Reemtsma (family)

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Reemtsma is the name of a family from East Frisia who dedicated themselves to the production of cigarettes.

history

In 1908, Bernhard Reemtsma acquired a stake in a cigar factory in Erfurt . In 1919 the company was renamed B. Reemtsma & Sons, later Reemtsma cigarette factories and in 1922 relocated to Hamburg.

The company flourished in the “Third Reich” . Philipp F. Reemtsma personally promised Hitler in 1932 that he would place advertisements in the newspapers of the NSDAP . From 1933, the company owners supported the party and its branches through generous donations. Cigarette photo series such as "Germany Awakened - Becoming, Struggle and Victory of the NSDAP" in collaboration with Hitler's personal photographer Heinrich Hoffmann were widely used . Hermann Göring put down corruption proceedings against Reemtsma in 1934 and received donations from the company totaling 12 million marks over the years. Göring's “right hand”, Paul Körner , received 40,000 marks annually. Sepp Dietrich , "personal companion of the Führer", who played a prominent role in the liquidation of the SA leadership during the " Röhm Putsch " and himself murdered six prominent SA leaders on June 30, 1934, together with other SS men after these acts a Reemtsma donation of 40,000 marks.

The sales of cigarettes rose sharply at the beginning of the war. Every soldier received a special ration monthly. There was also the sale of scrapbooks. The propaganda work Adolf Hitler alone had a circulation of 2.38 million copies by 1943.

Philipp and Alwin Reemtsma were interned, charged and fined after the end of the war; with Philipp it was 10 million marks.

Philipp Reemtsma's son Jan Philipp (born 1952) sold his stake in the company in 1980 immediately after he had obtained the right to dispose of his shares. Later on, Hermann-Hinrich also sold a substantial share. In 2002 the founding families still held 15 percent of the company; no member of the Reemtsma family has been involved since the acquisition by Imperial Tobacco .

Several members of the family are active as patrons : Among other things, the Reemtsma Talent Fund , the Hermann Reemtsma Foundation and the Hamburg Institute for Social Research were founded .

family members

  1. Johann Bernhard Reemtsma (1857–1925), tobacco product manufacturer, wife: Florentine Reemtsma, b. Zülch (1867-1931)
    1. Elisabeth Fürchtegott Reemtsma (1891–1985)
    2. Hermann Bernhard Fürchtegott Reemtsma (1892–1961), cigarette manufacturer, wife: Hanna Reemtsma, b. Eisenschmidt (1895–1988)
      1. Helga Reemtsma (1919–1995)
      2. Hanna Reemtsma (* 1921)
      3. Heike Reemtsma (1916–1963)
      4. Hermann-Hinrich Reemtsma (* 1935), farmer, founder of the Hermann Reemtsma Foundation
    3. Philipp Karl Fürchtegott Reemtsma (1893–1959), cigarette manufacturer
      1. Hermann Uwe Fürchtegott Reemtsma (1921–1941), lieutenant
      2. Jochen Karl Maria Fürchtegott Reemtsma (1923–1945), lieutenant
      3. Klaus Reemt Fürchtegott Reemtsma (1927–1943)
      4. Cornelie Gertrud Fürchtegott Reemtsma († 1949)
      5. Jan Philipp Fürchtegott Reemtsma (* 1952), German studies specialist and patron
        1. Johann Scheerer (* 1982), musician and music producer
    4. Alwin Siegfried Fürchtegott Reemtsma (1895–1970), cigarette manufacturer, standard leader of the Waffen-SS , in 1939 awarded the sword of honor of the Reichsführer SS
      1. Klaus Fürchtegott Reemtsma (* 1920)
      2. Feiko Reemtsma (1926–1999), cigarette manufacturer
      3. Jan Berend Reemtsma (1928–2012), qualified forest manager
        1. Katrin Reemtsma (1958–1997), ethnologist

Some family members are buried in the Nienstedten cemetery in Hamburg: Johann Bernhard and his children Elisabeth and Hermann Fürchtegott Reemtsma and their relatives are buried in the first family grave, as well as in another Philipp Fürchtegott Reemtsma with his wife and children.

literature

  • Erik Lindner: The Reemtsmas. History of a German family of entrepreneurs , Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 2007, ISBN 3455095631 .