Nazi-forged fortune creates hidden German billionaire (Q66793734)
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news article, The Irish Times
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Nazi-forged fortune creates hidden German billionaire |
news article, The Irish Times |
Statements
Nazi-forged fortune creates hidden German billionaire (English)
3 February 2014
1 reference
Rudolf-August Oetker was weeks away from becoming an officer in Nazi Germany’s Waffen-SS when he received word that his mother, two stepsisters and stepfather had been killed by an Allied bomb dropped on their family home in Bielefeld, Germany. The loss wasn’t just a personal tragedy for the 28-year-old cadet. It was a blow to one of Adolf Hitler’s front-line suppliers, Dr. August Oetker OHG, whose dry goods were being shipped to German soldiers fighting in the second World War. Oetker was granted permanent leave from his duties to take control of the family business in October 1944. Over the next six decades, the former SS officer, who trained at Dachau concentration camp, would add interests in shipping, food, beverages, banking and hotels, creating a conglomerate that has more than 26,000 employees and €10.9 billion in annual revenue. (English)