* 8-4-1847, Mettmann -  †  13-7-1938, Mühlheim.

Stichtte in 1873 met de Disconto Gesellschaft de Gelsenkirchen Bergwerks A.G. (G.B.A.G.), waarvan hij in 1893 president-directeur werd. Nam ook actief deel aan de stichting van het Rheinisch-Westfälische Kohlensyndikat. Toen Stinnes in 1922 tot de formering van de nog grotere Rhein-Elbe Union overging, moest Kirdorf meedoen, omdat hij voor zijn hoogovens het Luxemburgse en Lotharingse ijzerewrts begon te missen. Bij de overgang van de Rhein-Elbe Union in de  Ver. Stahlwerke trok Kirdorf zich terug.

Man van geweldige organisatorische gaven (zijn bijnaam was: ‘Wodan’), die het nationalisme in Duitsland zeer hielp versterken.

Emil Kirdorf, the son of a textile manufacturer, was born on the 8th April, 1847. After attending high school in Duesseldorf he joined the family business.

After the failure of his father's textile company Kirdorf formed Gelsenkirchener Bergwerks, which became a very successful coal-mining firm. He later became the director of the powerful Rhenish-Westphalian Coal Syndicate.

In 1907 Kirdorf organized the creation of a fund provided by industrial magnates that could be used to fight Germany's trade union movement.

During the First World War Kirdorf joined the Vaterlandspartei, an organization that favoured the territorial expansion that had been put forward by the German High Command.

Kirdorf, who held extreme right-wing political views, first heard Adolf Hitler speak in 1927. He was so impressed that he arranged to meet Hitler at the home of Elsa Buckmann in Munich. Although Kirdorf supported most of Hitler's beliefs he was concerned about some of the policies of the Nazi Party.

He was particularly worried about the views of some people in the party such as Gregor Strasser who talked about the need to redistribute wealth in Germany.

Adolf Hitler tried to reassure Kirdorf that these policies were just an attempt to gain the support of the working-class in Germany and would not be implemented once he gained power. Kirdorf suggested that Hitler should write a pamphlet for private distribution amongst Germany's leading industrialists that clearly expressed his views on economic policy.

Hitler agreed and The Road to Resurgence was published in the summer of 1927. In the pamphlet distributed by Kirdorf to Germany's leading industrialists, Hitler tried to reassure his readers that he was a supporter of private enterprise and was opposed to any real transformation of Germany's economic and social structure.

Kirdorf was particularly attracted to Hitler's idea of winning the working class away from left-wing political parties such as the Social Democratic Party and the Communist Party. Kirdorf and other business leaders were also impressed with the news that Hitler planned to suppress the trade union movement once he gained power. Kirdorf joined the Nazi Party and immediately began to try and persuade other leading industrialists to supply Hitler with the necessary funds to win control of the Reichstag.

Kirdorf expected Adolf Hitler to remove left-wing members of the Nazi Party such as Gregor Strasser, Ernst Roehm and Gottfried Feder to be removed from power. When this did not happen, Kirdorf switched his support to the German Nationalist Party (DNVP) led by Alfred Hugenberg.

Hermann Goering worked very hard at getting back the support of Kirdorf. However, it was only after the Night of the Long Knives in 1934 when the leaders of the left-wing of the Nazi Party, such as Gregor Strasser and Ernst Roehm were murdered, did Kirdorf rejoin the Nazi Party. Emil Kirdorf died in Muelheim on 13th July, 1938.

Hitler und Geheimrat Emil Kirdorf