Richard Capell

Location 
Scabellstr. 4
Historical name
Robertstraße 4
District
Wannsee
Stone was laid
12 June 2021
Born
16 May 1880 in Hannover
Occupation
Kaufmann
Fate unknown

Richard Capell was born on May 16, 1880 in Hanover as the son of Lambert Capell (merchant) and Sofie Capell, née Rosenthal.

He completed a commercial apprenticeship in Hamburg and worked in Russia for several years.
From 1902-1926 he worked at Liebes und Teichtner AG, Leipzig, and from 1912-1926 as director.
On June 26, 1913 he married Alice Amalie Fiegel, who was born in Berlin on March 17, 1888 as the daughter of Benno Fiegel (merchant) and Minna Fiegel, née Cohn, and lived in Charlottenburg at Bleibtreustrasse 31.
In 1919 he founded his own company in Berlin, the purpose of which is unknown to us.
On December 20, 1923, he was sworn in as a commercial judge at Regional Court III in Berlin and worked there until the beginning of 1933. During this time, he sometimes takes several months off from his judgeship, which, according to his personal file, causes him to be asked by the regional court president whether he can balance his official obligations as a commercial judge with his private affairs and that he should make less use of his right to take leave of absence .
At this time the Capell family lived in Berlin W50, Spichernstrasse 10.
Around 1927 he joined the Hugo Sensch company in Berlin S.O. 16, which produced calendars, posters, catalogs, leather notes and wallets as well as “excellent leather, advertising and additional items for large industries, banks and insurance companies”.
At this time Richard Capell must have been very wealthy.
On his extensive travels over 30 years (e.g. a 3-month business stay in the USA in 1928) he repeatedly acquired a wide variety of works of art and thus amassed an impressive collection. Due to his final move from his city apartment to his “possession in Wannsee” (according to the auction catalog), he parted with part of his collection at an auction and so the “International Art and Auction House” in Berlin auctioned a total of 563 on May 5, 1931 (!) Pieces from his collection of ceramics and glass from German and Dutch manufacturers, Gothic and Baroque sculptures as well as antique furniture and Persian carpets and pictures (including a picture by Benjamin Cuyp signed with the name “Rembrandt”).
On December 20, 1932, he was confirmed as a commercial judge at Regional Court III for another 3 years, but already on April 3, 1933 - shortly after the National Socialists seized power - by the President of the Regional Court "with regard to the current political circumstances and the prerequisites of his With his consent, he is on leave until further notice.”
A note in his personnel file at the regional court from mid-1933 says: “According to §5 of the law on the court system in Berlin of June 1st, 1933 - RGBL p.329 - the term of office of the commercial judge Capell at the regional court III in Berlin ended on July 14th, 1933 completed. The person named has not been reappointed at the Berlin Regional Court. Put the files away, destroy them in 1965.”
In 1933, the Capells moved from their city apartment to Robertstrasse 3-4 in Wannsee (today's Scabellstrasse).
In a letter dated October 31, 1938, R. Capell asked the President of the Regional Court to confirm that he worked as a commercial judge from December 11, 1923 to 1933, as this would be helpful to him when looking for work, i.e. when making applications.
When and where Richard Capell died is unclear and is not noted in the federal and state archives.
According to the statement of Ida Roding, née Fiegel and sister of Alice Amalie Capell, after the war. According to the Restitution Office, Richard Capell, as a Jew, had already been sent to a concentration camp at the time of his wife's forced expropriation in 1939 and most likely died there.