The smart gentleman-mechanic - important names in our company history: Johann Georg Halske (1814 - 1890)

Johann Georg Halske, the gentleman with the obligatory bow-tie, is regarded one of the great personalities of the 19th century.

Johann Georg Halske was borne on July 30, 1814 in Hamburg as the son of the sugar agent Johann Heinrich Halske and his wife Johanna Katherina. In the early age of 11 he had to move to his uncle in Berlin, his later 'hometown', where he attended the"Graues Kloster" high school. Very soon his talent for natural sciences became apparent.

After finishing his final school examinations, Halske commenced an apprenticeship in machine building, a then new sector of mechanics of great fascination for young men. His employer was Schneggenburger in Berlin. However, the job required a high degree of physical fitness which proved to be too demanding for Halske's rather feeble constitution. So he started a new traineeship with the precision mechanic Hirschmann during which he demonstrated his quick apprehension and skill.

His first own workshop
Together with F.M. Bötticher, Halske started his own workshop in 1844. The majority of their work was for the University of Berlin. The following year was decisive for Halske's future: the "Physikalische Gesellschaft Berlin", later joined by Werner von Siemens, was established in the house of Albertus Magnus. This was where the two men, who later became business partners, met for the first time. The picture shows a skid inductor developed by E. du Bois-Reymond and manufactured by Halske.

Werner Siemens, who at the time worked on the needle telegraph, was very much impressed by the workmanship of the inductor made by Halske for du Bois-Reymond. He was convinced: only this man had the skill to build the needle telegraph according to his specifications. Letters written by Werner Siemens indicate that in 1847 he entered into an agreement with the small firm Bötticher & Halske regarding the production of these telegraphs as ordered by Siemens.

Founding of Siemens & Halske
In October of the same year, Halske separated from his partner and, together with Werner Siemens, set up the "Telegraphenbauanstalt Siemens & Halske" in a small workshop located at 19 Schöneberger St. in the West of Berlin. This was the foundation stone of the future global business.

The two men formed an ideal team: Siemens the ingenious inventor and Halske the talented mechanic. The construction of the telegraph line from Berlin to Frankfurt/Main in 1848 was the first major success for the young enterprise. Business flourished, and in 1852 the small company was forced to move to a larger building at 94 Markgrafenstrasse.

Even with the continuously growing business volume, Halske still considered the firm a small company. Therefore he strongly opposed a contract for testing deep-sea cables which Siemens received from England. But the company expanded to Russia and England so that in 1857/58 they changed over to piecework and series production. For a long time, Halske opposed this trend - but without success.

Discomfort and withdrawal
Halske felt increasingly uneasy with mass production and thought of retiring from the Berlin business. in August 1867 he made his decision: he withdrew from the company at his own request, but left a large portion of his capital in the company as a loan. His long-standing friendship with Siemens did not suffer from his withdrawal.

Married for 38 years
In 1846 Halske married Henriette Friederike Schmidt and they had four children. Until her death, she was the woman at his side for 38 years. He reached the age of 76 and died on March 18, 1890. His funeral in the Dreifaltigkeit cemetery at Bergmannstraße was attended by a large crowd of mourning citizens and employees from "his" company.

Acknowledgement
His friendship with Werner von Siemens (who was ennobled in 1888) gave Halske the opportunity to become the cofounder of a world-wide corporation that bore his name until his death.

The invariable values, which Halske made a principle of his business activities, were described in the newspaper 'Deutscher Volkswirt' on occasion of the 50th anniversary of his death: "He was a man who, thanks to his outstanding technical talent and mechanical ability, was able to make the creative ideas and inventions of Werner von Siemens a practical reality, a task that due to the novelty of the problems involved required unique skills and was probably no less difficult than the mental concept itself."

More about Johann Georg Halske and other Pioneers of Medical Engineering

(Icare online 13. Dezember 2004)

An ingenious invention revolutionized dental practice

45 years ago the inventor of the first electric dental drill died - Kommerzienrat William Niendorf

Kommerzienrat William Niendorf (1870 - 1960)
William attended elementary school till the age of 14. A job as an apprentice with Siemens & Halske, which he wanted so much, was normally available only to those who had passed a certain higher education. Other firms requested advance payment of an apprentice fee of up to 300 marks.

So his guardian decided that he should become a decorator. "I did that for about three months and then I took up an left," writes Niendorf in his memoirs.

His guardian then managed to find him a position with a former Siemens mechanic. The unusual manual dexterity and skills of the young man were soon recognized and the master craftsman entrusted him with the assembling of clockworks. When the master craftsman died, William took over the running of the workshop with three assistants and three apprentices.

By 1888 he had completed his apprenticeship; he went to Schuckert in Nuremberg with stops on the way in Dresden and Meißen. From Nuremberg he went to Budapest and then returned to Franconia where he presented himself to Reiniger, Gebbert & Schall (RGS) in 1890. Niendorf writes in his memoirs: "I applied for a position at Reiniger, Gebbert and Schall. (In mechanics' circles the firm was called "Erlangen dovecote".) Men from Vienna, Munich and Westphalia joined the firm at the same time as me. The first two were dismissed after 14 days because their work was not up to the standards required. The Westphalian went voluntarily after about eight weeks and I stayed for 43 years."

