Gertrude Seltmann-Meentzen
Gertrud Seltmann-Meentzen (born June 14, 1901 in Leipzig , † January 14, 1985 in Betzigau , actually Johanne Sophie Gertrud Seltmann ) was a German entrepreneur in the field of cosmetics development, manufacture and sales and one of the pioneers for the modern organic and natural cosmetics market in Europe. She has further developed the training system for beauticians and has run her own school for it.
Life
Gertrud Meentzen (married Seltmann-Meentzen) was the first daughter from the first marriage of the writer Theodor Meentzen (1875–1963), who came from Butjadingen in the Wesermarsch , with Iphigenie, born in Eisenberg . Eichhorn (1877-1945). In 1908 the family moved to Eisenberg-Moritzburg to the “Eichenhof” of their grandparents, and from 1940 to Auer near Moritzburg . Gertrud grew up with her sister Charlotte Meentzen (1904–1940) close to nature on the farm of her herbalist grandmother. This awakened a love for nature in the girls and made them familiar with the power of herbal ingredients and natural medicine .
She attended the "Hoffmannsche Höhere Lehranstalt" in Radebeul, a ten-class higher private school with a boarding school for girls. She then received commercial training in the soap and perfume industry during the First World War , attended Rackow's commercial school in Dresden and graduated from high school in 1919 . Studies at the Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy at the University of Innsbruck followed from 1920 to 1921. In 1922 she married the businessman Felix Otto Seltmann (born August 31, 1898, † February 14, 1945). The emigration movement that set in due to inflation and mass unemployment prompted the Seltmanns to take this step. In 1924 they emigrated to Blumenau (Brazil) , where Felix Otto Seltmann managed the district hospital and the district pharmacy in Timbó / Blumenau. Gertrud worked as her husband's helper during this time. Her son Carl Theodor Sigismund (born September 27, 1926, † September 14, 2012) was born in Timbó / Blumenau. In 1928 the family returned to Germany, where their daughter Felizitas was born. In 1928, Gertrud Seltmann began working as an authorized signatory at the "Otto Baer paint factory" in Radebeul .
At the same time, together with her sister Charlotte, she followed the trend of her time for closeness to nature, simplicity and a healthy lifestyle , which began in the Weimar Republic and was supported by her father, who was a free thinker . Together, the sisters turned to the idea of natural beauty and strived for the realization of their vision of using medicinal herbs in the service of beauty, of making cosmetic beauty and care products as natural products from plants themselves, both for an upper class of the population and for one should be accessible to a broad mass of consumers. These goals corresponded to the life reform movements that began increasingly at the beginning of the 20th century, which increasingly prevailed with the dress reform , the naturopathic movement , nutrition reform , vegetarianism , physical exercise and sports movement, nudism up to the Bauhaus movement .
When her sister Charlotte Meentzen founded her own cosmetics company in 1930, Gertrud initially worked in the background and only became a partner in the company with her husband from 1936. After the death of her sister Charlotte Meentzen in 1940, she saved the company.
As in the air raids on Dresden on 13./14. February her husband died, she also took over responsibility for his company in Heidenau . Gertrud Seltmann-Meentzen died at the age of 83 on January 14, 1985. Her burial took place in the cemetery in Betzigau in the Allgäu .
Act
education
Gertrud Seltmann-Meentzen's life was shaped by a strong pioneering spirit. With her deep knowledge of relationships in nature and her thirst for research, which she developed from an early age, she set the trend for innovative thinking . Developed by Gertrud with her sister Charlotte Meentzen idea of wholeness in beauty care went from their common progressive movements made to develop an overall concept that would combine the beauty and health. As early as 1930 Gertrud, who had all the prerequisites for the implementation of her goals due to her education and her studies in pharmacy, began to realize them together with her sister in Dresden. They had the vision of developing a new line of cosmetics from pure natural products. The idea of the two sisters was quite brave. Both planned to found an innovative company in which they could develop and manufacture formulas for natural products on a scientific basis for beauty care. Your mission statement under the motto Back to nature should be realized with a highly effective cosmetics with natural ingredients developed by you, tailored to individual skin types as a special feature. A revolution in the cosmetics industry, which at that time had mainly turned to the manufacture of make-up items, colognes and perfume production. Dresden offered good conditions for the Meentzen sisters' project, because the city has been colloquially referred to as the "City of Health" since the 1st International Hygiene Exhibition Dresden in 1911 , with cosmetics, clothing and personal care already being the focus of the exhibition. The numerous natural health resorts and spa houses in Dresden , such as B. the Lahmann sanatorium in the district of Weißer Hirsch , which had also devoted itself to the holistic nature of treatments, contributed to this name. The German Hygiene Museum , founded in 1912 after the first hygiene exhibition by the Dresden entrepreneur Karl August Lingner as a “public education center for health care”, opened as a monumental new building on the occasion of the second international hygiene exhibition in 1930 to pioneer public health education. With their vision and philosophy of beauty through natural substances and medicinal herbs as a holistic approach, the Meentzen sisters aligned themselves with this objective .
