Helmut Horten (8 January 1909 – 30 November 1987) was a German entrepreneur who built up and owned the fourth-largest chain of department stores in Germany, Horten AG. The business practices of Mr. Horten flourished during the Nazi era, when he purchased Jewish businesses sold under duress. His practices are well documented.
Early life
Helmut Horten was born on January 8, 1909, in Bonn, Kingdom of Prussia. His father was a judge.
Career
Horten built his vast fortune by forcefully buying Jewish businesses as part of Hitler’s Aryanization process.[1]
Horten was apprenticed in a Düsseldorf department store belonging to Leonhard Tietz before working for the Duisburg department store of the Gebrüder Alsberg (Alsberg brothers) company. When the Nazis came to power in 1933, Horten was able to acquire the company from the Jewish owners, Strauß and Lauter, who fled to the United States. He was aided in this transaction by the banker Wilhelm Reinhold of the Commerz- and Disconto-Bank. The bank was to become a partner in the newly formed Horten & Co.