Max Gebbert soon noticed Niendorf's extraordinary talents and entrusted him with the task of constructing and developing a dental drill driven by an electric motor. Niendorf completed this task, developing the first electric dental drill and thus starting electro-dental production at RGS.

In 1899 he became works manager, and in 1903 Max Gebbert appointed him factory manager. After Gebbert's premature death and the conversion of the firm into a public limited company, Niendorf became technical manager in 1907. He was soon elected to the board of RGS and later became a member of the board at the Veifa-Werke AG (Vereinigte Elektrotechnische Institute Frankfurt/Aschaffenburg) in Frankfurt/Main. In 1921 he was elected member of the supervisory board of INAG AG (Vereinigte Industrieunternehmungen AG), a kind of holding company which RGS, later SRW, was also part of).

At the turn of the century, Gebbert got into financial difficulties with his firm. In 1907, after his death, RGS was converted into a public limited company. Niendorf recalls: "We were offered a loan of about 600,000 Reichsmarks and that helped us get back on our feet again, but we had to sell off city offices such as in Zirndorf, Neustadt/Aisch, Winzheim and some others sometimes for less than book value. Besides that, the electrical measuring instruments department was sold off, and we concentrated our efforts entirely on electro-medical equipment and on X-ray apparatus." The picture shows the first test motor designed by William Niendorf for Schneider, dentist to the court.

Under Niendorf the company developed into a world-famous factory that specialized in the production of electro-medical and X-ray apparatus. Niendorf became Technical Director and remained in that position until his retirement in the year 1933.

Niendorf writes about the years of the First World War: "During the 1914/1918 war I was forced to travel several times to places like Ingolstadt, Munich, Vienna, Siegburg etc. to attend to orders." As a consequence of a very large order he was awarded the title of "Kommerzienrat" in 1924, an honor conferred on distinguished businessmen.

Inag AG included the following companies:

• Koch & Sterzel, Transformatoren- und Röntgenwerk (TuR), Dresden
• Polyphos, Elektrizitätsgesellschaft mbH, München
• Reiniger, Gebbert & Schall AG, Erlangen
• Sanitas, Elektrizitätsgesellschaft mbH., Berlin
• Richard Seifert & Co., Röntgengerätefirma, Hamburg
• Siemens & Halske AG, Berlin
• Veifa-Werke GmbH, Elektrotechnische Institute, Frankfurt/Main

After the First World War, RGS had faced increasing financial difficulties. The economic situation worldwide was anything but stimulating. As a consequence of speculative acquisitions by one of the RGS directors, at the beginning of the Twenties, the firm's debts had piled up to several million Goldmarks. RGS owned 33 subsidiaries, all of which were in difficult financial straits.

The company succeeded in paying off creditors for a short while without, however, finding a lasting solution to its problems. William Niendorf and Theodor Sehmer who was, together with Max Anderlohr, on the board tried hard to find a financially strong partner and turned to the management of Siemens & Halske in Berlin. To begin with, their response was negative because the object in question was considered to be not big enough. But after several attempts, the three men succeeded in convincing the important gentlemen from Berlin with three main arguments:

• the products were of first-class quality;
• the sales organization was excellent; and
• "... we have 'officials' in this sales organization who know things very well", as Niendorf put it.

Niendorf knew: "Of course, the officials as well as the core of workers who know exactly what they are doing are very valuable for Siemens, and, as I already mentioned, we have made sure that the headquarters of Reiniger, Gebbert and Schall will remain in Erlangen. That is a further reason for accepting the condition laid down by Siemens that a director of the Bavarian State Bank be elected on to the Supervisory Board of RGS."

Niendorf made the following comments on the amalgamation of RGS with S & H in the year 1925 : "Incidentally the reason for making repeated approaches to Siemens & Halske is to be found not just in economic difficulties alone; other elements undoubtedly intended to put the company back into the hands of a bank and other capitalists who primarily wanted to satisfy their own commercial goals; those gentlemen who favored joining Siemens, that is Dr Sehmer, Dr Müller and Director Niendorf, saw the interests of the company in rescuing the firm and giving it an inner strength which could only be achieved by such an amalgamation with Siemens & Halske. In this way it was also possible to counteract the unpleasant effects from rivals that both companies had suffered from."

For more than 42 years Niendorf devoted himself to the company and the field of electro-medical engineering. For several years after his retirement in 1933 he continued to give his services to the company as a member of the supervisory board of SRW.

William Niendorf died shortly before his 90th birthday on March 18, 1960. He was buried in the Altstädter Cemetery in Erlangen.

(Icare online 17. März 2005)

Heinrich Emanuel von Buol (1880-1945)
The man who carried out the merger between S&H and RGS in Erlangen died 60 years ago.

Heinrich v. Buol (1880-1945)
Heinrich von Buol was Swiss by descent. He was born on February 9, 1880 in Vienna and received Austrian nationality in 1897.

After taking his school-leaving examination at the Oberrealschule (Senior Secondary School) in Vienna, he took his final examinations in mechanical and electrical engineering at the Technische Hochschule (Technical University) in Vienna, graduating and qualifying as an engineer in 1902. After completing one year of military service he joined Union Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft in Vienna as a trainee in October 1903.

