His German Jewish heritage and his accumulated wealth were both factors in establishing his deeply divisive reputation in German politics at a time of increasing widespread antisemitism in Germany. He studied physics, chemistry, and philosophy in Berlin and Strasbourg, and received a doctorate in physics in 1889 after studying under August Kundt. Rathenau was born in Berlin to Emil Rathenau, a prominent Jewish businessman and founder of the Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG), an electrical engineering company, and Mathilde Nachmann. Following the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, all commemorations of Rathenau were systematically banned. Rathenau came to be viewed as a democratic martyr during the Weimar era.

His death was followed by national mourning as well as widespread demonstrations against counter-revolutionary terrorism, which briefly strengthened the Weimar Republic. Two months after the signing of the treaty, Rathenau was assassinated by the ultra-nationalist paramilitary group Organisation Consul in Berlin. The agreement, along with Rathenau's insistence that Germany fulfill its obligations under the Treaty of Versailles, led right-wing nationalist groups (including a nascent Nazi Party) to brand him part of a Jewish-Communist conspiracy. Rathenau negotiated the 1922 Treaty of Rapallo, which normalised relations and strengthened economic ties between Germany and Soviet Russia. In 1921, he was appointed minister of reconstruction by Chancellor Joseph Wirth, and a year later he became foreign minister. During the First World War, he was heavily involved in the organisation of the German war economy and headed the War Raw Materials Department.Īfter the war, Rathenau helped found the German Democratic Party and was a influential figure in the postwar Weimar Republic. In 1915, he became the chairman of AEG upon his father's death. After obtaining a doctorate in physics from the University of Berlin, he held a number of industry positions before joining the AEG board, establishing himself as a leading industrialist in the late German Empire. Rathenau was the son of Emil Rathenau, a prominent Jewish businessman and founder of the electrical engineering company Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG). Walther Rathenau (29 September 1867 – 24 June 1922) was a German industrialist, writer and politician who served as foreign minister of Germany from February to June 1922.

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