Around the turn of the century, after the jeweler Giese shifted his business to the Boersenstrasse 5, the company S. & B. Cohn Eisenstaedt moved to the Marktstrasse no. 46.
George Hanff a great grandson of Adolf Eisenstaedt living in Canada presented the following information:
At the time when Adolph Eisenstaedt moved to Marketstrasse 46 his business was Konfektions-Manufaktur-Tuch- u. Modewarengeschaeft. Adolph was also a city councillor (Stadtverordneter).
When Adolph died, Ernst Hanff and Leopold Becker took over the business. Ernst and Leopold were linked to the Eisenstaedts by marriage: Ernst Hanff was married to Adolph's daughter, Magda.
In the 20's and 30s, the business' focus shifted to the manufacturing of clothing (Manufaktur- u. Konfektionsgeschaeft Cohn & Eisenstaedt). The business extended its name to include "Das Haus der Moden".
The Beckers and other members of the extended family lived in the upper floors of the building. Ernst and Magda Hanff rented space next door.
My father, Siegfried Hanff, was the son of Sally Cohn and Erna Eisenstaedt. Sally died fighting the Russians during World War I, in early April 1916, thus just after the battle of Lake Naroch, near Vilna. Siegfried's mother died a few years later. He was adopted by Ernst and Magda, thus the Hanff last name. Siegfried went to the Knaben-Schule zu Memel and then to the Luisen-Gymnasium zu Memel.
The Hanffs and Beckers were Jewish, proud Germans, and prominent in the community. Ernst was member of B'nai Brith and, for a long time, president of the Jewish Hospital. Leopold was what is translated as a district magistrate (Schiedsmann Bezirk II).
The family also owned a cottage at Sandkrug near the Kurhaus much like the one you have in the web.
With the coming of the Nazi takeover of Memel, the family fled to Kaunas, losing virtually everything. The move did not help much. Among the many that perished were Magda and Leo (Ernst died from natural causes in 1934).
Siegfried foresaw what was about to transpire, left for France with his wife Ruth Bergman (from Kinten) in search of a safe haven. They left Europe for Chile from La Rochelle in 1939. Siegfried also foresaw the coming of the communists in Chile and moved the family to Canada in 1963.
