Gerson Bleichröder
| Gerson von Bleichröder | |
|---|---|
Gerson von Bleichröder (painted by Emile Wauters, 1888)
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| Born |
22 December 1822 Berlin, Prussia |
| Died | 18 February 1893 (aged 70) Berlin, Germany |
| Nationality | German |
| Occupation | Banker |
| Spouse(s) | Emma Guttentag |
| Children | Hans von Bleichröder James von Bleichröder Georg von Bleichröder Elsa von Bleichröder |
| Parent(s) | Samuel Bleichröder and Johanna Levin Aron |
Gerson von Bleichröder (22 December 1822 – 18 February 1893) was a Jewish German banker.
Bleichröder was born in Berlin. He was the eldest son of Samuel Bleichröder, who founded the banking firm of S. Bleichröder in 1803 in Berlin. Gerson first joined the family business in 1839. In 1855 upon the death of his father, Gerson became the head of the banking firm. The bank maintained close contacts with the Rothschild family; the banking house of Bleichröder acted as a branch office in Berlin of the Rothschilds' bank.
Traditionally, the Rothschilds represented the banking interests of the Austrian-controlled German Confederation in Europe. In the conflict between the rapidly rising and expanding nation of Prussia and the "pro-Austrian" German Confederation, the Rothschild Bank was largely caught in an uncomfortable position in the middle of the conflict.
Since 1851, Otto von Bismarck had been serving as the Prussian ambassador to the German Confederation headquartered at Frankfurt-am-Main, a free city of the Confederation in what is now western Germany. However, in March 1858, Bismarck was appointed ambassador to the Russian Empire. In one of his last actions before leaving Frankfurt for St. Petersburg, Russia, Bismarck consulted Baron Mayer Carl von Rothschild for the name of a banker in Berlin to whom he could turn for personal as well as Prussian state business. Just why Bismarck would turn to the Rothschild Bank to supply him with the name of a competing bank to whom Bismarck and the Prussian nation could turn may not be as hard to understand as first thought. Everyone in Frankfurt knew that the Prussian nation would have to distance themselves from the Rothschild Bank given the Rothschilds' close diplomatic relations with Prussia's main rival—Austria-Hungary. Yet neither Bismarck nor the Prussian nation wanted to burn their bridges and totally alienate the Rothschilds. What better way to avoid this fissure with the Rothschilds than to ask the Rothschilds to provide the name of an alternative bank.
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