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Erich Elias

Erich Elias was married to Leni Frank, a sister of Otto Frank.

Person

  • Erich Elias
  • Born on: Nov. 6, 1890
  • Born in: Zweibrücken, Duitsland
  • Died on: Oct. 2, 1984
  • Died in: Bazel, Zwitserland

Erich Elias was married to Leni Frank, a sister of Otto Frank, and was therefore the uncle of Anne and Margot.[1] During the First World War he was a telegrapher.[2] Erich Elias was a Bavarian citizen and had lived in Basel, Switzerland, since 13 May 1929.[3] He spent many years trying to obtain Swiss nationality. It was not until 1952 that it was granted.[4]

From 1908 on, Elias worked in Frankfurt am Main, London and Paris in trade and banking. From 1915 to 1918 he took part in the First World War. In 1919 he returned to banking and in 1921 became a Teilhaber at Michael Frank und Söhne. He worked in Amsterdam for six months for this company. In 1927-'28 he worked in banking in Luxembourg. From 1931 to the beginning of '39 he was manager of Opekta A.G., Pektin A.G., Omon A.G. and Rohstoff-Verkehrs A.G. In 1939-'40 he was active in his own pectin business and after an intermezzo with an oil trader, he joined Unipektin A.G. in October '40.[5] He married Helene (Leni) Frank on 16 February 1921 in Frankfurt am Main.[6] They had two sons, Stephan (1921-1980) and Bernd (Buddy) (1925-2015).

During the war years, Erich Elias corresponded about business matters with Johannes Kleiman, who — between the lines — told him something about Otto Frank and his family.[7] In the summer of 1945, Otto Frank made plans with Erich Elias to re-enter the Dutch pectin market.[8]

Source personal data.[9] Addresses: Gundeldingerstrasse 139, Basel.[10]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Anne refers to him as Uncle Erich. Anne Frank, Diary Version A, 14 October 1942, 1e, in: The Collected Works, transl. from the Dutch by Susan Massotty, London [etc.]: Bloomsbury Continuum, 2019.
  2. ^ Familiearchief Anne Frank-Fonds (AFF), Bazel, Erich Elias, AFF_ErE_corr_02, 'Ansichtkaart aan Telegraphist Erich Elias', 18 augustus 1915.
  3. ^ AFF, Erich Elias, AFF_ErE_odoc_07: ‘Domizil- und Leumundszeugnis’, 7 november 1935.
  4. ^ AFF, Erich Elias, AFF_ErE_odoc_07 e.v.: Correspondentie.
  5. ^ AFF, Erich Elias, AFF_ErE_odoc_07: Lebenslauf.
  6. ^ AFF, Erich Elias, AFF_ErE_odoc_07: Formulier ‘Bürgerrechtsbureau’, gestempeld 17 oktober 1941.
  7. ^ AFF, Erich Elias, AFF_ErE_bdoc_04: Diverse correspondentie.
  8. ^ Anne Frank Stichting, Anne Frank Collectie, Otto Frank Archief, reg. code OFA_071: Otto Frank aan Erich Elias, 24 juli 1945.
  9. ^ AFF, Leni Frank, AFF_LeF_pdoc_07: Album ‘Unser Kind’ van Stephan Elias; Melissa Müller, Anne Frank. De biografie, Amsterdam: Bakker, 1998, p. 301.
  10. ^ AFF, Erich Elias, AFF_ErE_odoc_07: Kanton Basel aan Erich Elias, 2 april 1936.