Training and career at S&H
In April 1906, he moved to Siemens & Halske in Wernerwerk in Berlin-Siemensstadt as a laboratory engineer where he became deputy head of the Measuring Instruments Department (M- works).

In 1915, he became head of the Department of Wireless Telegraphy and Measuring Apparatus in Berlin. In 1917, he was given power of attorney and was appointed Departmental Director in 1920. In 1921, he took over the management of the M-works which comprised the departments for electrical and thermal measuring instruments, hydrometrical instruments and for electro-medical engineering and technology. He was particularly interested in this field of technology.

Changing of the guard in Erlangen - open resistance at RGS
Under his management and under his guidance, the electrical engineering departments at S&H and RGS in Erlangen merged. In 1925, von Buol became member of the supervisory board of RGS, later SRW. In the following years he was often in Erlangen, not just for meetings with the company management but also for contact with the workforce because he attached a lot of importance to making the merger as harmonious as possible and to giving it a human touch. This was not an easy thing to manage particularly as "the Berlin addition" was regarded with open distrust in Erlangen.

An example of his emphasis on the human side of things can be seen from the following extract from one of his moving speeches held to workers at SRW on February 17, 1934. Here, his deeply felt social commitment and involvement can be clearly seen.
"I know that in the year 1925, the news that the Siemens group had acquired decisive influence on RGS was met with mixed feelings by the workforce, the local population and by some government authorities…… Every rumor that circulated - whether it be to benefit someone else or to harm us - was believed and I have not succeeded in ….convincing people that it is not our intention to close down the Erlangen factory at an appropriate point in time and move production to Berlin."

And he also expressed confidence that people would change their opinion with regard to Siemens.

"Perhaps the last few years of the difficult crisis which has led to the closure of so many firms have convinced some people that this company here has benefited from the strong support given to it by the Siemens group."

V. Buol emphasized in his speech that the success of a company rests on two pillars: economic success and on "the feeling of togetherness of all people employed at the firm … to put it in a nutshell - the feeling that it is not just the employee who has obligations towards the employer but also that the company has duties and obligations towards the employee."

Among the things he promised were that the premiums for 25 years of company service would be adjusted to meet those of company headquarters in Berlin and he promised apprentices and trainees in their third and fourth years of training the prospect of a trip to Berlin-Siemensstadt for a few days.

Appointments and awards
In 1925 he became a deputy member of the management board at Siemens & Halske. In March 1927 he became a full member of the board. As of April 1927, he was head of the Standards Office of the German X-Ray Society. On March 1,1932 he was appointed chairman of the management board at Siemens & Halske AG and in 1937 chairman of the supervisory board at SRW. The Friedrich Alexander University in Erlangen made him an honorary member of the senate of the university in 1942.

Unwavering courage right up until his death
V. Buol was rightly considered to be an opponent of the ruling Nazi regime. And he risked his life to demonstrate this. Georg Siemens reports that one day, one of von Buol's closest workers came to him absolutely distraught and told him that the evening before the police had collected his Jewish wife for transportation to a concentration camp. Von Buol immediately cancelled his plans for that day and went to meet the SS officer responsible. "What happened between the two men has never been known but the drama of the conflict was clear from the way von Buol, who was very worked up and agitated, reported to his employee on his return from the meeting that he hoped his intervention would be successful: just a few days later, the wife was the only person to be released from those ready for transportation."

H. v. Buol's gravestone in Bavendorf near Ravensburg
Heinrich von Buol remained loyal to himself and his convictions right up until his death. At the end of April 1945 when the Russians occupied Berlin, he refused to leave "his" company. After he was taken to Moscow by the Russians, Heinrich von Buol shot himself in captivity in May 1945.

Georg Siemens writes in his obituary of von Buol "When soon afterwards (after the release of the Jewish woman) he himself fell into the hands of another, hardly less cruel, system, there was nobody there to help him; he stood alone with his fate. ….. He died on May 1,1945, for the company he had devoted his life to."

In 1966 a street in the Erlangen district of Sieglitzhof has been named after him.

(Artikel veröffentlicht in: Icare online 2. Mai 2005 )

The man "who brought Siemens to Erlangen" was born 120 years ago

Theodor Sehmer (1885-1979)
Theodor Sehmer was born on June 2, 1885, son of the founder of the machine and turbine factory Ehrhardt & Sehmer in St. Johann/Saarbrücken. After passing his school-leaving exams, he first studied mechanical engineering, then political economics at the University of Kiel. His professor, Berhard Harms, advised him to study international economics and in 1911 he graduated as Dr. phil, the equivalent of Ph.D.

After one year of military service he began working as an academically trained 'unskilled worker' in the Federation of Bavarian Industry where he, after the First World War, became corporate lawyer and soon afterwards the corporation lawyer for eight Bavarian industrial associations.

In 1921 Sehmer joined the board of directors of INAG (Industrie-Unternehmungen AG), a holding of domestic and foreign interests in RGS with seat in Erlangen.

Sehmer and RGS
In 1907, shortly after Max Gebbert's death (1906), RGS was converted into a joint-stock company retrospectively as of August 1, 1906. World economic crisis, inflation and economically unwise acquisitions made by one of the directors got the company into serious difficulties.

