The Fritz Thyssen Foundation () is a private

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

foundation in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, created on 7 July 1959 by Amélie Thyssen and Anita Gräfin Zichy-Thyssen and named in memory of prominent iron and steel manufacturer

August August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, August ...

Thyssen and his son

Fritz Fritz is a common German language, German male name. The name originated as a German diminutive of Friedrich (given name), Friedrich or Frederick (given name), Frederick (''Der Alte Fritz'', and ''Stary Fryc'' were common nicknames for King Fred ...

, who became a major financial backer of the ascendant

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

in the early 1930s. The Thyssen family generated significant wealth in the late 19th century as producers of coal, iron and steel. August Thyssen founded Thyssen & Co. KG in

Mülheim Mülheim, officially Mülheim an der Ruhr (, ; ; ) and also described as ''"City on the River"'', is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen. It is ho ...

in 1871 and, over the following decades, established iron- and steelmaking plants throughout the

Ruhr region The Ruhr ( ; , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr Area, sometimes Ruhr District, Ruhr Region, or Ruhr Valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 1,160/km2 and a populatio ...

of Germany. Following August's death in 1926, Fritz Thyssen assumed control of the iron and steel empire. In 1932, Thyssen signed a

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...

urging German President

Paul von Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German military and political leader who led the Imperial German Army during the First World War and later became President of Germany (1919� ...

to appoint

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

to the German chancellorship. The following year, he orchestrated a meeting between Hitler and influential German industrialists, which significantly increased support for the

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

among leaders of major companies. Thyssen officially joined the

in 1933. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, a German denazification court found him guilty of being a "minor Nazi offender" and ordered him to surrender a portion of his property to a compensation program for victims of Nazi persecution. Thyssen's wife Amélie, also a member of the Nazi Party, inherited control of the iron and steel business following her husband's death in 1951. She used proceeds from the sale of shares in August Thyssen-Hütte AG to create the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, for which she was awarded the second highest Order of Merit in the Federal Republic of Germany. Today, the Fritz Thyssen Foundation supports research in the fields of history, language and culture, state, economics, society and medicine, devoting special attention to support for junior researchers. The award of grants to doctoral graduates and the funding of staff positions in projects is intended to advance scientific research. The foundation is based in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

References

External links

Fritz Thyssen Foundation
(official website, in English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fritz Thyssen Foundation 1959 establishments in West Germany Think tanks established in 1959 Political and economic think tanks based in Europe Think tanks based in Germany Political and economic research foundations