947) and his family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Within a six-week period in 1936, during the course of the National Socialist \u201cAryanization\u201d, Alexander and his brother, Carl Gustav Coppel, lost the Hilden branch of their company to Kronprinz AG. The main Solingen plant went to a corporation under non-Jewish management, which included Carl Gustav Coppel\u2019s son-in-law Karl Anton Reiche. However, he was only able to remain in the company as one of two shareholders until 1939.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"block-18123a51-2982-47b0-9910-1d3aeeae02ae\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/GustavCoppel-575x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Dieses Bild hat ein leeres Alt-Attribut. Der Dateiname ist GustavCoppel-575x1024.jpg\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Carl Gustav Coppel, Source: City Archive of Solingen, RS19989<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Alexander\u2019s eldest brother, Carl Gustav Coppel, who had lived in D\u00fcsseldorf since 1920, took his own life in 1941 after his wife died. His daughter, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.solingen.de\/de\/archiv\/stolperstein-coppel-martha-fanny-coppel-anna-verheiratete-reiche-reiche-anna-geborene-coppel-94046\/\" target=\"_blank\"><u>Anna Reiche<\/u><\/a><u>,<\/u> was murdered in Ravensbr\u00fcck women\u2019s concentration camp in 1942. His second daughter, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.solingen.de\/de\/archiv\/stolperstein-coppel-martha-fanny-coppel-anna-verheiratete-reiche-reiche-anna-geborene-coppel-94046\/\" target=\"_blank\">Martha Coppel<\/a>, who needed care, also fell victim to the Nazi killing machine in Sobibor in 1942.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alexander Coppel had to endure all these humiliations. As of November 1938, he was forced to use the additional first name of \u201cGideon\u201d. In the November pogrom of 1938, the valuable furnishings in his flat were destroyed and he himself was temporarily detained in the police prison. Since 1941, he had been the \u201cauthorised representative\u201d of the synagogue community, which had been demoted to a mere \u201cSolingen office\u201d. The \u201coffice\u201d received its instructions from the district office of the \u201cReich Association of Jews\u201d in Cologne, which was under Gestapo supervision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We learn of Alexander Coppel\u2019s further fate at the next stop: his former residence at Werwolf 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--nextpage-->\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"block-5b2ca0c0-5ec5-43b9-8aff-f3e54e943da9\">Stop 2: The stumbling stone of Dr. Alexander Coppel<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/stop-2-alles.mp3\"><\/audio><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">go to <a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/en\/the-coppel-family\/3\/\">next stop<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\" id=\"block-7cc2a0cd-4742-4682-b653-97e8c880953f\"><a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/mmp\/fullscreen\/3\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/S2_SAC.jpg\" alt=\"Dieses Bild hat ein leeres Alt-Attribut. Der Dateiname ist S2_SAC.jpg\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p id=\"block-7bd8d494-144b-4812-9d60-22a8c3b08433\"><em>Werwolf 3 <em>\u2013 <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/mmp\/fullscreen\/3\/\" target=\"_blank\">go to map<\/a><\/em><\/em>&nbsp;\u2013<em>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/en\/the-coppel-family\/\">go to starting point<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A stumbling stone was laid here at Werwolf in 2007 in memory of Dr Alexander Coppel. It is in front of where his home used to be. The current building was built after the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cStolpersteine\u201d, or \u201cstumbling stones\u201d are a project of artist <a href=\"https:\/\/de.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gunter_Demnig\">Gunter Demnig<\/a>, which he began in 1992. Small memorial plaques laid in the ground are intended to commemorate the fate of people who were persecuted, murdered, deported, expelled or driven to suicide during the National Socialist era. They are usually laid in front of the last freely chosen homes of the victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The \u201cSolinger Appell\u201d forum was founded on the occasion of the arson attack in Solingen in 1993. In 2003, it started the support group for the stumbling stones for Solingen (<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/stolpersteine-solingen.de\/\" target=\"_blank\">&#8222;Unterst\u00fctzerkreis Stolpersteine f\u00fcr Solingen&#8220;<\/a>). The mayor at that time, Franz Haug, became its patron. In the meantime, more than 120 stumbling stones have been laid in Solingen. Since 2003, historian Armin Schulte has been doing in-depth research into the fates of people persecuted by the Nazis on behalf of the city archive. He has made them known to the public via the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.solingen.de\/de\/inhalt\/stolpersteine-in-solingen\/\" target=\"_blank\">city\u2019s website<\/a> and his book on the stumbling stones and the fate of the people involved <em>&#8218;Man soll mich nicht vergessen!&#8216; Stolpersteine in Solingen. Schicksale 1933 \u2013 1945<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"828\" height=\"852\" class=\"wp-image-754\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/AlexanderCoppelWerwolf3.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/AlexanderCoppelWerwolf3.jpg 828w, https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/AlexanderCoppelWerwolf3-292x300.jpg 292w, https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/AlexanderCoppelWerwolf3-768x790.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 828px) 100vw, 828px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<p id=\"block-15cd5b20-cad6-467a-bf7e-c387ca0f97ca\">When Dr Alexander Coppel learned that he was going to be deported to Theresienstadt in July 1942, he wrote this to his great-nephew Karl Anton Reiche:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cI have been assigned to the transport to Theresienstadt in Bohemia which leaves on Monday, the 20th inst. I never foresaw the possibility that I would have to leave, before my death, the place of happiness where my parents had lived since their marriage in 1856 and where I was also born. It is a sanctuary to me. I walk a difficult path, but I know that my God, in whom I trust, will not abandon me. That fortifies me. I have enjoyed a rich and beautiful life. I took pleasure in work and in beauty, and no doubt the good name of our company is still in full force today. I have been something to countless people of good character and importance, I have helped an incalculable number of needy people, and I have always been able to educate and internalize myself on a higher level to this day. This comforts me (\u2026).