Leopold Koppel
Leopold Koppel | |
|---|---|
| Born | Error: Invalid birth date for calculating age Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony |
| Died | August 29, 1933 (aged 89) Berlin, Germany |
| Occupation(s) | Banker, business leader, art patron |
| Known for | Founder of Koppel und Co., Auergesellschaft, OSRAM; founder of Koppel-Stiftung; Senator of Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft |
Geheimrat Leopold Koppel (born 20 October 1843 in Dresden; died 29 August 1933 in Berlin) was a prominent German banker and business leader. He established the private banking firm Koppel und Co., as well as the industrial enterprises Auergesellschaft and OSRAM. Additionally, he founded the charitable organization Koppel-Stiftung. Koppel held the position of Senator within the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft. His financial support in 1911 enabled the creation of the Kaiser-Wilhelm Institut für physikalische Chemie und Elektrochemie, and he contributed further funding towards the establishment of the Kaiser-Wilhelm Institut für Physik. As a Jewish businessman, he became a target of the Third Reich’s Arisierung policy, which involved the forced transfer of Jewish-owned enterprises starting in 1933.
Career
Leopold Koppel was a Jewish entrepreneur, banker, and art patron who earned the honorary title Geheimer Kommerzienrat (Privy Councillor of Commerce) in recognition of his commercial achievements.
In 1890, he founded his private bank, Koppel und Co.. Two years later, in collaboration with Austrian chemist Carl Auer von Welsbach, he co-founded the Deutsche Gasglühlichtgesellschaft-Aktiengesellschaft (Degea or DGA), which later evolved into Auergesellschaft, with Koppel as majority owner. The company developed the OSRAM light bulb in 1906, its name derived from the elements osmium and tungsten. Holding the OSRAM trademark rights, Koppel separated light bulb production from DGA in 1918 by creating OSRAM Werke GmbH, which subsequently became a limited partnership with DGA as a limited partner. As DGA’s principal shareholder, Koppel assumed the role of chief partner. In February 1920, DGA combined its light bulb manufacturing operations with those of Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG) and Siemens & Halske, resulting in the formation of OSRAM G.m.b.H. KG. Through DGA, Koppel retained a 20% stake in OSRAM, while AEG and Siemens each held 40%.
In 1905, Koppel founded the Koppel-Stiftung zur Förderung der geistigen Beziehungen Deutschlands zum Ausland (Koppel Foundation), aimed at advancing German scientific research with industrial applications.
The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft (KWG), established in 1911 to promote scientific progress through research institutions, received a one million mark endowment from Koppel’s foundation that same year to create the Kaiser-Wilhelm Institut für physikalische Chemie und Elektrochemie (KWIPC) in Berlin-Dahlem. The endowment specified Nobel Prize winner Fritz Haber as director until 1933; after World War II, this institute was renamed the Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. Beginning in 1913, Koppel’s foundation financed Albert Einstein’s salary at the Prussian Academy of Sciences for thirteen years, allowing him to dedicate himself to theoretical work and facilitating the establishment of the Kaiser-Wilhelm Institut für Physik.
From 1921 until 1933, Koppel served as a Senator within the KWG.
After Adolf Hitler rose to power in 1933, Nazi policies enforcing Aryanization compelled Koppel to relinquish control over Auergesellschaft and his banking enterprise. In 1934, the chemical firm Degussa acquired Auergesellschaft.
Among Koppel’s art holdings was The Crowning of Saint Catherine, which was confiscated by Nazi forces.
Bibliography
- Clark, Ronald W. Einstein: The Life and Times (World, 1971)
- Hentschel, Klaus (editor) with Ann M. Hentschel (assistant and translator) Physics and National Socialism: An Anthology of Primary Sources (Birkhäuser, 1996)
- Kreutzmüller, Christoph Handling Finances and Assets within the Kaiser Wilhelm Society: Property Transfers and Jewish Foundations 1933–1945 (KWG, 2005)
- Macrakis, Kristie Scientific Endeavors under the Swastika: Research in Nazi Germany (Oxford, 1993)
- Riehl, Nikolaus and Frederick Seitz Stalin’s Captive: Nikolaus Riehl and the Soviet Quest for the Atomic Bomb (American Chemical Society and Chemical Heritage Foundations, 1996)
External links
- Arisierung – Deutsches Historisches Museum
- 100 Jahre OSRAM [English version: 100 Years OSRAM]
- Historical Review – Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
- History of MSA Auer
- Koppel – Obituary, Berlin