16
House & Factory of the Family Friedländer/Departmentstore Weinreb
Elias Friedländer's dwelling house and knitwear factory used to be in the Gabelsbergerstraße 15, not far away from the Platzgasse, just a short way towards the station. The Friedländers' factory building was the W.I.Z.O's (Women's International Zionist Organisation) domicile. Here, they gave weekly talks or hosted cultural and social events, an important gathering point for Celovec/Klagenfurt's Jewish community. However, there is nothing left to be seen of the house today: There is a parking lot on the factory premises, and the Friedländers' former dwelling house is now a Chinese restaurant. The Friedländer family played an active role in Klagenfurt's communal life. Elias' sister Lotte (mar. Weinreb) shall be mentioned representatively. She was active in the Zionist movement until her escape to Palastine. Under the enormous pressure of Eichmann's emigration policy, she tried to save as many people as possible. The Weinreb's departmentstore in Platzgasse 14 (today Gasometergasse 6) was "taken over" or, rather, violently occupied as early as the 22 March 1938 by the NSBO (Nationalsozialistische Betriebszellenorganisation, predecessor of the Deutschen Arbeitsfront, DAF, German Labour Front), or rather violently occupied. A "provisional leader" was imposed, cash and bank accounts were seized. The company was liquidised
hereafter.
The Kärntner Heimatbund (KHB), the national-socialist predecessor organisation of today's KHD (Kärntner Heimatdienst), "arianised" the building in Gasometergasse 6.
⇒ read on: Jewish Cemetery