Emil Possehl
Johannes Ludwig Emil Possehl (* 13. February 1850 in Lübeck ; † 4. February 1919 ) was a Lubeck merchant , entrepreneur and patron of the early days and the early 20th century.
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Life
Emil Possehl came in 1850 as the first child of Ludwig Possehl and Dorothea Euphrosine Mathilde, nee. von Melle, a granddaughter of Johann Hermann von Melles , was born. After finishing school and an apprenticeship in the timber wholesale business, he went to the Bonn Hussars as a one-year volunteer . In 1873 his father gave him the management of the L. Possehl & Co. trading company . In 1889 he was the sole owner.
In view of the new Thomas process, Possehl quickly recognized the importance of phosphorus-containing ores from Sweden . He acquired stakes in Scandinavian blast furnace and mining companies (ore, sulfur and copper gravel); own steamers have been calling at the ore ports of Luleå and Narvik since 1898 . Since then, Possehl has been one of the most important arch agents in Europe. His purchase guarantees significantly favored the construction of the Ofotbahn (1896–1903).
Emil Possehl was Lübeck's most important entrepreneur and richest citizen since the turn of the century. His energetic work in the Chamber of Commerce, Citizenship and Senate since 1901 has been primarily concerned with Lübeck's economic and transport policy interests. He was a co-founder of the local industrial association, an active advocate of the Elbe-Trave Canal, which was completed in 1900, and pioneer of the Vogelfluglinie, which was only realized in 1963 . At the laying of the foundation stone of the canal on May 31, 1895, he shod the granite stone with the silver hammer after Alfred Stooß and before Friedrich Eduard Schacht .
During his lifetime Possehl made a living as a benefactor and donated Lübeck the city theater property in the Beckergrube . At the suggestion of his lawyer Ernst Wittern , in 1903 Possehl hired the Belgian architect Henry van de Velde to renovate his summer house on the Travemünde beach promenade. Wittern also allegedly tried to include van de Velde in the architectural competition for the new building of the city theater, which was won by Martin Dülfer . In 1905 van de Velde and Possehl fell out because of the changes Possehl had made to the summer house. Two paneled, partially furnished cabinets from his furnishings are now in the Museum of Art and Commerce in Hamburg .
Possehl was a co-founder of the Pan-German Association , in whose organization, however, he did not take any office. Possehl was knight of the Swedish Vasa Order (1896) and Austro-Hungarian consul (1897-1901).
The Emperor founded in October 1898, the Red Cross Medal in three classes. On the occasion of his birthday, January 27, she was at the Lübeck citizens in 2nd class Miss Julie Kierulff, Mrs. Consul Bahncke (born Fehling), Ms. assistant medical Türk and Mr Landrichter a. D. Priess and in 3rd grade to Consul Possehl, Dr. Wichmann , Attorney Priess, Consul Rehder, Consul Marty, Dr. Hammerich, Dr. Hofstaetter, Physikus Riedel, Dr. Schorer and the businessman Schetelig .
In November 1914, he was the first senator to visit the Lübeck regiment of the 162 in the field. During the First World War he was charged with treason , but acquitted in 1916 of the culpable act of condemnation by hostile powers (§ 89 StGB). At the end of 1916 he set up a foundation worth 500,000 marks, the income of which was intended for the war invalids of the two Lübeck battalions of the 162nd Regiment and for the relatives of the fallen. After the end of the war, he welcomed the regiment returning home at the Lübeck main station .
His wife Wilhelmine Possehl, née Schön, died on November 15, 1922.
Tomb
Like every deceased, the senator was given a simple grave in the general churchyard .
This was changed after a corresponding application was made and approved in the Senate.
The sculptor Professor Pagels , who comes from Lübeck, lives in Berlin and was buried in the family grave in Lübeck in 1959 , was commissioned to create a tomb worthy of the dead.
The massive, monumental -looking mark rises from yellowish-tinted stone . The basic form follows on from crypt vaults and hereditary burials , as can be found in the cemetery. The building for the sarcophagi is located above the ground . The mausoleum stands out due to the flat curved dome , on which there is a stylized flame as a crown. Eight large relief figures , two each around the corners of the grave, are attached to it as guardians. In the middle of the front side is a medallion with the characteristic features of the senator in profile, each with a male angel figure on each side. On the two adjoining sides, four figures - they embody mining, shipping, trade and industrial work - indicate his work in these areas. In the wall opposite the portrait relief is the gate with the only inscription, his name, above it. On both sides it is flanked by mourning female figures.