\u201c<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-f42c6bbd-54a7-46c1-8f89-dcd5b11542b6\">On 21 July 1942, Alexander Coppel was deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto, together with 16 other Jews from Solingen. He survived for only 14 days. He died of hunger and exhaustion on 4 August 1942. <a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/juedische-aerzte-und-aerztinnen\/3\/\"><u>Dr Emil Kronenberg<\/u><\/a>, a fellow prisoner from Solingen, reported on his last days:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cIn July 1942, Dr Coppel came to Theresienstadt, like all the others without a penny of money, with only the most necessary articles of clothing, and had to sleep there in the attic on the straw. After three weeks, as a result of hunger and exhaustion, he collapsed dead in the morning at the well where he was washing himself. His body was cremated, and the ashes later thrown into the Eger river with those of all the others in a cardboard box.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<!--nextpage-->\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"block-2818b68e-1005-49b1-afc3-7bdddbd0f788\">Stop 3: The Alcoso company<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Audioguide-stop-3.mp3\"><\/audio><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">go to <a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/en\/the-coppel-family\/4\/\">next stop<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\" id=\"block-ebf46589-40bd-44bc-b1a1-89dd788b5e97\"><a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/mmp\/fullscreen\/3\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/S3_Alcoso.jpg\" alt=\"Dieses Bild hat ein leeres Alt-Attribut. Der Dateiname ist S3_Alcoso.jpg\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p id=\"block-e34d73e0-d576-44c5-b152-3454d64a6150\"><em>Malteserstra\u00dfe 6 <em><em>\u2013 <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/mmp\/fullscreen\/3\/\" target=\"_blank\">go to map<\/a><\/em><\/em>&nbsp;\u2013&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/en\/the-coppel-family\/\">go to starting point<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <em>Alexander Coppel Solingen <\/em>company, founded in 1821, was located on this site between today\u2019s Malteserstra\u00dfe and Werwolf. It was founded by Alexander Coppel\u2019s grandfather of the same name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1853, his son, Gustav Coppel, then 23 years old, joined his father\u2019s business. Besides steel goods, the company also produced weapons. This meant that the company belonged to the most important sectors of Solingen\u2019s industry. In 1862, the company was considered to be the third largest in the city. Until the First World War, it was in a \u201csales association\u201d of five Solingen arms manufacturers who sold their products worldwide. From the turn of the century, the company also made seamless tubes, at first only for bicycles. Around 1898, an additional production facility was established in Hilden, where cold-drawn precision steel tubing was manufactured for the first time. Such tubing became known around the world as \u201cCoppelrohr\u201d. In 1912, the company employed 380 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"block-d3365e90-b12e-4112-97d9-5251ec371ba2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/RS-20014-1024x661.jpg\" alt=\"Dieses Bild hat ein leeres Alt-Attribut. Der Dateiname ist RS-20014-1024x661.jpg\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Letter head of the Alexander Coppel company. Source: City Archive of Solingen, RS 20014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Gustav Coppel was involved in many functions in the city of Solingen. Among other things, he was president of the chamber of commerce, chairman of the supervisory board of the Siegen-Solinger Gussstahl-Aktien-Verein (a steel plant), chairman of the Scherenfabrikantenverein (an association of scissor manufacturers) and chairman of the Chamber of Arbitration for the scissors industry. He was held in high esteem, not only by many of his fellow entrepreneurs, but, above all, by the working class, as he supported conflict resolution in partnership and cooperation with the trade unions in the Solingen cutlery industry. This was an attitude that was increasingly opposed by the \u201chardliners\u201d among the industrialists before the First World War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As successful industrialists, the grandson of the company founder, Alexander Coppel, and his brother, Carl Gustav Coppel, led the company safely through the world war and the period of hyperinflation. The \u201cAlexander Coppel Solingen\u201d company produced typical Solingen small ironware; it was a company with a worldwide reputation. They marked the company\u2019s 100<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary in 1921 by giving away two million marks in the form of various donations and endowments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"block-d0cd6915-7e4d-4eb2-97ae-4749f6c16502\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/RS-10125-sw-1024x727.jpg\" alt=\"Dieses Bild hat ein leeres Alt-Attribut. Der Dateiname ist RS-10125-sw-1024x727.jpg\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Heinz, Carl Gustav, Alexander and Hermann Coppel (from left to right) on occasion of the  company\u2019s 100<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary in 1921. Source: City Archive of Solingen, RS 10125<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1936, the Coppel company was \u201cAryanized\u201d. On 1 March, the Hilden plant was merged with Kronprinz-AG and renamed \u201cR\u00f6hrenwerke Coppel G.m.b.H.\u201d. The expropriated Jewish business owners provided another 50,000 marks for the former workforce through their foundation: the &#8222;Carl Gustav und Dr Alexander Coppel-Stiftung&#8220;. In April 1936, the entire Alexander Coppel company was converted into a corporation, and Alexander and Carl Gustav Coppel were thus finally forced out of business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We are standing here in front of the company building of the still existing ALCOSO company. Its name consists of the first two letters of the names <strong>Al<\/strong>exander <strong>Co<\/strong>ppel<strong> So<\/strong>lingen. ALCOSO advertises on its <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.alcoso.com\/ueber-uns\/\" target=\"_blank\"><u>website<\/u><\/a> with the year of foundation \u2013 1821 \u2013 and a portrait of Alexander Coppel. The website states:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cThe founder of the ALCOSO company, Alexander Coppel, Solingen was of Jewish descent<\/em>.