Bohm, Henry

The history of the Brüder Böhm Company can be traced back to the 1840s, when Victor and Richard Böhm’s great-grand mother opened a business trading in hare skins for hat manufacturing. Later it was transformed into hat production and the first hat factory was found at Schottenfeldgasse, Vienna in 1862 and was run by the members of the Böhm family.

Later more plants were opened in other places, namely in Prague and Neutitschein. When the factory in Neutitschein was completed between 1918 and 1920, the Prague factory was moved there. The plant in Neutitschein was managed jointly by Otto Wolf and Richard Böhm, whereas Victor was in charge of the technical side of the business.

After the Anschluss the Böhm family moved Vienna to Czechoslovakia. Before their move there, they sold their Vienna factory to the Bavarian hat factory of Othmar Reich. However, they did not receive any money for that deal, since all the money went to the German authorities mainly as taxes for the exit visas.

After the German occupation and subsequent loss of the factory in Neutitschein, some members of the Böhm family stayed shortly in Belgium, where the Böhm brothers established a partnership with Bottu, who was their agent. In early 1939 the Böhm family moved to England and established a hat factory there. In 1940 the Böhm family had to leave England, due to their alien status and came to the United States.

Between the loss of their factory in Vienna and their arrival in the United States, the Böhm brothers were mainly involved in securing their claims on foreign customers.

After the war, Brüder Böhm resumed its operations in Vienna, but not in Nový Jicín, since that factory was nationalized by the new Czechoslovak government. The Brüder Böhm Company was dissolved in the late 1960s.

It is unclear when the company’s name was changed to Brother Bohm Co., Inc. and when it was changed back to Brüder Böhm.

From the guide to the Brüder Böhm Company Collection, Henry Bohm Family Collection, 1910-1979, bulk 1938-1965, (Leo Baeck Institute)