Eduard Schmitz (businessman)

Eduard Schmitz (born May 4, 1897 in Le Havre ; † June 23, 1956 in Zurich ) was a German businessman and cultural promoter.

biography

Schmitz was the son of a Swiss . Growing up in Le Havre, the family moved to Dresden in 1903 , where they maintained numerous contacts with artists and writers. Schmitz completed a bank apprenticeship. From 1920 he worked as a wool merchant in Bremen . He also took care of this area due to his artistic inclinations. In 1933 he acquired German citizenship. Its importance in the cotton trade increased. From 1936 to 1941 he was finally a board member of the Association of Cotton Wholesalers and, from 1943, of the Bremen Cotton Exchange . In 1939 he became a member of the board and soon became chairman of the Philharmonic Society in Bremen. Through his negotiating skills, he prevented the dissolution of the company during the Nazi era . The Americans interned him in Darmstadt in 1945/46 for political reasons. In 1949 the Philharmonic Society elected him again as chairman. When rebuilding his company after the war, he failed to overcome the difficulties. In 1952 he tried a new start in Switzerland.

literature

• Herbert Black Forest : The Great Bremen Lexicon . 2nd, updated, revised and expanded edition. Edition Temmen, Bremen 2003, ISBN 3-86108-693-X .