Sudden strangers. The family of Kyiv entrepreneurs Schultz and their business during the great war

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The National academy of science of Ukraine

Sudden strangers. The family of Kyiv entrepreneurs Schultz and their business during the great war

Vodotyka Tetyana

Abstract

The author describes the episode from the life of the family of German entrepreneur Karl Schultz, owner of the brewery. The Schultz family appeared in Kyiv in the 1860s and became well- off and honorable entrepreneurs. But this did not save them from the repressions during the Great War. The family was deported from Kyiv and the brewery was confiscated.

Keywords: The Great War, entrepreneurship, German minority, brewery.

Анотація

Автор описує епізод із життя сім'ї київського підприємця німецького походження Карла Шульца, власника пивоварного заводу. Сім'я Шульц з'явилася в Києві в 1860-х роках і увійшла в коло заможних та почесних підприємців. Але це не врятувало їх від репресій під час Великої війни. Сім'я була депортована з Києва, а пивоварня - конфіскована.

Ключові слова: Велика війна, підприємництво, німецька меншина, пивоварня.

Аннотация

Автор описывает эпизод из жизни семьи немецкого предпринимателя Карла Шульца, владельца пивоварни. Семья Шульц появилась в Киеве в 1860-х годах и вошла в круг состоятельными и почетными предпринимателями. Но это не спасло их от репрессий во время Великой войны. Семья была депортирована из Киева, а пивоварня - конфискована.

Ключевые слова: Великая война, предпринимательство, немецкая меньшина, пивоварня.

German entrepreneurship, its intellectual, financial and economic potential, has been extremely useful for Russian Empire during the era of industrial modernization. The Germans played a systemforming role both in the economy of certain regions and entire sectors. Many high-technology companies (for that time, of course) and profitable enterprises in the cities of Dnieper Ukraine belonged to the Germans themselves. Among such companies we can mention the Gustav Hartmann locomotive plant in Luhansk, Franz Frischen in Mykolaiv etc. But the Great War caused significant changes. Anti-German public moods and government policy have done their job. Once revered entrepreneurs turned into exiles, German capital and property were seized, plants and shops and other enterprises declined.

We have to mention, that historiography of this problem is not as rich, as it could have been. Among the researches should be mentioned article of Tamara Lazans'ka [1] - as it seems, this is one of the first surveys of the problem. Key work was published in 2003 by American historian Lohr E. (Russian translation was published in 2012) [2]. To continue the list of Russian-language works we should mention 3-volume encyclopedia «Germans in Russia» [3], some important conference proceedings [4] and articles [5]. Unfortunately, one of the latest Ukrainian narratives on the Great War slightly touches upon the inner problems of ethnic minorities [6].

There were not as much German entrepreneurs in Kyiv as it was in Odessa or in Lutsk, for example. But they established remarkable businesses. Among them is brewery plant on Demiivka. It was owned by German family - Schultz family. Brewery was working until eve of XXI century in the bulks, built by Schultz.

Fund 272 «Schultz Brewery Plant» was deposited in the State Archive of Kyiv. There are only 4 cases in the fund and they are dated 1914-1916. Two cases are not fixed, and the cards and paper are simply sewn together, even without being ordered. This is mainly a correspondence with the plant administration with business partners, customers, authorities. And it should be emphasized - incoming correspondence. What were the responses to these messages and whether were answers at all, we do not know.

The founder of the dynasty, Prussian citizen, Johann Heinrich Schultz arrived in Kyiv in 1860s. And started his business - purchased the brewery. Approximate date for the construction of the oldest buildings of the plant is 1865 (but the brewery could have been started here at the beginning of 19 century) [7]. So, at about this time, Johann Heinrich Schultz bought it. He rebuilt the brewery, rented the nearby area, completed new bulks.

In 1881, Schultz died, leaving his family with extremely productive brewery, five wooden houses, and a manor with a fruit garden - a total cost of 35 thousand rubles. Property management passed to his wife, since Johann's eldest son was at the age of 13. Amalia Schultz (wife) managed with the brewery rather successfully, the plant was supplied with new equipment and expanded [8].

The eldest son Karl inherited the brewery in 1886 and modernized it again. In 1901 the factory received the status of the supplier of the Imperial Court and in 1907 - awards at the international exhibitions in Moscow and St. Petersburg [9]. In 1913 brewery was equipped with progressive for that time technological solutions - two steam engines and electricity wiring. During Schulz's family management the power output grew in 50 times - from 12 thousand to 600 thousand buckets of beer per year in 1913. Brewery employed up to 50 people. Karl Schultz was member of advisory or management boards of several Kyiv joint stock companies. So, he became an honorable entrepreneur in the city.

