Sal. Oppenheim survived the Nazis under another name, then lost its independence over loans to the Karstadt heiress

Salomon Oppenheim Jr. founded the bank in Bonn in 1789 and moved it to Cologne in 1798. In January 1936, under Nazi party pressure, the Jewish partners Otto Kaufmann, Wilhelm Chan and Hermann Leubsdorff left. On 20 May 1938 the bank was renamed Bankhaus Pferdmenges & Co., after partner Robert Pferdmenges. The brothers Waldemar and Friedrich Carl von Oppenheim stayed as hidden co-owners. In 1944 the Gestapo arrested both; Friedrich Carl was sentenced to death and freed when the Allies arrived. The Oppenheim name returned in 1947. Alfred Freiherr von Oppenheim led the partners from 1978 and died on 5 January 2005. In 2007 the bank had a balance sheet of €41 billion and was described as Europe's largest private bank^†. In September 2008 it took 28.6 percent of Arcandor, owner of Karstadt and Quelle, from heiress Madeleine Schickedanz; the bank and its partners had lent her €380 million. Arcandor filed for insolvency in June 2009. The bank lost €1.065 billion that year. Deutsche Bank announced a takeover on 28 October 2009 and paid about €1 billion. On 9 July 2015 the Cologne Regional Court convicted four former partners of breach of trust. Friedrich Carl Janssen received 2 years and 10 months. Matthias Graf von Krockow, Dieter Pfundt and Christopher von Oppenheim received suspended terms of up to two years. The Federal Court of Justice closed the case on 18 July 2018. Deutsche Bank retired the brand on 30 June 2018. In 2026 no Oppenheim owns the bank.