1907. Oil on canvas. 220 x 110 cm. Rasmus Meyer Collection, Bergen, Norway. Read Note.
Walther Rathenau (1867-1922, also spelled Walter Rathenau) was a German-Jewish industrialist and politician. From his father, Emil Rathenau, he inherited the Allgemeine Elekrizitats-Gesellschaft (AEG), a company producing electric products and equipment, and which exists to this day. Walther Rathenau entered the political field in 1915, when he was appointed to the War Ministry to a senior post in charge of supply. After the war, he became Foreign Minister in the newly-formed Weimar Republic. His Jewish heritage and strong anti-Zionist views -- he advocated the complete assimilation of Jews into German society -- made him a target for German nationalists. In 1922, he was assassinated by members of the Freikorps