The thing was not only in tasty beer and «solodovyi quaff», which was ordered gladly by Kyiv dwellers. Schultz was socially active family. On March 16, 1897, as a result of the efforts of respectable townsmen K. Radkevich, S. Zuch- kovsky, I. Sokolov, V. Erentel and E. Alekseev in Schultz's house solemnly, in the presence of almost all of the city and provincial superiors, was opened the first teahouse for the poor. There along with the cheap tea, the audience had the opportunity to use reading-room services free of charge [10].

By 1911 Schultz family was rooted enough in Kyiv to ask for Russian citizenship. But their request was rejected. Unfortunately, we have no idea about the reasons for such decision. Maybe the family was suspected in maintaining spy links with Germany.

The Great War made not very pleasant adjustments. Unfortunate for brewery changes happened even earlier. On July 19, 1914 the Russian government approved the decision to introduce a «dry law», Prohibition for alcohol. All distilleries were closed, warehouses with alcohol were sealed. The punishment was strict - 5 years in prison and deprivation of civil rights for a year [10].

The war aroused a wave of hatred among citizens and authorities towards everything German and Germans and Austria-Hungarians themselves. They were ordered to leave Kiev as soon as possible, and their property, as a rule, was sequestered. Schultz's brewery was not an exception.

We have not yet been able to establish the exact date of the Schultz family eviction from Kyiv. This is probably summer 1915. At least, we have the telegram, dated August 11, 1915 from Krasnoyarsk, signed by Schultz [12, Арк. 159]. He served at the brewery for quite some time and apparently was the most acceptable figure as a new manager in that difficult situation. During 1916, he even received telegrams (apparently personal, though they were among the business correspondence in the archival cases) from Karl Schultz with the recommendations on the management of the brewery. The deportation to Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, and then, probably, the arrival in Moscow, did not prevent Schultz to keep his hand on the pulse of the brewery.

There is no need for a deep analysis of the incoming correspondence to understand the sad picture of the gradual disruption of the enterprise. The reasons are generally evident - the change of leadership, the economic difficulties caused by the war, the «dry law», reduced purchasing power and supply problems, an increase in social tension. The latter factor was manifested, for example, in Italian strikes of the carriers, who delivered beer to the consumers. Carriers were even rude to the consumers, they claimed they have the right to sell or not to sell beer despite orders [12, Арк. 53-54].

During World War I, it became obvious that charity was perceived not as a goodwill, but as an obligation of an entrepreneur. Giving money or gifts was not a sign of kindness, but a duty of an entrepreneur. In this aspect, the letters of the Kiev merchant leader Mykola Chokolov, addressed to the owner of the brewery in Kiev's Demiyivka Karl Schulz, are revealing. In these letters Chokolov nearly forced Karl Schultz and then new manager, Michael Tsukerman, to make presents for the army. He was not confused by the fact, that brewery was facing hard times and that owner was made to leave his native city. Hard times and profit shrinkage did not prevent the various organizations, including the state, from constantly emphasizing the duty to provide free drinks and gifts for various charitable needs.

The study of such multi-layered micro- historical stories appears to be a productive tool for understanding changes in break-even and tragic periods, such as the changes brought by the Great War.

A couple of words about the fate of brewery. Later, in Soviet times, this plant was known as the Kiev brewery № 1. Nowadays the brewery in not working. Buildings are waiting to be reconstructed or even destroyed.

businessman schulz brewery repression

Referents

1. Лазанська Т.І. Німці-виселенці українських губерній у роки Першої світової війни / Т.І. Лазанська // Проблеми історії України ХІХ - початку ХХ ст. / НАН України; Інститут історії України. - К., 2002. - Вип. 4. - С. 84-110.

2. Lohr E. Nationalizing the Russian Empire: The Campaign Against Enemy Aliens during World War I / Eric Lohr. - Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2003. - Russian Research Center Studies. - 256 p.

3. Немцы России (энциклопедия). В 3-х томах. - Москва: Изд-во «Общественная академия наук российских немцев», 1999-2006.

4. Российские немцы. Историография и источниковедение. Материалы научной конференции. Анапа. 4-9 сентября 1996. - М., 1997; Миграционные процессы среди российских немцев: исторический аспект. Матереалы междунар. научн. конф., Анапа, 26-30 сентября 1997 г. - М., 1998; Перша світова війна: історичні долі держав і народів (до 100-річчя від початку Першої світової війни): збірник наукових праць / Ред. кол.: Кудряченко А.І. (заг. ред.), Солошенко В.В. (відп. ред., упорядн.), Врадій О.С. (ред.), Ілюк Т.В. (ред.). Державна установа «Інститут всесвітньої історії HAH України» НАН України. - К., 2015. - 352 с.

5. Шубина А.Н. Политика российского правительства по отношению к немецким колонистам во время Первой мировой войны / А.Н. Шубина // Вестник Московского университета. Серия: История. - 2009. - № 6. - С. 74-84.

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8. Київський Пивзавод № 1.

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10. Державний архів м. Києва (далі -ДАК). Ф. 272, оп. 1., спр. 2.

11. ДАК. Ф. 272, оп. 1., спр. 4 .

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