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A German (Jew) in Warsaw: The banker Samuel Fraenkel
07 May 2025, 6:00 pm–7:30 pm
Online lecture (Zoom) by Markus Nesselrodt, in association with the Institute for Polish-Jewish Studies
This event is free.
Event Information
Open to
- All | UCL staff | UCL students | UCL alumni
Availability
- Yes
Cost
- Free
Organiser
-
Sara Benisaac
Location
-
online via Zoomvia zoomzoomWC1E 6BTUnited Kingdom
Samuel Fraenkel was born a Prussian Jew in Berlin in 1773 and died as a Catholic Pole in 1833 after having lived in Warsaw for more than three decades. As a merchant, entrepreneur and banker, he was one of the most important players in Polish industrialisation in the early 19th century. However, his significance in economic history has not saved him from oblivion. Unlike in the case of many of his contemporaries, there are no reminders of the immigrant in his adopted home of Warsaw today. The lecture will use Samuel Fraenkel as an example to illustrate the migration movement from Prussia to the Polish capital and discuss what role his origins played in his life in Warsaw. It will be shown that Polish history in the early 19th century cannot be understood without its Prussian-Jewish components.
About the Speaker
Dr Markus Nesselrodt
historian of Eastern Europe at University Viadrina
Dr Markus Nesselrodt is a historian of Eastern Europe at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany. He has published about Polish, Jewish, and Prussian history. His dissertation, "Escape from the Holocaust. Polish Jews in the Soviet Union (1939-1946)" has received several awards. He is currently writing a book about multiethnic encounters in early 19th century Warsaw.