Zigarettenfabrik Zepter

Hidden behind the modern apartments, the Zigarettenfabrik Zepter whispers a tale of resilience. The Zigarettenfabrik Zepter stood on what is now Bertolt-Brecht-Allee. It churned out tobacco products until the late 1960s. The story begins with Hugo Leibling, a cigarette trader. In the mid-1920s, he began producing cigarettes in the backyard of a five-sided house. This house belonged to a baker named Emil Israel. Leibling operated under the name of Wolf (Wilhelm) Lande. Nearby, on Laubestraße, Julius Lewin (Lewy) ran the “Yramos” cigarette factory. Lande also owned a building on the same street. With the rise of the Nazis, Lande’s Jewish business was taken over. First, it went to “Macedonia,” run by Karl Geisinger. Later, it became the National Cigarette Factory “Neues Deutschland” GmbH, managed by Karl Weibel. In 1938, under Hanns Krausche & Co., the factory adopted the name “Zepter.” Production at the Zigarettenfabrik Zepter continued into the late 1960s, under East German rule. Remarkably, the factory buildings survived the February 1945 air raids largely unscathed, while surrounding residences suffered significant damage. By the 1970s, the Zigarettenfabrik Zepter, along with two other locations on Mohorner Straße and Klingestraße, became part of VEB Wohnraummöbel Dresden, a furniture manufacturer. The site was initially slated for redevelopment under a new urban plan. This plan was later shelved. Instead, single-family and multi-family homes were built around the old factory building in the 2010s, obscuring its presence. The Zigarettenfabrik Zepter, once a prominent landmark, now stands as a hidden testament to Dresden’s industrial past.