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Gies & Co., N.V. Handelsvereeniging

Gies & Co. was a new company which, not being a Jewish company, replaced Otto Frank's company Pectacon due to anti-Jewish measures.

Subject
Fotograaf: Allard Bovenberg. Collectie: Anne Frank Stichting.

Papier en clichés Gies & Co.

Fotograaf: Allard Bovenberg. Collectie: Anne Frank Stichting. Copyright: AFS rechthebbende

La Synthèse

The Handelsvereeniging Gies & Co. was set up because Pectacon, one of Otto Frank's companies, was in danger of being liquidated due to anti-Jewish measures. Initially, the company was called La Synthèse. This firm was founded on 23 October 1940 by Victor Kugler and Jan Gies. On 4 November 1940, the new firm was registered in the trade register with Victor Kugler as owner and director and Jan Gies as supervisory director and shareholder.[1] La Synthèse was located at Victor Kugler's private address in Hilversum. Kugler owned 15 shares worth 1,500 guilders in total; Jan Gies owned the rest of the shares worth 500 guilders.[2] Its representatives were Martin Brouwer and Pieter Daatzelaar.[3]

Name change

Like Pectacon, the company focused on trading and manufacturing chemicals and foodstuffs.[1] On 8 May 1941, Kugler and Gies changed the company name to N.V. Handelsvereeniging Gies & Co. This was by order of the secretary-general of Justice.[4] Otto Frank said about this in 1963 that the business "had to drop its French-sounding name, as it was a company of German origin.''[5] On 19 August 1941, the Trade Register registered the new company name, and Jan Gies was registered as a supervisory director of Gies & Co.[6] As supervisory director, Jan Gies had the authority to enter all the premises of the company. So it was also not uncommon for him to be present a lot and later speak to night watchman Slegers, for example, about the burglary in April 1944.

Flying start

From September 1941, at the suggestion of Johannes Kleiman, Pectacon went into liquidation. Stocks and machinery were sold at a loss to Gies & Co. All kinds of other costs were also still charged to Pectacon.[7] That artifice prevented these goods, or their value, from benefiting German institutions.

When Gies & Co. moved to Prinsengracht 263 on 29 October 1941, it took over the lease from Opekta. Opekta then became a subtenant of Gies & Co.[8] It also received an advance of 5,000 guilders from Opekta.[9] With Opekta's advance and the costs borne by Pectacon, Gies & Co. was able to get off to a flying start.

Crucial to the Secxret Annex

Almost certainly Gies & Co. was the most important factor in financing the period of hiding in the Secret Annex. There are three clues to the importance of Gies & Co. in this context. First, Otto Frank explicitly mentioned that Kugler sold spices off the books to finance the needs in the Secret Annex.[10] Second, Gies & Co. was completely 'Aryan', which made it easy to evade German scrutiny. Third, Van Pels and Otto Frank were furious when Kugler conducted laboratory tests instead of approving the supply by spice broker Westermann. All this underlines the fact that Gies & Co. was crucial to the period in hiding.

Share ownership

During the war years, Otto Frank obviously had no formal ties with the company. A note in the Hofhuis archives lists share ownership, presumably dated late 1943 or early 1944. On paper, Kleiman had shareholdings of 3,500 guilders, Gies 2,500 and Kugler 4,000. Kleiman and Otto Frank's investments in shares and deposit were so intermingled that it looks as if Otto's and Kleiman's money formed a single entity. Exactly who was entitled to what is not clear. What is clear, however, is that Otto invested in Gies & Co.[11] Otto Frank gave up owning Gies & Co. shares with a nominal value of 5,800 guilders as of 1 September 1945.[12] In 1948, he owned 58 per cent of the shares.[13]

Substantial losses

In April 1950, Otto Frank and Pal Klein joined the N.V. as supervisory directors.[14] In January 1954, Otto Frank owned 9,000 guilders worth of shares in Gies & Co (and 20,000 guilders worth of Opekta shares and 2,000 guilders worth of shares in Pectacon).[15] Indeed, Pectacon had not been liquidated in the end.

