Robert Bosch

Peter Theiner

doi:10.17104/9783406741463

Summary

Robert Bosch (1861 - 1942) was one of the most successful German entrepreneurs and philanthropists of the 20th century and, at the same time, a pioneer of the social market economy. This book presents a comprehensive and impressive biography of a visionary who thought far ahead of his time like almost no other. Peter Theiner follows the traces of this trailblazer of modernity who founded a global company.

1886, Robert Bosch opened his Werkstätte für Feinmechanik und Elektrotechnik, today’s Robert Bosch GmbH, in a modest rear building. Pioneering innovations for motorized vehicles emerged from the young company, and Bosch was quickly able to point to tremendous international successes as an industrialist. Today, his name represents the rise of motor vehicles and electricity in the home. In addition, he also had an impact as a benefactor and philanthropist with a well-developed political profile and a strong sense of social responsibility. In a time of wars and upheaval, in an age of extremes, Bosch positioned himself as a staunch Democrat who cut against the grain of German history.

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2019
ISBN-Print: 978-3-406-74145-6
ISBN-Online: 978-3-406-74146-3
Publisher: C.H.BECK Literatur - Sachbuch - Wissenschaft, München
Language: English
Pages: 507
Product type: Book Titles

Titelei/Inhaltsverzeichnis No access Pages 1 - 8
Preface No access Pages 9 - 13
1. Württemberg prior to industrialization No access Pages 13 - 15
2. Family life and political culture No access Pages 15 - 20
3. Education and life world No access Pages 20 - 29
4. Travels and reforms No access Pages 29 - 39
5. Take off, company founding, and a "chokehold" No access Pages 39 - 46
6. Successes, expansion, and internationalization No access Pages 46 - 56
7. Modernization and social policies No access Pages 56 - 64
8. Social policies at Bosch No access Pages 64 - 69
9. Civic pride and patronage No access Pages 69 - 76
10. A backlog of reforms, Taylorism, and a strike No access Pages 76 - 82
11. No conversion and a Liberal encyclopedia No access Pages 82 - 92
1. Mobilization and the "Spirit of 1914" No access Pages 92 - 97
2. Anger and restraint No access Pages 97 - 106
3. Great hardship and philanthropic foundations No access Pages 106 - 127
4. The meaning and aims of the war No access Pages 127 - 138
5. The German National Committee No access Pages 138 - 141
6. "Mitteleuropa " No access Pages 141 - 148
7. Peace resolution and the fall of the chancellor No access Pages 148 - 154
8. A memorandum before the last offensive No access Pages 154 - 156
9. Thinking beyond the war: The German College for Political Science No access Pages 156 - 158
10. The bursting of the "bubble" No access Pages 158 - 165
1. No system change without free elections No access Pages 165 - 170
2. The Democratic Popular Union No access Pages 170 - 173
3. Councils, socialization, and company statutes No access Pages 173 - 187
4. The company and the effects of the war No access Pages 187 - 190
5. Setting the course for corporate governance No access Pages 190 - 192
6. New approaches to company communications No access Pages 192 - 199
7. Social policies in the firm No access Pages 199 - 202
8. Searching for peace No access Pages 202 - 211
9. Change through rapprochement and European integration No access Pages 211 - 222
10. Seeking an end to the "stereotypical Frenchman" No access Pages 222 - 228
11. Crisis, renewal, and securing the company's future No access Pages 228 - 238
12. For the republic and international understanding No access Pages 238 - 254
1. The transfer of power No access Pages 254 - 260
2. A "wall of protection" for the firm No access Pages 260 - 265
3. "Enforced conformity" and illusions No access Pages 265 - 273
4. Armaments boom and concerns No access Pages 273 - 287
5. Motives for resistance No access Pages 287 - 288
6. The end of liberal adult education and the independent media No access Pages 288 - 292
7. The company, the "Nazi wave"– an anniversary and the Bosch-Zünder No access Pages 292 - 301
8. A new clinic No access Pages 301 - 305
9. Bosch and his Jewish fellow citizens No access Pages 305 - 315
10. In the maelstrom of the war economy No access Pages 315 - 327
11. Still for peace and cooperation No access Pages 327 - 335
12. The Bosch-Goerdeler connection No access Pages 335 - 346
13. Business as a cover for resistance No access Pages 346 - 381
14. A state funeral for Bosch No access Pages 381 - 385
1. Forced labor at Bosch and late compensation for the victims No access Pages 385 - 392
2. Conspiracy, failure, and late honor No access Pages 392 - 399
3. The decision to create the Robert Bosch Foundation No access Pages 399 - 403
1. Acknowledgments No access Pages 403 - 405
2. Notes No access Pages 405 - 470
3. List of Abbreviations No access Pages 470 - 472
4. Archives No access Pages 472 - 473
5. Newspapers and Periodicals No access Pages 473 - 474
6. Printed Sources and Literature No access Pages 474 - 501
7. Index of Persons No access Pages 501 - 507
About the author No access Pages 507 - 507