Wilhelm Karmann

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Wilhelm Karmann

Wilhelm Karmann (born February 14, 1871 in Krefeld , † September 28, 1952 in Osnabrück ) was a German entrepreneur.

Life

The son of the charcoal dealer and wagon builder August Karmann completed an apprenticeship as a wheelwright in his parents' company in Krefeld , which was to be of fundamental importance for his further professional career. Karmann was fascinated by the possibilities of the late 19th century and attended a course in technical drawing after going to church on Sundays. He already dreamed of building motor vehicles. However, after he was unable to implement his ideas in his parents' company, he looked for his own way. As a technician, he found employment in various wagon construction companies until he was finally hired in Cologne in 1899 as department and operations manager at Heinrich Scheele .

Karmann saw himself at the goal of his dreams when he was able to take over from Minna Klages on August 1, 1901 the renowned Osnabrück car construction company of her deceased husband Christian Klages . In 1949 he started his successful collaboration with the Volkswagen factory , for which he designed a four-seater convertible, the VW Beetle Cabriolet . The foundation stone for the worldwide success of Wilhelm Karmann GmbH was laid.

On November 24, 1908, he married his Mathilde. His only son Wilhelm Karmann jun. , the third of a total of five children, was born on December 4, 1914 and joined his parents' company as an intern at the age of 19. His daughters married into the Battenfeld (Mathilde) and Boll (Marianne) families, who also acted as partners in Wilhelm Karmann KG. The former shareholders of the family company Wilhelm Karmann GmbH , which went bankrupt in 2009 , thus provided the three family lines Battenfeld (30%), Boll (30%) and Karmann (40%), who are equally related to the company founder.

In 1950 he was accepted into the Knightly Order of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem by Cardinal Grand Master Nicola Cardinal Canali and invested in the Papal Lay Order on September 6, 1950 in Rome together with Archbishop Lorenz Jaeger from Paderborn . Most recently he was Komtur (officer) of the Knightly Order.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Karmann, Wilhelm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH February 14, 1871
PLACE OF BIRTH Krefeld
DATE OF DEATH September 28, 1952
Place of death Osnabrück