Karl Kotzenberg

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Karl Kotzenberg (born April 1, 1866 in Frankfurt am Main ; † October 20, 1940 there ) was a German merchant and patron .

Life

Karl Kotzenberg was born in Frankfurt am Main in 1866 as the son of the merchant Gustav Kotzenberg (1830–1908) , who came from Westphalia and immigrated to Frankfurt in 1853 . He attended the model school until 1882 and then completed a commercial apprenticeship at Passavant Frères in St. Etienne . After military service in Darmstadt (1884–1885), he continued his training with Gebr. Passavant in Krefeld , Eugenio Geider in Madrid and Passavant & Co. in New York City . In 1889 he joined the Passavant silk goods store in Frankfurt, where his father also worked. In 1893 he became a partner in the company.

Kotzenberg quickly became a specialist in wholesale and foreign trade and was active in numerous economic commissions and associations in the textile industry. He was an advisor to the government in European economic negotiations during and after the First World War . After the First World War he turned to trade policy.

Karl Kotzenberg's villa. The "Kotzenburg" (built on the model of the Wartburg) stood in Viktoriaallee - today Senckenberganlage 26. In 1944 it was bombed.

Between 1902 and 1905 he had Ludwig Neher build a villa in the Senckenberg complex. Participated in the construction, among others, Hans Thoma and Max Schmidt , who participated in the interior decoration. He chose the Wartburg as a model for the house . The building "in the historicizing style of the turn of the century" was also known as the "Kotzenburg". The writer Hans Reimann called the villa "the most hideous house in Frankfurt". Kotzenberg had to sell the building for financial reasons after the global economic crisis . The villa was destroyed in the Second World War . It is the subject of Kotzenberg's book Mein Haus . The building of the Institute for Social Research was erected on the property of Villa Kotzenberg in 1950 .

From 1926 Kotzenberg was Vice President of the Frankfurt-Hanau Chamber of Commerce . From 1919 to 1928 he was a city ​​councilor for the DDP in Frankfurt. As a voluntary employee of the Reich Economic Council , he made several trips, including to the World Economic Conference in 1927 , in order to rebuild German foreign trade.

During the Great Depression, Kotzenberg worked for the import and export company M. Andreae & Co. , which he had owned since 1925. The company went bankrupt and he lost all of his assets and from then on had to live on an honorary pension paid by the city of Frankfurt, the Chamber of Commerce and the university.

During the Nazi era , Kotzenberg fell into displeasure because of his political stance as a staunch democrat. On October 20, 1940, he died completely impoverished in Frankfurt. His monumental tomb is located in the Frankfurt main cemetery .

Kotzenberg was married to Anna Kotzenberg, née Andreae (* July 27, 1877, † May 6, 1956). It is believed that he was homosexual . He was a " Wagnerian " and had got to know Wagner personally. He attended the Bayreuth Festival every year .

Patronage

Kotzenberg was a member of numerous scientific, economic and cultural organizations. He particularly supported the University of Frankfurt , where he founded a chair in sociology . He was of the opinion that sociology, as a science that deals with socio-political problems, is necessary in times of crisis. His donation of 300,000 marks enabled the young university to appoint Franz Oppenheimer . For his commitment, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in 1920 by the law faculty of Frankfurt University .

Kotzenberg was also a member of the administration of the Städelsche Kunstinstitut and sat on the administrative committee of the Free German Hochstift . He founded the Frankfurt Society for Trade, Industry and Science. From 1922 to 1925 he was chairman of the Physikalischer Verein .

He donated the estate of Marianne von Willemer , a friend of Goethe's, to the Goethe House . He made it possible for the later Frobenius Institute to continue to exist through his efforts to appoint Leo Frobenius . He also sponsored the construction of the forest stadium and the Frankfurt riding and driving club.

