Rudolf "Rudi" Dassler (26 March 1898 – 27 October 1974) was a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
cobbler, businessman, a member of the Nazi party and also the founder of the sportswear company
Puma.
He was the older brother of
Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...
founder,
Adolf "Adi" Dassler. The brothers were partners in a shoe company Adolf started, "Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik" ( en, Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory). Rudolf joined in 1924. However, after a
feud
A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...
developed between them following
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the brothers went separate ways and started their respective companies in 1948.
Initially calling the new company "Ruda" (an acronym for Rudolf Dassler), it was soon changed to its present name of
Puma. Puma is the native
Quechua
Quechua may refer to:
*Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru
*Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language
**So ...
word for
cougar
The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...
; from there, it went into
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
as well as other languages.
Life
After his return from World War I, Adolf Dassler, Rudolf's younger brother, started to produce sports shoes in his mother's kitchen. His father, Christoph, who worked in a shoe factory, and the brothers Zehlein, who produced the handmade spikes for track shoes in their blacksmith's shop, supported Adolf in starting his own business. In 1924, Rudolf joined the business, which became the Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory).
With the rise 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 ...
in the 1930s, both Dassler brothers joined the
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 ...
, with Rudolf reputed as being the more ardent Nazi.
During the war, a growing rift between the pair reached a breaking point after an Allied bomb attack in 1943 when Adi and his wife climbed into a bomb shelter that Rudolf and his family were already in: "The dirty bastards are back again," Adi said, apparently referring to the Allied war planes, but Rudolf was convinced his brother meant him and his family. Rudolf, upon his capture by American troops, was suspected of being a member of the SS, information supposedly supplied by Adolf.
Under his direction,
Puma remained a small provincial company. Only under the direction of his son,
Armin Dassler
Armin Dassler (15 March 1929 – 10 October 1990) was the son of Rudolf Dassler, German founder
Founder or Founders may refer to:
Places
*Founders Park, a stadium in South Carolina, formerly known as Carolina Stadium
* Founders Park, a watersi ...
, did it become the worldwide known company it remains today.
Death
Rudi Dassler died on 27 October 1974 of
lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...
at the age of 76.
Adidas and Puma bury the hatchet
by Alan Hall on ''The Telegraph'', 21 Sep 2009
See also
*German inventors and discoverers
----
__NOTOC__
This is a list of German inventors and discoverers. The following list comprises people from Germany or German-speaking Europe, and also people of predominantly German heritage, in alphabetical order of the surname.
For the li ...
References
External links
Brozzas.de
– biography – Rudolf Dassler
*
Which two brands were founded by rival brothers?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dassler, Rudolf
1898 births
1974 deaths
Rudolf
People from Herzogenaurach
German billionaires
German company founders
20th-century German businesspeople
Shoe designers
German military personnel of World War II
Nazi Party members
People from the Kingdom of Bavaria
Deaths from lung cancer
Adidas people
Puma (brand)
Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
German military personnel of World War I
National Socialist Motor Corps members