Sehmer looked around for a financially sound partner and began negotiations with Siemens &Halske (S&H) in summer 1924. This firm, that existed since 1847 in Berlin, had been a global player for many years. When Werner von Siemens passed away in 1892 they had almost 7000 employees.

On December 31, 1924 the decisive discussions were held at Siemenshaus in Berlin, Schöneberger St.. After some hesitation at first, Carl Friedrich von Siemens and Dr. Heinrich von Buol, chairman of the board, agreed to a merger of both companies. Siemens took over from RGS the entire responsibility for finances and production as well as the sales organization in domestic and foreign markets.

In order to make production more efficient, the manufacturing facilities for medical products were moved from Siemens-Wernerwerkes Berlin to Erlangen in 1932. SRV GmbH, RGS and the tube manufacturer Röhrenwerk Phönix in Rudolstadt consolidated to form a more streamlined organization. The name was changed to Siemens-Reiniger-Werke (SRW).

Theodor Sehmer (left) with Queen Mary and the Lord Mayor of London at the 1950 World Fair in London

Construction - Breakdown - Reconstruction
For nearly 20 years, Sehmer worked with great effort at building up the company abroad; he initiated branches in 19 countries and established an international marketing organization. The Second World War completely destroyed his work.

After the war, Sehmer, who with Max Anderlohr ran the affairs of the board of RGS, worked untiringly at reconstruction work - especially in South America. As civil air transport remained closed to Germans for some time after the war, Sehmer traveled for weeks by ship and sometimes traveled for up to 200 days in the year. By 1952 he had visited the following countries: Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Columbia and Venezuela and, with the exception of Ecuador, signed representative agreements with all of them..

In 1956 Sehmer retired from the company and, like Anderlohr, was named to the supervisory board of SRW. At this time the Erlangen operation had 3300 employees - far more than before the war because of the considerable extensions to the plant and the increase in turnover.

Theodor Sehmer died at the age of 94 on March 15, 1979, in Tegernsee. To the very end he kept up the connection with "his" company through lively correspondence.

(Icare online 29. August 2005)

The man known to the city of Erlangen as "caring patriarch" died 45 years ago

"Dr. Max Anderlohr (1884-1961) - member of the board of Siemens-Reiniger-Werke AG and honorary citizen of Erlangen"
Franz Maximilian Anderlohr was born on February 13,1884 in Aschaffenburg as the son of a sea captain and grew up together with many brothers and sisters.

Education and Studies
He attended Realschule in Aschaffenburg and took his school-leaving examination there. After an internship in a measuring instruments factory he studied six terms at the Senior Technical College (Höhere Technische Lehranstalt) in Hildburghausen in Thuringia where he passed his final examinations to become an electrical engineer.

First experience with X-rays
He embarked upon his professional career as a designer with AEG in Berlin in June 1906. During these years of learning, he witnessed William II at a scientific and technical lecture, heard lectures by August Bebel and Georg Ledebour (leading German socialists) and took an interest in social questions and socialism.
After several different jobs, he was employed at Veifa-Werke in both in-house and field service, and was involved in the area of medical application of X-rays. In 1903, while in the technical laboratory of the X-ray pioneer Friedrich Dessauer, he had a "decisive experience": He witnessed the new X-ray technology and immediately anticipated its future potential. His foresight told him that"great sales opportunities for X-ray and electro-medical equipment must exist in the Austrian monarchy. In January 1908 Anderlohr followed the call of his friend Dessauer, the founder of der Veifa-Werke (Vereinigte Elektrotechnische Institute Frankfurt-Aschaffenburg GmbH) in Frankfurt/Main. A period of intensive research and development followed with the development of high frequency apparatus for use in the treatment of cancer, the improvement of X-ray generators as well as of fluoroscopic and radiographic equipment.

Years in Vienna - RGS is a strong competitor
In 1908, the year in which Franz Joseph I celebrated his Diamond Jubilee, Anderlohr went on his first trip to Vienna. He moved to Vienna permanently in 1909. From his father he borrowed 20,000 Reichsmarks and established the general agency of Veifa-Werke in Vienna.
This made him a major competitor of RGS. Anderlohr noted "Nevertheless, after the first year of business, the position held by Veifa-Werke was fairly well established. But its stability was challanged not only by the greater economic strength of RGS but also by the superior quality of the products manufactured in Erlangen featuring very good mechanical precision and hygiene..." RGS had practically the monopoly for Austria-Hungary and the Balkans.
In 1916 RGS acquired the shares in the Veifa private limited company in Vienna and offered Anderlohr the position of head of both Vienna-based companies. In 1921 Anderlohr became a member of the management board of the newly-established RGS holding company, Inag AG, in Erlangen. In the spring of 1922, he moved with his family to Rudolstadt.

X-ray tube activities concentrated in Rudolstadt
Anderlohr wanted to combine the production sites and interests of the RGS group in the X-ray tube segment: Radio-Elektrizitätsgesellschaft in Vienna and Milan, Polyphos-Elektrizitätsgesellschaft in Munich, Radiotechnische Industrie GmbH in Erlangen and Phönix-Röntgenröhrenfabrik (X-ray tube factory) in Rudolstadt.
At the same time, he became senior executive at Veifa-Werke in Frankfurt/Main.
In 1922 Anderlohr decided to set up the group's factory for X-ray tubes in Rudolstadt. At that time, Phönix GmbH was managed by electrical engineer Alfred Ungelenk and glassblower Otto Kiesewetter. Anderlohr transferred the appropriate skilled personnel to Rudolstadt and closed down tube productions in Erlangen and Munich.

