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Alfons Horten Papers, 1905-1926

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Horten, Alfons
Title
Alfons Horten Papers
Dates
1905-1926 (inclusive)
Quantity
2 containers., (1 linear feet of shelf space.), (1350 items.)
Collection Number
Cage 287
Summary
Correspondence with August, Fritz and Joseph Thyssen, mining reports and profiles; concerning mining concessions, in territorial politics, the iron and steel industry in Germany.
Repository
Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

Languages
German
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Biographical Note

Alfons Horten (f1.1900-1930) was a German businessman at Hagendingen, in Lorraine, connected with the Thyssen steelworks, either as an employee or on a retainer basis. He bore the title "Bergassessor," and was largely concerned with the purchase of ores, mines, and mining concessions. His field of activities extended throughout Europe and into Western Asia. His son Alfons Horten, (b.1907) was subsequently (1976) an industrialist at Duisdorf near Bonn.

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Content Description

The papers consist largely of correspondence between Horten and August Thyssen (1842-1926), his son Fritz Thyssen (1873-1951) and officials of the Thyssen organization. A few items of correspondence with Chancellors Wilhelm Cuno (1876-1933) and Joseph Wirth (1879-1956) are included. Most of the correspondence relates to Horten's efforts to supply Thyssen's steel mills with raw materials, primarily from outside Germany. These activities placed him near the center of events associated with the German foreign policy of economic-based expansion, which characterized German foreign relations in the pre-World War I period, according to Modern European historians sympathetic to the controversial "Fischer Thesis." See Fritz Fischer, Griff nach der Weltmacht (Dusseldorf: Droste Verlag, 1961). Some items, especially letters from August Thyssen to Horten are preserved in both Thyssen's original handwriting and in typed transcripts.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

[Item Description]. Cage 287, Alfons Horten Papers. Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The arrangement of the papers is largely chronological and preser ves the order in which they were found.

Acquisition Information

The provenance of the papers has not been determined.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

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Subject Terms

  • Iron industry and trade--Germany--Records and correspondence
  • Steel industry and trade--Germany--Records and correspondence

Personal Names

  • Horten, Alfons --Archives (creator)
  • Thyssen, August
  • Thyssen, Fritz, 1873-1951

Corporate Names

  • August Thyssen-Hütte (Firm)
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