Aviation was of great interest to Kotzenberg . He was chairman of the Frankfurt Aviation Association, founding president of the German Air Council and a member of the board of the German Aviation Association and the supervisory board of Deutsche Lufthansa . As co-founder and president of the Rhön Rossitten Society in 1924, he was one of the sponsors of gliding on the Wasserkuppe . For his efforts in this area, he was awarded Technical University of Darmstadt , the honorary doctorate .

Honors

Kotzenberg was holder of the Goethe Medal of the Senckenbergische Naturforschenden Gesellschaft , honorary doctorate from Frankfurt University (1920) and TH Darmstadt (1924), honorary citizen of Frankfurt University (1923) and honorary member of numerous associations and scientific institutions. In Frankfurt-Ginnheim , Karl-Kotzenberg-Strasse was named after him. In 2016 the Historical Museum in Frankfurt am Main presented a small exhibition on the life of the patron.

Exhibitions

  • 2016: How much do you need? The Anna and Karl Kotzenberg Collection . Historical Museum Frankfurt am Main.

literature

Web links

Grab-Kotzenberg-2016-Ffm-972.jpg
Grave of Karl Kotzenberg and his wife
Grab-Kotzenberg-2016-Ffm-973.jpg
Detail view
Commons : Karl Kotzenberg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
  • Anna Leiss: Karl Kotzenberg patron, Wagnerian and Frankfurter. (PDF) In: UniGeschichte. Goethe University Frankfurt, May 19, 2010, accessed on August 29, 2015 (biography of Karl Kotzenberg with portrait).
  • August Boese: August Boese [Ed.] Auction of the property of the consul Dr. Kotzenberg: Frankfurt am Main, Viktoria-Allee 16 on March 17, 1931 and the following days . Frankfurt am Main 1931 ( uni-heidelberg.de [accessed on August 29, 2015] auction catalog. It contains an exterior view of the villa as well as some pictures of the interior and inventory).
  • FEDERAL ARCHIVE - Central database for estates In: nachlassdatenbank.de . Retrieved on August 30, 2016 (information about Karl Kotzenberg's estate in the Frankfurt Institute for City History).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Sabine Hock : A rich man who could never say no. In: sabinehock.de. Retrieved on August 29, 2015 (published in the FAZ on October 11, 1990).
  2. ↑ a b c d e Celebrities at Frankfurt's main cemetery: The top ten thousand in the city of the dead - Frankfurt. In: op-online.de. November 27, 2013, accessed August 29, 2015 .
  3. ↑ a b c Frankfurt main cemetery: Karl Kotzenberg's grave. In: frankfurter-hauptfriedhof.de. Retrieved August 29, 2015 .
  4. ↑ August Boese: August Boese [Ed.] Auction of the property of the consul Dr. Kotzenberg: Frankfurt am Main, Viktoria-Allee 16 on March 17, 1931 and the following days . Frankfurt am Main 1931 ( uni-heidelberg.de [accessed on August 29, 2015] auction catalog. It contains an exterior view of the villa as well as some pictures of the interior and inventory).
  5. ↑ a b c d e Anna Leiss: Karl Kotzenberg patron, Wagnerian and Frankfurter. (PDF) In: UniGeschichte. Goethe University Frankfurt, May 19, 2010, accessed on August 29, 2015 .
  6. ↑ Anna Kubasiak: Goethe University - Karl Kotzenberg. In: uni-frankfurt.de. Retrieved August 29, 2015 .
  7. ^ Franz Hodes: 150 Years of the Physical Society Frankfurt a. M. Ed .: Physical Association. Frankfurt am Main, The "Annual Report (s) of the Physikalischer Verein zu Frankfurt am Main", p. 232 .
  8. ^ Pipe of peace with a swindler in FAZ of May 18, 2016, page 36
personal data
SURNAME Kotzenberg, Karl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German merchant and patron
DATE OF BIRTH April 1, 1866
PLACE OF BIRTH Frankfurt am Main
DATE OF DEATH October 20, 1940
Place of death Frankfurt am Main