Dynastien in NRW: Oetker

The Oetkers: They are one of the most famous and richest families in Germany. Since the beginnings of the family business, based in Bielefeld, around 120 years ago, Oetker products have been present in many German households for generations. By contrast, the history of the Oetker family and their company, which is still run by members of the family, is relatively little known. It is a mirror of German history. Characterized by successful entrepreneurship on the one hand, but also by the loss of family members in both world wars and a deep involvement in National Socialism. Rudolf August Oetker (1916-2007), the grandson of the company's founder, was a member of the Waffen-SS. And Richard Kaselowsky (1888-1944), the company trustee during the Nazi era, did extensive business with the Nazis and was a member of the circle of friends of Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler. Kaselowsky and some members of the Oetker family died in the bombing of their house in 1944. After World War II, Rudolf August Jr., born in 1916, embodied the West German “economic miracle.” A hands-on and forward-looking entrepreneur, he didn't just bet on cake and pudding. Like managing director Kaselowsky before him, Rudolf August Jr. focused on diversifying and internationalizing the Oetker Group. A strategy that his heirs continued. Today, the Oetker holding company unites several hundred companies in sectors including shipping, food, and alcohol. The Radeberger Group, with other beer brands based in East Germany, is also part of the Oetker portfolio, as is Bankhaus Lampe. The film at hand deals with the role of the Oetker company as a pillar of National Socialism, but omits the conflicts of patriarch Rudolf August Jr. over how to deal with this history. Until his death in 2007, he had opposed a comprehensive investigation of this chapter of his biography and the company's history. One cannot reduce his father to this chapter, emphasizes August Oetker, who was born in 1944, steered the group's fortunes until 2009 and opened the family archives to historians. The results of the research were published after the film was completed. What does it mean to be an Oetker? In this film, August (born 1944) and Richard (born 1951) Oetker, as well as Rosely Schweizer, Carl-Ferdinand Oetker and Alfred Oetker, provide information about this. The picture is completed by the memoirs of Maja Oetker, the third wife of the Oetker patriarch of the post-war period, who died in 2007. She speaks for the first time on camera. The result is a fascinating portrait of an important German business dynasty.