Weinmann, Jacob
WEINMANN, JACOB
WEINMANN, JACOB (1852–1928), Bohemian industrialist. Born in Dobra, near Klatovy (Bohemia), in 1874 Weinmann was placed in charge of the Aussig (Usti nad Labem) coal business which was then owned by the Prague Bankverein. After the collapse of that bank, he took over the coal business under the name of Eduard J. Weinmann and subsequently developed it into one of the largest enterprises in Europe. He was instrumental in the great expansion of the coal industry in northwestern Bohemia. He was also very active in charitable and humanitarian pursuits, both Jewish and non-Jewish, providing them with considerable financial support.
Jacob's son, fritz, conducted unsuccessful negotiations with the Nazis, who confiscated the Weinmann concern for the Hermann Goering Werke. His brother, hans, was held as surety in Prague but escaped. Both arrived in America in 1941; Fritz changed his name to Frederick Wyman, and Hans' son, Charles, joined the Unitarian Church. A foundation bearing the Weinmann name was established in 1947.
bibliography:
J. Stoessler, in: H. Gold (ed.), Juden und Judengemeinden Boehmens in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart, 1 (1934), 21–22; R. Hilberg, Destruction of the European Jews (19672), 72ff.
[Oskar K. Rabinowicz]