Julius Moser (entrepreneur)

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Julius Moser (born July 18, 1882 in Pforzheim ; † February 12, 1970 ibid) was a German entrepreneur, honorary president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and an honorary citizen of the city of Pforzheim. Because of his Jewish descent, he was deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto in 1945 .

biography

Early years

Moser completed his school days from 1886, initially in a private preschool. After attending secondary school, he graduated from high school . Moser began studying engineering in 1901 at what was then the TH Stuttgart , and at the same time he joined the Hilaritas fraternity there . He also studied at the technical universities in Darmstadt and Karlsruhe . The main focus of his studies was the statics for bridge and reinforced concrete construction. He finally completed his studies in 1909 when he obtained a Dipl.-Ing. at the TH Darmstadt. In the years that followed he did his military service as a one-year volunteer and became a reserve officer. He also spent several months in England for language studies.

On April 15, 1911, he married Martha Moser, née Schreiner (1883–1955) in Ober-Ramstadt . Until the outbreak of the First World War , he took a position as chief engineer at Karl Kübler AG in Stuttgart. During the war he served with his training as a reserve officer in 1914/18 as an artillery officer and was awarded both classes of the Iron Cross and the Order of Frederick with swords for his work .

From 1918 to 1919 he joined the family business that his brother Emil ran. The textile company Moser, which was a leader in men's clothing, also had a partnership in the jewelry factory Fritz Link & Cie. This activity also led to his becoming a member of the advisory board of the IHK Pforzheim from 1930 to 1933 . He also worked as a commercial judge from 1930 to 1935 .

time of the nationalsocialism

Since Moser's grandfather Seligmann, who was originally a Jew, all family members had been baptized Protestants. Nevertheless, both Julius and his brother Emil were considered “ full Jews ”, since all of their grandparents were Jews . The difficulties associated with this during the time of National Socialism meant that they withdrew from the business world from 1935 and from 1939 had to carry the suffix "Israel". Julius Moser used the free time he had to gain to pursue his hobby of graphology more intensively. He did this under the guidance of psycho-graphologist Lutz Wagner. In 1948 he passed an examination as a state-certified graphologist.

Despite his status as a “full Jew”, the authorities did not notice Moser because he lived in “ mixed marriage ”, was not a civil servant and no longer held a high position. On February 14, 1945 he was deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto together with his brother Emil and 160 other Baden residents who had also lived in mixed marriage. Almost all persons in this group survived the deportation and the stay in the ghetto. On May 3, 1945, the SS handed the camp over to the Red Cross . Shortly afterwards the Red Army reached Theresienstadt on May 8, 1945. After the liberation , Moser returned to Pforzheim on June 17, 1945.

After the end of the war

After the end of the Second World War , he founded an import-export and wholesale business for jewelry and watches. Due to his unencumbered past, he was appointed President of the Pforzheim Chamber of Commerce and Industry by the American city commander in 1945. He stayed that way until 1959. He was also elected honorary president by the general assembly. As a result of his efforts, the "permanent sample exhibition" of the Pforzheim industry was opened again in 1951. For the FDP parliamentary group, he sat on the local council from 1948 to 1958 and was particularly active in the finance, economic and municipal utilities committee.

On his 70th birthday, Federal President Theodor Heuss Moser awarded the Great Cross of Merit . On the occasion of his 80th birthday, he received honorary citizenship of the city for his services to the community and economy of the city of Pforzheim. It was the first honorary citizenship that Pforzheim granted after the end of the war; the municipal council resolution was unanimous.

He was buried in the main cemetery in Pforzheim .

Honors

literature

  • Helge Dvorak: Biographical Lexicon of the German Burschenschaft. Volume I: Politicians. Sub-Volume 4: M-Q. Winter, Heidelberg 2000, ISBN 3-8253-1118-X , p. 137.
  • Julius Moser: Theresienstadt concentration camp. Experiences of a "non-Aryan" in the last months of the Nazi regime. published posthumously in the Pforzheimer Heften, No. 3, Pforzheim 1995, ISBN 3-9803529-7-8 .
  • Pforzheimer Zeitung : No. 36, Pforzheim 1970.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Moser, Julius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German entrepreneur, honorary president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and honorary citizen of the city of Pforzheim
DATE OF BIRTH July 18, 1882
PLACE OF BIRTH Pforzheim
DATE OF DEATH February 12, 1970
Place of death Pforzheim