L. Behrens & Söhne
L. Behrens & Söhne was a Hamburg merchant bank and trading company that operated from 1806 until its final liquidation in 1970.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
L. Behrens & Söhne was a Hamburg-based merchant banking and trading firm founded in 1806 by the merchant Levy Behrens and his sons. The business emerged from the commercial networks of nineteenth-century Hamburg, initially trading English and Saxon textiles and drapery for customers in northern Germany. Its activities combined merchandise trading with merchant banking, a model characteristic of major European commercial houses of the period. The Behrens family expanded the enterprise internationally. Salomon Levy Behrens established S. L. Behrens & Co. in Manchester in 1815, while Jakob Behrens founded Jacob Behrens & Co. in Leeds in 1834. These related firms connected the Hamburg house with the British textile market and helped extend the family's commercial reach beyond Germany. L. Behrens & Söhne also developed relationships with prominent financial institutions, including the London and Frankfurt Rothschild houses and the Berlin banking house S. Bleichröder. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the firm became one of Hamburg's leading banking houses, operating alongside institutions such as Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co., Conrad Hinrich Donner, and M. M. Warburg & Co. After the First World War, it diversified further into sugar trading and became one of the early German companies to export German sugar. The company's history was severely disrupted under National Socialist rule. Because the Behrens owners were Jewish, the firm was subjected to the antisemitic process of forced transfer known as Aryanization. In 1938, the business was taken from its owners under coercion. George Eduard Behrens, the principal owner, was effectively expropriated and arrested after the November 1938 pogroms. The company was forced to stop operating on May 31, 1938, and entered liquidation at the end of that year. Its banking activities were transferred to Norddeutsche Kreditbank in Bremen, while its trading operations continued under Henry S. Willink as Willink & Co. George Eduard Behrens returned from exile in 1948 and re-established L. Behrens & Söhne using the former trading business. The revived company did not resume its banking operations and never recovered its former position. It was ultimately liquidated in 1970. The firm's legacy also became connected to the postwar provenance and restitution of artworks from the Behrens collection. At least 57 works associated with George Eduard Behrens have been recorded in the Lost Art Foundation database, and artworks were restituted to his heirs by Dutch and Bavarian public institutions in 2008 and 2013. The company is therefore remembered both as a significant historical Hamburg merchant bank and as a business affected by Nazi persecution, expropriation, and subsequent restitution efforts.
History
L. Behrens & Söhne was established in Hamburg in 1806 by Levy Behrens, a merchant who had immigrated from Pyrmont, together with his sons. The company belonged to the Hamburg tradition of family-owned merchant houses whose business combined trade in goods with credit, finance, and international commercial relationships. Its earliest principal activities involved English and Saxon textiles and drapery, which the firm distributed in northern Germany. The family created an international network through related businesses in Britain. Salomon Levy Behrens founded S. L. Behrens & Co. in Manchester in 1815, and Jakob Behrens established Jacob Behrens & Co. in Leeds in 1834. These connections placed the Hamburg firm close to major British textile markets. L. Behrens & Söhne also worked with the London and Frankfurt Rothschild banking houses and with the Berlin institution S. Bleichröder. Through these relationships and its own activities, it developed into one of Hamburg's prominent private banking houses, alongside Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co., Conrad Hinrich Donner, and M. M. Warburg & Co. Following the First World War, the firm expanded into sugar trading. It became one of the early German companies to export German sugar, adding a significant commodity-trading activity to its established banking and textile business. The Nazi seizure of power in 1933 brought persecution and ultimately destruction of the company. The Behrens owners were Jewish and were affected by the regime's discriminatory policies and forced transfers of Jewish-owned enterprises. In 1938, L. Behrens & Söhne was Aryanized. George Eduard Behrens, described as the firm's principal owner, was effectively expropriated. Following the November 1938 pogroms, he was arrested and held in Sachsenhausen concentration camp until March 1939. The company was compelled to stop operating on May 31, 1938, and was formally placed into liquidation on December 31 of that year. The firm's former activities were divided. Norddeutsche Kreditbank in Bremen took over the banking side, while the trading department continued under Henry S. Willink as Willink & Co. George Eduard Behrens returned from exile in 1948 and re-established L. Behrens & Söhne from the Willink & Co. business. The postwar company did not restore its banking operations and lacked the scale and influence of the pre-1938 house. It was finally liquidated in 1970. The family's postwar history also involved the recovery of artworks from George Eduard Behrens's collection. At least 57 associated works are recorded in the Lost Art Foundation database. Restitution cases included a Camille Corot painting returned by the Dutch government to the Behrens heirs in 2008 and a work by de la Peña returned by the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen in 2013. A claim involving a work by Adolph Menzel was rejected by the city of Düsseldorf. These cases form part of the broader record of Nazi-era dispossession and postwar efforts to resolve ownership of cultural property.
