Digital Exhibition on the Schocken Department Store Group

In Zwickau, brothers Simon and Salman Schocken founded a department store chain in the early 20th century that was among the largest in Germany at the time. However, because of their Jewish heritage, they were expropriated by the Nazis in 1938. Under the title “Closed Due to Aryanization”, the State Museum of Archaeology (smac) is dedicating a digital exhibition to the history of this company. 

The museum itself is located in the former Schocken department store building in Chemnitz. Museum Director Sabine Wolfram emphasizes that this comes with a responsibility to preserve, examine, and communicate this heritage. The exhibition is part of the current Year of Jewish Culture in Saxony.

The digital exhibition follows two threads: the department store group and its locations in Saxony, as well as the Nazi persecution of the company. Using documents and newspaper clippings, it provides insights into the headquarters in Zwickau as well as the eleven department stores in Saxony, which were located in places such as Aue, Freiberg, Meissen, and Frankenberg. Topics such as advertising and the architecture of the department stores are also explored, as is the family history. The exhibition is available online free of charge.