Baron Cornelius von Berenberg-Gossler (2 March 1874 – 29 September 1953) was a German banker, a member of the illustrious
Berenberg-Gossler banking dynasty, and owner and head of
Berenberg Bank from 1913. He withdrew from active management of the bank in 1932.
Born as Cornelius Gossler, he was the son of
Johann Berenberg Gossler (who was later ennobled as Baron von Berenberg-Gossler) and the brother of Senator and Ambassador
John von Berenberg-Gossler. Through his American-born grandmother he was a descendant of
Samuel Eliot. Although he was the younger brother, the leadership of Berenberg Bank as well as the Baronial title passed to him, as his older brother John chose to become a politician against the wish of their father. He was married to Nadia von Oesterreich (1887–1962), a daughter of Constantin von Oesterreich, a member of a merchant and banking family in Hamburg originally from
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
in Russia. They were the parents of Baron
Heinrich von Berenberg-Gossler.
Cornelius von Berenberg-Gossler was an avowed opponent of the
Nazi regime
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and determinedly sought to help Jewish friends and associates keeping their assets under the pressure of
Aryanization
Aryanization (german: Arisierung) was the Nazi term for the seizure of property from Jews and its transfer to non-Jews, and the forced expulsion of Jews from economic life in Nazi Germany, Axis-aligned states, and their occupied territories. I ...
, petitioned for their release when arrested and eventually helped them to leave the country. In 1939, he secured the release of Fritz
Warburg
Warburg (; Westphalian: ''Warberich'' or ''Warborg'') is a town in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, central Germany on the river Diemel near the three-state point shared by Hessen, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is in Höxter distri ...
.
He was a member of the board of directors of
Deutsche Warentreuhand, that had been founded in 1920 by
Max Warburg
Max Moritz Warburg (5 June 1867 – 26 December 1946) was a German banker and scion of the wealthy Warburg family based in Hamburg, Germany.
Early life
Max Warburg was one of seven children born to Moritz Warburg, the director of the family's Ha ...
and Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy of
Mendelssohn & Co. He was also Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Universitäts-Gesellschaft Hamburg.
Literature
*
Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels
The ''Almanach de Gotha'' (german: Gothaischer Hofkalender) is a directory of Europe's royalty and higher nobility, also including the major governmental, military and diplomatic corps, as well as statistical data by country. First published ...
, Band 16, Freiherrliche Häuser B II, C. A. Starke Verlag, Limburg (Lahn) 1957
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berenberg-Gossler, Cornelius von
German bankers
Cornelius
Berenberg Bank people
Grand burghers of Hamburg
Prussian nobility
1874 births
1953 deaths