Fritz Mannheimer
| Fritz Mannheimer | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Fritz Sjölin Mannheimer 19 September 1890 Stuttgart, Württemberg |
| Died | 9 August 1939 (aged 48) Vaucresson, France |
| Nationality | German |
| Citizenship | Dutch |
| Alma mater | University of Heidelberg |
| Occupation | Financier |
| Employer | Mendelssohn & Co. |
| Spouse(s) | Marie Antoinette Jeanne Reiss (m. 1939) |
| Children | Anne-France Mannheimer (b. 1939) |
Fritz Sjölin Mannheimer (19 September 1890 – 9 August 1939) was a German-born and, from 1936, Dutch banker and art collector who was the director of the Amsterdam branch of the Berlin-based investment bank Mendelssohn & Co. that was for some time the main supporter of the Dutch capital market. Known as the "King of Flying Capital", he was one of the main organisers of credit for post-war Germany. His international financial work brought him recognition, such as being awarded Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur. His collection was bought by Hitler in 1941, but it was returned to the Netherlands after the war.
Born in to a Jewish family in Stuttgart, Württemberg, Germany, he was a son of Max Mannheimer, a wine merchant, and his wife, Lili Sara Fränkel. He attended the University of Heidelberg where he obtained a PhD in law and became a Dutch citizen in 1936.
According to an obituary of the banker published in the 21 August 1939 edition of Time:
During the War, barely out of college, he got a job in the German Government bureau directing the flow of raw materials through Germany. In no time, he headed it. At 27 he persuaded Belgian industrialists to accept the paper currency issued in occupied territory. After the War he managed Germany's central monetary office, where his first job was to organize the Amsterdam branch of the famous, 125-year-old Mendelssohn & Co. Bank." The article continued, "Mysterious (few people even knew his name), powerful, grasping, he began to formulate the financial policies of nations and to get fat. At one time he worked simultaneously for the German, Austrian, Czech, Polish, Hungarian, Yugoslav and Romanian Central Banks. Twice he turned down the presidency of the German Reichsbank, the second time proposing Hjalmar Schacht in his place. Schacht got the job. He began to buy antiques, among them the valuable Eucharistic Dove stolen from Salzburg's Cathedral. He was too skeptical to have any truck with Ivar Kreuger or any private financier. His was the last Jewish-owned bank allowed to do business in Germany.
...
Wikipedia