<em> As a result, the owners were forced to sell ALCOSO at a ridiculous price during the Nazi era; and after the Second World War, compensation was paid out in the form of additional payments to the surviving dependents. The cold weapons were removed from the assortment and the company focused once again on its regular range. Hair clippers played an increasingly important role and dominated the business.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>After insolvency and a change of ownership, ALCOSO now mainly produces tools in the animal care sector and exports them to more than 80 countries worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After comparing the site with historical maps, it is very likely that parts of the former production plant of the old Alexander Coppel company have been preserved in this place until today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--nextpage-->\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"block-2f4b260a-924d-4e2e-b7b4-9528489ec29b\">Stop 4: The Solingen synagogue<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/stop-4-alles.mp3\"><\/audio><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">go to <a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/en\/the-coppel-family\/5\/\">next stop<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\" id=\"block-85be8f49-7cf3-4d1d-9e34-e4a19e7fbf46\"><a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/mmp\/fullscreen\/3\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/S4_Syn.jpg\" alt=\"Dieses Bild hat ein leeres Alt-Attribut. Der Dateiname ist S4_Syn.jpg\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p id=\"block-d8b63b1a-406f-4bcc-865c-b829421ad0b3\"><em>Malteserstra\u00dfe 18 <em><em>\u2013 <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/mmp\/fullscreen\/3\/\" target=\"_blank\">go to map<\/a><\/em><\/em>&nbsp;\u2013&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/en\/the-coppel-family\/\">go to starting point<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We are standing here at the former site of the Solingen synagogue, which was looted and set on fire by National Socialists in the night from 9 to 10 November 1938.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In front of us, there are two plaques on the concrete wall of the bunker built on the same spot in 1943. The upper \u201cmemorial plaque\u201d was put up on 29 November 1979 to commemorate the synagogue. Pupils from the neighbouring Schwertstra\u00dfe High School had previously collected signatures for it. The Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime and the Trade Union for Education and Science had also vigorously campaigned for a memorial sign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"682\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"769\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/DT_3684s-682x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-769\" srcset=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/DT_3684s-682x1024.jpg 682w, https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/DT_3684s-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/DT_3684s-768x1154.jpg 768w, https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/DT_3684s-1022x1536.jpg 1022w, https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/DT_3684s-1363x2048.jpg 1363w, https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/DT_3684s-1568x2356.jpg 1568w, https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/DT_3684s.jpg 1664w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 682px) 100vw, 682px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/9nov_3692-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/9nov_3692-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/9nov_3692-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/9nov_3692-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/9nov_3692.jpg 870w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/figure>\n<figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption\">Memorial plaque at the frontside and bronze relief of the synagogue on the back side of the bunker. Photos: Daniela Tobias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The memorial plaque underneath was inaugurated on 8 November 1998 on the 60<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary of the November pogrom by the then Lord Mayor Ulrich Uibel. The names of 62 Solingen victims of the Holocaust are mentioned on the plaque; they include the names of Dr Alexander Coppel and <a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/max-leven\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Max Leven<\/a>. The Jewish cultural critic of the communist daily newspaper <em>Bergische Arbeiterstimme<\/em> was murdered by National Socialists in his flat on today\u2019s Max-Leven-Gasse during the November pogrom of 1938.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There has been a bronze relief by the sculptor Henryk Dywan on the other side of the bunker \u2013 in the schoolyard of Schwertstra\u00dfe High School \u2013 since 2012. It shows the synagogue and is thanks to an initiative by students. Alexander Coppel also attended the high school until the 9th grade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"block-2de6ea0e-bc10-4fbe-91e7-f4e8158292ba\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/RS-15816-717x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Dieses Bild hat ein leeres Alt-Attribut. Der Dateiname ist RS-15816-717x1024.jpg\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The synagogue at Malteserstra\u00dfe. Source: City Archive of Solingen, RS 15816<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"block-3b3acc63-2aa6-4012-a6c9-f17b88015d1d\"><strong>The history of the Solingen synagogue<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The proportion of Jews in the total population of Solingen was always less than one per cent. In 1804, there were 32 Jewish inhabitants; in 1905, a peak was reached with 328 persons. In 1933, 219 Jews were living in Solingen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The butcher and merchant Coppel Samuel, who had come to Solingen from the Frankfurt area around 1770, bought a house on the S\u00fcdwall\/Ufergarten street in 1787, together with Michel David, who was ancestor of the Michelson family in Solingen. For 85 years, it was used as a school and prayer house, with a mikvah for Solingen\u2019s Jews, but had room for only around 35 men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1861, the congregation bought the property in front of us, because the building on S\u00fcdwall had become far too small as a synagogue due