Leonhard Tietz

Leonhard Tietz (March 3 1849 - November 14 1914) was a German department store entrepreneur and art collector of Jewish origin.

On 14 August 1879, he opened his first department store in Stralsund, with the idea of selling high-quality products at fixed prices for cash.

[4] For the Tietz Department Store in Wuppertal Elberfeld Wilhelm Kreis was hired (1910–11), [5] who also was the architect for their new building in Cologne (at the corner of Hohe Straße and Gürzenichstrasse, 1912–14).

[8] The Nazi policy of racial discrimination and anti-semitic harassment of Jewish-managed firms hurt the Tietzs' department store and other businesses.

In an "Aryanisation" (the obligatory transfer of Jewish businesses to non-Jewish owners),[10][11] the Tietz family was forced to sell their shares under market value.

Flora and Leonhard Tietz
Warenhaus Tietz in Düsseldorf, 1910
Carpet sale at Warenhaus Tietz in Düsseldorf
Central areaway of Tietz Department Store in Aachen by Albert Schneiders (1904–06)