Bankhaus Veit L. Homburger
A Jewish-founded private bank in Karlsruhe, established in 1854 and forcibly liquidated under the Nazi regime in 1939.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Bankhaus Veit L. Homburger was a private banking institution founded in Karlsruhe in 1854 by Veit Löw Homburger, a member of one of the city’s established Jewish families. The bank emerged when Homburger separated from the banking and exchange business that he had operated with his two brothers. Its history reflects both the development of nineteenth-century private banking in Karlsruhe and the destruction of Jewish economic and civic life under National Socialism. The Homburger family traced its Karlsruhe presence to the early eighteenth century. The founder’s ancestor, Löw from Homburg am Main, was permitted to settle in Karlsruhe in 1722 and became known as Löw Homburger. This family background placed the bank within a long-established local commercial and civic network. The institution operated as a banking and exchange business, although the available historical material does not provide a complete account of its product range, balance sheet, branch network, or customer base. At the end of the nineteenth century, the bank commissioned a prominent new building at Karlstraße 9–11, on the corner of Akademiestraße. Curjel & Moser designed the building between 1899 and 1901, while the sculptor Oskar Kiefer produced its architectural ornamentation. The surviving structure is associated with the addresses Karlstraße 11 and Akademiestraße 36 and is recognized as an important architectural remnant of Karlsruhe’s historic banking district. The building’s continued existence provides a physical link to the Homburger family and to the city’s pre-Nazi Jewish commercial life. The bank also had a connection to the cultural history of early twentieth-century Germany. The writer and artist Carl Einstein was apprenticed to the Homburger company around 1904. This association illustrates the institution’s role not only as a financial business but also as a workplace within Karlsruhe’s urban professional environment. After the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, Bankhaus Veit L. Homburger became subject to anti-Jewish boycotts and escalating state persecution. Members of the Homburger family were interned or forced into exile. The bank was Aryanized: its ownership and control were transferred to non-Jewish parties under the discriminatory racial and economic policies of the Nazi regime. The institution was ultimately liquidated in 1939. The bank building survived the liquidation and continued to serve financial and administrative uses after the Second World War. From the 1940s it was used by the Badische Kommunale Landesbank, commonly known as Bakola. Following later mergers and changes of name, the successor organization became Baden-Württembergische Bank, or BW-Bank, which continued using the premises until 2010. The ground floor was subsequently used by a Vapiano restaurant, according to the available reference material. Bankhaus Veit L. Homburger is therefore best understood as a defunct historical banking brand rather than a currently operating financial institution. Its significance lies in the combination of local banking history, Jewish family history, architectural heritage, and documented Nazi-era expropriation. The available sources do not establish a modern successor operating under the Homburger name, nor do they provide sufficient information to describe current ownership, financial performance, or contemporary banking services.
History
The Homburger family was among Karlsruhe’s long-established Jewish families. Its presence in the city began in the eighteenth century, when Löw from Homburg am Main received permission to settle in Karlsruhe in 1722 and became known as Löw Homburger. This family background later provided the setting for the creation of Bankhaus Veit L. Homburger. Veit Löw Homburger, born in 1810, founded the bank in 1854. Before establishing his own institution, he had worked with two brothers in their father’s banking and exchange business. The separation created distinct banking enterprises associated with members of the family. The available historical account also records later banking activity by Victor Veit Homburger and Paul Homburger, who each established their own banks, although the precise corporate relationships among these businesses are not fully documented in the supplied sources. The bank became an established Karlsruhe financial institution during the second half of the nineteenth century. Between 1899 and 1901, the architects Curjel & Moser designed and built a new premises at Karlstraße 9–11, at the junction with Akademiestraße. Oskar Kiefer created the building’s sculptural and architectural decoration. The surviving structure, associated with Karlstraße 11 and Akademiestraße 36, is an important reminder of Karlsruhe’s historic urban fabric and of the city’s Jewish commercial history. The