Phönix in Rudolstadt
As a specialist in the field of X-ray production, by 1935 Phönix was the world leader with regard to productivity and the quality of its products.
The X-ray product agreement negotiated with the firms C.H.F. Müller in Hamburg and Philips in Eindhoven on the initiative of C.H.F. Müller was of special importance. The main stipulations in this agreement referred to an exchange of industrial property rights and to price agreements.

Member of the board at RGS
Anderlohr became a member of the board of RGS in 1925. At the same time, he was entrusted with the position of Technical Director. With his far-sighted planning, several well-thought out building extensions, intensive work in research and development and in modern production methods, Anderlohr created a production site which won worldwide renown because of its performance and achievements.
Under his management, the smooth transfer of production from the Veifa-Werke AG in Frankfurt to Erlangen was carried out in 1927. In 1932/33, virtually the entire electro-medical production of Siemens & Halske was neatly integrated into the Erlangen production site.

Owing to his own research work and his close contact to famous experts, Anderlohr was successful in advancing technical solutions and technological progress. Since he was responsible for development, many of the innovations resulted from his initiative - like the "Roentgenkugel" (X-ray ball) that was launched on the market in 1933/34 and proved to be a "hot seller" with high sales figures across the world for more than four years, and also the Betatron, a 6 MeV electron accelerator introduced in Europe for radiation therapy for the first time in 1946.

Reconstruction after the Second World War
After the Second World War, when it became obvious that the Rudolstadt factory would be lost, Anderlohr had to react quickly. He obtained " the approval and support of the US occupation forces to move until the end of June 1945 machines, furniture, fittings and materials as well as skilled personnel in several truckloads from Rudolstadt to Erlangen. The Rudolstadt site was expropriated by the Russians in May 1947.
In Erlangen Anderlohr immediately started with the setting up of a new, bigger and state-of-the-art X-ray tube factory as well as a chemical plant for producing fluoroscopic and radiographic screens.
He established an extensive specialist library for his employees. Colloquiums were held regularly at which doctors and other scientists not employed by the company were able to give lectures.

Social commitment and awards
Anderlohr always played an active role in public life. He was on the committee of the local Adult Education Center, Chairman of the Committee of the Economics Society of the University of Erlangen as well as Treasurer of the University Association. He was also Chairman of the Friends and Supporters of the German Röntgen Museum (Deutsches Röntgenmuseum) and Treasurer of the German X-ray Society (Deutsche Röntgengesellschaft).
In accordance with his various achievements, Anderlohr received several honors and awards. He became an honorary member and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Erlangen, was made a freeman of the city of Erlangen, was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit (one of the highest possible honors given by the Federal Republic of Germany for public service), was made an honorary member of the Senate of the University of Erlangen and was given the Deutsche Röntgen Plakette, an award for special services in the field of X-ray technology. The German X-ray Society made him an honorary member, which is very unusual for someone who is not a medical doctor.
In 1952 Anderlohr left the management board of SRW and became a member of the supervisory board, a position he held until 1959.

Anderlohr's gravestone in the central cemetery of Erlangen

Private life
Both of Max Anderlohr's sons from his first marriage were killed during the Second World War. In 1942 he married for a second time and had a daughter.
Max Anderlohr died on January 6, 1961 in Erlangen and was buried in the Erlangen Central Cemetery. His funeral was attended by a large number of Erlangen citizens and employees of the company.

The city of Erlangen honored the "caring patriarch, who had an open mind for science, art and culture" by naming a street in the Erlangen district of Sieglitzhof after him which, together with the von-Buol-Strasse, forms a closed loop.

(Icare online 17. Januar 2006)

30 years ago died Baron Joseph Wilhelm von Bissing, a former member of the board of Siemens-Reiniger-Werke

Baron Joseph-Wilhelm v. Bissing (1900 - 1976)
Baron Joseph-Wilhelm von Bissing was born in Freiburg/Breisgau on June 3, 1900. He started his schooling in Silesia and, from 1914, continued education in Berlin where he took his school-leaving examination.

Apprenticeship and military service
During the First World War he was badly wounded. After his recovery he started to study Law which he completed with his doctorate in 1924.

After his studies, von Bissing started working for Siemens & Halske in Berlin-Siemens-Stadt as assistant to the Financial Director. In 1937 he joined the Siemens-Reiniger-Werke AG in Berlin where he was made manager of the finance department. In July 1939 he was appointed departmental director.

From 1939 to 1942 he did military service. After the end of the war he set about trying to reconstruct Deutsche Telefonwerke und Kabelindustrie AG which had been badly damaged during air raids and then destroyed completely by the Russians.

Appointment to the board of SRW in Erlangen
In the middle of 1946, von Bissing was made an ordinary member of the SRW management board and moved to Erlangen where he assumed the control of commercial and financial affairs, thus relieving the workload of the then board members Theodor Sehmer and Max Anderlohr. When they left the board in 1961 he was appointed a member of the SRW board which had been extended to four members. In 1966 he retired from his active career at SRW.