to the sharp increase in the number of Jewish residents. Alexander Coppel, Coppel Samuel\u2019s youngest son, let the congregation share in his business success and significantly supported the construction of the new synagogue financially. On 8 March 1872, the neo-Romanesque domed building, with 150 seats for men and 80 seats for women, a schoolroom and a flat for the teacher, was consecrated. It was a solemn act with a procession in which both the dignitaries of the town and the people of Solingen took part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gustav Coppel, the grandson of Coppel Samuel, served on the board of the synagogue community for 60 years, 30 of them as its chairman. His youngest son, Alexander, also had himself elected to the board of the synagogue community. For 25 years he was deputy chairman, and when Siegfried Feist emigrated in 1940, he became its chairman. Alexander Coppel was to be the last chairman of the Solingen synagogue community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the night of 10 November 1938, <em>Kristallnacht<\/em>, the Solingen synagogue in Malteserstra\u00dfe was the first target. Earlier, on 4 October 1938, Councilman Hesels had unsuccessfully demanded the demolition of the Solingen synagogue. Now, however, the unleashed mob of NSDAP and SA members could run riot on the disenfranchised Jews. The synagogue was looted and set on fire. Afterwards, drunken SA squads roamed the city, vandalizing the shops and homes of Jewish citizens as well as the Jewish cemetery with its chapel. As of 11 November, the last remains of the synagogue were demolished and the site levelled. A high-rise bunker was built on the site in 1943.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the years after the end of the war, only a few Jews lived in Solingen again at first. At the end of the 1960s, there were said to have been about 10 people. In 2010, about 300 people of the Jewish faith lived in the city, most of them from former Soviet republics. Today, there is no longer an independent synagogue community in Solingen. The Jews of Solingen belong to the religious community of Wuppertal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In February 1995, the Bunker\/Synagogue After-School Group was founded at Schwertstra\u00dfe High School under the direction of Dr Horst Sassin and carried out numerous projects. Among other things, it organised trips to D\u00fcsseldorf, Brussels, Auschwitz and Lodz. In 1996, a permanent exhibition on the Solingen synagogue was opened at the school. Most recently, on the 80<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary of the destruction of the synagogue, the Solingen Art Association, in cooperation with the Academy of Media Arts Cologne, commemorated this occasion with various art events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--nextpage-->\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"block-96d075dc-6f3c-46ad-8f6e-4bc12c36a575\">Stop 5: Gustav Coppel Park<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Audioguide-stop-5.mp3\"><\/audio><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">go to <a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/en\/the-coppel-family\/6\/\">next stop<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\" id=\"block-3e2a6973-eaea-4ff8-8d49-27cb380af117\"><a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/mmp\/fullscreen\/3\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/S5_GCP.jpg\" alt=\"Dieses Bild hat ein leeres Alt-Attribut. Der Dateiname ist S5_GCP.jpg\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p id=\"block-a3dd1f7f-b4eb-468c-b4f7-b987098c5aa7\"><em>Hippergrund\/Baumstra\u00dfe <em><em>\u2013 <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/mmp\/fullscreen\/3\/\" target=\"_blank\">go to map<\/a><\/em><\/em>&nbsp;\u2013&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/en\/the-coppel-family\/\">go to starting point<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We are now in the beautiful Gustav Coppel Park. The grounds of the Coppelstift foundation, started by the Coppel family, along with the old botanical garden to the south-east, formed what used to be known as the <em>Park am Kannenhof<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As part of a drastic savings package for the 2009-2010 municipal budget, it was decided, among other things, to sell more than 53% of the area of the 51,000 square metre park at Kannenhof. As a result, an initiative to save Kannenhof Park was formed. Thanks to the hard work of the volunteers, the initiative finally succeeded in stopping the sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The initiative also proposed renaming the park Gustav-Coppel-Park in memory of the generous donation by the Coppel family, which had made the park possible in the first place. The district council unanimously approved the suggestion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On 17 March 2012, the association \u201cLebenswertes Solingen\u201d received the Lord Mayor\u2019s Award as part of the Solingen Agenda Award. The proposed resolution states:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cThanks to the initiative of the association, the planned sale of the part of park at the Kannenhof site was averted<\/em>.<em> The multi-faceted voluntary care and maintenance work of the association makes it possible to preserve these ecologically, culturally and historically valuable areas. The association creates a place of learning and experience for children, young people and adults.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The volunteers of the \u201cLebenswertes Solingen\u201d association were active for ten years; their aim was to preserve the park. During its time, the association had not only saved the park, but also shown that commitment to urban society, in the tradition of the Coppel family, is still going strong in Solingen and can achieve great things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the end of 2020, \u201cLebenswertes Solingen\u201d ended its support of the park. The Aquaris employment project of the association called <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hasseldelle.de\/grosse-resonanz-auf-patenschaftsvertrag-mit-dem-coppelpark\/7055\" target=\"_blank\"><u>\u201dWir in der Hasseldelle\u201d<\/u><\/a> took over its maintenance. Today, the long-term future of the entire park seems to be safe. In this age of town centres warming up because of climate change and the widespread death of insects, this is even more important than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--nextpage-->\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"block-84f4620f-46e9-47a9-886a-72f3ef5560e4\">Stop 6: The Coppelstift foundation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Audioguide-stop-6.mp3\"><\/audio><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">go