institution also employed or trained people who later became notable outside banking. Around 1904, the writer and artist Carl Einstein served an apprenticeship with the Homburger company. The record does not provide enough information to reconstruct the bank’s full staffing, management succession, services, or financial results, but this apprenticeship links the business to the intellectual and cultural life of the period. The bank’s history changed fundamentally after the Nazi takeover in 1933. It was subjected to anti-Jewish boycotts, while members of the Homburger family were interned or driven into exile. Under the Nazi regime’s racial laws and economic measures, the bank was Aryanized, meaning that it was transferred from Jewish ownership and control to non-Jewish owners. The process formed part of the broader dispossession of Jewish businesses in Germany. Bankhaus Veit L. Homburger was liquidated in 1939. Although the institution disappeared, its bank building remained standing. From the 1940s, the premises were used by the Badische Kommunale Landesbank, known as Bakola. After mergers and renamings, the banking successor became Baden-Württembergische Bank, or BW-Bank, which reportedly continued to occupy the building until 2010. Later, the ground floor was used by a Vapiano restaurant. These later uses preserved the building as a physical site while separating it from the original Homburger banking enterprise. Today, Bankhaus Veit L. Homburger is a defunct historical bank. It is documented through the history of the Homburger family, Karlsruhe’s architectural heritage, and research into Jewish life before the Nazi seizure of power. Its story illustrates how a locally significant private bank could be integrated into a city’s economic life and then destroyed through state-sponsored persecution and expropriation. No evidence in the supplied material indicates that a bank currently operates under the Homburger name.
- 2010
Reported end of BW-Bank use of the building
[1]Baden-Württembergische Bank reportedly continued using the historic premises until 2010.
- 1939
Bank Aryanized and liquidated
[1]The bank was transferred to non-Jewish owners under Nazi racial policies and liquidated.
- 1933
Persecution began under National Socialism
[1]The bank was targeted by anti-Jewish boycotts after the Nazi seizure of power.
- 1904
Carl Einstein apprenticed at the bank
[1]The writer and artist Carl Einstein was apprenticed to the Homburger company around this time.
- 1901
Purpose-built bank premises completed
[1]Curjel & Moser completed the bank building at Karlstraße 9–11, with decoration by Oskar Kiefer.
- 1854
Bank founded
[1]Veit Löw Homburger founded Bankhaus Veit L. Homburger after separating from his brothers’ banking and exchange business.
- 1722
Homburger family permitted to settle in Karlsruhe
[1]Löw from Homburg am Main, an ancestor of the bank’s founder, was permitted to settle in Karlsruhe and became known as Löw Homburger.
Products and positioning
A locally rooted nineteenth-century private bank associated with Karlsruhe’s Jewish commercial community and later remembered primarily through its historic building and its persecution under the Nazi regime.
Private banking · 1854
Banking and exchange services
The bank originated from a family banking and exchange business and operated as a nineteenth-century private bank in Karlsruhe. The available sources confirm banking and exchange activity but do not provide a detailed catalogue of deposits, lending, securities, payments, or other specific services.
Controversies
1933
Anti-Jewish persecution and expropriation
After 1933, the Jewish-owned bank was subjected to anti-Jewish boycotts, and members of the Homburger family were interned or forced into exile. The institution was subsequently Aryanized under Nazi racial and economic policies and liquidated in 1939.
Brand decisions
1939
Forced liquidation under Nazi ruleOtherBackground
The bank had been targeted through anti-Jewish boycotts and subjected to Aryanization after the Nazi seizure of power.
Action taken
The institution was transferred to non-Jewish ownership under Nazi racial laws and then liquidated.
Aftermath
The Homburger banking business ended, while its Karlsruhe building survived and was later used by successor banking institutions.
Recent events
- 2010
BW-Bank ceased using the historic premises[1]
Other
The building continued through successor banking institutions and was reportedly used by Baden-Württembergische Bank until 2010.
- 1901
New bank building constructed at Karlstraße 9–11[1]
Other
Curjel & Moser completed a purpose-built bank building at Karlstraße 9–11, on the corner of Akademiestraße, with architectural decoration by Oskar Kiefer.
- 1854
Bankhaus Veit L. Homburger was founded in Karlsruhe[1]
Other
Veit Löw Homburger established the Karlsruhe private bank after separating from the banking and exchange business he had operated with his brothers.
Sources1 sources
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