Karl Amson Joel, Billy Joel's grandfather

Karl Amson Joel was born in 1889 in Colberg, Germany, about 40 miles west of Nuremberg. He expanded upon his father's textile trade, becoming both a manufacturer and retailer of textiles and clothing. In 1928 he founded a mail order business in Nuremberg, which quickly rose to become one of the three foremost mail order textile firms in Germany.

After the rise of Nazism in the early 1930's, Joel found it increasingly difficult to conduct business. As a highly visible and succesful Jew, he was targeted for all manner of discrimination. Like so many others, he was eventually forced to sell his business to a non-Jew, Josef Neckermann, at an extremely low price.

He was fortunate enough to be able to escape to Switzerland with his wife and son in 1938. Not surprisingly, he was unable to access the proceeds of his business sale, which were supposedly in a trust account in Germany.

The family wanted to find a place they could call home, moving to France, then to England, then to Cuba, and at last reaching the United States in 1942. Joel established a small hair ribbon business in the Bronx.

In 1957 Joel got two million German Marks compensation from the Neckermann family; the equivalent of roughly $500,000. A very tidy sum in 1957, but not nearly what the company had been worth at the time of its "Aryanization".

Karl Amson Joel returned to Nuremberg in 1964, and remained until his death in 1982 at the age of 92.

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