Berthold Beitz facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Berthold Beitz
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Beitz in 1963
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| Born |
Berthold Beitz
September 16, 1913 Zemmin, Hither Pomerania
(now Germany) |
| Died | July 13, 2013 (aged 99) Kampen (Sylt), Germany
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| Nationality | German |
| Occupation | Industrialist, philanthropist |
| Known for | Krupp Krupp Foundation |
| Spouse(s) |
Else Hochheim
(m. 1939) |
| Children | 3 |
Berthold Beitz (born September 26, 1913 – died July 30, 2013) was an important German businessman. He led the huge Krupp steel company starting in the 1950s. He is known for helping to rebuild Germany's industries after World War II.
Beitz and his wife, Else Beitz, are also famous for saving many Jewish people during World War II. They did this by saying Jewish workers were "essential" for an oil company. In July 1942, he even helped 250 people get off a train that was going to a terrible camp. It's believed that Berthold and Else Beitz saved over 800 lives. In 1973, he received the "Righteous Among the Nations" award from Yad Vashem in Israel. This is a very high honor for non-Jewish people who saved Jews during the Holocaust.
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Early Life and Career
Berthold Beitz was born in 1913 in a place called Zemmin, which is now in Germany. He started his career working in a bank in Stralsund. In 1938, he began working for the Shell Oil Company in Hamburg.
Saving Lives During World War II
When World War II began in 1939, Beitz was still working for Shell Oil. After Germany took over Borysław (now in Ukraine) in 1941, Beitz was put in charge of an oil company there. The oil fields were very important for Germany's war efforts. This meant Beitz could decide which workers were "essential" and needed for the war. Many Jewish people in Borysław worked in the oil industry as engineers, lab assistants, or mechanics.
Beitz saw terrible things happening to Jewish people in Borysław. He decided he had to help. Because of his important job, he often knew in advance when the Nazis were planning actions against the Jewish community. He would warn them. He also had the chance to choose workers from Jewish people who were being held before being sent to concentration camps.
In August 1942, he bravely "rescued 250 Jewish men and women from a train going to the Belzec extermination camp". He told officials they were "professional workers." Beitz later said, "I was supposed to hire skilled people. Instead, I picked tailors, hairdressers, and religious scholars and gave them all cards saying they were vital 'petroleum technicians.'"
Berthold and his wife, Else, also hid Jewish people in their own home. He even created and signed fake work permits to help more Jews escape the death camps. In 1943, Beitz's actions almost got him into trouble when two Jewish girls were caught with fake permits he had signed. Even though the police investigated him, Beitz survived. He was later forced to join the German army in March 1944. Overall, it is believed that Beitz saved about 800 Jewish lives.
Beitz explained why he helped: "I saw people being shot. My reasons were not about politics; they were simply about being human and doing what was right." He also said, "We saw what was happening to Borysław's Jews every day. When you see a mother holding her children being shot, and you have children yourself, you have to react differently."
For his brave actions, Beitz received Poland's highest civilian award. In 1973, he was also honored by Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial, as a "Righteous Among the Nations." This is the highest honor for non-Jews who saved Jews during the Holocaust. Yad Vashem noted that many of the Jews he saved were not skilled workers and were in poor health, showing that Beitz truly saved them out of kindness.
After the War: Business Leader
After World War II, Beitz became the head of an insurance company called Iduna. His new ideas in business caught a lot of attention. In 1953, Alfried Krupp hired him to lead the Krupp steel company. Beitz stayed with Krupp for 60 years. He helped turn it into a huge company that was traded on the stock market. In the 1990s, he helped merge Krupp with another company to form ThyssenKrupp. Beitz is also given credit for helping to rebuild the industries in the Ruhr Valley region of Germany, where Krupp's main operations were located.
After Alfried Krupp passed away in 1967, Beitz helped set up a charity called the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation. This foundation still owns a part of ThyssenKrupp today. Beitz remained active in the foundation and helped it fund the creation of the Museum Folkwang in Essen.
From 1972 to 1988, Beitz was a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which organizes the Olympic Games. He was an honorary member until he died.
In 2000, he received the Leo-Baeck Award, a top honor from the Central Council of Jews in Germany.
Berthold Beitz passed away in July 2013 at the age of 99. He was at his holiday home on the island of Sylt in Germany. He was survived by his wife, Else, and their three daughters. After Beitz's death, Ronald Lauder, who leads the World Jewish Congress, called Beitz "one of the great Germans of the past century."
Honours and Awards
- "Righteous Among the Nations" award from Yad Vashem (Israel) for helping Jewish people during the Nazi period (1973)
- Commander with Star of the Order of Merit of the People's Republic of Poland (1974)
- Honorary Ring of the city of Essen (1983)
- Grand Cross 1st Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1987)
- Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Star for Services to the Republic of Austria (1990)
- Honorary doctorate from the Jagiellonian University in Kraków (1993)
- Josef Neuberger Medal, with his wife Else Beitz (1997)
- Leo Baeck Prize of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, with his wife Else Beitz (2000)
- Honorary citizen of the city of Kiel (2003)
- Honorary citizen of the city of Bochum (2005)
- Hall of Fame of German Sport (2008)
- Moses Mendelssohn Medal for rescuing persecuted Jews (2010)
- State Prize of North Rhine-Westphalia with his wife Else Beitz (2011)
- Lew Kopelew Prize (2012)
