THE KAUFFMANN TOMB

Photo: Tomasz Gąsior, courtesy of the Wrocław City Museum.

The tomb of Max Kauffmann (1855-1893) was built in Neo-Mauritanian style, one of the trends in 19th-century historicism, which was unique for its style and material. Built of multi-coloured brick, decorated with glazed terracotta details and marble columns, and with the foundation and inscription plaques made from granite, the tomb’s form is reminiscent of historical Ottoman and Arab buildings, including the use of structural elements such as a dome, horseshoe arches and slender columns. Its oriental character is further emphasised by multicoloured ceramics with saturated colours and rich ornamentation, featuring repetitive, geometrised decorative elements. The interior of the dome is covered in mosaics with plant motifs and floral design.

Max Kauffmann came from a family of pioneers of the Silesian textile industry and creators of the world-famous “Meyer Kauffmann Textilwerke AG” brand. Founded in 1824 by his grandfather Meyer (1796-1871), a century later the textile factory employed 3,400 workers and operated in Jedlinka, Głuszyca, Leśna, Krosnowice, Bielawa and Wrocław. The family business was created from scratch and then developed by three generations of Kauffmanns: Meyer, Salomon (1824-1900) and Max. Its factories produced a wide range of products including raw fabrics, bleached fabrics, dyed fabrics, flannel products, bedding, tablecloths and clothing, which were also exported to markets outside Europe.

Born on 4 March 1855 in Breslau/Wrocław, Max Kauffmann graduated from the Am Zwinger secondary school, before studying physics and chemistry at the University of Wrocław from 1872. Meanwhile, he learned the craft of locksmithing at a Wrocław cotton spinning mill that was part of the Kauffmann weaving factory complex. From 1874 to 1876, he continued his studies at the Technical University in Dresden, after which he moved to Jedlinka (today’s Jedlina-Zdrój), where he worked for one-and-a-half years in his grandfather’s textile factories. He introduced a new method of bleaching yarn, which he learnt during a several-month visit to Alsace. He also made study trips to Manchester, Glasgow and London. After returning to Breslau/Wrocław in 1882, he became a co-owner of the family business, including the Wrocław cotton spinning mill, which comprised a complex of spinning, weaving, bleaching and dyeing plants, with products in the latter also dyed using Turkish red, which was fashionable at the time. Max Kauffmann was a member of the Silesian Society for Homeland Culture from 1888 and, like his father Salomon, a member of the board of the Wrocław Orchestra Association. He actively supported people in poverty and illness. He died after a long and severe illness on 14 August 1893, at the age of just 39, in his villa in Borek. He was the brother-in-law of Prof. Gustav Born (1851-1900) and uncle of Nobel Laureate Max Born (1882-1970).

Buried with him in the tomb was also his wife Louise Kauffmann, née Helfft (1863-1942), who died in Berlin on 16 June 1942, most likely as the result of a suicide to avoid deportation. This was one of the last burials in the Jewish cemetery on Ślężna Street.

Photo: Max Kauffmann (sitting in the carriage) with his sisters Charlotte, Margarethe and Gertrud; next to them are their parents Salomon and Marie Kauffmann. Courtesy of the family.

Photo: Louise Kauffmann, née Helfft. Courtesy of the family.

Dimensions of the tomb (cm): 670 x 300 x 260

Author: Dr. Renata Wilkoszewska-Krakowska