to <a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/en\/the-coppel-family\/7\/\">next stop<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\" id=\"block-8b85ada4-7d7e-44b1-9b50-7f45ce03f94c\"><a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/mmp\/fullscreen\/3\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/S6_CST.jpg\" alt=\"Dieses Bild hat ein leeres Alt-Attribut. Der Dateiname ist S6_CST.jpg\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p id=\"block-f0f260f7-4d64-4040-b87e-dd1f49661901\"><em>Wupperstra\u00dfe 82 <em><em>\u2013 <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/mmp\/fullscreen\/3\/\" target=\"_blank\">go to map<\/a><\/em><\/em>&nbsp;\u2013&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/en\/the-coppel-family\/\">go to starting point<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-b71ab584-33ea-40e3-8b65-094aed6cf36b\">We are standing here in front of the Coppelstift, a foundation started by Gustav Coppel. Gustav Coppel was the city\u2019s most important patron. In 1906, the town council unanimously voted to grant him honorary citizenship. In his acceptance speech, Gustav Coppel showed himself to be a true local patriot of Solingen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201c<em>For me, the soil in Solingen, as it were, hallowed. This is where my grandparents have already lived in happiness and contentment for more than half a century. <\/em>[&#8230;] <em>I give you the sacred promise that, as long as I live, I will be at the service of every one of my good Solingen citizens, whatever their class, faith and political persuasion, as far as my strength will go.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"779\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/IMAG2334-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-779\" srcset=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/IMAG2334-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/IMAG2334-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/IMAG2334-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/IMAG2334-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/IMAG2334-1568x2091.jpg 1568w, https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/IMAG2334-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"735\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"780\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/RS-20067-735x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-780\" srcset=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/RS-20067-735x1024.jpg 735w, https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/RS-20067-215x300.jpg 215w, https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/RS-20067-768x1070.jpg 768w, https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/RS-20067-1102x1536.jpg 1102w, https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/RS-20067-1470x2048.jpg 1470w, https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/RS-20067-1568x2185.jpg 1568w, https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/RS-20067-scaled.jpg 1837w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 735px) 100vw, 735px\" \/><\/figure>\n<figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption\">Left: Gustav Coppel was granted honorary citizenship in 1906. Source: City Archive of Solingen, document #34; Right: Gustav Coppel, Source: City Archive of Solingen, RS 20067<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-0b2e6627-c838-4aa9-92dd-e42c740f6ee8\">Gustav Coppel was serious about this promise. A sum of 119,000 marks from the foundation of Gustav Coppel and other family members made it possible to set up the Coppelstift in 1912. This was the largest donation the city of Solingen had ever received up to that time. The Coppelstift was a convalescent home, a welfare centre and a mothers\u2019 advice centre. Gustav Coppel said this about it at the \u201cinauguration festivities\u201d on 14 May 1912:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cMy dearest wish is that the rest home may bring recovery and invigoration to the weary, that the children who have fallen behind in their development, the overworked men and women may find here rest, new strength and new courage to face life. May peace, morality and conviviality always reign in this space, affectionate goodwill, loving support, love for the city, love for the fatherland.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"block-bfe68c96-480e-43d5-abde-e6a50d279cb9\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/PK-2358-1024x656.jpg\" alt=\"Dieses Bild hat ein leeres Alt-Attribut. Der Dateiname ist PK-2358-1024x656.jpg\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Postcard of the Coppelstift. Source: City Archive of Solingen, PK 2358<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-2f5a95f4-ed5e-48c7-b02f-47808ecbbacd\">Further donations from the founder\u2019s family benefited the Coppelstift foundation in the years that followed. Hermann Merkel, editor of the then social-democratic <em>Bergische Arbeiterstimme<\/em> newspaper, was a determined opponent of the war and a political opponent of Gustav Coppel. But even he paid great respect to the entrepreneur after his death in an obituary dated 28 December 1914:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em><em>\u201cThe big industrialist Gustav Coppel was one of the few capitalists who, even in the modern rush for profit, preserved their personal character and their free view beyond the business ledger, and who are enabled by a high education of mind and spirit, to, at least, suspect the artificiality and injustice of the production of surplus value. This inkling of the economic connections expressed itself in the deceased in a strong charitable urge.\u201d<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The Coppelstift was transferred to the National Socialist People\u2019s Welfare Organization (NSV) after 1933. The organisation did not want the name of the foundation to remind people of its Jewish founder, so it changed the name to \u201cSt\u00e4dtisches S\u00e4uglingsheim\u201d, the municipal home for babies, in 1935.