Friedrich Minoux
Encyclopedia
Friedrich Minoux was a German
industrialist and financier who is best known for being one of the owners of the Wannsee House, where the namesake conference
that would decide the fate of millions
at the hands of the Nazis during World War II
was held in early 1942.
region to Michael and Margaretha (née Reffert) Minoux, Friedrich Minoux attended Gymnasien in Speyer
and Mannheim
as was customary for boys at the time. After fulfilling his military obligations in 1893, he married Maria Karoline Hente, and took a job at the Essen
Gas and Water Works company, where he would rise to the position of Financial Vice President. In 1912, Minoux became an employee of Hugo Stinnes
, a prominent German industrialist of the time.
Minoux achieved considerable financial success while working for Stinnes, at one point earning as much as 350,000 gold marks per year — a substantial sum at the time. In 1919 Minoux became a member of the board of the United Citizens of Berlin Coal Dealers AG
, and began to diversify his business interests to paper production, automobile manufacturing and coal and steel production. In 1923 Minoux left the Stinnes conglomerate to build his own industrial empire. In 1926 he acquired half of the shares of the German-Romanian Petroleum Company AG (Derupag). His main source of income at the time became The Friedrich Minoux Society for Trade and Industry, which was a coal wholesale business. Minoux was also one of the founders of the Citizens of Berlin Urban Power Stations AG, an electric company. By 1938, in his last major business deal, Minoux purchased the Jewish-owned Offenheimer Cellulose and Paper Works company for less than 1 million reichsmarks. The actual value was more than RM12 million, but by that time Nazi actions against Jewish businesses had intensified, and the owner of the mill was forced to sell to Minoux for a pittance. Throughout those years, Minoux and his wife became notable figures in German political and social circles.
Minoux opposed the Weimar Republic
and maintained contacts with right-wing extremists, military federations, and politicians. In 1931 he became a member of the Society for the Study of Fascism, and two years later he would be elected into the Academy for German Law. In 1921, Minoux purchased the Wannsee House (also called Wannsee Villa), which was originally built in the outskirts
of Berlin by Ernst Marlier
. In 1923, during the height of the economic crisis that would eventually cause the collapse of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Third Reich, Minoux offered his assistance to the German Army High Command in exchange for a cabinet-level position in the coming government. His ambitions would not come to fruition. That same year, the army abandoned plans for a putsch against the government, and talks between Minoux and the Nazis eventually collapsed.
On August 15, 1941, Minoux was convicted of defrauding the Berlin Gasworks. At the time this was considered the largest business swindle of the Nazi era. He was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment and hefty fines. From his jail cell in Berlin, Minoux sold Wannsee House to the Stiftung Nordhav
, a foundation controlled by Reinhard Heydrich
. Subsequently, the property became an important center of operations for the SS Security Service
and the Reich Security Main Office
. It was there that the Wannsee Conference
would eventually be held on January 20, 1942. Today the villa is a museum dedicated to the remembrance of the Holocaust.
Minoux died of starvation a few months after the Allies liberated him from Brandenburg prison in 1945. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the Alter Friedhof on Lindenstraße in Wannsee
.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
industrialist and financier who is best known for being one of the owners of the Wannsee House, where the namesake conference
Wannsee Conference
The Wannsee Conference was a meeting of senior officials of the Nazi German regime, held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee on 20 January 1942. The purpose of the conference was to inform administrative leaders of Departments responsible for various policies relating to Jews, that Reinhard Heydrich...
that would decide the fate of millions
Final Solution
The Final Solution was Nazi Germany's plan and execution of the systematic genocide of European Jews during World War II, resulting in the most deadly phase of the Holocaust...
at the hands of the Nazis during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was held in early 1942.
Early life
Born in the PfalzRhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
region to Michael and Margaretha (née Reffert) Minoux, Friedrich Minoux attended Gymnasien in Speyer
Speyer
Speyer is a city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located beside the river Rhine, Speyer is 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Founded by the Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities...
and Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
as was customary for boys at the time. After fulfilling his military obligations in 1893, he married Maria Karoline Hente, and took a job at the Essen
Essen
- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
Gas and Water Works company, where he would rise to the position of Financial Vice President. In 1912, Minoux became an employee of Hugo Stinnes
Hugo Stinnes
-Life and career:Stinnes was born in Mülheim, in the Ruhr Valley, North German Confederation. His father was also named Hugo, and his grandfather Matthias Stinnes had founded a modest enterprise in Mülheim....
