Walter Wiederhold

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Walter Wiederhold (1885–1959)

Walter Wiederhold (born November 16, 1885 in Hilden ; † June 15, 1959 in West Berlin ), name according to the birth certificate: Walther Johannes Wiederhold, was a German entrepreneur and co-owner of one of the largest paint factories in Germany.

Life

Wiederhold's parents were Hermann Wiederhold (1852-1905) and Amalie Kopp (1857-1923). Walter Wiederhold first studied paint chemistry at the TH Darmstadt . After the early death of his father, the then 20-year-old took over with his brother Hermann Wiederhold jun. (* May 13, 1881; † June 26, 1936 in Hilden) took over the management of Hermann Wiederhold paint factories . He continuously expanded the company and made it one of the leading companies in the German and European paint industry. While his brother devoted himself mainly to the commercial management of the company, Walter Wiederhold put all his strength and skill into the service of the company.

Soon after joining the company, he set up a well-equipped paint laboratory to monitor incoming raw materials and to test new raw materials. At the same time, the laboratory served to increase the quality of paint types that had already been manufactured, the development of new types of paint and the study of new possible uses. The operating facilities were expanded and equipped with modern facilities by Walter Wiederhold. "

Wiederhold spent the First World War from the first to the last day as a soldier in the front line. The difficulties z. B. he and his brother mastered the procurement of materials in the Weimar Republic so well that they were able to acquire a branch in Nuremberg in 1922 . After the death of his brother Hermann, he continued to develop the work with determination. Even the death of his son Walter (1915–1941) as a soldier did not paralyze his entrepreneurial drive. Since 1935 he was a member of the Corps Teutonia Bonn as Wiederhold II.

Nazi era

According to archive sources, Wiederhold reports on his role during the National Socialism : “Before 1933 I belonged to the German National People's Party ... I joined the NSDAP in April 1936. I joined the party after many years of pressure from all government agencies to become a member. Since the economic existence of my company and thus also of my workers and employees largely depended on the orders from the public sector, I felt compelled to give in to the pressure exerted on me and to declare my entry into the party. "

According to press reports, he was in the Nazi era until 1936, three years after the seizure of power , the NSDAP occurred. However, as he wrote in a statement to the British military government , he never kept to the direction of the party , which is why he and his company never received awards from the Nazi regime. The family also had a strong bond with the Confessing Church at the time within the Evangelical Church .

In the last months of the war in 1945, in his function as city ​​councilor , he was able to prevent the local commander from destroying important industrial plants and bridges in Hilden, which would have impaired the supply of the city and local businesses. On April 16, just about an hour before the US troops marched in, the order to blow up was suddenly given. However, Wiederhold managed to detain the command leader until he could no longer carry out his task. Hilden was finally handed over without a fight, not least at the urging of Wiederhold. Three weeks later the Second World War ended with the German surrender.

The information about his role in the American taking of the city of Hilden without a fight on April 16, 1945 was expressly confirmed to him in 1946 by the mayor Hermann Sayn appointed by the Americans.

post war period

In the post-war period he managed to expand the company. It profited from the reconstruction boom and the German economic miracle of the 1950s. In March 1955, Wiederhold was one of the founders of the "Association of Hilden Manufacturers", together with four other leading entrepreneurs in the city, which was renamed "Hildener Industrie-Verein eV" in 1965 and made a significant contribution to promoting the economy, infrastructure and training. On June 15, 1959, at the age of 73, he was killed in a traffic accident in Berlin. His company was initially continued by his daughter Ellen Wiederhold , who became mayor of Hilden. The paint factory was later taken over by ICI Lacke und Farben , which was bought by AkzoNobel in 2008 .

Honors

Family graves Wiederhold main cemetery Hilden
  • The municipality of Etzen-Gesäß , district of Erbach, granted Wiederhold honorary citizenship on May 20, 1950. The reason in the honorary citizen's letter reads:

“By establishing and expanding his local branch, he has given the community economic and financial support and a livelihood for a number of fellow citizens. With a generous foundation, he made it possible to build the Walter Wiederhold settlement for the new residents and thus to solve the greatest housing shortage in the community. "

  • Walter Wiederhold was made an honorary citizen in 1952 for his services to his hometown Hilden.
  • The city of Singen am Hohentwiel also granted him honorary citizenship in 1955 because of his services to the preservation of the castle.
  • In May 1952 he was also personally presented with the Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by the then North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister Karl Arnold .
  • On the occasion of his 70th birthday in 1955, he received the title of Honorary Senator from the Technical University of Berlin in recognition of his services to research in the field of painting.

A street named after him is a reminder of Hilden's “big son”; Walter-Wiederhold-Strasse, previously Steinhofstrasse, and a school, the Walter-Wiederhold-Schule in Düsseldorfer Strasse 148 (near the former paint factory).

literature

  • 100 years of Wiederhold 1867–1967. Hermann Wiederhold, Lackfabriken, Hilden 1967.
  • Theopont Diez : Walter Wiederhold 1885–1959, in: Hegau. Journal for the history, folklore and natural history of the area between the Rhine, Danube and Lake Constance. Edited by the Association for the History of Hegaus, No. 8, 1959, pp. 225–226.
  • Manuel Praest: Walter Wiederhold - A great son of the city . In: Westdeutsche Zeitung online, August 6, 2009.
  • Johannes Jentzsch: Triple jubilee at the Wiederhold Werke - Honors for Walter Wiederhold , Hildener Jahrbuch 5 / 1947-1952 pp. 121–152; Verlag Fr. Peters, Hilden, 1953

Web links

Commons : Walter Wiederhold  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hermann Wiederhold Lackfabriken Hilden 1867–1952, Hilden 1952, p. 18
  2. Hermann Koch: In memoriam Walter Wiederhold , In: Hildener Jahrbuch Vol. 8/1960, Fr. Peters, Hilden 1962, p. 10f.
  3. Kösener Corpslisten 1960, 15/442
  4. a b http://www.wilhelm-fabry-museum.de/ Message from the Wilhelm-Fabry-Museum, Hilden City Archives, curriculum vitae from January 8, 1946
  5. Dr. Karl-Detlev Göbel: Laudation on the occasion of the commemoration of the city of Hilden on the 80th birthday of Dr. Ellen Wiederhold - Hilden 2001
  6. Ernst Huckenbeck: From the reliability of local historical traditions and representations In: Information - Propaganda - Criticism, Hilden 2012, investigations on the Nazi era based on the Hildener local newspaper, p. 77ff., ISBN 978-3-940710-36-9 .
  7. History of the Hilden Industry Association ( Memento of the original from February 24, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.hildener-industrie-verein.de
  8. AkzoNobel ( Memento of the original from July 8, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Company history @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.akzonobel.com
  9. ^ School portal Hilden renaming of the city. Community school in "Walter-Wiederhold School".