Adolf Rosenberger (Born: 8 April 1900 in

Pforzheim Pforzheim () is a city of over 125,000 inhabitants in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, in the southwest of Germany. It is known for its jewelry and watch-making industry, and as such has gained the nickname "Goldstadt" ("Golden City") ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Died: 6 December 1967 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, USA) was a successful

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

businessman who mainly raced Mercedes and Benz cars in the 1920s. His successes and records included wins at Avus, Stuttgart Solitude in 1924 and 1925, the Kasseler Herkules Hillclimb and the Klausenpassrennen. At the 1926 German Grand Prix, Rosenberger was involved in one of the numerous accidents in treacherous conditions. He survived a crash into the timekeepers' box, which killed its three occupants.

Biography

In 1931, he founded the

Porsche GmbH Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company is ...

together with

Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was an Austrian-German automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first gasoline–electric hybrid vehicle (Lohner–Porsche), the Volksw ...

and Dr.

Anton Piëch Anton Piëch (; 21 September 1894 – 29 August 1952) was an Austrian-German lawyer and the son-in-law of Ferdinand Porsche. He headed Volkswagenwerk GmbH between 1941 and 1945, which produced the Volkswagen vehicles ('' KdF-Wagen'') at the factor ...

. With Rosenberger's financial backing, Dr. Ferdinand Porsche and Dr. Anton Piëch started the company with some former co-workers including chief designer Karl Rabe. Rosenberger was also instrumental in the creation of the Auto Union concern, being credited with influencing Porsche's choice of a mid-engined design for the Auto Union racing cars. Despite Rosenberger's contribution to the development of German automobiles and German auto racing, when Hitler came to power in Germany, Rosenberger, a Jew, was arrested for "

Rassenschande ''Rassenschande'' (, "racial shame") or ''Blutschande'' ( "blood disgrace") was an anti-miscegenation concept in Nazi German racial policy, pertaining to sexual relations between Aryans and non-Aryans. It was put into practice by policies like ...

" (racial crimes), and imprisoned at KZ Schloss Kislau near Karlsruhe. He was released, by the goodwill of a colleague, Hans Baron Veyder Mahlberg who bribed Gestapo agents, but he was forced to leave Germany immediately. He emigrated to France, and later to Great Britain, representing Porsche GmbH in both of those countries. He immigrated to the United States in 1939 and in 1944 he became a US-citizen under the name of ''Alan Arthur Robert''. He moved to California, where he was active in motorsports and the automobile business. He died in Los Angeles, California, in 1967. During the Nazi era, the role in the auto history of many Jews, like Adolf Rosenberger, along with

Josef Ganz Josef Ganz (1 July 1898 – 26 July 1967) was a Jewish-German car designer born in Budapest, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Hungary). Early years Josef Ganz was born on 1 July 1898 into a Jewish family living in Budapest, then the second-largest ...

Siegfried Marcus Siegfried Samuel Marcus (; 18 September 1831 – 1 July 1898) was a German inventor. Marcus was born of Jewish descent in Malchin, in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. He made the first petrol-powered vehicle in 1864, while living ...

, and

Edmund Rumpler Edmund Elias Rumpler (4 January 1872 – 7 September 1940) was an Austrian automobile and aircraft designer. Born in Vienna, then Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Austria),Wise 1974, p.1964 he worked mainly in Germany.Lyons 1988, p.73 An automo ...

was written out of history.

External links

Grand Prix Insider: 12 December

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenberger, Adolf Businesspeople from Baden-Württemberg German founders of automobile manufacturers 20th-century American Jews German emigrants to the United States 1900 births 1967 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom People from Pforzheim Porsche people Automotive businesspeople