Nathan Israel Department Store

The Nathan Israel Department Store (German: Kaufhaus Nathan Israel or Kaufhaus N. Israel) was a department store in Berlin. The business was started in 1815 by Nathan Israel as a small second-hand store in the Molkenmarkt. By 1925, it employed over 2,000 people and was a member of the Berlin Stock Exchange, and in the 1930s was one of the largest retail establishments in Europe. Because it was owned by Jews, the store was boycotted by the German government when the Nazi Party came to power in 1933. It was ransacked during the Kristallnacht in 1938 and then handed over to a non-Jewish family by the Nazis. The descendants of the original owners began to receive compensation for their losses after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The last owner and manager from the Israel family, Wilfrid Israel, was active in the rescue of thousands of Jews from Nazi Germany and played a significant role in the initiation of the Kindertransport.