Josef Garbáty

Josef Garbáty and his wife, Rosa Rahel (née Kaplan, 1855–1915), had two sons: Eugen Garbáty (1880–1970) and Moritz Garbáty (1892–1965). The family emigrated from the city of Lida, which had been part of the Russian Empire since 1795 and lay within the Pale of Settlement, to Prussia.

At the end of the 19th century, Garbáty opened his first cigarette factory on Schönhauser Allee in Berlin, producing the successful brand Königin von Saba (“Queen of Sheba”). In 1906, the factory moved to Hadlichstraße in Berlin-Pankow, where it operated until the late 1930s as one of the largest companies in Pankow.

Moritz Garbáty founded the Garbáty Sports Club (G.S.C.) and served as its chairman. The club’s colors were blue and yellow, and the cyclists wore jerseys with the Garbáty name. The Garbáty company also sponsored various sporting events, including races, cycling competitions, and football tournaments. In 1925, for example, the company donated the Garbáty Trophy for the International Long-Distance Cycling Race Zürich–Berlin, organized by the German Cyclists’ Federation.

thumb|“De-Jewification” notice for the Garbáty property, 1933

thumb|Jewish orphanage on Berliner Straße

Directly next to Garbáty’s cigarette factory was an orphanage for Jewish children at Berliner Straße 120/121. Garbáty supported it generously until it was forcibly evacuated by the Nazis and later used as a Pankow branch of the Reich Main Security Office.