Richard Gottlieb Wilhelm von Doderer

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Coat of arms of the von Doderer family

Richard Gottlieb Wilhelm Ritter von Doderer (born October 28, 1876 in Vienna , † May 24, 1955 in Weißenbach am Attersee ) was an Austrian engineer and industrialist .

Life

After studying mechanical engineering at the Vienna University of Technology , Richard von Doderer worked at “ Prager Eisenindustrie AG ” and then moved to “ Poldihütte ” in Kladno .

Founded in 1889 by Karl Wittgenstein and named after his wife Leopoldine, the Poldihütte has been producing " high-speed turning steels " for wagon and locomotive axles since 1900, and high-quality "structural steels" for automobile and aircraft construction since 1904. The high-speed steels developed in the USA were introduced by Doderer at Poldihütte. The Poldihütte thus became the first manufacturer of these steels in Austria-Hungary . In addition, Doderer, together with technicians from Daimler-Benz AG, was significantly involved in the further development of the car springs. His technical talent and organizational talent allowed Doderer to quickly advance to managerial positions at Poldihütte.

When the Poldihütte could no longer fulfill the orders of the Austro-Hungarian army administration during the First World War , it had to look around for another production facility. In 1916 it was decided to build a branch of the Poldi works in Komotau in Bohemia . Richard von Doderer was entrusted with the planning and organization of the construction of this new branch. After its successful completion in 1920, Doderer successfully managed it as plant director for the next ten years.

Doderer later became the central director of Eisenwerke AG Rothau-Neudek , based in the Bohemian town of Rotava . This closed in 1927 with the Berg- u. Metallurgical Company in Brno formed an interest group. In this context, the two companies jointly founded Blechwalzwerke AG Karlshütte in Friedeck in 1928 . Richard von Doderer was entrusted with the planning, construction and subsequent management of this large company. For him it was the culmination of his career, as he was now at the helm of what was then the largest and most modern European thin sheet rolling mill.

When the "Eisenwerke AG Rothau-Neudek" collapsed in 1931 as a result of the global economic crisis, its sheet metal production in Rothau and Neudek was taken over in 1932 by the "Blechwalzwerk AG Karlshütte". Due to the difficult economic situation, Doderer had to carry out tough renovation and rationalization measures. The plants in Rothau and Neudek had to be closed and the workforce at the Karlshütte plant noticeably reduced. A total of around 3,000 workers were laid off, which led to high unemployment and social unrest in the affected regions.

Richard von Doderer was later able to use his knowledge and extensive experience in science as chairman of the materials testing office at the Technical University in Prague . In addition, Doderer was President of the Czechoslovak Metal Employers' Association, member of the executive committee of the German Association of Industry in Czechoslovakia and member of the executive committee of the leading association of Czechoslovak industry.

In 1934 Doderer retired early and in the following year he moved into a villa outside the village of Weißenbach am Attersee ( Upper Austria ). He had acquired this turn-of-the-century building in 1928 as a hunting lodge. He spent the first winters of his retirement traveling and only used his residence on the Attersee in the warmer seasons. On November 1, 1938, Richard von Doderer, his wife Bertha and their son Peter joined the NSDAP . Her son Herbert followed on October 1, 1940.

After Richard von Doderer and his family had lost all their possessions, holdings and investments in Bohemia after the end of the Second World War , he lived on Lake Attersee for the whole year until his death in 1955.

family

Richard von Doderer's parents were the Austrian architect and professor Carl Wilhelm Christian von Doderer (1825–1900) and Maria von Greisinger (1835–1914), daughter of the professor and mathematician Gustav Adolf von Greisinger (1793–1868). Richard's father was granted hereditary nobility in 1877. With a fortune of around 12 million kroner , the family was one of the richest in the Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy before the First World War , but this was greatly reduced during the First World War through continuous subscription of Austrian war bonds.

Richard von Doderer was married to Bertha Michel (1880–1957), daughter of Hyazinth Michel (1846–1904), Austrian architect, professor at the Vienna State Trade School and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Franz Joseph Order . He had four children with her:

  • Herbert Richard Wilhelm Hyacinth (1903–1973)
  • Wilhelma Bertha Maria Hyacintha (married Veranneman van Watervliet) (1906–1981)
  • Peter Franz Karl (1909–1997)
  • Richard Wilhelm Gottlieb (1919-2000)

Richard von Doderer was the brother of the building contractor Wilhelm Carl von Doderer and an uncle of the famous Austrian writer Heimito von Doderer .

Richard von Doderer occasionally supported his nephew with gifts of money, for example after the publication of his first prose “Die Bresche. A process in twenty-four hours ”(1924) with 2 million Austrian crowns . After returning home from captivity , Heimito von Doderer lived from February 1 to May 16, 1946 in his uncle's house in Weißenbach am Attersee ( Upper Austria ). During this time Heimito wrote a not inconsiderable part of his novel The Strudlhofstiege .

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Heimito von Doderer: Diaries 1920–1939. CH Beck, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-406-40409-X , p. 175. In today's purchasing power, the amount is likely to have been around € 560.
  2. Wolfgang Fleischer: The denied life. The biography of Heimito von Doderer. Kremayr & Scheriau, Vienna 1996, ISBN 3-218-00603-1 , p. 340 u. 345.