Leopold Koppel

Geheimrat Leopold Koppel (20 October 1843 in Dresden – 29 August 1933 in Berlin) was a German banker and entrepreneur. He founded the private banking house "Koppel und Co.", the industrial firms "Auergesellschaft" and "OSRAM", and the philanthropic foundation the "Koppel-Stiftung". He was a Senator in the "Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft". An endowment he made in 1911 resulted in the founding of the "Kaiser-Wilhelm Institut für physikalische Chemie und Elektrochemie", and endowments from him led to the founding of and support of the "Kaiser-Wilhelm Institut für Physik". He was a target of the Third Reich’s policy of "Arisierung" – the Aryanization of German businesses, which began in 1933.

Career

Koppel was a Jewish banker and entrepreneur. In recognition of his contributions to German commerce, he was given the title "Geheimer Kommerzienrat" ( Privy Councillor of Commerce), or, in short, Geheimrat. [ [http://www.berlin.de/imperia/md/content/basteglitzzehlendorf/geschichte/koppel.pdf Koppel] – Obituary, Berlin.]

In 1890, Koppel opened his private banking house "Koppel und Co." [ Kreutzmüller, 2005, 27.] [ [http://www.berlin.de/imperia/md/content/basteglitzzehlendorf/geschichte/koppel.pdf Koppel] – Obituary, Berlin.]

In 1892, with the Austrian chemist and inventor Carl Auer von Welsbach, Koppel founded the "Deutsche Gasglühlichtgesellschaft-Aktiengesellschaft " (Degea or DGA, German Gas Light Company), the forerunner of "Auergesellschaft". Koppel was the controlling owner. In 1906, DGA developed the OSRAM light bulb; its name was formed from the German words "OSmium", for the element osmium, and "WolfRAM", for the element tungsten. As the owner of the OSRAM trademark, Koppel separated the light bulb manufacturing from DGA in 1918, forming the "OSRAM Werke GmbH", after which the new company was converted into a "Kommanditgesellschaft" (limited partnership), with DGA as the limited partner. Since Koppel was the majority shareholder in DGA, he thus became the chief partner in the new company. In February 1920, DGA merged its light bulb manufacturing with that of "Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft" (AEG) and "Siemens & Halske" and they became limited partners under "OSRAM G.m.b.H. KG"; the start of the business year was dated retroactively to 1 July 1919. Koppel (DGA) owned 20% of the "OSRAM G.m.b.H. KG" stock, and the other two companies each owned 40%. [ [http://www.auer.de/index.php?L=2&id=19 History of MSA Auer] ] [ [http://www.osram.de/_global/pdf/osram_de/ueber_uns/das_unternehmen/100Jahre.pdf 100 Jahre OSRAM] ] p. 26.] [ Hentschel and Hentschel, 1996, Appendix D; see the entry for "Auergesellschaft".]

In 1905, Koppel established the "Koppel-Stiftung zur Förderung der geistigen Beziehungen Deutschlands zum Ausland" (Koppel Foundation for the Promotion of Scientific Relations Abroad). Through this foundation, he promoted German scientific research and development, which in turn benefited German industry and manufacturing. [ [http://www.berlin.de/imperia/md/content/basteglitzzehlendorf/geschichte/koppel.pdf Koppel] – Obituary, Berlin.] [ [http://www.fhi-berlin.mpg.de/history/h1.epl?lang=g KWIPC] .] [ Macrakis, 1993, 19.]

The " Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft" (KWG, Kaiser Wilhelm Society) was founded in 1911 to promote the sciences in Germany, especially by establishing research institutions under its umbrella; after World War II, the organization was renamed the "Max-Planck-Gesellschaft", in honor of Max Planck. That same year, the "Koppel-Stiftung" contributed an endowment of 1 million Marks towards the founding of the "Kaiser-Wilhelm Institut für physikalische Chemie und Elektrochemie" (KWIPC, Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physical Chemistry and Elektrochemistry) in Berlin-Dahlem. The endowment was given with Koppel’s condition that its director be the Jewish chemist and Nobel Laureate Fritz Haber; Haber was director from then until 1933; after World War II, the Institute was renamed the "Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft". [ [http://www.fhi-berlin.mpg.de/history/h1.epl?lang=g KWIPC] .] [ Kreutzmüller, 2005, 28.] [ Hentschel and Hentschel, 1996, 227 and Appendix A: See the entry for KWIPC.] [ Macrakis, 1993, 19 and 22.]

From 1913, the "Koppel-Stiftung" donated money for the salary of Albert Einstein at the " Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften" (Prussian Academy of Sciences) so that Einstein would not be required to teach and be able to focus his attention on theoretical research. This supplemental salary was continued for 13 years, and it was instrumental in the founding of the "Kaiser-Wilhelm Institut für Physik" (KWIP, Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics). [ Clark, 1971, 179-180.] [ Hentschel and Hentschel, 1196, 19.]

The "Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft" had a "Senat" (Senate, i.e., supervisory board) composed of members from fields including finance, industry, science, and politics. Koppel was a Senator of the KWG from 1921 to 1933. [ [http://www.berlin.de/imperia/md/content/basteglitzzehlendorf/geschichte/koppel.pdf Koppel] – Obituary, Berlin.] [ Hentschel and Hentschel, 1996, Appendix A; see the entry for the "Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft".]

When Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, the Third Reich initiated "Arisierung", a policy of Aryanization of German businesses. As a consequence of this, Koppel was forced to divest himself of "Auergesellschaft" and his banking house. The German corporation "Degussa" took control of "Auergesellschaft" in 1934; "Degussa" was a large chemical company with extensive experience in the production of metals. [ [http://www.auer.de/index.php?L=2&id=19 History of MSA Auer] ] [ Riel and Seitz, 1996, 10.] [ [http://www.berlin.de/imperia/md/content/basteglitzzehlendorf/geschichte/koppel.pdf Koppel] – Obituary, Berlin.] [ " [http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/nazi/innenpolitik/arisierung/index.html Arisierung] " – "Deutsches Historisches Museum".]

Bibliography

*Clark, Ronald W. "Einstein: The Life and Times" (World, 1971)

*Hentschel, Klaus (editor) and Ann M. Hentschel (editorial assistant and translator) "Physics and National Socialism: An Anthology of Primary Sources" (Birkhäuser, 1996) ISBN 0-8176-5312-0

*Kreutzmüller, Christoph "Zum Umgang der Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft mit Geld und Gut: Immobilientransfers und jüdische Stiftungen 1933 - 1945" [http://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/KWG/Ergebnisse/Ergebnisse27.pdf (KWG, 2005)]

*Macrakis, Kristie "Surviving the Swastika: Scientific Research in Nazi Germany" (Oxford, 1993) ISBN 0-19-507010-0

* Riehl, Nikolaus and Frederick Seitz "Stalin’s Captive: Nikolaus Riehl and the Soviet Race for the Bomb" (American Chemical Society and the Chemical Heritage Foundations, 1996) ISBN 0-8412-3310-1

External links

* [http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/nazi/innenpolitik/arisierung/index.html Arisierung] – Deutsches Historisches Museum

* [http://www.osram.de/_global/pdf/osram_de/ueber_uns/das_unternehmen/100Jahre.pdf 100 Jahre OSRAM] [In English: [http://www.osram.fr/downloads/catalogue/200702081510580.E100Jahre.pdf 100 Years OSRAM] ]

* [http://www.fhi-berlin.mpg.de/history/h1.epl Historical Review] - Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

* [http://www.auer.de/index.php?L=2&id=19 History of MSA Auer]

* [http://www.berlin.de/imperia/md/content/basteglitzzehlendorf/geschichte/koppel.pdf Koppel] – Obituary, Berlin

Notes