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Passfoto von Valentin Burchard
© Staatsarchiv Hamburg

Valentin Burchard * 1891

Papenhuder Straße 53 (Hamburg-Nord, Uhlenhorst)

1941 Minsk

further stumbling stones in Papenhuder Straße 53:
Gabriele Burchard, Marianne Burchard, Olga Burchard

Ernst Valentin Burchard MdHB

Ernst Valentin Burchard, born 26 Jan. 1891, deported 8 Nov. 1941 to Minsk
Ernst Valentin Burchard was born into a Jewish family in Hamburg on 26 January 1891. He attended school in Hamburg-Eimsbüttel and then entered into a commercial apprenticeship at various export companies in Hamburg. He volunteered for a year of military service in the Imperial Army, and was assigned to a unit in Schwerin. From 1913 to 1915 he lived and worked in Buenos Aires. At the outbreak of the First World War, he prepared to return to Germany. He procured falsified documents and returned to his homeland, with several detours, and reported for duty. He was given the rank of corporal and assigned to the Western Front.

Immediately after the war, Valentin Burchard again went abroad. He spent some time in the Netherlands, then returned to Hamburg in 1920 and opened his own business. In March 1921 he married Olga Jonas. The couple had three children in the 1920s: two daughters, Gabriele and Marianne, and one son, Valentin. Until the summer of 1935 they lived on Schwanenwik on the on the Outer Alster Lake.

In addition to his business activities, Burchard was also a member of the Industrial Commission and the Chamber of Commerce, and served for a time as a judge in a labor court. In 1928 he became a member of the board at Hugo Peters & Co. AG, a wine trading and distilling company. A few years later he opened his own wine wholesale business in Hamburg-Uhlenhorst. When the increasing Nazi persecution and disenfranchisement of Jewish citizens forced the Burchards to leave their apartment on Schwanenwik in August 1935, they moved into the building at Papenhuder Straße 53, where the company was located.

In April 1932, Burchard was elected to the Hamburg Parliament on the German State Party (Deutsche Staatspartei) ticket. In his few speeches to Parliament, he lambasted the deflationary policies of Reich Chancellor Brüning’s cabinet and their catastrophic consequences for Hamburg’s economy. "As long as economic policies such as these are continued, [all plans] are of no avail,” he said in 1932 of the possible strategies of pursuing an independent policy in Hamburg. Brüning’s uncompromising hold-the-course policy not only overstretched the productivity of the population, causing great numbers to turn to the political parties on the extreme left or extreme right, especially the Nazi Party, but also drove many of those who were trying to uphold a democratic form of government into a feeling of resignation.

Burchard lost his seat in Parliament when it was reconstituted according to the "Provisional Law for the Consolidation of the States with the Reich” (Vorläufiges Gesetz zur Gleichschaltung der Länder mit dem Reich), in line with the results of the Reichstag elections of 5 March 1933. After the Nazi regime banned all political parties other than their own in the summer of 1933, Burchard turned all of his attention to his profession, although, as a Jew, he was a victim of the Nazi regime’s repressive measures. With the revenues from his wine trading business sinking, Burchard founded a new company, Valentin Burchard & Co., in August 1935. It manufactured pharmaceuticals for export. Burchard was personally liable for the company and in charge of sales. The pharmacist Geza von Molnar was a limited partner and was head of production.

The company rented a small factory at Am Vogelreth 8 in the free port. There it produced "fluid extracts, tinctures and other pharmaceutical products.” Thanks to Burchard’s many business contacts abroad, there was a good market for the products in South and Central America, but also in the Netherlands, Scandinavia, and Asia. Although the company developed well and profits were predicted to rise, the withdrawal of Oscar Friedländer and John Hausmann as limited partners in April 1937 caused serious difficulties for the company. It was rescued, however, when Emmy Jonas, the sister of Burchard’s wife Olga, became a partner.

In September 1938 the process of "Aryanization” was at its height, and Valentin Burchard became a victim of it. He had applied for an exit visa from the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) in order to take a business trip. When the IHK inquired with the tax authorities as to whether Burchard, if granted a visa, had furnished a security for the payment of the Reich flight tax (Reichsfluchtsteuer), he became the target of sanctions on the part of the authorities. After an odyssey through the hands of countless clerks in countless offices, the inquiry resulted in the confiscation of Burchard’s property and finally in his deportation. His fate is an exemplary illustration of the many facets of the Nazi persecution of Jews. German civil authorities played a large part in carrying out the technicalities of the Holocaust.

Immediately after it was known that Burchard had applied for the visa, the foreign exchange office of the tax authority informed all relevant offices at the tax authority and initiated an investigation on the suspicion of smuggling money out of the country. The police were called in and asked to investigate, and the customs investigations office opened an investigation into a possible intention to emigrate. Although the police investigation concluded that Burchard had no intention of emigrating, the visa was denied – the Groenesche Trade School in Hamburg had allegedly requested that Burchard’s passport be blocked because a negligible amount of his daughter’s tuition fees had not been paid.

