The Herbsts. History of Manufacturers

The Herbsts - History of Manufacturers is the first attempt in presenting the history of the family, but also a contribution to finding out information about the culture and everyday life of the middle and upper classes of Łódź and Sopot. The authors of the Herbsts’ biography, Dorota Berbelska and Magdalena Michalska-Szałacka, rely primarily on newly discovered and unused before archives that have now filled the gap in the current state of our knowledge about the manufacturer's family. The narrative core of the book is created by the non-linear story of the Herbst family, for which chronology is not a frame of relationship. The main levels unfold during the interwar period and World War II. The fate of Leo, one of the sons of Matilda and Edward Herbst, and his wife Alexandra come to the fore. Many years of source searches conducted in Polish, German and Russian archives, acquisition of often only trace information, allowed them to show the fortunes of individual representatives of the Herbst family almost till modern times. A significant complement to archival queries are witnesses’ accounts, or oral history. A breakthrough in research was establishing contact with Ursula Hadrian – granddaughter of Matilda and Edward Herbst.

The book does not offer a full compilation of plots related to the Herbsts’ activities. First of all, the authors sketch everyday life of one of most eminent industrialists’ families and, being aware of the multi-layered realities in which the Herbsts operated, they only signal some selected issues, such as their broadly understood economic activity against political, national or social contexts.

Certainly The Herbsts - History of Manufacturers  will be an attractive reading for those interested in the past of Łódź and Sopot, and the life of the people who created the history of these cities.

The publisher of the book is the Herbst Palace Museum, Muzeum Sztuki in Łodź and Sopot Museum.

From the review by

P ro f . d r . h a b . Ka z i m i e rz B a d z i a k (University of Łódź)

One of the important themes of the book which is worth highlighting

is personal fate and fortune of individual representatives

of the Herbst family until almost today.

The result of many years of research, often based on

only traces of information, allowed to create an extremely clear

picture of this family with its, often complicated,

fate including their life during World War I, World War II

and immediately after WWII. So the authors

should really be praised for their persistence in achieving

their goal, despite constantly increasing difficulties,

the goal which in the end exceeded all expectations.

I would also like to emphasise the authors’ pursuit

of perfect preparation of the text,

language and style, so much that it all could guarantee

a favourable reception among potential readers.

From the review by

P ro f . d r . h a b . T a d e u s z S te g n e r (University of Gdansk)

By establishing facts about the history of the multi-branched

Herbst family, the authors undertook a job similar to that of a detective,

collecting information scattered across various sources. We need to

praise them for that. Not all of the information was accessible but maybe

thanks to this publication some new material will start to appear.

Interestingly shown is the attitude and problem of loyalty

of individual family members towards the changing state authorities in Łódź:

Russian, Polish or German.

The family history is presented against a broad background,

especially of the development of Łódź and Sopot. The book is engaging

and it reads really well.