User:Eli185/Émile Deutsch de la Meurthe

Émile Deutsch de la Meurthe (October 22, 1847 in La Villette (Paris) - May 18, 1924 in Quimper), born as Émile Deutsch, was a French industrialist and philanthropist.

Family
Émile Deutsch de la Meurthe was born as the son of the Jewish businessman Alexandre Deutsch (* 1815 in Lorraine), who set up an oil refinery in Pantin and thus laid the foundation for the future corporate empire. Émile and his brother Henry adopted the name suffix de la Meurthe, in memory of the origin of their ancestors from the Meurthe area. Émile Deutsch de la Meurthe was married to Louise, née Halphen († 1914). This marriage resulted in four daughters: Marie Henriette Emilie (1879–1973), Yvonne Fanny (1882–1969), Lucie Jeanne (1888–1945) and Fernande Amélie Valentine (1894–1969).

Life
From 1877, Émile Deutsch de la Meurthe and his brother Henry ran their father's company, which was initially called A. Deutsch et ses Fils and later Les Fils de A. Deutsch. They developed an oil company that owned refineries in France, Spain, and Austria-Hungary. In 1922 Émile brought his company into a joint venture with Royal Dutch Shell, the newly created company was called Société des Pétroles Jupiter.

Philanthropic Work
Émile Deutsch de la Meurthe donated a large part of his fortune for philanthropic works. In 1915 he was a co-founder of the oeuvre des orphelins israélites de la guerre (Foundation for Jewish War Orphans). In 1916 he founded the Fraternité franco-américaine, which supported war orphans in several countries. He set up his own social security system for his workers.

With substantial support from Émile Deutsch de la Meurthe, the Cité internationale universitaire was created on the southern outskirts of Paris. The dormitory of the Fondation Deutsch de la Meurthe is named after him and his wife.

Honors
Émile Deutsch de la Meurthe was commander of the Legion of Honor, Commander of the Orden de Isabel la Católica and bearer of the Croix de guerre. After his death, the rue Émile-Deutsch-de-la-Meurthe was named after him by a resolution dated October 2, 1924 in the 14th arrondissement of Paris.

Legacy
When the Nazis invaded France in World War II, the Deutsch de la Meurthe family fled, and the art collection was looted.

Literature

 * Brigitte Blanc und Philippe Ayrault (Fotos): La Cité internationale universitaire de Paris. La fondation Émile et Louise Deutsch de la Meurthe. Somogy, Paris 2010, ISBN 978-2-7572-0372-9, S. 5.