Helene Lohmann

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Helene Lohmann , b. Berger (* 1784 in Bommern ; † 1866 in Witten ) was a Witten entrepreneur and women's rights activist .

Life

Lohmann was born as the daughter of Peter Engelbert Berger , an industrialist who had made fortunes primarily through the purchase of shares in collieries. Her brother Carl Ludwig Berger is still considered the most important industrialist in the history of the city of Witten (as the founder of a cast steel plant that today produces steel in Witten under the name of Deutsche Edelstahlwerke GmbH ). In 1808 Helene Berger married Friedrich Lohmann the Elder. J., an industrialist from Witten and the owner of a local steelworks. Initially, Helene Lohmann stayed in the household and had six children. After the death of her husband in 1837, Helene Lohmann did something unusual for the time in which she lived: She took over the business of her deceased husband. This is all the more unusual since their eldest son Friedrich was already 27 years old in 1837 and it was actually assumed that he would continue his father's business.

Helene Lohmann owned stakes in her husband's steel works , a mill, a wine distillery, the Berge zu Witten estate with its agriculture (Witten House), a grain trade and no fewer than 69 collieries. Helene Lohmann is one of the few entrepreneurs involved in the industrialization of the Ruhr in the 19th century. She used her influence as a successful business woman, among other things, to publicly formulate questions relating to the role of women in her time, her house was considered a meeting place for personalities from politics and culture far beyond the boundaries of the city of Witten.

Helene Lohmann Realschule

Helene-Lohmann-Realschule in Witten-Bommern 2018

On November 12, 1998, the city council of Witten decided to name the third secondary school in the city Helene-Lohmann-Realschule . She is located in the Bommern district where she was born.

literature

  • N. N .: 200 years of Friedr. Lohmann GmbH. From the history of a family and their company 1790–1990 . Witten 1990

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