Family of Kommerzialrat Josef Porges (Vienna-Genoa)
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This page documents the family of Kommerzialrat Josef Porges (b. ca. 1860-1861,
† Vienna 22 January 1926, age 65), former Chief Director of the Austrian Compressed-Yeast
and Spirits Office (Preßhefe- und Spiritusstelle), and his wife
Pauline Porges née Weißberger. The family is one of the most
cosmopolitan in the entire corpus — with five children dispersed across Vienna, Genoa,
London, Paris and (tragically) Shanghai. Documentation rests on the patriarch's 1926 cremation
announcement (the only crematorium-burial in this part of the corpus) and the 1932 announcement
for his son Dr. Albert Porges, killed at 33 in Shanghai while serving as Director of American
Express.
Family of Kommerzialrat Josef Porges and Pauline Weissberger |
 Kommerzialrat Josef Porges (b. ca. 1860-1861, † Vienna 22 January 1926, age 65)
Former Chief Director of the Austrian Compressed-Yeast and Spirits Office
Cremation : Vienna Crematorium, Tuesday 26 January 1926, 11:30 a.m.
married Pauline Porges née Weißberger (alive 1926, alive 1932 as widow / mother)
Hendra Porges (alive 1926, alive 1932)
Marie Porges (alive 1926, alive 1932)
Friedl / Ing. Fritz Porges (alive 1926, alive 1932) — engineer
Albert Porges (Genoa, alive 1926 ; later Dr. Albert Porges — Director, American Express Company Inc., Shanghai — tragically deceased 24 January 1932 at age 33)
Paul Porges — Genoa (alive 1926, alive 1932 in London)
Primary-source faire-parts |
Neue Freie Presse, Wien, 24 January 1926
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Faire-part of Kommerzialrat Josef Porges (Vienna, † 22 January 1926, age 65)
The Vienna faire-part for the patriarch identifies him as
« Kommerzialrat » (Commercial Councillor, an honorific title conferred
by the imperial government and retained in the Republic) and former Chief Director (ehem.
Oberdirektor) of the Pressed-Yeast and Spirits Office of Austria (the state-regulated
yeast and alcohol monopoly).
He died suddenly on 22 January 1926 in his 66th year. The faire-part announces
his cremation : « Der teuere Verewigte wird Dienstag den 26. d. M. um 11:30 Uhr Vormittag
im Krematorium der Stadt Wien den Flammen übergeben » — one of only a handful
of cremations in the entire Bohemian-Vienna Porges corpus, signalling the family's cosmopolitan
secularising trajectory.
Mourners : the children Albert and Paul Porges (Genoa), Hendra, Marie, Friedl, plus the widow
Pauline Weißberger.
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Neue Freie Presse, Wien-London-Genua-Paris, 29 January 1932
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Faire-part of Dr. Albert Porges (Shanghai, † 24 January 1932, age 33)
Dr. Albert Porges, son of Kommerzialrat Josef and Pauline Weißberger, was killed at 33 in
Shanghai on 24 January 1932 while serving as Director of the American Express Company Inc. The
faire-part is dated and addressed across four cities — Vienna, London, Genoa, Paris
— reflecting the family's diaspora after the 1926 patriarch's death.
The opening words « Unser Stolz, unser lieber... » ("Our pride, our
dear...") and the description « auf tragische Weise entrissen »
("snatched from us in tragic circumstances") suggest a sudden, violent death — possibly
in the political turbulence of Shanghai in early 1932 (the Chinese-Japanese January 28 Incident
opened the same week as Albert's death).
Mourners : Pauline Porges (mother), siblings Hendra, Maria, Dr. Paul, Ing. Fritz Porges.
German original (excerpt) :
« Unser Stolz, unser lieber Dr. Albert Porges, Direktor der American Express
Company Inc., Shanghai, wurde uns am 24. Janner 1932, 33 Jahre alt, auf tragische Weise entrissen.
Pauline Porges, Mutter. Hendra, Maria, Dr. Paul, Ing. Fritz Porges, Geschwister. Wien, London, Genua,
Paris, am 29. Janner 1932. »
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