22-day Strike
The "legendary" strike of 1954 occurred during von Bissing's period of office. It lasted from August 9 to August 31 and claimed high personal and financial sacrifices from both sides. Altogether, throughout the whole of Bavaria, almost 100,000 workers took part in this metalworkers' strike. In a speech to SRW workers on August 21, 1954 von Bissing said:

"We know …… exactly that a majority of the people not here today basically want to work, if they could express this will to work as their hearts - which have become part of this company - dictate. I cannot imagine that the large number of older workers from good times and bad have forgotten their place of work and that they do not care about whether export orders are won or lost, like, for example, the major order from overseas which is being jeopardized at the moment. Our rivals and the strike management will be laughing up their sleeves at this. I know instead that the large number of these workers who are honestly struggling with their consciences at the moment are faced with a conflict which is not easy to solve partly because they feel closely linked to an organization but also, in reality, partly out of fear……"

Voluntary and academic positions held
Joseph-Wilhelm von Bissing was treasurer of the University Association in Erlangen, was honorary member of the senate of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and chief treasurer of the German X-Ray Society (Deutsche Röntgengesellschaft).

In May 1963 he was awarded the Honorary Golden Ring of the city of Erlangen. In the eulogy prepared by Erlangen City Council it says "As economic and financial expert at the top of an industrial company known throughout the world, Baron Dr Josef-Wilhelm von Bissing played a major part in making the city of Erlangen well-known far beyond the city boundaries. The cooperation between the company he represents and Friedrich-Alexander-University initiated and fostered by him has contributed to the worldwide renown enjoyed by the medical faculty at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and of Siemens-Reiniger-Werke."

Baron Josef-Wilhelm von Bissing died aged 75 on May 21, 1976 and was buried in the Altstädter Cemetery in Erlangen.

(Artikel veröffentlicht in: Icare online 13. Juli 2006)

A universal X-ray researcher, politician and natural philosopher would turn 125 years of age on July 19, 2006 - his biography

Friedrich Dessauer (1881 - 1963)
Friedrich Dessauer was born on July 19, 1881 in Aschaffenburg, the tenth of eleven children of the Kommerzienrat (honorary title given to prominent personalities in commerce and industry) Philipp Dessauer, general manager of two incorporated companies dealing with pulp and paper production, and his wife Elise.

Fascination of technology
Even as a young boy, he was attracted by anything technological. "... was I drawn in every free moment (and, as I have to admit, in others not at my free disposal) to heavy machinery and to the operators of such giants of steel... To me this meant creating, shaping, living and a sort of organizing spirit that seemed so much bigger and more serious and important than Cicero's boring letters and Demosthenes' insisting but ineffective speeches before the inattentive citizens of Athens." When fourteen years old he heard of the discovery of the X-radiation. "Some days later, the newspapers published the first articles and so we learned of the news while being in my parent's house in Aschaffenburg, a town not far from Würzburg. Very soon afterwards I built my own X-ray apparatus."

In 1899 Friedrich Dessauer graduated from high schhol and published an article titled "Design of a new simple X-ray system". This was the first of nearly 600 publications from his desk. His papers and articles dealt with the physical and biological principles and the medical technical application of X-rays and explained his philosophical and religious thoughts showing the conflict between religious belief and scientific evidence.

X-ray engineer and business founder
Dessauer studied physics in Munich and Darmstadt. However, after four terms he interrupted his studies in order to concentrate on the development and production of X-ray systems. For this purpose he established in 1901 the Elektrotechnische Laboratorium Aschaffenburg (ELA - electro-technical laboratory). In the same year, as a result of his carelessness during his experiments, he suffered severe radiation burns of the face and the upper abdomen. His brother-in-law, Dr. Wiesner, reported that Dessauer exposed himself twice to a prolonged and intensive irradiation. This resulted in "a purulent ulcerous inflammation covering the entire face including a strong irritation of the conjunctiva of both eyes and an equally strong reaction across the chest."

In 1907 ELA and the Elektrotechnisches Institut Frankfurt merged to form the Vereinigten Elektrotechnischen Institute Frankfurt-Aschaffenburg mbH (Veifa) with Friedrich Dessauer being the chief executive.

(Icare online 20. Juli 2006)

125th Birthday of Max Anderlohr (1884-1961):

Executive Manager of Medical Engineering and Patron of Culture in the City of Erlangen for 30 Years

Dr. Max Anderlohr (1884-1961): Member of the Board of Siemens-Reiniger-Werke AG and Honorary citizen of the City of Erlangen.

Franz Maximilian Anderlohr was born on February 13, 1884 in Aschaffenburg as the son of a sea captain and grew up together with a number of brothers and sisters.

Education and studies
He attended Realschule (junior high school) in Aschaffenburg and took his school leaving examination there. After an internship in a measuring instrument factory he studied six terms at the Höhere Technische Staatslehranstalt (senior technical college) in Hildburghausen / Thuringia, where he passed his final examinations to become an electrical engineer.

