Ludwig Loewy (1887-1942), Chairman of the Loewy Engineering Co
He was a Jewish engineer, born in Czechslovakia. He graduated in Vienna in 1912, and in 1913 or 1914 he joined the firm of Edouard Schloemann, becoming Chief Engineer and Technical Manager as early as 1915. He became a Director in 1920 when the firm became Schloemann AG. Schloemann became an important supplier of technology and equipment to the UK in the 1930s, particularly for the aluminium and aerospace industries.
Facing growing discrimination, Ludwig Loewy left Nazi Germany in 1936, and set up the Loewy Engineering Co, which would produce equipment vital to the war industry. He was joined by other exiles from Schloemann.
The above information is drawn from a detailed account of Ludwig Loewy's work, published in 2023.[1]
1942 Obituary [2]
Mr. Ludwig Loewy, Chairman of the Loewy Engineering Company, Ltd., died on October 10, 1942, at the age of 55.
After studying at various High Schools he graduated at the Technical School in Vienna.
During the years following he worked at electrical firms and ship-yards; in 1913 joined a firm of hydraulic engineers, who under his management added the building of rolling mills to their programme, and in this line he worked without any further interruption.
In 1936 Mr. Loewy severed his connections with his firm on the Continent and established himself in England as a designer and supplier of hydraulic presses and rolling mills. It was his endeavour to contribute to the greatest possible extent in making British industry independent of imports, and this policy proved its value at the outbreak of the war.
During the war he more than ever put energy into his work to develop new and improved designs and to obtain the highest production capacity. Mr. Loewy was accepted as an engineer of outstanding qualifications and a great lover of music and the kindred arts. He became a British subject in the early part of 1942. He travelled to a great extent and before the war business took him to many parts of the world.
Mr. Loewy was elected a member of the Institute of Metals in 1929.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ RAF planes that won the Battle of Britain were built on German machinery: How Jewish refugee engineer, Ludwig Loewy, was crucial to the war effort by Jonathan Aylen. Int. J. for the History of Eng. & Tech. Vol 93 No. 2, 97-130
- ↑ 1942 Institute of Metals: Obituaries