While researching the village of Obersalzberg, Hitler’s place of residence and second seat of government near Berchtesgaden, the author Ulrich Chaussy, who has received numerous awards for his investigative work on the Oktoberfest attack, for example, came across Arthur Eichengrün. A Jewish chemist, inventor and entrepreneur in personal union, who owned a holiday home on the Obersalzberg near Hitler’s later estate. Eichengrün was significantly involved in research on aspirin, invented the non-flammable cinema film and created “Cellon”, a primary substance that was used in the construction of airplanes and zeppelins, in the textile and electrical industries in Germany and internationally.
The rise of the Jewish cloth manufacturer’s son, born in 1867, to become one of the most versatile chemists of the imperial era continued in the Weimar Republic and brought him prosperity and prestige. But after 1933 his merits were no longer valid, he lost his possessions and was deported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp in May 1944. He survived, finally moving to Bad Wiessee, where he died in 1949 at the age of 82.
The biography of the almost forgotten great Jewish chemist and researcher will be published by Herder Verlag in October.
(Photo: Herder Verlag)
Ulrich Chaussy has dedicated a biography to the great chemist (Herder Verlag), which he will be presenting on September 10 with the actor Peter Weiß and the blues musician Schorsch Hampel at the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde; the conversation will be moderated by Ellen Presser.
Ulrich Chaussy: Arthur Eichengrün, book premiere, Sun., Sep. 10, 12 p.m., Israelitische Kultusgemeinde, St.-Jakobs-Platz 18, free admission. Registration under: [email protected]