At the request of the customs investigations office, the IHK Hamburg informed the federal authorities in 1938 that Burchard’s export company had developed well. The IHK assumed that it would continue to grow, and, in light of the dramatic lack of foreign currency in the Reich, it considered the company "of importance for the national economy.” For this reason, the IHK continues, it was advisable to "transfer [the company] into Aryan ownership.” Shortly afterwards, the Regional Economic Administration (Gauwirtschaftsleitung) began with the "Aryanization” of the company.

In January 1939, Valentin Burchard was forced to sell his company to the Chinosolfabrik AG. The selling price was set so low that Burchard, after settling all outstanding debts, was, for all intents and purposes, destitute. After the company had been confiscated and taken over by Chinosol, he was allowed to retain a position, at a modest salary, until the contract of purchase was settled. It was intended that he retain this position until the end of 1939, but because the settlement of the transfer was delayed due to the outbreak of the war, he was allowed to stay until 1 September 1940.

In the same month as the "Aryanization” process began and Hitler announced to the world "the annihilation of Jewdom in Europe” in the event of war, Burchard applied for permission for his family to emigrate to the Netherlands. By July 1939 he had painstakingly gathered all of the certificates and documents that the foreign exchange office of the Hamburg tax authority required to process the application.

The emigration was to be financed with the redemption of a life insurance policy in Great Britain, but, after his property had been confiscated, Burchard was not able to pay the equivalent of the insurance, 410 pounds sterling, demanded by the foreign exchange office.

An attempt to raise the sum abroad by taking out a loan on the life insurance policy was thwarted with the German invasion of Poland and the outbreak of the Second World War. After Germany and Great Britain declared war, Burchard no longer received replies from his broker in England.

At this point it seems that Burchard gave up all attempts to emigrate. His file at the foreign exchange office of the Hamburg tax authority was closed in November 1939 with the memorandum that Burchard had not replied to the notification that he was to deliver the sum of £410 in the currency of a neutral country to the foreign exchange office.

When the mass deportations from the Altreich began in October 1941, Burchard’s family was among the 60,000 Jews who were deported from German cities to the ghettos in Warsaw, Lodz, Bialystok, Riga, Kowno, and Minsk. Valentin Burchard, his wife Olga and his two daughters Gabriele and Marianne were among the 1000 Hamburg Jews who were herded together on the Moorweide across from the Dammtor train station on 8 November 1941, in full public view, and loaded onto one of the seventeen deportation trains. Their train reached the Minsk ghetto two days later. After this date there is no further trace of the Burchard family. It is unknown whether their suffering ended in the Minsk ghetto, or if it was only a layover on the way to one of the extermination camps.

At the request of his surviving son, Ernst Valentin Burchard was declared dead after the war. The date of death was registered as 8 May 1945.

© Reprinted with the kind permission of the Parliament of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (eds.) from: Jörn Lindner/Frank Müller: "Mitglieder der Bürgerschaft – Opfer totalitärer Verfolgung,” 3rd revised and supplemented edition, Hamburg 2012

© Text mit freundlicher Genehmigung der Bürgerschaft der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg (Hrsg.) entnommen aus: Jörn Lindner/Frank Müller: "Mitglieder der Bürgerschaft – Opfer totalitärer Verfolgung", 3., überarbeitete und ergänzte Auflage, Hamburg 2012

Ernst Valentin Burchard, born 26 Jan. 1891, deported 8 Nov. 1941 to Minsk
Olga Burchard, née Jonas, born 15 June 1894, deported 8 Nov. 1941 to Minsk
Gabriele Olga Burchard, born 23 Mar. 1923, deported 8 Nov. 1941 to Minsk
Marianne Lilly Burchard, born 3 Apr. 1928, deported 8 Nov. 1941 to Minsk

Papenhuder Straße 53

Valentin Burchard was born in Hamburg to the Consul Martin Burchard and his wife Bertha, née Goldzieher. He attended school in Hamburg-Eimsbüttel and then entered into a commercial apprenticeship at various export companies in Hamburg. In 1912 he volunteered for a year of military service in the Imperial Army, and was assigned to a unit in Schwerin. From 1913 to 1915 he lived and worked in Buenos Aires. At the outbreak of the First World War he prepared to return to Germany. He procured falsified documents and returned to his homeland, with several detours, and reported for duty. He was given the rank of corporal and assigned to the Western Front.

After the war, Valentin Burchard again worked abroad. He was a merchant in the Netherlands until 1920, then returned to Hamburg to open his own business. In March 1921 he married Olga Jonas, who, like himself, was Jewish. Her parents were Otto Nathan Jonas and Emma Jonas, née Jonas. The couple moved to an apartment at Schwanenwik 34. Their first child, Martin Otto, was born on 2 February 1921. Gabriele Olga was born on 23 March 1923, followed one year later by Ernst Valentin on 5 April 1924. Their youngest, Marianne Lilly, was born on 3 April 1928.

