Wilhelm Vorwerk

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wilhelm Vorwerk (born January 13, 1889 in Barmen ; † November 4, 1967 ) was the second of three sons of Adolf Vorwerk . In his early twenties, he joined his great-grandfather's company, the Barmer carpet factory Vorwerk & Co. , founded in 1827., recorded. After the early death of his older brother, he moved to the then young Gummiwerk on Lichtenplatz , to which the Gummiwerk Fulda was acquired in 1935 .

Life

This fountain is a gift from the Wilhelm Vorwerk family on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Vorwerk & Sohn company in 1927

Wilhelm Vorwerk continued his father's work. Above all, it is closely linked to the preservation and current structure of the Wuppertal parks (e.g. Vorwerkpark ).

After the Second World War, the various factories were completely destroyed and a laborious new beginning began. Together with his younger brother Max (born December 14, 1896) Wilhelm Vorwerk provided the necessary motivation to carry out the reconstruction. The opening of the rubber plant in Fulda , which moved to Goodyear in 1962, is one of these pioneering achievements . The Barmen textile factory was relocated to Schwelm .

In addition to this tireless activity, Wilhelm Vorwerk also managed to participate in cross-company organizations. Vorwerk had been a member of the Bergische Chamber of Commerce and Industry Wuppertal since 1929, and in 1933 he became its vice chairman. In 1942 he resigned from these offices after the compulsory amalgamation as the Gau economic chamber .

Immediately after the war ended in 1945 he ran the reunification of employers' associations , in the " Third Reich " into line had been and as an interlocutor for the trade unions should be used, could be so negotiated mutually fair working conditions. The result is the so-called Hattenheim Talks , which the initially skeptical occupying powers agreed to.

Also in 1945 the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Wuppertal was founded, whose president Wilhelm Vorwerk became and held this honorary task until 1959. He enjoyed a high level of competence and integrity that reached far beyond the city limits. In 1956 he was elected President of the German Industry and Trade Conference (DIHT) and thus succeeded Dr. Hans Leonhard Hammerbacher . In 1958, at the age of seventy, he resigned from this office. He remained its honorary chairman until the end of his life. In 1959, on the occasion of his 70th birthday, he was awarded the Great Cross of Merit with a star and shoulder ribbon.

In addition to these activities, which were originally geared towards the economy and the Wuppertal economic area, Vorwerk was also very committed to social issues: it is thanks to him that the non-profit small housing construction GmbH Wuppertal , now called Gemeinnützige Wohnungsbau GmbH Wuppertal , founded in 1937 . Their task was the construction and management of workers' apartments; shortly after its beginnings, it was one of the largest in the Rhine / Ruhr economic area. His name is also mentioned in connection with the Barmer Beautification Association , which he chaired from 1945 to 1967 and for which he made valuable contributions.

Honors

Individual evidence

  1. a b http://www.barmen2009.de/index.php?site=link&nome=85&zu=koepfe/index&nopa=34  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.barmen2009.de  
  2. a b Archived copy ( memento of the original dated August 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.barmen-200-jahre.de
  3. Page no longer available , search in web archives: DIE ZEIT 1956, week 49@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.zeit.de
  4. Page no longer available , search in web archives: DIE ZEIT 1956, week 17@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.zeit.de
  5. Page no longer available , search in web archives: DIE ZEIT 1959, week 6@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.zeit.de
  6. http://www.barmen2009.de/index.php?site=link&zu=link&nopa=15&nome=48  ( Page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.barmen2009.de  
  7. Archived copy ( memento of the original from March 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. To the Wilhelm Vorwerk monument @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.barmen-200-jahre.de