Ludwig Wassermann

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Ludwig Wassermann (born November 10, 1885 in Munich , † June 16, 1941 in St. Gallen ) was a German entrepreneur .

Life

Wassermann was the son of the Jewish councilor and alcohol manufacturer Karl Wassermann (1850–1915) and his wife Charlotte. After elementary school and secondary school, he went to the commercial school in Munich for further training. From 1904 Wassermann worked in his father's company and in the same year did his military service in Bavaria. Before that, he had already studied one semester at the University of Berlin, where he attended lectures in political and commercial sciences, theology and history. In the following semesters he moved several times between Munich, Leipzig and Erlangen. In 1908 he received his doctorate with his dissertation The Influence of Technology on the Alcohol Industry . Wassermann was already involved in various university committees during his studies.

After completing his studies, he worked in the alcohol and vinegar factory Max Wassermann and rose to head the company after the death of his father. From 1916 Wassermann, who in 1913 with his brother, the lawyer Rudolf Wassermann, published a book on the spirits legislation of 1909, was in the chair of many committees of the drinking alcohol trade. In addition, he applied for the title of Commerzienrat, which he was denied for a long time due to his young age. The company was considered one of the flourishing Munich companies, although there was great inner-city competition from the Riemerschmidt company. Even though he was of Jewish origin, Wassermann was little different from other people of his class. He was distinguished by his conservatism, which is evidenced by his proximity to the Bavarian People's Party. Regardless of this patriotic-conservative attitude, Wassermann was arrested on November 8, 1923 in Munich's Bürgerbräukeller as part of the Hitler putsch , but released the next day.

Neither this event nor the inflation of 1923 could threaten the existence of the company. About their status in the world economic crisis in 1929 and the more economic the clearance of company is little known. But one can assume that the company was able to hold up. The downfall did not occur until the National Socialists seized power in 1932/33 and the Nuremberg Laws shook Jewish life and business in its foundations. Wassermann "voluntarily" signed his company into "Aryan" hands in 1936 and fled with his wife to St. Gallen, Switzerland. The Jewish couple were granted asylum there. It was there that Wassermann wrote his text on cautious investment at the St. Gallen commercial school.

The safe life for the Jews there often depended on individuals like Paul Grünninger , who resisted the local NSDAP groups and many citizens. After Grünninger's death, many Jewish asylum seekers were expelled from the country and it was not uncommon for them to be murdered in the concentration camps.

Wassermann died on June 16, 1941 in St. Gallen, leaving behind his wife Cilly, who emigrated to Cuba shortly after his death .

Works

  • The Influence of Technology on the Alcohol Industry, an economic monograph of the German brandy trade . Inaugural Dissertation, Duncker and Humblot, 1909.
  • with Rudolf Wassermann (ed.): Spirits Tax Act of July 15, 1909 as amended by the Act of June 14, 1912. With the most important enforcement provisions . Text output with annotations. Schweitzer, Munich / Berlin / Leipzig 1913
  • About prudent investment . Fehr'sche Buchhandlung, 1937.

literature

  • German Biographical Archive; Sources are there:
personal data
SURNAME Wassermann, Ludwig
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH November 10, 1885
PLACE OF BIRTH Munich
DATE OF DEATH June 16, 1941
Place of death St. Gallen