Walther Groz

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Walther Groz (painted by Werner Schramm , 1969)

Walther Groz (born October 11, 1903 in Ebingen ; † June 19, 2000 in Albstadt ) was a German industrialist and politician .

Life

Youth and career entry

Walther Groz grew up in Ebingen on the Swabian Alb . After finishing school he studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Stuttgart . During his studies he joined the Corps Bavaria Stuttgart. After completing his studies, he joined the grandfather's company Theodor Groz , now Groz-Beckert , at the age of 25 .

Company merger and rise to a global company

In 1937, the two companies Theodor Groz and Beckert-Werk merged and founded the new partnership, Groz-Beckert , in which Walther Groz took over the management of the company as a personally liable partner and in which he worked until 1976. Thanks to numerous innovations and, above all, technical advances, Walther Groz was able to expand the company's fortunes up to its market leadership.

social commitment

From 1950 to 1952, Groz had several settlements built for his employees, thus creating jobs and new living space in Ebingen as an entrepreneur and Lord Mayor. In 1976 Groz donated more than 5000 works of art in various styles to the Albstadt Gallery , and in 2002 the commercial school was named after him.

Political commitment

Otto Dix

During the Second World War, Walther Groz supported the painter Otto Dix (1891–1969) by purchasing his works. Dix was one of the “ degenerate artists ” during the Nazi regime because of his choice of motifs (e.g. homeless) .

Lord Mayor

Walther Groz was Lord Mayor of Ebingen from 1948 to 1960. During his tenure, the expansion of the infrastructure, urban development facilities, the creation of schools, kindergartens and, above all, the expansion of residential space in the eastern part of Ebingen and in Bitz were promoted and are among the services provided by Groz. In 1952 Groz became an honorary citizen of the communities of Wehingen , Meßstetten and Nusplingen and received the Cross of Merit of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and in 1953 even the Great Cross of Merit. Groz also became an honorary senator of the University of Tübingen . On October 13, 1973 he was made an honorary citizen of the Schwenningen community .

literature

  • Albstadt: Galerie Albstadt: 100 masterpieces / Walther Groz Collection: Galerie Albstadt, September 20 to November 15, 1998 . Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-923644-87-6

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Obituary in: CORPS - Das Magazin, Issue 4/2000, p. 38
  2. ↑ Chronology of the Schwenningen community in key words ( memento of the original from October 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; Retrieved December 14, 2011 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.schwenningen.de
personal data
SURNAME Groz, Walther
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German industrialist and politician
DATE OF BIRTH October 11, 1903
PLACE OF BIRTH Ebingen
DATE OF DEATH June 19, 2000
Place of death Albstadt