Thank God Banzhaf

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Gottlob Banzhaf (born November 19, 1858 in Illingen ; † October 11, 1930 in Stuttgart ) was a German entrepreneur in mechanical engineering . After the death of his brother-in-law Christian Schmidt , he was the first director of Neckarsulmer Strickmaschinenfabrik AG from 1884 to 1910. It was thanks to him that this company became the world-famous NSU factory .

Life

Gottlob Banzhaf was born on November 19, 1858 in Illingen an der Kirchstrasse. He attended elementary school in Illingen and did a commercial apprenticeship in the white goods, haberdashery and sewing machine business of Mrs. Conradt in Stuttgart from 1871 to 1875 . Then Banzhaf attended a commercial training school, with which he prepared for the secondary school leaving certificate. He worked as an accountant in Mannheim from 1876 to 1879 . From October 1879 he joined the mechanical workshop for the production of knitting machines of his brother-in-law Christian Schmidt in Riedlingen an der Donau. The knitting machines manufactured there were delivered to Austria .

At the end of June 1880 the company moved to Neckarsulm . Christian Schmidt died on February 24, 1884. After his death, the company was converted into a stock corporation and Banzhaf became director of this Neckarsulmer Strickmaschinenfabrik AG , which was founded on April 27, 1884 . After the increase in Austrian import duties in 1885, the production of bicycles began in 1886 and motorcycles from 1901. As history has shown, these decisions turned out to be a stroke of luck, because in the mid-1950s NSU was the largest two-wheeler manufacturer in the world in terms of quantities.

In 1918 Gottlob Banzhaf bought a house on Schützinger Strasse in Illingen, which was called the “summer house of the Kommerzienrat”. Banzhaf dealt with his homeland Illingen and researched the history of his family from early history to the Middle Ages. He published his research results in the book The Banzhaf Family in Illingen and Schützingen .

Gottlob Banzhaf died on October 11, 1930 in Stuttgart and was buried in the family grave in Illingen at his request.

Honors and souvenirs

For his "services to the industry Württemberg" he was in 1908 by King William II. To Commerce appointed. Neckarsulm granted Gottlob Banzhaf honorary citizenship in recognition of his services in 1911 . In Neckarsulm, a street in the Viktorshöhe is named after him. There is also a street named after him in his birthplace Illingen.

literature

  • Ms. Herzog: NSU 1873-1923. For the 50th anniversary of Neckarsulmer Fahrzeugwerke Aktiengesellschaft Neckarsulm . NSU GmbH, Neckarsulm 1923. (published as facsimile 1987)
  • Peter Kirchberg, Thomas Erdmann, Ralph Plagmann: The wheel of time. The history of AUDI AG . 3rd edition, Delius Klasing, Bielefeld 2000, ISBN 3-7688-1011-9 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Fr. Herzog: NSU 1873-1923 , NSU GmbH, Neckarsulm 1923, pages 5 ff
  2. ↑ Biography on www.illingen-online.de  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.illingen-online.de  
  3. ↑ according to information from Ralph Plagmann (Audi Tradition / NSU GmbH)
  4. ↑ Records and messages from the head of the Neckarsulm City Archives: Ms. Dipl.-Archivarin (FH) Barbara Löslein MA
  5. ↑ The honorary citizens of the city of Neckarsulm . In: Neckarsulm. The story of a city . Theiss, Stuttgart 1992, pages 507 and 508
personal data
SURNAME Banzhaf, thank God
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH November 19, 1858
PLACE OF BIRTH Illingen
DATE OF DEATH October 11, 1930
Place of death Stuttgart