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, the buildings of the Coppelstift foundation house the psychological services of the city of Solingen. They include the school psychological service, the psychological family and educational counselling service, and the pregnancy advisory service. Since September 2000, an exhibition on the company and family history of the Coppels has been on display in the foyer of the complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Due to the city\u2019s austerity measures, the abandonment of the buildings in Wupperstra\u00dfe and the spatial consolidation with the city\u2019s <em>social services<\/em><em> <\/em><em>in<\/em><em> <\/em>the city hall were up for debate in the 2010 and 2012 civic budgets. But the city council repeatedly decided against this because the savings potential was too low and because it was unclear whether the Coppelstift\u2019s regulations could be reconciled with this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thus, the Coppel family\u2019s commitment to the Coppelstift continues to protect this important social institution and the adjacent green space, the Gustav Coppel Park, to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--nextpage-->\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"block-273bc968-1376-4200-b4a2-fc7ca504ee49\">Stop 7: Alexander Coppel Comprehensive School<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Audioguide-stop-7.mp3\"><\/audio><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">go to <a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/en\/the-coppel-family\/8\/\">next stop<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\" id=\"block-b4814101-8887-4251-b087-37bac41cfcad\"><a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/mmp\/fullscreen\/3\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/S7_ACG.jpg\" alt=\"Dieses Bild hat ein leeres Alt-Attribut. Der Dateiname ist S7_ACG.jpg\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p id=\"block-e978f685-6851-4b92-911e-ddb1d0624687\"><em>Wupperstra\u00dfe 126 <em><em>\u2013 <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/mmp\/fullscreen\/3\/\" target=\"_blank\">go to map<\/a><\/em><\/em>&nbsp;\u2013&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/en\/the-coppel-family\/\">go to starting point<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We are standing here at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.alexander-coppel-gesamtschule.de\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Alexander Coppel Comprehensive School<\/a>. Solingen\u2019s first comprehensive school began its work in 1982. In 1983, the first classes of the new Municipal Comprehensive School of Solingen moved to this location in Wupperstra\u00dfe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was not until 2015 that the school was renamed the Alexander Coppel Comprehensive School. It had taken three attempts. But how had it come about? Armin Alfermann, an artist from Solingen, had suggested to the then mayor Gerd Kaimer that a school be entrusted with the care and maintenance of the Jewish cemetery on Estherweg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wilhelm Bramann, a teacher at the Solingen Comprehensive School from 1986 to 1990, founded the <a href=\"https:\/\/juedischer-friedhof-solingen.de\/en\/project-group-jewish-cemetery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><u>Jewish Cemetery After-School Group<\/u> in <\/a>1987, which took on the job of looking after the cemetery. The cemetery is still looked after and maintained by this group of pupils. It seeks and maintains contact with the descendants. It also takes part in school exchanges with a partner school in the Israeli town of Ness Ziona, which has been Solingen\u2019s twin town since 1986.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1994, Wilhelm Bramann published his impressive biography of the Coppel family, which had lived in Solingen since around 1770. In it, he describes, among other things, their strong social commitment, especially to their promotion of culture, education and health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"block-89d60ee3-aa84-4eb1-8db6-1c81eb8795a0\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/acg_3876_s.jpg\" alt=\"Dieses Bild hat ein leeres Alt-Attribut. Der Dateiname ist acg_3876_s.jpg\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Wilhelm Bramann with Eleonore Reiche, daughter-in-law of Anna Reiche, n\u00e9e Coppel. Photo: Daniela Tobias<br><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-382f6d92-b598-4a8b-b5e2-c07d211bcf63\">Stimulated no doubt also by this publication, in February 1996, the general meeting of the GEW union for education and science (Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft) demanded that a street, public building or similar be named after Gustav Coppel, his son Alexander, or after the Coppel family. The GEW resolution stated:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201c<em>It is about time that a suggestion of Georg Meistermann, the cultural representative of the American occupation authorities for Solingen, to name a street in Solingen after Coppel, be taken up once again (&#8230;).\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, Georg Meistermann, the famous Solingen painter and graphic artist who created more than 1,000 stained glass windows at 250 locations in Europe, had already proposed in vain in 1945 that the Cologne street renamed \u201cStreet of the SA\u201d by the National Socialists be named after Alexander Coppel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The city administration then submitted the following proposals to the council of elders: to choose one place to rename when M\u00fchlenplatz square was being redeveloped; to rename the park in the Maltesergrund or the botanical garden next to the Coppelstift; or to name a section of Malteserstra\u00dfe or the barely inhabited Lindenstra\u00dfe in the vicinity of the former synagogue after Coppel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The council of elders just took kind note of the suggestions. Above all, it supported the proposal of the later Lord Mayor Uibel \u2013 also considering the commitment of the pupils <em>\u2013\u201cto suggest to the staff and the school community of the Wupperstra\u00dfe Comprehensive School that this school be renamed the Coppel School\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although the History\/Politics Conference of the Comprehensive School had approached the Teachers\u2019 Conference in the spring of 1996 with a proposal to rename the school the Alexander Coppel Comprehensive School, the latter rejected the proposal by a clear majority. A further attempt failed in July 2002.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There were many reasons for these rejections. At that time, it was clear how important the good example of the family is for forming the character of young people and for the school\u2019s educational mandate. In the case of the Coppel family, their outstanding support for the social, educational and health-promoting development of the town\u2019s society, as well as the cooperative way in which the company handled conflicts and cooperated with the trade unions, stand in stark contrast to the subsequent persecution of the family during the National Socialist reign of terror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On 28 April 2015, the school committee finally decided to rename the Solingen Municipal Comprehensive School, after it had previously been recommended internally that this be done in recognition of Dr Alexander Coppel\u2019s social commitment and attitude. The renaming was celebrated with a ceremony on 28 September 2015. Three members of the Coppel family attended, as well as the teacher Haya Cohen, who is responsible for the school exchanges at the Ben-Gurion School in Ness Ziona.