August Wessels

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August Wessels (born April 28, 1870 in Oldenburg ; † November 3, 1952 in Westheim near Augsburg ) was a German shoemaker and entrepreneur.

Life

Wessels founded a shoe factory in Augsburg-Oberhausen in 1895 . In 1898 he had a new factory built on what was then Feldstrasse, and in 1903 the company was converted into a GmbH. Wessels mainly produced sandals, linen and sports shoes. The street on which the factory is located is now named after August Wessels.

Entrance of the former shoe factory Berneis-Wessels, August-Wessels-Straße in Augsburg-Oberhausen

Wessels built workers' houses in Schubertstrasse to the south. The former factory and the residential buildings built around it shape this district to this day.

Around 1900 the factory was the "largest German special factory for sandals, linen and sports shoes". Between 1903 and 1912 the factory was expanded again and the building expanded to its present size. In the 1920s, the facade was further increased and renewed. Jean Keller , Eduard Rottmann and Philipp Jakob Manz worked as architects here .

In 1911 Wessels founded a branch in Berlin and converted the company into an AG, from 1912 he also produced leather shoes, at times up to 1,000 people were employed in Wessels' company. In 1921 the company merged with the "Fränkische Schuhfabriken Nürnberg" and was then called "Vereinigte Schuhfabriken Berneis-Wessels AG". In 1923 Wessels left the company and founded his own factory "August Wessels Original" in Lechhausen. In 1931, after the threat of closure, he took over the old factory again in the form of a GmbH. In the two world wars he worked for the army administration. 1945 Dietrich Bahner senior became a partner. Wessels died in 1952.

South view of the factory

Further history of the factory

In 1965 the company had 2,500 employees, but after that it began to decline rapidly. The business was deregistered in 1968. The factory was taken over by the Romika Group , but the workforce continued to fall, to around 522 in 1975. At the beginning of 1982 the location was closed and the 425 Dismiss employees.

Family grave of August Wessels

August Wessels was buried in the Protestant cemetery in Augsburg . In January 2018, a grandson's application for an honorary grave for Wessels was rejected by the city of Augsburg after extensive tests, also because Wessels had already been honored with a street name. The descendants of Wessel were no longer able to take care of the grave. Shortly afterwards there was an initiative of the cemetery administration of the Protestant cemetery, which wants to take care of the grave together with a gardening company and a stonemason.

literature

  • Twenty-five years of August Wessel's shoe factory, Augsburg: January 1st, 1920 , Augsburg: JP Himmer 1920

Web links / sources

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Grandson wants a grave of honor for August Wessels , Augsburger Allgemeine January 30, 2018, accessed on July 31, 2019
  2. ↑ Wessel's final resting place is saved in: Augsburger Allgemeine February 2, 2018
personal data
SURNAME Wessels, August
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German shoemaker and manufacturer
DATE OF BIRTH April 28, 1870
PLACE OF BIRTH Oldenburg
DATE OF DEATH 3rd November 1952
Place of death Westheim near Augsburg