company history part I: 1868 – 1945
On 14th August 1868 the hop merchant “Hopfenhandlung Leon Weil” was founded in Walldorf, Nordbaden.
Purchase of and relocation to new office premises in the Plöck 9 in Heidelberg.
Max Eisemann joins the company.
Formation of the OHG with Max Eisemann and Leon Weil.
Relocation within Heidelberg to the Kirchstraße 18.
Leon Weil leaves the company after 40 years as head of the company. His successor is his son, Ernst Weil, who from now on works with Max Eisemann in the company management.
Max Eisemann’s son, Alfred, is taken prisoner in Russia.
Leon Weil dies on 5th June 1917.
As a result of the First World War the Reichsmark suffers a fall in value. In June 1923 a litre of milk already costs 1,440 Reichsmark, in December 1932 it costs 360 billion Reichsmark.
Alfred Eisemann joins the company.
Alfred Eisemann marries Hildegard Müller. She is a Catholic, a fact which will later play a crucial role. One year later (1927) son Rudolf (sen.) is born.
The “Black Friday” in October 1929 marks the beginning of a global economic crisis, presenting major challenges to all companies.
In January 1933 Adolf Hitler is appointed Reich Chancellor. A dark chapter in the history of mankind begins.
On 11th September 1936 the company “Hildegard Eisemann” is founded.
On 18th January 1938 the company “Leon Weil” is liquidated. The corporation is dissolved – liquidators are the partners Max Eisemann and Ernst Weil.
10th November 1938: 70 men from Heidelberg, among them Alfred Eisemann and Ernst Weil, are deported to the concentration camp Dachau.
Ernst Weil arranges the emigration for his family. Weil and his family emigrate to Uruguay. He transfers the power of proxy for the liquidated hop merchants to Alfred Eisemann.
On 22nd October 1940 Max Eisemann, together with approx. 300 other citizens of Heidelberg, is picked up by the Gestapo and deported with a special train into the surrounding region.
6th November 1940: Max Eisemann dies in the “Camp de Gurs” or rather the sub-concentration camp Pau. One can imagine how badly the over-70 year old must have been affected by the circumstances.
In February 1945 Alfred Eisemann is deported to a concentration camp for a second time, this time to Theresienstadt.
“On 8.5.1945 I was freed by the Russians” writes Alfred Eisemann. After a two-week trek on foot he returns to Heidelberg.
company history part II: 1946 – today
July 1946: Alfred Eisemann is entered in the trade register as single proxy.
The current valid currency Reichsmark is replaced by the D-Mark. This marks one of the most important economic political events in the post-war history of Germany.
On 23rd May 1949 Konrad Adenauer declares the Basic Constitutional Law of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Rudolf Eisemann (sen.) joins the company as partner.
In 1958 an office and a flat are purchased in Odinspfad 3 in Heidelberg Rohrbach.
Rudolf Eisemann (sen.) marries Erika Eisemann (née Stürmer). 1 year later (1961) the present managing director, Rudolf Eisemann (jun.), is born.
In 1964 the company relocates to Spechbach. It is possible to select the address “Im Hopfengarten 1-3”.
In 1968 the anniversary of the company Hildegard Eisemann is celebrated.
The company Hildegard Eisemann receives the 1st prize award for its hop samples “Brewers Gold” submitted to the VLB in Berlin.
15th October 1972: The senior partner Hildegard Eisemann dies at the age of 78. Without her clever handling in the Aryanisation period during the Nazi regime, the company would most probably have been completely liquidated.
Her husband, Alfred Eisemann, dies on 2nd April 1985 at the age of 92 after a life full of highs and lows.
In 1985 the company Hildegard Eisemann OHG is changed to Hildegard Eisemann KG.
Rudolf Eisemann (jun.) joins the KG (limited partnership) as limited partner.
The current valid currency D-Mark is replaced by the Euro. This facilitates intra-European trade.
Rudolf Eisemann (sen.) dies on the 17th May 2001 at the age of 74.
Rudolf Eisemann’s wife, Hildegard Eisemann, joins the company as a partner.
A new cold store with a capacity of approx. 200 pallets is built in 2011.
The construction of a photovoltaic system saves as of now approx. 22,000 kg CO2 per year.
The son, Franz Rudolf Eisemann, joins the company.
The Hildegard Eisemann KG celebrates the 150th anniversary with business partners, friends and family in the WIRSOL Rhein-Neckar-Arena of Hoffenheim.
The photovoltaic system, which went into operation in June 2014, generates the 200,000th kilowatt hour of electricity in May 2020, which has prevented more than 120 tons of CO2 emissions and “saved” more than 11,000 trees. >>Video
More space for hops – cold store II was expanded in June 2020 by 120 to approx. 320 pallet spaces. >> Video
