Herbert Felix (1908–1973) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

of Austrian-Jewish descent and the founder of the food companies AB Felix and Felix Austria. Herbert Felix was born in an Austrian-Jewish business family in the town of

Znojmo Znojmo (; german: Znaim) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. Znojmo is the historical and cultural centre of southwestern Moravia and the second most populated town in the South Moravian ...

, then part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(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 ...

a part of

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and since 1992 of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

). He started working for the family company Löw & Felix, which was known for its type of ''Znaimer Gurken'' cucumbers, and Herbert Felix was trained to become his father's successor as the company's CEO. He was responsible for the company's export and as such got the opportunity to travel around in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. During a visit to Sweden, he met his first wife. In 1938, Herbert Felix decided to leave Czechoslovakia following the annexation of Sudetenland by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. He came as a refugee to Sweden and in 1939 he started working for the company AB P. Håkansson in

Eslöv Eslöv (; older da, Eslev) is a town and the seat of Eslöv Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 19,598 inhabitants as of 2018. Eslöv is part of the Öresund Region. History According to a map from 1717, Eslöv village was originally l ...

. The activity was first run as a part of AB P. Håkansson, which through its cooperation with Felix could find an outlet for its surplus of

vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to eth ...

in the factory. The success came in the early 1940s and the name "Felix" was started to be used by AB P. Håkansson as its trademark. During

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 opposing ...

, Herbert Felix fought as a volunteer in the Czech exiled forces and made unsuccessful efforts to save his family from the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

. He joined as an officer in the Czech forces in Britain and participated in the Allies' war in France. In the end of the war, he came with the U.S. forces to Czechoslovakia where he became ultimately aware of his family's fate. His parents and brother had already in the autumn of 1944 been deported from

Theresienstadt Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination ca ...

to Auschwitz where they had been murdered. On his way back to Sweden, Herbert Felix was however able to rescue one of his best friends from a prison camp controlled by the Soviet forces. After the war, Herbert Felix returned to Eslöv to continue to develop the company, which he purchased together with the chairman of the board in 1948. Under his leadership, the company introduced classical Swedish food products such as ''

bostongurka Bostongurka ( Swedish meaning "Boston cucumber") is a type of relish with pickled gherkins, red bell pepper and onion with spices such as mustard seeds. It is so popular in Sweden that it is considered by some to be a generic term. Despite it ...

'', cucumber for sandwiches and

ketchup Ketchup or catsup is a table condiment with a sweet and tangy flavor. The unmodified term ("ketchup") now typically refers to tomato ketchup, although early recipes used egg whites, mushrooms, oysters, grapes, mussels, or walnuts, among o ...

in plastic bottles. The

canned food Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container ( jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although ...

department of the company was named Felix in 1955. In 1959, he started business in Austria after a request from his cousin, the Social Democratic politician (and later

Chancellor of Austria The chancellor of the Republic of Austria () is the head of government of the Republic of Austria. The position corresponds to that of Prime Minister in several other parliamentary democracies. Current officeholder is Karl Nehammer of the Aus ...

)

Bruno Kreisky Bruno Kreisky (; 22 January 1911 – 29 July 1990) was an Austrian social democratic politician who served as Foreign Minister from 1959 to 1966 and as Chancellor from 1970 to 1983. Aged 72 at the end of his chancellorship, he was the oldes ...

. The new company became known as Felix Austria. Due to economic difficulties, in 1961 Herbert Felix sold 80% of his holdings in the company to Svenska Sockerfabriks AB (SSA, Sockerbolaget) and the rest in 1964. Herbert Felix died in

Torekov Torekov () is a locality situated in Båstad Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 863 inhabitants in 2010. It is still a fishing village but it is today known as a summer resort. In August, 1971 Torekov hosted a meeting in which it was decide ...

, Sweden in 1973.

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