The Uhlfelder Department Store

The Münchner Stadtmuseum’s Gsaengertrakt was built, in the 1960s, on the site of the former Uhlfelder department store, which had been one of Munich’s main department stores during the early 20th century. 

In 1878, Jewish businessman Heinrich Uhlfelder (1853–1928) opened a household goods and fashion accessory store on Rosental 9. It catered to lower- and middle-income shoppers, with its infinitely tempting and ever-changing range of novel consumer products. 

The store’s success allowed Uhlfelder to expand further. He purchased the neighboring buildings and combined them into an extensive architectural ensemble between Nieserstraße, Rosental, and Oberanger.

By 1900, the department store had begun to offer a much wider range of goods and had already acquired the status of a Munich institution. It would subsequently become famous for Munich’s first escalators built in 1931 to connect three floors of the store. By this time, it boasted around 7,000 m² of retail space and 1,000 employees. With sales of 10 million Reichsmarks, it was now Munich’s second largest department store. 

Not only was Heinrich Uhlfelder a successful businessman, but he was also an active member of the local community who did many good works for the people of Munich. These included setting up a soup kitchen during World War I and supporting a children’s home. In 1924, he was awarded the title of "Privy Councillor of Commerce" in recognition of his charity work. Following his death in 1928, his son Max took over the business. 

The rise of the Nazis to power heralded an extremely difficult time for the Jewish-owned department store. Max Uhlfelder was arrested on March 9, 1933, and detained for three days, and the Nazis also attacked his department store during the nationwide boycott of Jewish businesses on April 1, 1933. Its windows were repeatedly smashed in, forcing Max Uhlfelder to hire security guards. Facing increasing financial difficulties due to many customers staying away, in 1935 Max Uhlfelder put it on the market.

The Uhlfelder department store was again targeted by Nazi attacks during the November Pogrom of 1938. On the night of November 9, it was extensively ravaged and plundered and then set ablaze. Two days later, on November 11, 1938, the Gestapo arrested Max Uhlfelder and his son Heinz and deported them to the Dachau concentration camp, where they were eventually coerced into agreeing to its “liquidation”.

In the summer of 1939, the Uhlfelders made their escape via Switzerland to what was then known as Bombay (now Mumbai) in India, which at the time was still under British colonial rule. In their absence, 89 retailers were able to profit from the sale of most of the store’s stock at outrageously low prices. 

From 1948 on, Max Uhlfelder submitted several restitution and compensation claims in a bid to recover his Munich assets, a process that involved very complex and long-drawn-out lawsuits. His store buildings had been destroyed during the war. 

Max Uhlfelder returned to live permanently in Munich in 1953 and started planning to rebuild his store. When his health prevented him from pressing ahead with these plans, he initially made the land with its collection of makeshift buildings with shops available under lease. He eventually sold it to the City of Munich on April 2, 1954. This was the site chosen for the Münchner Stadtmuseum’s new extension in the early 1960s. Max Uhlfelder died in Munich in 1958, but it was not until 1971 that his son finally concluded a compensation settlement for what had been an immensely successful department store.