Berthold Finkelstein
Founder of the Gustav Stresemann Institute
Berthold Finkelstein was born in Krefeld in 1925. Due to Jewish heritage of his father Hans, Berthold had been persecuted in the times of National Socialism, and as such was subjected to forced labor at the Lower Rhine sites of I.G. Farben. Against all odds, Berthold, his mother Annemarie and both his siblings all survived the war. After the end of the Second World War, he took up studies at the University of Bonn in 1945. He chose chemistry, theology, and economics as his subjects of study and graduated with a degree in economics.
Berthold Finkelstein © Gustav-Stresemann-Institut e.V.
An Advocate for International Understanding
Due to his experiences of discrimination, the loss of his father and his time as a forced laborer, Berthold Finkelstein actively campaigned for enlightened democracy in Germany and dedicated himself to political education.
Berthold Finkelstein reported that his encounters with other forced laborers from countries such as Poland and France built the foundation for him to become a true “European” and an advocate for international understanding. Before the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany, he organized international meetings with universities in neighboring European countries, including Oxford in England, while still a student. From 1949 on, he participated in the founding of the International Students' Federation (ISSF) and became its chairman. He was also active in the Young European Federalists Germany.
Johannes and Berthold Finkelstein on his 60th birthday © Gustav-Stresemann-Institut e.V.
Founder of the Gustav Stresemann Institute
Following the initiative of the Belgian politician Paul-Henri Spaak, the Youth Secretariat of the European Movement was founded in 1951 to promote active participation in building a new democratic and peaceful order on the European continent. Berthold Finkelstein became the director of the German office of the European Youth Campaign. In 1959, this institution was transformed into an independent institute for supranational education and European cooperation. To honor the services to peace and European cooperation by statesman and Nobel Peace Prize winner Gustav Stresemann, the institute was renamed the Gustav Stresemann Institute. Finkelstein was head of the institute until his death in 1996.
Berthold was married to Gertraude Hinrichs, with whom he had one son: Johannes Finkelstein.
Gustav Stresemann Institute
“Forced labor, the loss of his father, and the trauma of war had a deep impact on him and decisively influenced his later work on political education.”
Johannes Finkelstein
Research into the story of the Finkelstein family is ongoing and remains incomplete. As the lives of Dr. Hans and Berthold Finkelstein, and thus also Annemarie, Klaus-Peter, and Eva Finkelstein, are connected to I.G. Farben, the Hans and Berthold Finkelstein Foundation intends to support further independent research.
