Hans Gerriets
Hans Gerriets (born December 13, 1895 in Wilhelmshaven , † 1961 in Freiburg im Breisgau ) was a German entrepreneur. He is the founder of the wholesale company Gerriets, which specializes in theater and stage supplies .
Career
Gerriets was born in the Prussian port city of Wilhelmshaven in 1895. In 1899 his parents emigrated with him to German South West Africa . His father was supposed to set up a power station for the Woermann line in Swakopmund . In 1914 he returned to Germany to study medicine. The unleashing of the First World War and the draft for military service thwarted his plans.
After the war he came to Freiburg with a comrade from the war. The German Reich had to cede its South West African homeland in accordance with the provisions of the Versailles Peace Treaty . There he met his wife Johanna, geb. Stoeckle, know. Her brother was the director and co-owner of a major wool weaving mill in Greiz (Thuringia). When the company planned to set up a branch in Riga (Latvia), Gerriets and his family moved there in 1929. With the outbreak of the Second World War they left Latvia and came back to Freiburg with a stopover in Łódź.
In the construction phase after the end of the Second World War and the occupation of the city by French troops, Gerriets was commissioned by the Mayor of Freiburg, Wolfgang Hoffmann , to rebuild the university hospital (1945-1947), which had been largely destroyed in the war . This was followed by the order to rebuild the Freiburg City Theater (1945–1950). When he realized how much fabric a stage needed, he founded a textile wholesaler specializing in stage equipment in 1946. Initially, Gerriets ran his business out of his own apartment, soon a warehouse was added on Dreikönigstrasse, and later branches were opened throughout the city. He left the employment relationship with the city of Freiburg to focus on building up his company. After his death in 1961, his son Walter took over the management.
Honors
- 1952: Cross of Merit (Steckkreuz) of the Federal Republic of Germany
Web links
swell
- Information from Walter Gerriets from June 29, 2009
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gerriets, Hans |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German entrepreneur |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 13, 1895 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wilhelmshaven |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1961 |
| Place of death | Freiburg in Breisgau |