The company suffered substantial losses in the first half of the 1950s. 5,200 guilders in 1953 and over 14,000 guilders in 1954.[16] In March 1955, Kugler announced the liquidation of Gies & Co,[17] but a few weeks later the danger had passed, because Verstegen's Sperijenhandel from Rotterdam declared its willingness to take over Gies & Co. under certain conditions.[18] This they then did. Whether Jan Gies remained involved in the business until Verstegen took it over is not known. Kugler emigrated to Canada in June 1955.

Footnotes

  1. a, b Noord-Hollands Archief (NHA), Haarlem, Handelsregister Hilversum, inv. nr. 199, volgnr. 8859: Dossier Gies & Co, akteletter a.
  2. ^ Staatscourant, 13 augustus 1941; NHA, Handelsregister Hilversum, inv. nr. 199, dossier 8859: Akteletter d.
  3. ^ Anne Frank Stichting (AFS) , Getuigenarchief, Brouwer: Interview met kinderen van Brouwer, 15 mei 2011.
  4. ^ Nederlandsche Staatscourant, 13 augustus 1941; NHA, Handelsregister Hilversum, inv. nr. 199, volgnr. 8859: Akteletter d.
  5. ^ Nationaal Archief, Den Haag (NL-HaNA), Centraal Archief Bijzondere Rechtspleging, inv. nr. 23892 (dossier van Maaren): P.v.b. Rijksrecherche No. 86/1963 v.H. inzake Silberbauer.
  6. ^ NHA, Dossier Gies & Co. akteletter c.
  7. ^ NIOD Nederlands Instituut voor Oorlogs-, Holocuats- en Genocidestudies, toegang 094f, Collectie dossiers afkomstig uit de archieven van de Omnia-Treuhandgesellschaft m.b.H., de Deutsche Revisions- und Treuhand A.G. (Zweigniederlassung Den Haag) en de Wirtschaftsprüfstelle, Inv.nr. 5951, Bestallungsurkunde.
  8. ^ NIOD, 292 Nederlandsche Opekta Maatschappij N.V., inv.nr. 19, bericht over het boekjaar 1941.
  9. ^ AFS, Anne Frank Collectie (AFC), reg. code AF_A-Opekta-Pectacon-I_0007_0007 &8: Balans 31 december 1941.
  10. ^ AFS, AFC, Otto Frank Archief, reg. code OFA_082, 10 juni 1971, Yad Vashem: “Mr. Kugler sold spices without booking the sales to help to finance our needs.”
  11. ^ AFS, Hofhuisarchief, losse notities (Map 8, 006.1).
  12. ^ NL-HaNA, Nederlands Beheersinstituut, inv.nr. 77827, brief van 22 feburari 1946 met vermogensopstelling per 1 september 1945.
  13. ^ NL-HaNA, Ministerie van Justitie / Verbaalarchief, 1915-1955; Kabinetsarchief, 1915-1940, nummer toegang 2.09.22, inv. nr. 13402, volgnr. 2234: Staat van inlichtingen bij naturalisatie.
  14. ^ NHA, Dossier Gies & Co., akteletter f.
  15. ^ AFS, AFC, reg. code 005_A_Kleiman_I_05   
  16. ^ Mediabibliotheek: 5_A_Kleiman_I_56: brief 26-2-1954: Johannes Kleiman aan Otto Frank & 7_A_Kleiman_I_195: brief 31-10-1954: Johannes Kleiman aan Otto Frank.
  17. ^ AFS, AFC, reg. code A_Opekta_I_044: Victor Kugler aan J.C Frèrejean, 26 maart 1955.
  18. ^ AFS, AFC, reg. code A_Opekta_I_045: Verstegen’s Specerijenhandel aan J.C. Frèrejean, 15 april 1955.