During the 1920s, Valentin Burchard held several influential offices. He was a member of the Chamber of Commerce’s Industry Commission and of the Hamburg Parliament, and he also served as a labor court judge. In 1928 he became a member of the board Hugo Peters & Co. AG, a wine trading and distilling company. A few years later Burchard founded his own wine wholesale business in Hamburg-Uhlenhorst at Papenhuder Straße 53. When the increasing Nazi persecution and disenfranchisement of Jewish citizens forced the Burchards to leave their apartment at Schwanenwik 34 in August 1935, they moved into the building where the company was located.

With the revenues from his wine trading business sinking, Burchard founded a new company, Burchard & Co., in August 1935. It manufactured pharmaceuticals for export. Burchard was personally liable for the company and in charge of sales. The company’s business address was Vogelreth 3 in the Hamburg Free Port. The chemical-pharmaceutical manufacturer specialized in fluid extracts and tinctures and had customers all over the world. The products were shipped to South and Central America, Africa, and to countries in Europe. Although the company developed well and Burchard’s foreign contacts ensured growing profits, the withdrawal of Oscar Friedländer and John Hausmann as limited partners in April 1937 caused serious difficulties for the company. It was rescued, however, when Emmy Jonas, the sister of Burchard’s wife Olga, became a partner.

The life of the Burchard family became more and more difficult in the following years. In September 1938, Burchard applied with the Hamburg Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) for an exit visa to visit one of his company’s offices abroad. An inquiry by the IHK with the tax authorities as to whether Burchard, if granted a visa, would be required to furnish a security for the purpose of payment of the Reich flight tax (Reichsfluchtsteuer) that would be due should he flee, made him the target of sanctions on the part of the authorities. Immediately after it was known that he had applied for the visa, the foreign exchange office of the tax authority initiated an investigation on the suspicion of smuggling money out of the country. The police were called in and asked to investigate, and the customs investigations office opened an investigation into a possible intention to emigrate. Although the police investigation concluded that Burchard had no intention of emigrating, the visa was not approved.

Valentin Burchard & Co. was "Aryanized” on 16 February 1939 and taken over by the Chinosolfabrik AG. The Burchard family was, for all intents and purposes, destitute. Burchard was allowed to retain a position in the company, after it had been confiscated and taken over by Chinosol, until the contract of purchase was settled. It was intended that he retain this position until the end of 1939, but because of the outbreak of the war, he was allowed to stay until 1 September 1940.

Marianne Lilly, the Burchards’ youngest daughter, had attended school at the Paulsenstift since 1934. She, like most other Jewish children, was forced to leave the school on 13 April 1939 and attend the Talmud Torah School. Because the situation was becoming increasingly worse for the family, Valentin Burchard attempted to obtain passports for his family to emigrate to the Netherlands. By July 1939 he was able to gather all of the certificates and documents required by the foreign exchange office of the Hamburg tax authority. The emigration was to be financed with the redemption of a life insurance policy in England, but, after his property had been confiscated, Burchard was not able to pay the equivalent of the insurance, 410 pounds sterling, demanded by the foreign exchange office. The family suffered a further blow that year – their son Martin Otto died under unexplained circumstances.

In July 1939, the family was able to send Ernst Valentin to England on a children’s transport. He lived with a pastor near the town of Worcester. The family remained in contact with him until they were deported.

On 8 November 1941, Valentin and Olga Burchard, along with their daughters Gabriele Olga and Marianne Lilly, were deported to the Minsk ghetto. They have been considered missing since this date.

A last sign of life from Valentin Burchard arrived in Hamburg in early 1942. Max Plaut, the head of the Jewish Religious Association, received a letter in which Burchard described the conditions in the Minsk ghetto. It is unknown how this letter found its way to Hamburg. Unfortunately, it did not survive.

Translator: Amy Lee
Kindly supported by the Hermann Reemtsma Stiftung, Hamburg.

© Carmen Smiatacz

Quellen: 1; 2; 4; 5; 8; StaHH 121-3, Bürgerschaft I, A 17; StaHH 314-15, OFP, J 2/124/126/128/129; StaHH 314-15, OFP, FVg 5192; StaHH 314-15, OFP, FVg 7658; StaHH 314-15, OFP, R 1938/2404; StaHH 314-15, OFP, R 1939/1239; StaHH 314-5, OFP, R 1940/31; StaHH 741-4, Fotoarchiv, Sa 1246; Müller: Mitglieder der Bürgerschaft, S. 23ff.; Leo Baeck Institut New York, AR 7183, Max Kreuzberger, Box 7 Folder 9, MM reels 129, Schr. Plaut an Lowenthal v. Dezember 1968.
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