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.