Academic Year 2010-2011
Event Title
Walther Rathenau’s Life and Death: A German Jewish Legacy
Disciplines
European History | Jewish Studies
Description
This presentation explores the life of Walther Rathenau, a prominent businessman who became a well-respected Foreign Minister of Germany during the Weimar Republic. Even though Rathenau was ambivalent about his Jewish heritage, the radical right could not tolerate a Jew having so much influence on German policy. In 1922, Rathenau was assassinated. Had he lived, Rathenau would have been a very formidable opponent of the Nazis, and Hitler might never have assumed the chancellorship in 1933.
Walther Rathenau’s Life and Death: A German Jewish Legacy
This presentation explores the life of Walther Rathenau, a prominent businessman who became a well-respected Foreign Minister of Germany during the Weimar Republic. Even though Rathenau was ambivalent about his Jewish heritage, the radical right could not tolerate a Jew having so much influence on German policy. In 1922, Rathenau was assassinated. Had he lived, Rathenau would have been a very formidable opponent of the Nazis, and Hitler might never have assumed the chancellorship in 1933.