Heinrich David Kronstein (September 12, 1897 in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

– September 26, 1972 in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

) was a German lawyer and university professor. From late 1935 to early 1951, he lived in the U.S. and was an advisor in

cartel A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collaborate with each other as well as agreeing not to compete with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. A cartel is an organization formed by producers ...

matters and on the German question after

WW II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising ...

Childhood, education and career in the German Reich

Kronstein came from a respected and wealthy Jewish family of Karlsruhe. He did his military service in the First World War and suffered a severe wound. Later he began studying law in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. Kronstein received his doctorate in 1924 from Martin Wolff in Berlin. He then worked as a lawyer in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

, where he founded in 1931 together with Wilhelm Zutt the law firm "Kronstein Zutt" and specialized in patent law. Until 1935 he was still able to work as a lawyer in Germany, inter alias in the settlement of the sale of Jewish companies ("

Aryanization Aryanization () was the Nazi term for the seizure of property from Jews and its transfer to non-Jews, and the forced expulsion of Jews from economic life in Nazi Germany, Axis powers, Axis-aligned states, and their occupied territories. It enta ...

").Stiefel, Ernst C.; Mecklenburg, Frank (1991): ''Deutsche Juristen im amerikanischen Exil (1933–1950)''. Tübingen: Mohr.

Exile in the US

At the end of 1935, Kronstein emigrated with his family to the United States and first tried to work in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

as a consultant on foreign law. He studied law in New York from 1936 (

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

) with a Bachelor of Laws degree. In 1939 he moved to

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, graduated in 1940 at the

Georgetown University Law School Georgetown University Law Center is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment, with over ...

in Washington a second time, made in 1941 the "bar exam" for international law and became "Professor of

Comparative Law Comparative law is the study of differences and similarities between the law and legal systems of different countries. More specifically, it involves the study of the different legal systems (or "families") in existence around the world, includ ...

." Since 1936, Kronstein worked as a freelancer for the U.S.

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

as a translator and appraiser. After gaining US citizenship, he was appointed a permanent Special Attorney in 1941. Kronstein worked initially or predominantly for the Claims Division, but had reservations about having to confiscate German assets after America entered the war against Germany. Because of his special knowledge of

patent law A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

and patent cartels and because of his background being from Germany Kronstein served in the Ministry of Justice as a cartel expert. To do this, in 1941/1942 he moved to the Antitrust division under

Thurman Arnold Thurman Wesley Arnold (June 2, 1891 – November 7, 1969) was an American lawyer best known for his trust-busting campaign as Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division in President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Department of Justi ...

. From the beginning on, he did important work for this division: In front of the Senate Commission on Patent Affairs Kronstein suggested that the

ized economic structure of

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 ...

had facilitated

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 ...

the seizure of power. In the Department of Justice, he was also a member of the so-called Antimonopoly Committee, which dealt with the reconstruction of Europe after the war. From 1946 Kronstein taught as a full professor at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

in Washington, D.C.

Later career in the Federal Republic of Germany

From 1951 to 1965, Kronstein taught at the Law Faculty of Johann Wolfgang Goethe University

am Main. In the years 1956/57 he officiated there as a full professor of commercial law. In 1967, Kronstein was awarded the Federal German Cross of Merit.vgl. Frankfurter Personenlexikon

References

External links

* Michael Stolleis
Heinrich
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kronstein, Heinrich 1897 births 1972 deaths 20th-century German lawyers Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States Academic staff of Goethe University Frankfurt Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany