Adolf Rosenberger was the son of an assimilated Jewish family, at the age of 17 he was already a fighter pilot in the First World War, after which he was a technician, businessman and works racing driver at Mercedes-Benz.
In 1930/31, together with Ferdinand Porsche and his son-in-law Anton Piëch, he founded Porsche GmbH in Stuttgart, the nucleus of today's global brand.
As managing director, Rosenberger landed orders from the automotive industry, was involved in the construction of the Auto Union Grand Prix racing car that would later be so successful and, as co-founder and co-owner, held ten percent of the company shares, which he, as a Jew, however, sold to Porsche in 1935 under remarkable circumstances.
Shortly afterwards, Rosenberger was deported to the Kislau concentration camp by the National Socialists. After his release, he emigrated. In the USA, Adolf Rosenberger started a new, successful professional life under the name Alan Robert. But the longing for his lost homeland remains.
No chance for a new start
After the end of the war (1945), he wanted to work with Porsche again. But neither a lawsuit against Porsche and Piëch nor the supposed reconciliation with Porsche son Ferry brought Rosenberger back to the company he had once co-founded.
Adolf Rosenberger, alias Alan Robert, dies in Los Angeles in 1967. But the "Porsche case" remains an open wound for Sandra Esslinger and the other members of Adolf Rosenberger's family.
A documentary by Eberhard Reuß worth seeing will be broadcast on ARD on June 24, 2019 at 11:30 pm.