- 1970
Final liquidation
[1]The postwar company was liquidated after the banking business had not been resumed.
- 1948
Postwar re-establishment
[1]George Eduard Behrens returned from exile and re-established the company from the former Willink & Co. trading business.
- 1938
Forced Aryanization and liquidation
[1]The Nazi regime forced the Jewish-owned firm to cease operations, transferred its banking and trading activities, and placed the company into liquidation.
- 1834
Leeds affiliate established
[1]Jakob Behrens established Jacob Behrens & Co. in Leeds.
- 1815
Manchester affiliate established
[1]Salomon Levy Behrens founded S. L. Behrens & Co. in Manchester, extending the family network into the British textile economy.
- 1806
Company founded in Hamburg
[1]Levy Behrens and his sons founded L. Behrens & Söhne as a merchant and trading enterprise.
Products and positioning
A historic Hamburg merchant house combining private banking, international trade finance, and merchandise trading.
Financial services · 1806
Merchant banking
L. Behrens & Söhne operated as a private merchant bank serving commercial and trading interests. Its banking identity was closely integrated with the firm's merchandise businesses and international relationships with major European banking houses. The banking operation was transferred to Norddeutsche Kreditbank during the 1938 forced liquidation and was not resumed after the company's postwar re-establishment.
Commodity trading · 1806
Textile and drapery trading
The company's early commercial activity focused on English and Saxon textiles and drapery. These goods were sold primarily in northern Germany, while the family's Manchester and Leeds connections supported access to British textile markets and suppliers.
Commodity trading
Sugar trading
After the First World War, L. Behrens & Söhne entered the sugar trade and became one of the early German exporters of German sugar. This activity broadened the firm's commercial scope beyond its historic textile business.
Controversies
2013
Restitution of a de la Peña artwork
The Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen returned a work by de la Peña to the Behrens heirs in a provenance and restitution case.
2008
Restitution of a Camille Corot artwork
A Camille Corot work associated with George Eduard Behrens's collection was returned by the Dutch government to his heirs.
1938
Nazi Aryanization and expropriation
The Nazi regime forcibly transferred the Jewish-owned company, effectively expropriated George Eduard Behrens, ended the firm's operations, and divided its banking and trading activities among successor operators.
Brand decisions
1948
Re-establishment without banking operationsStrategyBackground
After George Eduard Behrens returned from exile, the former trading operation provided a basis for rebuilding the company.
Action taken
L. Behrens & Söhne was re-established from Willink & Co., but the banking business was not resumed.
Aftermath
The revived company did not regain its former importance and was liquidated in 1970.
1938
Forced cessation and liquidationOtherBackground
The company was targeted during the Nazi persecution and forced transfer of Jewish-owned businesses.
Action taken
L. Behrens & Söhne was required to stop operating on May 31, 1938, and entered liquidation on December 31, 1938.
Aftermath
Norddeutsche Kreditbank took over the banking business, while the trading department continued as Willink & Co.
Recent events
- 1948
L. Behrens & Söhne re-established after the war[1]
Other
George Eduard Behrens returned from exile and re-established the company from the former Willink & Co. trading operation, although the banking business was not revived.
Sources1 sources
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