Izrael Kalman Poznański

Izrael Poznański – przedsiębiorca łódzki pochodzenia żydowskiego. Zaliczany razem z Ludwikiem Geyerem i Karolem Scheiblerem do trzech łódzkich „królów bawełny”. Wikipedia PL

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izrael_Pozna%C5%84ski

Izrael Kalman Poznański was a Polish-Jewish businessman, textile magnate and philanthropist in Łódź. One of the “kings of cotton” of Łódź in the 19th century, next to Ludwik Geyer and Karol Scheibler. He was born in 1833 in Aleksandrów, a year later his family moved to Łódź, where his father Kalman Poznański traded in ell-measured and spice goods. At the age of 17, Poznański took over the shop and the cloth storehouse from his father, got married with Leonia Hertz, a daughter of the secretary of Jewish hospitals, thanks to which he became the owner of a shop in Warsaw and established contacts with the Warsaw bourgeoisie. After a short time he became the owner of 50 weaving plants, but despite that he worked for Scheibler as a commissioner and shop-assistant, which made it easier for him to gain considerable profits during the so-called “cotton hunger”, when the United States suspended deliveries of cotton at the time of the Civil War. In 1871 Poznański purchased plots in Ogrodowa Street and built a weaver mill of cotton products, to which he imported mechanical looms from England. Successively other factory buildings were constructed. Their architecture was designed by Hilary Majewski. Within 20 years Poznański created a factory with a full production cycle. In 1889 Poznański’s plants were converted into “Towarzystwo Akcyjne Wyrobów Bawełnianych I. K. Poznański” (“Joint Stock Society of Cotton Products I. K. Poznański”) with a capital of about five million roubles. This company did not enter into the stock exchange, and remained a family company. Its capital was held by Izrael, his four sons and two sons-in-law.

Poznański’s fortune resulted not only from hard work, and a good economic situation, but also from exploiting of workers whom he paid a lower wage than Schleiber, and lawlessly extended their work time. Trying to follow Schleiber and make the workers dependent on himself he built them a residential district near the plants in Ogrodowa Street. On one hand, it was the only chance for thousands of people to have a roof over their heads. On the other hand, living in the so-called family houses meant total dependence on Poznański, e.g. for participating in a strike – the whole family was turned out into the street immediately.

Poznański was also able to take care of his business and acquire customers: he purchased and reconstructed a tenement house in the city centre, in Piotrkowska Street, close to Grand Hotel, where all transient traders stayed. He opened a factory shop in that house. Poznański supported a number of charity institutions. In 1980s, Izrael and Leonia Poznański founded a hospital for Jews, which still exists today and is named after Dr Sterling, who as the first one in Łódź opened a ward for tuberculotic patients in 1898. The second hospital which was built by Poznański was a factory hospital for workers. It has also preserved till today in Drewnowska Street and is named after Dr Radliński. Poznański also co-financed construction of a synagogue, which was later damaged by the Nazis in 1939.

Poznański contributed to the architecture of Łódź with his eclectic palaces famous for their splendour. Among them there was the so-called Hertz’s palace (Anna Poznańska’s husband) which was situated next to a synagogue. Today the rector’s office of Medical Academy is located there. Another palace of the Poznańskis was erected at the end of 1890s. The factory owner’s youngest son, Maurycy, lived there. Currently there is the Art Museum there. However, the most magnificent residence was a palace in Ogrodowa Street, the construction of which lasted many years. In addition to a residential part, it contained money exchange offices, shops, guest rooms, a cash box, representative halls, and even an exchange. However Izrael Poznański did not live to see the completion of the residence, as he died in 1900, leaving a fortune of over 7 million roubles.

After Izrael Poznański’s death, his oldest son, Ignacy, became the director general of the company. The company did well till the First World War. Its fortune was estimated at 30 million roubles. In 1904, the fourth palace of the Poznańskis was built, to which Karol Poznański moved. Currently, there is the Musical Academy there.

In the interwar period, the situation of the plants dramatically deteriorated: in 1928 Karol Poznański died, in 1929 Jakub Hertz, in 1936 Maurycy Poznański, and in the 1930s the debts of the company in an Italian bank were enormous. As a result, the bank took over the majority interest and started to manage the enterprise itself. Numerous members of the Poznański family emigrated from Poland before the Second World War. After the war, the factory was nationalized, and after 1989 the plants were put to liquidation.