First experiences with X-rays
In 1903 he experienced a decisive moment in the technical laboratory of the X-ray pioneer Friedrich Dessauer; he witnessed experiments with the new X-ray technology and immediately recognized its future importance. With foresight, he realized that "there should be a high sales potential for X-ray and electromedical apparatus in the kingdom of Austria".

He began his professional career as a designer with AEG in Berlin in the year 1906. After several different jobs, he was employed with the Veifa-Werke (Vereinigte Elektrotechnische Institute Frankfurt-Aschaffenburg GmbH) both in-house and in field service and was involved in the area of medical applications of X-rays.

In January 1908 he followed the call of his friend, Friedrich Dessauer, the founder of Veifa-Werke in Frankfurt/Main. This was followed by a period of fruitful research projects: the development and design of high-frequency equipment for use in cancer treatment, the improvement of X-ray control desks, as well as the design of radiographic and fluoroscopic units.

Years in Vienna - as a strong competitor of RGS
In 1908, Anderlohr made his first trip to Vienna. This was the year that Emperor Franz Josef I celebrated his 60th crown jubilee. He moved to Vienna permanently in 1909, where he intended to open a Veifa-Werke branch office. From his father Max Anderlohr, he borrowed 20,000 Reichsmark, and on February 9, 1909 became the general agent of the Veifa-Werke in Vienna, thus becoming a strong competitor for RGS.

By the year 1916, the Veifa-Werke had expanded considerably and its business volume almost matched that of the RGS agency. However, World War I put an end to this positive development. The Veifa-Werke decided against war deliveries. The loss in exports and the general decline of incoming orders caused serious economic difficulties for the Veifa-Werke in Frankfurt and later in Vienna as well.

Professor Dessauer, who was a member of the management of RGS, made a favorable offer to take over Veifa shares and, in 1916, Max Anderlohr was offered the post of managing director of the two Vienna-based companies. In 1921 Anderlohr became general manager of the Veifa-Werke in Frankfurt/Main.

In the year 1919, the electrical engineer Alfred Ungelenk (1890-1978) and the glass blower Otto Kiesewetter (1874-1938) established their company "Ungelenk & Kiesewetter" for the production of medical X-ray tubes and related vacuum tubes in Rudolstadt/Thuringia. The Veifa-Werke became their main customer. One and a half years later another company, named "Phönix GmbH, Glastechnische Werkstätten in Rudolstadt/Thüringen" was founded.

In 1922 Max Anderlohr decided to set up an X-ray tube factory for RGS in Rudolstadt. "Among the reasons for a production facility in Rudolstadt were the glass blower's attachment to the area, the proximity to glassworks and, in addition, the readiness of the city council … to let us purchase a suitable building site for a reasonable price…" Anderlohr transferred the appropriately skilled personal to Rudolstadt and closed down tube production in Erlangen and Munich. Veifa was included in the fusion of S&H and RGS, resulting in the formation of the "Siemens-Reiniger-Veifa-Werke AG" (SRV). A second merger in 1932 also included the tube factory, and the company was renamed "Siemens-Reiniger-Werke AG" (SRW). The tube factory was now known as "Siemens-Reiniger-Werke AG Röntgenröhrenwerk Rudolstadt" and employed a staff of 240.

Member of the board of RGS
Anderlohr became a member of the board of RGS in 1925. At the same time, he was entrusted with the position of technical director. With his far-sighted planning, numerous dedicated plant extensions, extensive work in research and development, as well as modern industrial methods, Anderlohr created a production site that gained worldwide renown.
Under his management, the smooth transfer of production from the Veifa-Werke AG in Frankfurt to Erlangen was carried out in 1927. In 1932/33, virtually the entire production of electro-medical equipment was fully integrated in the Erlangen production facilities.
In the winter of 1923/24, Anderlohr made his first trip to America. He visited numerous physicians and hospitals, General Electric Co. and met William Coolidge, inventor of the
X-ray tube. "I have bought samples of important new apparatus and equipment such as used in well-equipped American X-ray institutes and shipped them to our new factories in Erlangen and Frankfurt. Also included was the "oil-immersed unit", an X-ray unit designed for use in dentistry, featuring a single housing with built-in transformer and X-ray tube. This unit can be regarded as the predecessor of the 'Roentgenkugel' which I developed in 1932."
This "X-ray ball", introduced to the market in 1933/34, was sold in large numbers for four decades and was a truly self-selling item. Under Anderlohrs management the Betatron, a 6 MeV electron accelerator for radiation therapy, was developed, and the first unit in Europe was installed in 1946.

Loss of the tube factory in Rudolstadt
The aftermath of the Second World War had far-reaching effects for the tube factory in Rudolstadt. By the end of March 1945, the allied troops reached Thuringia. On April 3, the American troops broke through and the factory ceased operation. Production was restarted on June 5. But in the same month it became certain that the Western allies would not be stationed in Thuringia for long. This prompted the relocation of important material and personnel to Erlangen, since there was the general fear of a Russian occupation and the confiscation of the factory. Anderlohr turned to the American military government for help and, by the end of June 1945, "with the approval and support of the US occupational forces machines, transported furniture and fittings, materials and skilled personnel with several trucks from Rudolstadt to Erlangen." In May 1947 the Rudolstadt site was expropriated by the Russians .
Mandatory membership and "denazification"

During the Third Reich, Anderlohr was plant manager of SRW in Erlangen and Rudolstadt. in 1937 he joined the NSDAP party. His membership was the result of the on-going pressure from the Nazi regime, giving reason to fear that otherwise Anderlohr's responsibilities would be taken over by someone true to party principles, who would put party interests before company interests.

