Wilhelm Heger

Wilhelm Heger (born May 28, 1904 in Vinkovci , Kingdom of Hungary , Austria-Hungary , † unknown) was a hair tonic manufacturer who caused a sensation nationwide in the mid-1950s.

Life

Heger attended elementary school in Vinkovci and secondary school in Graz . He studied in Graz and Vienna . In 1928 he worked as a beverage manufacturer in Zagreb , a few years later as a brewer and liqueur manufacturer in Paris . 1935–1939 he led a pharmaceutical institute in Paris. In 1939 he was released from Croatian custody through the intervention of the Archbishop of Zagreb. In 1946 he was based in Constance , where the Archbishop of Freiburg, Conrad Gröber, stood up for him. In 1950 he was on trial in Freiburg im Breisgau for fraud. After the interlude at Schloss Mainberg (see below), he apparently lived in the greater Munich area . His name appeared in the press for the last time in 1976.

Heger was married to Antonie, born 17 years his junior, for the second time. Sting. The couple had six children.

Hegers "scientific hair research"

Heger had no scientific training in the field of biology, chemistry, cosmetics or as a naturopath. Heger aroused public interest with his promise to help all bald heads to regrow their hair. The "bald doctor" set up treatment salons in Frankfurt, Baden-Baden and Munich. In the summer of 1954 he established his company headquarters at Schloss Mainberg near Schweinfurt . Large-scale advertising campaigns with full-page advertisements in national newspapers drew attention to "Hegers Haar-Kuren". Approx. 100 employees worked for Heger in Mainberg. When, after a few months, more and more complaints were received about the lack of success with Heger's treatment methods, a spectacular trial began in February 1955 before the Munich District Court. He was sentenced to three and a half years in prison and a fine of 10,000  DM for fraud. Heger was ruined, the company bankrupt.

literature

• Karl-Heinz Hennig: Heger's hairy economic miracle (1954–1955) . In: Thomas Horling, Uwe Müller (ed.): Princes & Industrialists. Mainberg Castle in eight centuries (= publications of the historical association Schweinfurt NF Vol. 8, Mainfränkische Studien Vol. 80). Spurbuchverlag, Baunach, 2011, ISBN 978-3-88778-360-0 , pages 529-538
• Heger's round work . In: Der Spiegel . No. 24 , 1955 ( online ).
• But they do grow . In: Der Spiegel . No. 52 , 1949 ( online ).
• New lawsuit against the hair researcher Heger. Hamburger Abendblatt 233/1958, p. 14, October 7, 1958, archived from the original on July 28, 2014 ; accessed on July 16, 2016 . 
• Dream about hair . In: Der Spiegel . No. 9 , 1972, p. 62-64 ( online ).

Individual evidence

1. ^ Daniela Harbeck-Barthel: Unearthed from the archive: As a "bald king" in your own castle . Nordbayern.de , June 5, 2015, accessed on July 17, 2016.