Louis Nathaniel de Rothschild
| Louis Nathaniel de Rothschild | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Ludwig Nathaniel Freiherr von Rothschild 5 March 1882 Vienna, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | 15 January 1955 (aged 72) Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| Nationality | Austrian |
| Occupation | Banker |
| Spouse(s) | Hildegard Johanna von Auersperg (m. 1946) |
| Parent(s) | Albert Salomon von Rothschild and Bettina Caroline de Rothschild |
Louis Nathaniel de Rothschild (German: Ludwig Nathaniel Freiherr von Rothschild) was an Austrian baron from the famous Rothschild family. He was born in Vienna on 5 March 1882 and died of heart failure while swimming in Montego Bay, Jamaica on 15 January 1955.
He was the son of Albert Salomon Anselm von Rothschild. He owned a spectacular palace in Vienna, the Palais Rothschild, that housed an exquisite art collection and antiques.
After the Anschluß of Austria to Nazi Germany in March 1938, he was arrested at the airport at Aspern and taken into custody by the Nazis because he was a distinguished member of the Jewish oligarchy. When the Nazis took over Austria in the Anschluss of 1938, Baron de Rothschild, then head of the Austrian banking operations of the family, was held prisoner by the Nazi secret police. He was released only after lengthy negotiations between the family and the Nazis and upon payment of $21,000,000, believed to have been the largest ransom payment in history for any individual.
Finally allowed to leave Austria, Louis survived the Holocaust and Second World War.
All of the Rothschild possessions were plundered and subsequently "Aryanised". The city-palace of the family was destroyed after the war. The baron never received most of his former belongings back, since most of the paintings were taken over by the Austrian state, which did not allow the paintings to leave the country. In 1998, over 200 art works were returned to the Rothschild heirs by the Austrian Government, and were placed at Christie's in London for auction in 1999.
In 1946 he married the countess Hildegard Johanna von Auersperg (1895–1981) and lived in East Barnard, Vermont (United States) and England. He died childless in 1955.
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