Edwin Bechstein (1859 – 15 September 1934) was a German piano maker and businessman and early supporter of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

. He was the son of

Carl Bechstein Friedrich Wilhelm Carl Bechstein (1 June 18266 March 1900) was the maker of C. Bechstein Pianofortefabrik, C. Bechstein pianos and the founder of C. Bechstein Pianofortefabrik. Biography Carl Bechstein was born on 1 June 1826 in Gotha (town), G ...

and was the owner of the

C. Bechstein C. Bechstein Pianoforte AG (also known as Bechstein, ) is a German manufacturer of pianos, established in 1853 by Carl Bechstein. History Before Bechstein Young Carl Bechstein studied and worked in France and England as a piano craftsman, be ...

piano company from 1900 to 1923 when it became a limited company. A later restructuring in 1934 put his wife Helene Bechstein as majority shareholder. He died on 15 September 1934 and received a state funeral attended by Hitler and other

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

officials.

Early career

Bechstein was born in 1859 as the oldest of three brothers, Carl Jr., and Johannes, sons of the piano maker

. He took over the company from his father in 1900 following Carl's death. He spent most of his time working in the firm's London operations and influenced the design of the Bechstein Theatre (later renamed Wigmore Hall) in London. Whilst in London he met Helene Capito, whom he would marry. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Bechstein left the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in 1914 with the company's assets being seized as enemy property in 1916 under the Trading With The Enemy Amendment Act 1916. In 1923, C. Bechstein became a limited company with all three brothers on the board. In 1926, Bechstein was behind the opening of a new showroom on Berlin's Kurfürstendamm.

Hitler

In 1921, Edwin met Hitler and lent him the Bechstein's home as a

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

residence. The Bechsteins supported Hitler and the NSDAP and gave him financial contributions with Edwin specifically helping to fund the publication of the Nazi ''

Völkischer Beobachter The ''Völkischer Beobachter'' (; "'' Völkisch'' Observer") was the newspaper of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) from 25 December 1920. It first appeared weekly, then daily from 8 February 1923. For twenty-four years it formed part of the official pub ...

'' newspaper. Following his release from prison after the

Beer Hall Putsch The Beer Hall Putsch, also known as the Munich Putsch,Dan Moorhouse, ed schoolshistory.org.uk, accessed 2008-05-31.Known in German as the or was a failed coup d'état by Nazi Party ( or NSDAP) leader Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff and othe ...

, Helene had been teaching Hitler table manners and Edwin introduced him into German high society. In 1923 Edwin, Helene and Dietrich Eckart took Hitler to visit Siegfried Wagner and introduced them. At the time, Bechstein was the guardian of Wagner's daughter

Winifred Winifred is a feminine given name, an anglicization of Welsh ''Gwenffrewi'', from ''gwen'', "fair", and ''ffrew'', "stillness". It may refer to: People * Saint Winifred * Winifred Atwell (1914–1983), a pianist who enjoyed great popularity in Bri ...

and responsible for her education. Reportedly Siegfried Wagner regarded Hitler as a "fraud and an upstart" for appearing before him in a traditional Bavarian checked shirt and leather shorts. Much of the money Bechstein gave to Hitler was undocumented with the only recorded transaction being when Bechstein guaranteed Hitler for a loan of RM26,000 for a new car. However, due to his closeness with Hitler and the Nazis, Bechstein was ejected from the board of C. Bechstein because of negative press coverage about it impacting the company. Though Edwin retained shares, his close family took control in 1934 when a company restructuring made Helene the majority shareholder. Hitler also resided at Bechstein's apartment on 29 January 1933 on his last day as a private citizen before becoming

Chancellor of Germany The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,; often shortened to ''Bundeskanzler''/''Bundeskanzlerin'', / is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the Ge ...

Death

Bechstein died on 15 September 1934 in

Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps, south of Berchtesgaden; the ...

. Hitler gave him a state funeral in Berlin, attending personally along with other high ranking Nazi officials. He was buried in

Friedhof II der Sophiengemeinde Berlin The Friedhof II der Sophiengemeinde Berlin is a Protestant cemetery of the Sophienkirche in Berlin-Mitte, Germany. Notable interments (*) = An Ehrengrab awarded by the "Landes Berlin" * Adam Weishaupt German philosopher, professor of civil law ...

though his grave was later lost.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bechstein, Edwin 1859 births 1934 deaths German businesspeople Deaths in Germany Adolf Hitler Piano makers Bechstein family