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Against this background, a cooperation agreement was also signed between the school and the <em>Old Synagogue of Wuppertal.<\/em> This includes, among other things, regular visits of groups of pupils to the meeting place, the organising of trips to Nazi memorials, and advice and help with project lessons. Cooperation is also planned with the educational and memorial site Max-Leven-Zentrum Solingen, founded in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--nextpage-->\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"block-482acef2-e7c2-4e72-a692-7f3d8351fbb0\">Stop 8: The Jewish cemetery<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Audioguide-stop-8.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\" id=\"block-c797fcf6-9711-4b52-aab1-023e6c3e6e5e\"><a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/mmp\/fullscreen\/3\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/S8_JF.jpg\" alt=\"Dieses Bild hat ein leeres Alt-Attribut. Der Dateiname ist S8_JF.jpg\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p id=\"block-71d59b12-0f0d-442b-aac6-17f124785a6e\"><em>Estherweg <em><em>\u2013 <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/mmp\/fullscreen\/3\/\" target=\"_blank\">go to map<\/a><\/em><\/em>&nbsp;\u2013&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/en\/the-coppel-family\/\">go to starting point<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-0c163e5c-b1e6-49db-bfdb-15c9e0d552b7\">We have now arrived at the last stop on our tour, the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/juedischer-friedhof-solingen.de\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\">Jewish cemetery <\/a>on Estherweg. After the synagogue was destroyed in 1938, the cemetery is the last visible sign of the old Jewish community in Solingen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"block-d91ed2b5-9583-4e8d-97ff-248f6e027363\">History of the Jewish cemetery<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When the first Jews came to live in Solingen around 1700, a small Jewish community arose and they needed a prayer room and a burial ground. The \u201cauf dem Clauberg\u201d cemetery was first mentioned in documents in 1718.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like all Jewish burial places, this cemetery was also created for eternity, since, according to Jewish belief, the dead will be resurrected body and soul when the chosen one of the Jewish people appears. How important the cemetery is to the Jewish people is also reflected in expressions such as \u201chouse of life\u201d and \u201cgood place\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"block-70b614dc-a564-478c-82b2-5cf101dc609a\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/jf_5242-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Dieses Bild hat ein leeres Alt-Attribut. Der Dateiname ist jf_5242-1024x683.jpg\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The family tomb of the Coppels. Photo: Daniela Tobias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The oldest gravestones are not preserved. There are still 180 graves in the cemetery today. The oldest gravestone from 1820 belongs to a woman who married into the Coppel family: Sophie Herz (1744-1820). She was the second wife of her husband Samuel Coppel senior (1745-1837), who was buried next to her. He was a butcher, but also dealt in haberdashery. For many years, he led the Solingen Jewish community. A total of 15 gravesites of the Coppel family have been preserved; the resting place of the family of the honorary citizen Gustav Coppel stands out in particular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In April 1941, Lina Mandel n\u00e9e Silberberg was the last woman of Solingen to be buried in the Estherweg cemetery. Since then, the cemetery has been closed. These days, Jews from Solingen are buried in Wuppertal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-cda72cd7-e5b5-40a4-b1b4-53a2eb2bbc56\">The cemetery is divided into the fields A, B and C. Field A is located on the left-hand side, as seen from the entrance. There are gravestones from the period 1820 to 1910 there. Seven graves belong to the Coppel family; besides Sophie Herz and Samuel Coppel, there are the children from the first marriage of Samuel Coppel senior with Jette Aron. Her gravestone no longer exists. The children buried in Solingen are Samuel Coppel junior, Salomon Coppel and Bl\u00fcmchen Coppel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"block-345c4639-4cdb-4862-9972-9e339d16b902\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Friedhof_8338-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Dieses Bild hat ein leeres Alt-Attribut. Der Dateiname ist Friedhof_8338-1024x683.jpg\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The oldest gravestone at the cemetery belongs to Sophie Herz, the second wife of Coppel Samuel. Photo: Daniela Tobias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-a4a46361-db68-40e8-99b1-cd5207f78b1c\">The youngest brother, Alexander Coppel (1795-1878), lies in burial ground B, which was occupied from 1876 to 1922. The Alexander Coppel company was founded on the day of his marriage to Elise Schubach (1803-1880) in 1821. The couple had eight children, and five of them are buried in the cemetery. The gravestone of Samuel Coppel (1822-1824) no longer survives. Fanny Coppel (1824-1885) and her husband Abraham Geisenheimer are buried next to each other. The brother, Arnold Coppel, is buried next to him. The sister, Julie, died at the age of 83.