Julius Arp

Peter Julius Ferdinand Arp (born March 26, 1858 in driving ; † September 20, 1945 in Rio de Janeiro ) was a German businessman and industrialist in Brazil.

Live and act

Julius Arp was a son of the farmer Joachim Arp (1817-1906) and his wife Abel Margaretha, née Klindt (1825-1902) from Laboe . He attended a one-class elementary school in his home town of driving and a private secondary school in Schönberg . He then completed an apprenticeship as a businessman in a textile shop in Kiel .

In 1881 Arp emigrated to Brazil with 100,000 marks that he had received from his father. In Santos he worked for a year and a half in a company that exported coffee and the owner suddenly died. Arp then continued to run the company on his own account and turned it into a large company. As a quickly rich and respected businessman, he was given the title of commercial councilor.

Arp bought a stocking factory in Joinville and built a lace factory in Nova Friburgo in 1911 , in which more than 1000 people worked in 1938. He had canteens and sports fields built for the employees. His support for employees, for whom he set up his own health insurance, was considered exemplary. The company Arp & Co. survived both world wars.

Julius Arp made particular efforts to cultivate Germanness in Brazil. Until 1939 he maintained contact with Germany, where he lived for several months each year. He financed a children's home in his hometown of Plön. Arp recruited skilled workers from Wuppertal and other cities to work in his Brazilian factories and to form large German colonies in Joinville and Nova Friburgo. Arp himself lived in Rio de Janeiro, where he was held in high regard by the German-speaking residents. He has repeatedly assumed the office of President of the "Germania" association.

Julius Arp was married to Anna Pohlmann, who was born in Bremen and died in Rio de Janeiro in 1937. The couple had a son and a daughter who both married in Rio de Janeiro and continued to run the company Arp & Co. as owners. In Nova Friburgo, Avenida Conselheiro Július Arp commemorates the former entrepreneur, in Joinville the historic building of the former Malharia Arp knitting factory has been preserved and is now used as a shopping center.

literature

• Nicolaus Detlefsen: Arp, Julius . in: Schleswig-Holstein Biographical Lexicon . Volume 2. Karl Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1971, p. 45.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Álbum de retrofotografias de Joinville  ( 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. , accessed December 11, 2016.