, a prominent German industrialist of the time.
Minoux achieved considerable financial success while working for Stinnes, at one point earning as much as 350,000 gold marks per year — a substantial sum at the time. In 1919 Minoux became a member of the board of the United Citizens of Berlin Coal Dealers AG
Aktiengesellschaft
Aktiengesellschaft is a German term that refers to a corporation that is limited by shares, i.e. owned by shareholders, and may be traded on a stock market. The term is used in Germany, Austria and Switzerland...
, and began to diversify his business interests to paper production, automobile manufacturing and coal and steel production. In 1923 Minoux left the Stinnes conglomerate to build his own industrial empire. In 1926 he acquired half of the shares of the German-Romanian Petroleum Company AG (Derupag). His main source of income at the time became The Friedrich Minoux Society for Trade and Industry, which was a coal wholesale business. Minoux was also one of the founders of the Citizens of Berlin Urban Power Stations AG, an electric company. By 1938, in his last major business deal, Minoux purchased the Jewish-owned Offenheimer Cellulose and Paper Works company for less than 1 million reichsmarks. The actual value was more than RM12 million, but by that time Nazi actions against Jewish businesses had intensified, and the owner of the mill was forced to sell to Minoux for a pittance. Throughout those years, Minoux and his wife became notable figures in German political and social circles.
Wansee House and political ambitions
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
and maintained contacts with right-wing extremists, military federations, and politicians. In 1931 he became a member of the Society for the Study of Fascism, and two years later he would be elected into the Academy for German Law. In 1921, Minoux purchased the Wannsee House (also called Wannsee Villa), which was originally built in the outskirts
Wannsee
Wannsee is a locality in the southwestern Berlin borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Germany. It is the westernmost locality of Berlin. In the quarter there are two lakes, the larger Großer Wannsee and the Kleiner Wannsee , are located on the river Havel and are separated only by the Wannsee bridge...
of Berlin by Ernst Marlier
Ernst Marlier
Ernst Ferdinand Emil Marlier was a German pharmaceutical manufacturer who built the Wannsee Villa, where the Wannsee Conference was held.-Early years:...
. In 1923, during the height of the economic crisis that would eventually cause the collapse of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Third Reich, Minoux offered his assistance to the German Army High Command in exchange for a cabinet-level position in the coming government. His ambitions would not come to fruition. That same year, the army abandoned plans for a putsch against the government, and talks between Minoux and the Nazis eventually collapsed.
On August 15, 1941, Minoux was convicted of defrauding the Berlin Gasworks. At the time this was considered the largest business swindle of the Nazi era. He was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment and hefty fines. From his jail cell in Berlin, Minoux sold Wannsee House to the Stiftung Nordhav
Stiftung Nordhav
Reinhard Heydrich founded the Stiftung Nordhav in 1939 to obtain real estate for the SS.-Founding and Purpose:The name Nordhav came from an old German term for the North Sea. Heydrich established the Stiftung Nordhav on 30 July 1939. The State Secretary Wilhelm Stuckart recognized the foundation 3...
, a foundation controlled by Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich , also known as The Hangman, was a high-ranking German Nazi official.He was SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
. Subsequently, the property became an important center of operations for the SS Security Service
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
and the Reich Security Main Office
RSHA
The RSHA, or Reichssicherheitshauptamt was an organization subordinate to Heinrich Himmler in his dual capacities as Chef der Deutschen Polizei and Reichsführer-SS...
. It was there that the Wannsee Conference
Wannsee Conference
The Wannsee Conference was a meeting of senior officials of the Nazi German regime, held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee on 20 January 1942. The purpose of the conference was to inform administrative leaders of Departments responsible for various policies relating to Jews, that Reinhard Heydrich...
would eventually be held on January 20, 1942. Today the villa is a museum dedicated to the remembrance of the Holocaust.
Minoux died of starvation a few months after the Allies liberated him from Brandenburg prison in 1945. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the Alter Friedhof on Lindenstraße in Wannsee
Wannsee
Wannsee is a locality in the southwestern Berlin borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Germany. It is the westernmost locality of Berlin. In the quarter there are two lakes, the larger Großer Wannsee and the Kleiner Wannsee , are located on the river Havel and are separated only by the Wannsee bridge...
.