Company foundation
The professional Gertrud Seltmann-Meentzen stayed in the background for the time being when her sister Charlotte Meentzen opened her first own beauty salon on June 15, 1930 under her name as "Charlotte Meentzen - Institute for Beauty Care" on Prager Strasse 44 in Dresden. However, with her pharmaceutical knowledge, she was significantly involved when both founded the production company "Charlotte Meentzen, Laboratory for Natural Cosmetics, Manufacture of Pharmaceutical-Cosmetic Products" in the same year 1930. The laboratory was built in the back building at Prager Straße 24.
As early as 1931, the two sisters' business concept was expanded with the establishment of the private "School for Natural Cosmetics". The aim was to combine theory and practice with the delegation of graduates from her school directly to external cosmetic salons, perfumeries and drugstores. By means of specially developed sample treatments according to the Charlotte Meentzen system and sales offers, a growing customer base was won, which led to the establishment of a successful sales system. When the successful company with institute, cosmetics school, laboratory and sales department made it necessary to separate the areas of responsibility in 1936, Gertrud was officially hired as authorized signatory for the company. Charlotte Meentzen continued to be responsible for the institute and school, which she moved to Prager Straße 38. In addition, she leased the “Laboratory for Natural Cosmetics”, Prager Str. 24 and the sales department to Felix Otto Seltmann and Gertrud. Already in 1939 Gertrud and her husband were so successful that Felix Otto Seltmann took over the company "Seco-Kräuter-Laboratorium" in Heidenau with shares as partner and managing director and on April 1, 1940 founded an open trading company with his partner . Gertrud stayed with her sister's company with shares.
After Charlotte Meentzen's sudden death in 1940, half of the company was awarded to Gertrud Seltmann-Meentzen and the other half to Charlotte Meentzen's son, Geert-Dietrich (born August 31, 1939), with Gertrud being the sole manager. This ensured the continued existence of the entire company, and Gertrud saved the continuation of the company while retaining the brand name “Charlotte Meentzen”, also in memory of the shared vision with her sister. She continued the corporate philosophy consistently and successfully. She expanded the cosmetic school's training program by also training medical assistants. Under her leadership, the school was now called: "Technical College for Cosmetics and Medical Assistance". In 1941 she also took care of the publication of the previously unpublished book by Charlotte "Medicinal herbs in the service of beauty", the standard work of natural cosmetics that is still valid today. With their commitment in 1941, the business name of the institute “Charlotte Meentzen - Institute for Beauty Care” was changed to “Charlotte Meentzen - Institute for Natural Cosmetics”, an adaptation to the laboratory's production facility. As an enterprising entrepreneur, she successfully expanded her field of activity to all of Germany by obliging traveling salesmen to publicize and sell their natural products, as there has been little competition in the field of natural cosmetics.
In 1942, the "Charlotte Meentzen Prager Straße 24" family business acquired Villa Wiener Straße 36 in Dresden from the Dresden Chamber of Commerce. During the air raids on Dresden in February 1945, the institute, school and laboratory as a production facility on Prager Strasse were completely destroyed. Gertrud Seltmann-Meentzen's husband Felix Otto Seltmann was also a victim of the air raid, and part of the workforce was also killed. Gertrud Seltmann-Meentzen not only stood in front of the ruins of her company, but also of her own life's work and that of her sister.
GDR time
Nevertheless, after the end of the war in 1945, she immediately dared to start over. She joined the general partnership of her deceased husband's pharmaceutical company in Heidenau as managing director and immediately began producing urgently needed pharmaceutical products and substitute products such as complexes, malt extract and other quickly disposable products. As early as 1945, she began to use part of the income from the pharmaceutical business for the reconstruction of Villa Wiener Straße 36, which was also badly damaged by bombs. In 1946 the beginnings took place in a manufacture-like manner in a restored basement room of the ruin. At the same time, in addition to the production of pharmaceuticals, the Heidenau plant began producing cosmetic creams with a few machine parts that she had recovered from the rubble of her former laboratory on Prager Strasse. At the end of 1948, it separated the pharmaceutical production line from the cosmetics production line in Heidenau and relocated the cosmetics production to Dresden, to the restored Villa Wiener Straße 36, which from now on became a permanent production site. She founded the company in the form of a limited partnership (KG), of which she was the general partner . The private company with the brand "Charlotte Meentzen", led by Gertrud Seltmann-Meentzen, operated from this time in the GDR under the name Charlotte Meentzen KG Kräuter-Vital-Kosmetik, Dresden, Wiener Straße 36 . The “School for Natural Cosmetics” was also temporarily re-established in the villa, which was later relocated to the Weißen Hirsch, Rißweg 58, and to the Luboldtstraße. The private school had to be closed due to the state prohibition of private schools in the GDR in 1964. The private cosmetics production company on Wiener Straße was systematically built up under the management of Gertrud Seltmann-Meentzen and made into a successful company that also had scientific testing facilities. Within a few years, the company with its natural concept had already risen to become the market leader in the cosmetics industry. As a private company, it was subject to the state control of the Dresden District Economic Council, founded in 1952, which was responsible for the enforcement of state tasks and control of industrial companies.
