Berthold Beitz

… lives on in the memory of many who stood by him, crossed him or more. He was not a founder but the keeper, comparable to Hermann Josef Abs.

Still more, Beitz looked up from daily business to far beyond it – sometimes the cruel ethics of the Third Reich, sometimes into the distance as far as Tehran and Moscow, and then again to the necessary hands of local politics.

Beitz was hard to dissuade from decisions taken – whether by the disadvantages after the war, nor by striving to gain a foothold in America, nor arguments with the family, nor separation from friends.

Berthold Beitz did not impress by physical size, but his presence was all-powerful, even where he was not present. He also had respect for all, especially those who followed him. People like him take us further, even beyond their earthly presence – only the conviction of his indispensability interferes with finding his successor.

That’s the challenge on the table now: he has left us very big shoes to fill. I would have wished at least one more Christmas for him: Berthold Beitz’s spirit has not left us, nor me.