Michael Felke (

Laufersweiler Laufersweiler is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of ...

, 18 April 1895 - Sohren, 8 April 1977) was a German furniture manufacturer.

Life

Michael Felke was the first of four children and came from a poor family background. He learned the job of a joiner in his father’s small carpenter's workshop in Laufersweiler (State of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

). Michael Felke inherited his father’s carpenter's workshop in 1919 after

World War I 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 ...

. He then moved the workshop to Sohren in 1928 and started expanding - the beginning of the company Felke-Möbelwerke GmbH & Co.KG.''Laufersweiler, Geschichte eines Hunsrückdorfes'', Schriftenreihe 22, Fritz Schellack, Argental 1994 Due to his dedication he was known as an industrial pioneer in the Hunsrück region. He managed to boost the region’s industry and created many jobs. Michael Felke was married to Maria Felke and the father of 3 sons. Among his sons were Aloys Felke, manufacturer and politician, and Günter Felke, manufacturer, numismatist and patron.

Distinctions

In 1957 Pope Pius XII decorated Michael Felke with the „Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice“ award for his social commitment. His home town Sohren nominated Felke

honorary citizen Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

. In 1965 he was awarded the German Federal Cross of Merit, First class.''18.April 1895–1995, Michael Felke 100 Jahre, Pionier der Industrieansiedlung im Hunsrück'',

Rhein-Zeitung The Rhein-Zeitung (''RZ'') is a regional German daily broadsheet newspaper published in Koblenz by Mittelrhein-Verlag GmbH and distributed across Rhineland-Palatinate. Notable people Editors References

German-language newspapers Da ...

vom 22./23. April 1995

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Felke, Michael 1895 births 1977 deaths People from Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis German Roman Catholics German furniture makers Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People from the Rhine Province