Firma Emil Elkan
Parchim, Marstall 8
The firm Emil Elkan at the Parchim Marstall dealt in drapery, fashion and silk goods, ladies' wear, carpets, curtains and linen, and its advertisement gives 1826 as the year of foundation [1]. In July 1937 the family of Gustav Elkan, presumably the owner family of the firm, cleared the stock by a clearance sale and prepared the sale of the dwelling house in order to finance their emigration with the proceeds [1]. At the beginning of 1939 the whole family went to Chile, and all survived National Socialism [1].
The firm
The firm's advertisement reads "Emil Elkan. Marstall 8. Founded 1826" and lists "Manufaktur-, Mode- und Seiden-Waren" (drapery, fashion and silk goods), ladies' ready-made clothing, carpets and curtains, cloths and buckskins, and ladies' and men's linen, and at present, it says, "a complete trousseau is on display in my shop premises" [1]. The trade directory of 1862 lists in Parchim, in Marstallstraße, a cloth and fashion goods dealer "Albert Elkan" [2]. According to the family notes in the Leo Baeck Institute collection AR 2394, Albert Elkan lived at Marstall 8, and his son Emil Elkan, who was born on 30 January 1861, died on 26 November 1930, while Emil's son Gustav was born in Parchim on 13 October 1893 [3]. Frank writes that the house at Marstall 8 was the house in which Fritz Reuter had also lived [1]. Frank does not, however, explicitly link the advertisement of the firm Emil Elkan with Gustav Elkan. That this is the same family is inferred here from the identical address (Marstall 8) and the family notes [3] and remains an assumption.
1937 to 1939
The merchant family of Gustav Elkan ran a drapery, fashion, outfitting and ready-made clothing business in Parchim, which was first at Marstall 8 and finally at Lange Straße 40 [1]. In July 1937 Gustav Elkan cleared the stock of his shop by a clearance sale and made preparations for selling the dwelling house, since the family needed the money for the intended emigration and the daughter Hilda-Gertie was already learning Spanish in Hannover [1]. Who took over the dwelling house or the business premises, and whether the sale was made under pressure, is not known. After months of effort the whole family, that is Gustav and Martha Elkan, the daughters Hilda-Gertie and Ilse, and the widow Bertha Elkan, emigrated to Chile at the beginning of 1939 [1]. There they built up a knitwear factory, which they owned until about 1957, and Gustav Elkan died in May 1957 [1]. The Elkans thus escaped National Socialism as an entire family [1].