Ludwig Chodziesner

His Jewish ancestors had been connected to the vicinity of Greater Poland for generations, among them family members living in Rogoźno where his father Julius was born, and Mieścisko, the birthplace of his mother Johanna.

Ludwig spent all of his life in Greater Poland prior to his studies in Berlin[2] Their parents were simple folk, with their father working as a door-to-door salesman who saved money to educate his sons.

[1] Over time, he became a true star of the Berlin Bar and participated in some of the most notorious trials of the era of the late German Empire and the Weimar Republic.

[1] Chodziesner fought in court on behalf of the son of Countess Izabela Kwilecka regarding his right to inherit the family fortune, and conducted the divorce case of the future German ambassador to the Soviet Union, Count Friedrich-Werner Graf von der Schulenburg.

[1] Ludwig Chodziesner also defended Count Eulenburg, a close friend of Emperor Wilhelm II, who was charged with homosexuality in the Harden–Eulenburg affair.

[1] While he lived in Berlin, Siegfried was not only a successful lawyer, but also a social activist, thanks to his membership on the board of Magnus Hirschfeld's Institut für Sexualwissenschaft as well as being a defender of gay rights.

The former synagogue in Obrzycko , Poland , the birthplace of Ludwig Israel Chodziesner.
A view of the former monastic church in the Wągrowiec Abbey , of which Chodziesner said: “The school premises were located in the Cistercian monastery , where the district court was also located. Next to it, there was a monastery church with a patio. The whole thing, surrounded by a high wall, made a romantic impression on me, although I had no inclination to do so. [ 1 ]