Edwin Bechstein
Edwin Bechstein (born February 11, 1859 in Berlin ; † September 15, 1934 in Berchtesgaden ) was a piano producer and supporter of Adolf Hitler .
Live and act
Piano producer
Together with his younger brothers Carl and Johannes , Edwin Bechstein took over the pianoforte factory after the death of his father Carl Bechstein in 1900 . Edwin led the instrument making, while Carl led the business. Johannes died in 1906.
After a dispute with his brother, Edwin Bechstein had his share in the company paid out in 1916 and left the company. When the factory was converted into a stock corporation in 1923, Edwin Bechstein and his wife Helene , who had attracted attention through anti-Semitic comments, bought their way back into the company.
Support of Hitler
Like his wife, Bechstein was an admirer of Adolf Hitler . During his imprisonment in Landsberg, he visited him a total of six times. After his release from prison, Hitler bought a car from Benz & Cie. He paid for this vehicle from a loan that Edwin Bechstein not only guaranteed but also repaid.
At the end of the Weimar Republic , Bechstein's Berlin apartment also served conspiratorial purposes. On January 29, 1933, one day before the " seizure of power " , Hitler met there with Colonel General Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord , the chief of the army command.
Death and grave
After Bechstein died in Berchtesgaden on September 15, 1934, the body was transferred to Berlin, where Bechstein was given a state funeral on September 20 in the presence of Hitler and leading NSDAP politicians , such as Reich Minister of the Interior Wilhelm Frick and Max Amann , at Sophienfriedhof II in Berlin-Mitte was buried. The tomb has not been preserved.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Ernst Klee : The culture lexicon for the Third Reich. Who was what before and after 1945. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 978-3-10-039326-5 , p. 36.
- ^ Hans-Jürgen Mende: Lexicon of Berlin tombs . Haude & Spener, Berlin 2006. p. 47.
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Bechstein, Edwin |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German piano producer |
DATE OF BIRTH | February 11, 1859 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Berlin |
DATE OF DEATH | September 15, 1934 |
Place of death | Berchtesgaden |