Successful companies were of economic interest in the GDR, and in the 1950s the state had tried several times to gain access to the company. As early as 1956, the state created the legal basis with a resolution by the Council of Ministers, whereby the State German Investment Bank (DIB) was authorized to enter into private limited partnerships as a limited partner, with the aim of gaining influence and nationalizing private companies in stages. In 1968 the private company with the brand "Charlotte Meentzen" was converted into a " company with state participation ", the "VEB Elbechemie Dresden" was given a 16.75% stake in the company through DIB.
The tried and tested brand name “Charlotte Meentzen” was banned from 1972 and systematically changed to the GDR label Florena-Kräutervital . The state- owned company from 1972 was renamed VEB Kräutervital-Kosmetik Dresden . This was assigned to the VEB Elbe Chemie Dresden , which was incorporated into the newly founded Cosmetics Combine in Berlin in 1980 . In it, the Dresden plant was given the new name of the Kräutervital-Kosmetik Dresden, VEB . The name Charlotte Meentzen with the associated label was de facto taken from the GDR market.
Post-reunification time
After the political change , the company was reprivatised in 1991 . The sons of the two Meentzen sisters, Geert-Dietrich Meentzen and Sigismund Seltmann, and two grandchildren of Gertrude Seltmann-Meentzen rebuilt the company in Dresden as a GmbH and immediately reintroduced the well-known company label as a trademark . The company has been based in Radeberg since 2002 .
Honors
At the award ceremony on June 21, 2018 in the German Historical Museum in Berlin, the company received the award in the “Industry Excellence in Branding / Beauty & Care” category for its excellent brand management and successful packaging relaunch .
On February 26, 2020, the 80th anniversary of Charlotte Meentzen's death, a memorial plaque was inaugurated at the former Meentzen-Villa Wiener Straße 36 in Dresden, as part of a celebratory commemoration event for the sisters and entrepreneurs Gertrude Seltmann-Meentzen and Charlotte Meentzen. Members of the Meentzen and Seltmann families as well as representatives of Charlotte Meentzen KRÄUTERVITAL KOSMETIK Radeberg GmbH took part. This memorial plaque was initiated by the Landesfrauenrat Sachsen e. V. as part of the project Frauenorte Sachsen .
literature
- Gertoberens, Klaus: Saxon personalities made history . Dresden: Edition Sächsische Zeitung SAXO'Phon GmbH, 2011. ISBN 9783938325841 . OCLC 758672283
- Eva-Maria Bast; Elena Oliveira; Melanie Kunze: Dresden women: Historical life pictures from the city on the Elbe. Bast Medien GmbH Ueberlingen, 1981.
- Renate Schönfuß-Krause: Charlotte Meentzen and Gertrude Seltmann - two Saxon power women and entrepreneurs from Dresden had a vision - their successful legacy has been continued in Radeberg since 2002 . In: the Radeberger . Independent local newspaper. Volume 30, issues 08 of February 28, 2020 online resource (PDF 6.4 MB) and 09 of March 3, 2020 online resource (PDF 6.0 MB).
Web links
- https://meentzen.de/ueber-uns/
- Well-known Saxons: Charlotte Meentzen on Sachsen.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Renate Schönfuß-Krause: Charlotte Meentzen and Gertrude Seltmann - two Saxon power women and entrepreneurs from Dresden had a vision - their successful legacy has been continued in Radeberg since 2002 . In: the Radeberger. Independent local newspaper. Volume 30, issues 08 and 09. Radeberg February 28, 2020 ( online resource [PDF]).
- ^ Official guide through the International Hygiene Exhibition Dresden 1911 and through Dresden and the surrounding area. Berlin (Rudolf Mosse) [1911], p. 13
- ↑ a b c d Historic Addressbooks Dresden . ( Online resource ).
- ^ History of Charlotte Meentzen Herbal Vital Cosmetics . ( Online resource ).
Remarks
- ↑ Contrary to many publications and sources, the correct first name is not Gertrude, but Gertrud (see Sächsisches Staatsarchiv Dresden, file 11384, no. 4524)
- ↑ The year of birth on the family tombstone is incorrectly stated as 1874.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Seltmann-Meentzen, Gertrude |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Seltmann-Meentzen, Gertrud |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German entrepreneur, beautician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 14, 1901 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Leipzig |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 14, 1985 |
| Place of death | Betzigau |