Walther vom Rath

Walther vom Rath , sitting with propped arm, among the supervisory board of IG Farben , which was founded in 1925 - in front Carl Bosch and Carl Duisberg - on a painting by Hermann Groeber (1926)

Carl Rudolf Walther vom Rath (born September 11, 1857 in Amsterdam ; † February 2, 1940 in Kronberg im Taunus ) was a German lawyer, scientist, entrepreneur and politician. In 1890 he became a member of the supervisory board of the Farbwerke vorm. Meister, Lucius & Brüning AG in Höchst , its chairman in 1902 and first deputy chairman of the IG Farben supervisory board in 1926 . From 1894 to 1898 he was a member of the Prussian House of Representatives , from 1909 to 1918 a member of the Herrenhaus . He received the Prussian nobility on June 16, 1913.

origin

Carl Rudolf Walther vom Rath was the second of the three sons and third of the five children of the merchant Wilhelm vom Rath (born October 26, 1824, † April 22, 1885), presumably May 8, 1849 with his cousin Henriette, née Henriette. vom Rath (* March 8, 1828 - December 16, 1903), born. His father's ancestors can be traced back by seven generations to Johannes vom Rath (1588–1654) in Elberfeld, when his father can still be traced back to "Peter aus'm Schlippen auf'm Rath" (d. 1630 in Elberfeld). Walther vom Rath was a nephew of Carl vom Rath and Adolph vom Rath , who were both his mother's brothers.

life and work

Vom Rath initially received private lessons with his siblings in Amsterdam, then went to the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Gymnasium in Cologne in 1872 , where he passed the Abitur in July 1874.

After several months of commercial employment in his father's company "Deichmann und vom Rath" in Amsterdam, he began studying law in Bonn, where he joined the Corps Palatia , and passed the legal trainee exams in Berlin in 1879 and a few years later the judicial examiner.

He gave up his several years of service at the public prosecutor's office in Frankfurt in 1890 to replace his father-in-law Wilhelm Meister on the supervisory board of the Farbwerke. Meister, Lucius & Brüning AG , whose chairmanship he took over after the resignation of co-founder Eugen von Lucius in 1902. From 1894 to 1898 he sat as a member of the constituency Wiesbaden 11 (city district Frankfurt am Main) in the Prussian House of Representatives , where he belonged to the faction of the Free Conservative Party .

In 1925, the Farbwerke merged with seven other large chemical companies, largely through him and Adolf Haeuser, to form IG Farbenindustrie . Vom Rath joined the new company's supervisory board as deputy chairman. He was also a member of the supervisory board of various other public companies.

Walther vom Rath has also contributed to the scientific and cultural field. His great interest in the flight attempts of Count Zeppelin prompted him to co-found the Deutsche Luftfahrt AG ( DELAG ) in Frankfurt in 1900, of which he was chairman for many years; He was actively involved in the establishment of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society (KWG) for the promotion of science in Berlin in 1910 and was a senator of the KWG and a member of its administrative committee from 1921 to 1933 . From 1933 to 1940 he was honorary senator of the KWG. After all, he was also directly involved in the establishment of the Frankfurt University in 1914, and was a member of the two decisive organs of its foundation in the Grand Council and the Board of Trustees; he was also an honorary citizen of the university. In 1909 the Prussian King Wilhelm II summoned him to the manor house out of the utmost confidence .

Resting place of the Walther vom Rath family in the main cemetery in Frankfurt am Main

In 1915, the Technische Hochschule Berlin honored him with the appointment of Dr. Ing. Eh; it was the only title he ever accepted; not even his elevation to the nobility on June 16, 1913 could induce him to change his name "vom Rath".

Despite his varied and widespread activity in industry and science, Walther vom Rath always considered his work for the IG Farbenindustrie as the main content of his life's work; Regardless of his advanced age, he used to appear frequently in the company of the Hoechst paintworks and IG Farben until the end of his life.

Walther vom Rath was involved in war clubs in Frankfurt and also acted as a figurehead for clubs in general.

Walther vom Rath was buried in the Frankfurt main cemetery.

family

On March 20, 1886, he married Maximiliane Meister , the daughter of Wilhelm Meister and granddaughter of the painter Jakob Becker, in Frankfurt am Main . From this marriage came the son Wilhelm (* 1887) and three daughters, including the painter and art dealer Hanna Bekker vom Rath , who was married to Paul Bekker . The eldest daughter Eugenie married Louis Leisler Kiep and is the mother of Walther Leisler Kiep . The youngest child was Hertha (* 1899), she married Felix von Richter-Rettershof in 1919.

literature

Ernst Bäumler, The Red Factory. Family history of a global company , Munich, Piper Verlag, 1988, a. a. Page 268. ISBN 3-492-10669-2
Rath, Walther, from. In: Robert Volz: Reich manual of the German society . The handbook of personalities in words and pictures. Volume 2: L-Z. Deutscher Wirtschaftsverlag, Berlin 1931, DNB 453960294 , p. 1477.
1937 honorary citizen of Kronberg
Gothaisches genealogisches Taschenbuch der Briefadeligen houses, 1917, p.689f

Web links

Chronicle of the Luyken family
Newspaper article about Walther vom Rath in the 20th century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .
Rath, Karl Rudolf Walther from. Hessian biography. (As of March 23, 2020). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
Rath, Walther vom in the Frankfurt personal dictionary

Individual evidence

↑ Kösener Corpslisten 1930, 14 , 404
↑ Bernhard Mann : Biographical Handbook for the Prussian House of Representatives 1867-1918 (= Handbooks on the history of parliamentarism and political parties. Volume 3). Droste, Düsseldorf 1988, ISBN 3-7700-5146-7 , p. 311.
↑ Roet de Rouet, Henning: Frankfurt am Main as Prussian garrison from 1866 to 1914. Frankfurt am Main 2016. pp. 269,287.
↑ "Brasil, São Paulo, Cartões de Imigração, 1902-1980," database with images, FamilySearch ( https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99XJ-871Y?cc=2140223&wc=Q4T4 -3TP% 3A1056965601% 2C1057099901 : 26 March 2016), K> Kiefer-Kieran> image 771 of 800; Arquivo Público do Estado de São Paulo (São Paulo State Public Archives), Brazil.

personal data
SURNAME	Vom Rath, Walther
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Vom Rath, Carl Rudolf Walther
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German lawyer and industrialist
DATE OF BIRTH	September 11, 1857
PLACE OF BIRTH	Amsterdam
DATE OF DEATH	February 2, 1940
Place of death	Kronberg im Taunus

[1] Kösener Corpslisten 1930, 14 , 404

[2] Bernhard Mann : Biographical Handbook for the Prussian House of Representatives 1867-1918 (= Handbooks on the history of parliamentarism and political parties. Volume 3). Droste, Düsseldorf 1988, ISBN 3-7700-5146-7 , p. 311.

[3] Roet de Rouet, Henning: Frankfurt am Main as Prussian garrison from 1866 to 1914. Frankfurt am Main 2016. pp. 269,287.

[4] "Brasil, São Paulo, Cartões de Imigração, 1902-1980," database with images, FamilySearch ( https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99XJ-871Y?cc=2140223&wc=Q4T4 -3TP% 3A1056965601% 2C1057099901 : 26 March 2016), K> Kiefer-Kieran> image 771 of 800; Arquivo Público do Estado de São Paulo (São Paulo State Public Archives), Brazil.