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 manufacture ...

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 par ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, 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 cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. ...

; from there, it went into

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 Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

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 political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

, 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 of the sportswear company Puma and nephew of Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, found ...

, 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 tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, mali ...

at the age of 76.Adidas and Puma bury the hatchet
by Alan Hall on ''The Telegraph'', 21 Sep 2009

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

Life

Death

See also

References

External links