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Title: Dieter Spethmann papers
Date (inclusive): 1966-2002
Collection Number: 2002C61
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
German
Physical Description:
255 manuscript boxes
(127.5 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Relates to German, European and international economic conditions, and especially to the steel industry.
Creator:
Spethmann, Dieter
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 2002.
[Identification of item], Dieter Spethmann papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
| 1926, March 27 | Born, Essen, Germany |
| 1945-1948 | Studied law and economics |
| 1952-1954 | Involved in activities to settle German pre-war debts |
| 1952-1955 | Legal Department, Gelsenkirchener Bergwerks-AG |
| 1953 | Doctor of Law (Dr. Jur.) |
| 1955-1958 | Personal assistant to the chairman, August Thyssen-Hütte AG |
| 1958-1962 | Financial manager, August Thyssen-Hütte AG |
| 1962-1964 | Member, Executive Board, Thyssen Handelsunion AG |
| 1964-1970 | Chairman, Executive Board, Thyssen Edelstahlwerke AG |
| 1970-1973 | Member, Executive Board, Thyssen AG |
| 1973 Apr.-1991 | Chairman, Board of Managing Directors, Thyssen AG |
| 2016, February 1 | Died, Düsseldorf, Germany |
These papers focus on the latter part of Dieter Spethmann's career in the German steel industry and as chairman of the global
Thyssen concern. They provide information about the activities of Thyssen, one of seventeen companies formed from the United
Steel Works, a combine of steel companies founded in 1926 and dismantled after World War II. The papers also document the
participation of Spethmann in the growth of a united Europe, particularly through the European Community and the reunification
of Germany, and globalization.
In addition to material concerning Thyssen and the steel industry, there are also some files relating to special projects
nurtured by Spethmann, such as his magnetic train (Transrapid), which is contained in the SUBJECT FILE.
Texts of speeches represent the bulk of SPEECHES AND WRITINGS. In most cases a final typescript is the sole format for each
speech or article. However, the unnumbered items at the end of the series typically contain collateral materials such as correspondence
relating to the invitation to speak, clippings, reports, earlier speeches by Spethmann or others, and statistical tables.
Spethmann was heavily involved in the Industrial Circle for Foreign Affairs (Industriekreis für Auslandsbeziehungen), which
was established circa 1955. The Industrial Circle was an informal group of about thirty important industrial and business
leaders centered on the Düsseldorf-Essen-Cologne area that met ten to fifteen times a year. At each meeting a prominent guest
visited for dinner, usually at Castle Jägerhof in Düsseldorf. After dinner the guest spoke briefly on a subject related to
the guest's official position, followed by an open discussion. The meetings were closed; no press was present, and participants
were obliged not to quote publicly from the meetings. The Circle's managers included Sigismund von Braun, circa 1976-1993,
and Klaus Blech, 1994-2001. Rough summaries of the discussions with guests during the von Braun period are included in the
INDUSTRIAL CIRCLE CORRESPONDENCE/Guests of honor subseries.
The HANS SPETHMANN FILE contains writings by Dieter's father, who was a geographer and historian of economics. In 1923 he
left his university teaching post to accept an invitation by the coal mining industry of the Ruhr, where he did research.
Included in this collection are two of his writings about the Ruhr,
Das Ruhrgebiet (3 volumes) and the unpublished "Der Ruhrbergbau und der Zweite Weltkrieg," which chronicles the history of the Ruhr coal
mining industry during World War II. He died in 1957.
The INCREMENTAL MATERIALS series consists of files related to Spethmann's work with the Thyssen Board of Directors and as
a leader of other large industrial companies. The partial inventory describes the files as they arrived at the Hoover Institution.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
International economic relations
Europe -- Economic conditions -- 1945-
Steel industry and trade -- Germany (West)
Germany (West) -- Economic conditions