Hermann (Groedel) Groedel von Gulyafalva und Bogdan (1856 - 1930)

Born 7 May 1856 in Friedberg, Germany

Husband of Karolina Melania (Weiner) Groedel — married 29 Mar 1885 (to 28 Nov 1930) in Budapest - Dohany utca Synagogue

Descendants

Died 28 Nov 1930 at age 74 in Budapest, Pestmegye, Hungary

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Biography

Hermann GROEDEL VON GYULAFALVA UND BOGDAN was born on May 7, 1856, in Friedberg, Hesse, Germany, to Zadyk Groedel and Fannie Ahl.

The Groedel family immigrated to Transylvania from Germany in the middle 1870s and acquired citizenship in 1890. Considered “nouveau-riche,” they owned large tracts of property throughout the greater portion of Central Europe, including Romania, Hungary, Poland and other countries. One story about how the business started is that in 1879 there was a flood in Szeged, and Zadik sold the timber for the reconstruction work. Another story mentions that the lumber business began back in Germany.

Hermann and his two younger brothers, Bernhard and Albert, built an empire their father is said to have founded called the Transylvanian Forest Industry Co. (also known as the Transylvanian Forestcraft shareholder group), exporting lumber throughout the world. It is said that at the time they were the largest exporters of lumber in the world.

He married Karoline Melanie WEINER on March 29, 1885, in Budapest's Doheny Temple by Rabbi Samuel Kohn. Melanie was the daughter of Nina Hertzfeld and Adolph Weiner who owned a successful tailoring business in Budapest and was noted as a tailor to the king. They had eight children in 12 years.

The Groedels were Jewish but over time, Hermann, Melanie and the children, converted to a variety of Christian faiths. It appears however that Hermann’s brothers and their children continued to practice Judaism. On October 19, 1903, the three Groedel families were by way of and "Adelsbrief" bestowed with the title of Von Gulyafalva by King Franz Josef and December 15, 1905, upgraded to Baron von Gulyafalva und Bogdan. In a letter of September 2, 1905, Hermann writes that "Hungary has now 5 Jewish barons". ^[1]

At that time he was manager of the "Siebenbürgischen Waldindustrie Actiengesellschaft in Budapest.

Hermann GROEDEL VON GYULAFALVA UND BOGDAN died in Budapest on November 28, 1930, when he was 74 years old. He was buried on 1 December 1930 in the Friedhof Wiener Zentral, Family Crypt 14B, Vienna, Austria.

Much of the land was sold off in 1944. However, Baron Albert Groedel's sons, Victor and Hans, and their wives, Anna Dolezal and Marie-Christine Von Callenberg respectively, appear to have had their personal holding confiscated by the Nazis, as well as their lives. After the war, the majority of the family moved to Vienna where they lived out their lives. Only a few remained in Budapest. ^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ https://archive.org/stream/nussbaumf001#page/n2/mode/1up
2. ↑ https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/154157137/person/252036449462/story

See also:

• http://www.museumoffamilyhistory.com/pse-groedel.htm
• Georg Gaugusch: "Wer einmal war" - The Jewish Grand Bourgoisie of Vienna 1800-1938, published by the Amalthea-Publishing House, page 1012

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