Immediately after the end of the war, Anderlohr attempted to resume operations of the factory, which started smoothly at first. All the more surprising was his arrest by the US military on June 28, 1945. On August 1, 1946, Anderlohr was classified a mere nominal member by the court of arbitration. The "proven fact of his repeated assistance and support of victims and opponents of national socialism" were considered extenuating circumstances. When, after weeks and months, he was still incarcerated the company filed an increasing number of petitions with the US military administration. At first, there was no response. Maximiliane Kleindiek, née Anderlohr, reports that "one did not even allow him to see his mother on her birthday." No earlier than March 1, 1946, Anderlohr was set free after the proceedings were reopened.

Rebuilding after the Second World War
Immediately after his release, Anderlohr set to work establishing a new state-of-the-art
X-ray factory in Erlangen, as well as a chemical plant for the manufacture of fluoroscopic and radiographic intensifying screens.

Soon after the end of the war he became involved in providing adequate living conditions for his staff. He promoted a social housing program and set up a company pension plan.

Anderlohr established an extensive special library for his employees and colloquia were held regularly, at which doctors and other scientists not employed by the company were invited to give lectures.

Social commitment and public awards
Max Anderlohr always played an active roll in public life. He was on the committee of the Volkshochschule (adult education center), chairman of the committee of the Volkswirtschaftliche Gesellschaft (economics society) of the University of Erlangen, as well as treasurer of the university association. He was also chairman of the Friends and Supporters of the German Roentgen Museum (Deutsches Röntgenmuseum) and treasurer of the German X-ray society (Deutsche Röntgengesellschaft).

In accordance with his various achievements, Anderlohr received many honors and awards. He received an honorary doctorate and was made an honorary member of the universities of Stuttgart and Erlangen, was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit (one of the highest honors given by the Federal Republic of Germany), and was given honorary citizenship by the City of Erlangen. From the German X-Ray Society he received the 'Deutsche Röntgenplakette' and became their honorary member, very unusual for someone who is not a medical doctor.

In 1952, Anderlohr left the management board of SRW and became a member of the supervisory board, remaining a member until 1959.

Private life
In World War II, Max Anderlohr lost both his sons from his first marriage. In 1992 he married his second wife and had one daughter from this marriage. Her father is still quite present in the memories of Maximiliane Kleindiek, née Anderlohr,:

"I remember my father as a very warm-hearted, loving and caring person who was very charismatic. He made friends easily and, at the same time, was held in great respect.
He lived according to the motto: Be attentive to the world around you, derive the consequences for your own actions from it, and take part in the pleasures and sorrows of others. He was very demanding towards himself and his immediate staff members. On the other hand, he always found time for those who came to seek his advice and support, and he never made any social distinctions.
Despite his great responsibility and his numerous fields of activity, he considered it important to spend time with his family and friends. I never had the feeling that his work kept him from being together with my mother and myself. Hospitality was important to him; we entertained guests in our house several times a week.
My father was a particularly bibliophilic person. From an early age on he collected books and was rather proud of his large library. He was genuinely happy about the honors and awards he received and accepted them with deeply felt gratitude."

Max Anderlohr died on January 6, 1961 in Erlangen and was buried in the Erlangen Central Cemetery. His funeral was attended by a large number of Erlangen citizens, as well as employees of the company.

The eulogy for this great entrepreneur and famous citizen of Erlangen was held by the canon Baron von Pölnitz, with moving words:

"/Max Anderlohr/ was truly a 'gentleman' in the original sense of the word. … and it is for this reason that several thousand for whom he was responsible had so much confidence in him. He was their superior, of which they were well aware, but he was an understanding boss and, what is more, a fatherly person… The curve of his success in life was an outstanding one. It can only be described as one single route of success. It started in the days when his fatherly friend, Professor Dessauer, made him aware that the secrets of the X-rays represented an enormous potential which the new era would have to develop and that X-ray research will become an almost unlimited field. And then in Vienna, where he took part in the social life of this wonderful city and, at the same time, achieved so much in his work. He then came to our city, where he spent 35 years and worked at the Siemens-Reiniger-Werke as the technical manager and member of the board. This is where he actually built his life's work by increasing and developing the company in all of its aspects. This makes us appreciate that his life was truly a via triumphalis.
But one day, even for Max Anderlohr this road of success led to catastrophy:
"The deepest wound, however, and the hardest to bear was inflicted by the war. As you all know, both of his sons were killed. His two sons were his hope, his happiness. He, who experienced so much luck and success in his life, could barely comprehend that this had happened, and he needed a very long time to understand".

But especially the hard times of war and the hardships in the years afterwards underscore Anderlohr's inner dedication to his work and his employees.
"They (his employees) found a human being full of advice. And how often, without any one knowing it, has he counseled and helped all those that he regarded as his compatriots. ..Now, they are happy to have given him a token of their love in the course of life, when he was in need. They stood by him and gave evidence of that in the list of signatures … as again today …"