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"block-2d3c2ebf-992e-48db-a981-3a0af7f2e042\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/jf_5224-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Dieses Bild hat ein leeres Alt-Attribut. Der Dateiname ist jf_5224-1024x683.jpg\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In the front are the gravestones of Alexander and Elise Coppel, in the back for Fanny and Abraham Geisenheimer. Photo: Daniela Tobias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The honorary citizen Gustav Coppel is buried in the most recent burial ground C, which was used from 1908 until the cemetery closed. Besides his wife Fanny Katzenstein (1836-1922), their son Hermann (1859-1931) is also buried in this family grave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bronze-coloured memorial plaques, put up by the Jewish Cemetery After-School Group, commemorate the victims of the Holocaust from the family: the two sisters Anna Reiche and Martha Coppel, who were killed in Ravensbr\u00fcck and Sobibor respectively in 1942. The name of Dr Alexander Coppel, who died in Theresienstadt, was added to the inscriptions on the family grave after the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"block-d2221457-472c-4338-b13d-7b2dea9dd70b\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/jf_0016_1400-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Dieses Bild hat ein leeres Alt-Attribut. Der Dateiname ist jf_0016_1400-1024x682.jpg\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Memorial plaque for Martha Coppel at the family grave. Photo: Daniela Tobias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"block-d7ec5f5c-2917-4733-aa79-77f7ee6d5b57\"><strong><strong><strong>The destruction of the cemetery chapel<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"block-8bbe3fc5-138b-4327-8f6f-2a44ae181390\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/RS-14388-1024x556.jpg\" alt=\"Dieses Bild hat ein leeres Alt-Attribut. Der Dateiname ist RS-14388-1024x556.jpg\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">There are only drawings left of the cemetery chapel. Source: City archive of Solingen, RS 14388<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Until 1938, this was also the site of the cemetery chapel built between 1913 and 1914. The Coppel family had also donated a large amount of money for its construction. On 10 November 1938, at about one o\u2019clock in the morning, the cemetery chapel was broken into. Chairs, benches and carpets inside the chapel were gathered and set on fire. At about 6 p.m., numerous men from the Sturmabteilung, or SA, came out of a restaurant with hoes and ropes and again went to the Jewish cemetery. Graves were desecrated, numerous monuments were overturned and demolished. Afterwards, an SA Pioniersturm tried twice in vain to blow up the roof of the cemetery chapel. Then the roof was set on fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ruins were cordoned off and the city ordered them to be demolished in December 1938. In August 1939, the synagogue congregation applied to convert the still standing entrance vestibule into a small mortuary, but the city decided that \u201c<em>the reconstruction of the partially demolished cemetery chapel is not necessary\u201d.<\/em> The congregation was \u201c<em>requested to properly demolish the remaining ruins of the wall within 14 days and have the debris removed\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-31a4f0c8-c55f-4094-9682-c04c7c612043\">In 1948, three former members of the SA Pioniersturm who had been involved in desecrating the cemetery and destroying the cemetery chapel were acquitted. One defendant was sentenced to 18 months in prison for crimes against humanity. He had carried out the blowing up of the chapel. Another was sentenced to one year in prison. He had set fire to the roof of the chapel with gasoline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"block-1f03789f-79db-4851-b58d-6243c0b5a648\"><strong><strong>The \u201cJewish Cemetery After-School Group\u201d<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-4854bee4-e181-4ba3-ada2-055dfa5fe95c\">In the autumn of 1987, the mayor of Solingen, Gerd Kaimer, asked the then Solingen Comprehensive School if it would like to \u201cadopt\u201d the Jewish cemetery on Esterweg. After some preparation work, the new after-school group met for the first time on 11 February 1988, with Wilhelm Bramann as its director. When he retired, Michael Sandm\u00f6ller took over the leadership of the after-school group in 1990, followed by Simone Sassin in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"block-2a342086-4e27-4d0e-bb42-3aeb2e7b5911\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/AG_jf_8886.jpg\" alt=\"Dieses Bild hat ein leeres Alt-Attribut. Der Dateiname ist AG_jf_8886.jpg\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The \u201cJewish Cemetery After-School Group\u201d takes care of the graves. Photo: Daniela Tobias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-9225fa35-8175-4c00-8e46-5a5ac06f05c9\">To date, there are four areas of work: cemetery maintenance;, correspondence with descendants who want to learn more about their family histories and to stay in touch; imparting knowledge about Jewish life, anti-Semitism past and present; as well as trips and taking part in events such as the commemoration of Kristallnacht (or the Night of Broken Glass), Kippah Day, the care of stumbling stones and visits to memorials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In July 2021, descendants of <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/villa-seligmann.de\/2021\/06\/24\/160-jahre-johanna-seligmann-das-filmprojekt\/\" target=\"_blank\"><u>Johanna Seligmann-Coppel<\/u><\/a> visited the birthplace of their great-grandmother to make a documentary film about the ancestor who had tried to rescue relatives from Germany during the Nazi era from her exile in Switzerland. The filming was assisted by Daniela Tobias and Armin Schulte from the Solingen city archive. Despite the summer holidays, leader of the after-school group, Simone Sassin, made it possible to film at the cemetery and at the Alexander Coppel Comprehensive School. The intensive exchange and research during the visit are the start of a new connection!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since December 1994, the work of the group of pupils has led to a regular school exchange with Israel. The 13<sup>th<\/sup> exchange in January 2020 \u2013 with a visit to Israel \u2013 sadly remained incomplete: the lockdown in March 2020 due to the coronavirus prevented the return visit of the Israeli group of pupils to Germany. However, this important work will successfully continue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Dietmar Gaida and Simone Sassin, translated from German by Martina R. Jones, November 2021 Stops 1-7 can be walked to without an escort. The Jewish cemetery (stop 8) is not open to the public and can only be visited as part of a guided tour. Individual guided tours can be arranged via info@max-leven-zentrum.de. The&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/en\/the-coppel-family\/\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">The Coppel family<\/span> weiterlesen<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":49,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1248","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1248"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1248\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1409,"href":"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1248\/revisions\/1409"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/max-leven-zentrum.de\/2021JLID\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}