The Ilse Blank-Mezger-Hesselberger Foundation, based in Munich, was established on 6 February 2023. It goes back to Ilse ‘Steffi’ Blank, who came from an upper-middle-class German Jewish family in the city. With no descendants of her own, she left her entire estate to the Foundation.
The Foundation’s mission is to promote art and its preservation, to carry out research into Jewish life with a focus on Munich and Bavaria, and to encourage historical education and social awareness.

The Founder

Ilse ‘Steffi’ Blank was born on 2 October 1923 in Munich. She was the only daughter of the doctor Dr Gustav Blank and his wife Ilse Blank, née Mezger. Her grandmother was a member of the Hesselberger family.

The family belonged to the city’s upper middle class, many of whom were financially successful, active in social life, and patrons of the arts and culture.

The Nazi reign of terror brought an existential break. Jews were gradually excluded from society. Ilse and her parents survived persecution and war only under great stress and danger. Many of her relatives were victims of the Shoah, and only a few were able to emigrate.

Ilse ‘Steffi’ Blank died on 8 February 2021 at the age of 97. Throughout her life, she was a passionate supporter of cultural and artistic activities in Munich.

FAMILY AND ORIGINS

During the First World War, Dr Gustav Blank conducted scientific research on gas attacks and their effects in military hospitals. This work earned him a reputation in medicine. Originally from northern Germany, he married the much younger Ilse Mezger in Munich after the war and set up a practice there.

Ilse Mezger grew up in upper-middle-class circumstances; her family lived in a villa on Karolinenplatz. Her father was a merchant and her mother, Elsa, née Hesselberger, came from an influential family in the city. Ilse’s uncle Franz successfully ran a large, state-of-the-art tannery and leather goods factory in the city. An industrial magnate and councillor of commerce, he was not only an economic force to be reckoned with, but also a strong supporter of social and cultural causes. During the First World War, for example, he built a military hospital for the wounded on the Karolinenplatz site at his own expense, at a cost of 500,000 Reichsmark. The family’s valuable collection of clocks was donated to the Bavarian National Museum.

His niece Ilse Blank moved into a flat on Brienner Strasse with Dr Gustav Blank. Their daughter Ilse ‛Steffi’ Blank was born in 1923.

FROM 1933

The persecution of Jews in Germany began with Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor. They were systematically dispossessed, disenfranchised and persecuted to the point of physical annihilation. Under political pressure, the family moved to the Schwabing district of Munich. As a ‘half-Jew’, Ilse ‘Steffi’ Blank was subsequently excluded from attending a regular school. She spent the last years of the war hiding in the countryside with friends.

Her mother, Ilse Blank, was listed for deportation several times, and it was only by making large payments to party functionaries that she was able to buy her release – until 1945: the American invasion saved her at the last moment. Dr Gustav Blank, who was loyal to his Jewish wife, had to do forced labour for a time in a mine in Thuringia. The family survived the Nazi era with severe psychological trauma. Most of their relatives did not survive the Shoah.

Garden room
of the Blank House

AFTER 1945

The Blanks resumed their middle-class life in their home in Schwabing, to which they had not had access at times during the war. Ilse’s father practised as a doctor there until 1962.

The family participated actively in and supported the social and cultural life of the city. Gustav Blank died in 1965 and Ilse Blank in 1987, and Ilse ‘Steffi’ Blank lived alone in the house from then on. She also generously supported art and culture in Munich until her death in 2021. As she had no children, she left her estate to the Blank-Mezger-Hesselberger Foundation.

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The Mission

The mission of the Ilse Blank-Mezger-Hesselberger Foundation rests on two main pillars which are closely linked to the biography of its founder: The promotion of art and artists, and research into Jewish life with a focus on Munich and Bavaria.

ART

As the Blank Art Foundation, the Foundation primarily promotes figurative art, applied art and the preservation of cultural assets and art treasures. It supports education in these areas, emerging talent and established artists with special projects in line with the Foundation’s mission.

HISTORY AND EDUCATION

The Ilse Blank-Mezger-Hesselberger Foundation is dedicated to researching the history of Jewish citizens with a focus on Munich and Bavaria, in particular the Blank, Mezger and Hesselberger families. It supports projects by young academics and collaborates with universities, contemporary history and Jewish institutions.

Researching the past in order to learn lessons for the future is one of the Foundation’s goals, derived from the knowledge gained about the Nazi reign of terror. Our mission and social concern is to educate people about anti-Semitism and other ideologies hostile to humanity and freedom.

Foundation Headquarters

The Foundation’s seat and administrative centre is the former home of Ilse Blank in the Schwabing district of Munich. The historic integrity of the building is being preserved while it is being extended and transformed into a three-part foundation ensemble according to the plans of London-based John Pawson Architects.

Our house is also a place of encounter and remembrance, of research and artistic creativity. It will provide a home for selected students and artists and a space for public events and exhibitions.

Picture left : The historic Blank House built by Oskar Pixis
Picture right: The extension project planned by John Pawson

Das Team

MANAGEMENT BOARD

ANNE KAUM

Chairwoman of the Management Board

Business Graduate / Business Administration and Marketing for large and medium-sized companies / Many years of voluntary work in the ‘Unser Land’ network for the region Munich and Bavaria

MICHAEL NISCHKE

Member of the Management Board

Internationally active gallery owner and curator in the field of photography / photographic art,
Member of the German Photographic Society (DGPh)

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Dr. MARKUS KAUM

Chairman of the Board of Trustees

Lawyer and entrepreneur in Munich / Long-standing adviser to Mrs Blank, her executor and founder of the Ilse Blank Foundation

WINFRIED KAUM

Member of the Board of Trustees.

Lawyer in Munich / Honorary City Councillor of the City of Munich

Dr. BORIS MARIACHER

Member of the Board of Trustees.

Lawyer and entrepreneur in Munich /
Long-standing voluntary involvement in the Rotary Club of Munich-Solln

Funding applications

We support young, committed talent and forward-looking projects in the arts, especially painting, photography, video art, restoration, as well as history and education with a focus on Jewish life.

To this end, the Foundation works with leading universities and academies to support outstanding young talent in the fields of history and art.

We award scholarships and prizes and are planning an interdisciplinary college with research, studio and residential facilities.

We also support unique project ideas by established artists as well as significant research, exhibition and educational projects in line with the aims of the Foundation.

Support the Foundation

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to support our goals and work with words, deeds or donations. Do you have an idea for a cooperation project? We would be happy to evaluate the proposal together with you.
Of course we will provide you with a tax receipt for any donations you make. We are a recognised charitable foundation.

We look forward to hearing from you: info@ilseblank-stiftung.de