Possehl Foundation
The Possehl Foundation , which was set up in a will and is the sole shareholder of the company, has been promoting social and cultural institutions in the Hanseatic city to this day; their special achievement is the preservation of historical buildings in the Hanseatic city.
Possehl wrote in his will as the primary purpose of the foundation “The promotion of everything good and beautiful in Lübeck”.
meaning
The social and economic history of Possehl with its economic rise is almost unknown. There are no references to the once important trading company in economic history, although its activities not only opened up the Swedish ore market for European heavy industry, but also secured the supply of Swedish ores and semi-finished products to the German armaments industry during the First World War.
Literary afterlife
Emil Possehl was the godfather of Jacob Bording's character in Ida Boy-Ed's A Royal Merchant (1910). In Heinrich Mann's work he finds himself as the speculator Pidohn in Eugénie or Die Bürgerzeit (1928). Possehl can also be clearly recognized in the figure of the nameless businessman in Heinrich Mann's A Love Story from 1946.
Awards and honors
- 1896: Wasaorden
- In memory of the Senator who died the previous year, the Senate added the name "Possehlstraße" to the street area of the old railway embankment , Holstentor - Geniner Straße , on February 4, 1920.
- Emil-Possehl-Schule - In 2005 the new school that was created from the Gewerbeschule III next to the St. Matthäi-Kirche on Schwartauer Allee was named after him, one of the city's most important sons
Fonts
- "Wehrmacht and Working Life". Speech given at the 1st general board meeting of the German Defense Association in Berlin on May 11, 1912.
- engl .: An economical war will throw Germany on her knees: a speech made on the 11th May 1912. Bordeaux: [sn] [G. Delmas] 1912 (according to other information: London 1916)
- Digitized , University of Pennsylvania
- Digitized , University of Toronto via Internet Archive
References
literature
- Jan-Jasper Fast: From craftsman to entrepreneur. The Possehl family from Lübeck . Schmidt-Römhild, Lübeck 2000, ISBN 3-7950-0471-3 .
- Dörte Folkers; Cay Folkers: Henry van de Velde's work for Ernst Wittern in Lübeck. Frankfurt am Main; Bern; New York: Lang 1983 (European University Writings: Series 28, Art History; Vol. 24) ISBN 3-8204-7647-4
- Jan-Jasper Fast: Possehl, Emil. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 20, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-428-00201-6 , p. 655 ( digitized version ).
- Karl-Ernst Sinner: Tradition and Progress. Senate and Mayor of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck 1918-2007 , Volume 46 of Series B of the publications on the history of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck published by the Archives of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck , Lübeck 2008, p.
Web links
- Bonn Hussars (PDF; 493 kB)
- Millions for Lübeck - the Possehl legacy
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bonn Hussars
- ^ The laying of the foundation stone for the Elbe-Trave Canal. In: Lübeckische Blätter ; Volume 37, number 44, edition of June 2, 1895, pp. 297–301.
- ↑ Fast, pp. 154-159
- ↑ Joach. Ludo. Albr. sen. Priess
- ↑ Georg Albr. jr. Priess
- ↑ James Carl Rehder
- ↑ William Martty
- ↑ Ad. Joh. Carl Hammerich
- ↑ Ed. Carl. Gust. Hofstaetter
- ↑ Local Notes. In: Lübeckische Blätter , Volume 41, No. 6, edition of February 5, 1899, p. 67.
- ↑ Otto Dziobek : History of the Infantry Regiment Lübeck (3rd Hanseatic) No. 162. 1922.
- ↑ Father-city sheets ; Lübeck, December 4, 1921, article: Senator Possehl's tomb
- ↑ Chronicle. In: Vaterstädtische Blätter , year 1919/20, No. 11, edition of February 29, 1920, p. 44.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Possehl, Emil |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Possehl, Johannes Ludwig Emil |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German businessman, entrepreneur and patron |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 13, 1850 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Lübeck |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 4, 1919 |
| Place of death | Lübeck |