Berthold Beitz
Berthold Beitz (September 26, 1913 - July 30, 2013) was a German steel industrialist. He was the head of the Krupp steel conglomerate beginning in the 1950s. He was credited with helping to lead the re-industrialization of the Ruhr Valley and rebuilding Germany into an industrial power. He gained acclaim for and saving some 250 Jewish workers during World War II by declaring them to be essential workers at an oil facility in Poland. In 1973, he received the Righteous Among the Nations title awarded by the Israeli Yad Vashem, the highest honor given to a non-Jew, for saving Jews.
Early years
Beitz was born in 1913 in Zemmin, located in a portion of Pomerania that was then part of eastern Germany and later became part of Poland. After beginning his career as a banker, he was hired in 1938 by Shell Oil Company in Hamburg.[1]
World War II
Beitz remained in the employ of Shell Oil when World War II began in 1939. Following Germany's invasion and occupation of Poland, Beitz was assigned to supervise the Boryslav oil fields located in what is now Ukraine. Given the importance of the oil fields to the German war effort, Beitz was able to designate workers as essential to the war effort.[1]
In August 1942, he used his authority to identify essential workers to save 250 Jews from deportation to the Belzec extermination camp.[2] He reportedly issued fake work permits to some Jews and was able to free hundreds of Jews, "some from trains which were en route to death camps."[3] Together with his wife, Beitz has also been credited with hiding Jews in his home, supplying Jews with food, and using information received from Nazi officials to provide advance warning of danger to Jews in the Boryslav area.[3][4]
Beitz later explained his motivation: "I saw how people were shot, how they were lined up in the night. My motives were not political; they were purely humane, moral motives."[1] In another interview, he explained: "It wasn't anti-Fascism, nor was it resistance. We saw from dawn to dusk, as close as could be, what was happening to Boryslav's Jews. When you see a mother holding her children being shot, while you yourself have children, your reaction has to be completely different."[3]
For his efforts in saving Jewish workers, Beitz received Poland's highest civilian honor.[1] In 1973, he was also honored by Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust memorial, as a "Righteous Among the Nations", the organization's highest honor for non-Jews who saved Jews from the Holocaust.[2] Following Beitz's death, Ronald S. Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, called Beitz "one of the great Germans of the past century."[2] In 2000, he also received the Leo-Baeck Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Central Council of Jews in Germany.[4][5]
Post-war business career
After the war, Beitz became the head of Iduna, and insurance company. His innovative business methods and compensation brought him attention. In 1953, Alfried Krupp hired him to become chairman of the Krupp steel corporation. He remained with the company for 60 years and helped build its into a publicly traded conglomerate, merging the company in the 1970s to form ThyssenKrupp. Beitz has also been credited with helping to lead the re-industrialization of the Ruhr Valley where Krupp's operations were based.[1]
After Alfried Krupp's death in 1968, Beitz served as executor and persuaded the Krupp heirs to establish a charitable foundation known as the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation. The foundation still owns 25% of ThyssenKrupp.[1] Beitz remained active in the foundation and led its effort to fund the creation of the Museum Folkwang in Essen.[1]
From 1972 to 1988 Beitz was member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and between 1984 and 1988 its vice-president.
In July 2013, Beitz died at age 99 at Kampen, a resort on the island of Sylt off the northern coast of Germany.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Melissa Eddy (August 1, 2013). "Berthold Beitz, German Steel Industrialist Who Saved Jews, Dies at 99". The New York Times.
- ^ a b c "Berthold Beitz, ThyssenKrupp patriarch who saved wartime Jews, dies aged 99". Deutsche Welle. July 31, 2013.
- ^ a b c "Berthold Beitz, savior of hundreds of Jews during the Holocaust, dies at 99". Jewish World News. August 1, 2013.
- ^ a b "German magnate Berthold Beitz who saved Jews in WWII dies". BBC. July 31, 2013.
- ^ "Berthold Beitz: Industrialist who saved hundreds of Jews from the Nazis". The Independent. August 1, 2013.