Albert Ballin

His was an unprecedented rise to the top: from the thirteenth child of a poor Jewish emigrant agent to the "sovereign of shipping" and "friend" of the Kaiser. It is hardly surprising that Alfred Ballin was one of the foremost figures of Wilhelmine Empire. From the beginning, he attracted attention at Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Aktien-Gesellschaft, known as Hapag for short. Under its manager Ballin, Hapag became the largest shipping line in the world. From 1907 until his tragic death on November 9th 1918, Ballin belonged to the board of trustees of the Hamburg Scientific Fondation, to which he also contributed in a special way. Ballin's biography sketches the unusual life of this man, who personified perhaps more than any of his comtemporaries the prominence and power of the second German Empire but at the same time also experienced its limits and weaknesses.

Contents Publisher’s preface. p. 4 Foreword by the Chairman of the Executive Board of Hapag-Lloyd AG. p. 5 1. Prologue. p. 7 2. Early years. p. 10 Parents and childhood. p. 10 Starting into business on his own. p. 11 Marriage. p. 16 Personality. p. 18 3. Albert Ballin and the rise of Hapag. p.24 Hapag before Albert Ballin. p. 24 The first German top manager. p. 25 Shipbuilding policy. p. 31 Hapag as supplier of tourism services. p. 43 Emigrant halls. p. 47 Expansion of Hapag’s liner network. p. 56 Shipping diplomacy. p. 61 4. Albert Ballin and politics. p.72 “Little Potsdam” and Hamfelde. p. 72 Albert Ballin and the Kaiser. p. 74 Albert Ballin and his political influence. p. 80 Albert Ballin and the Admiral. p. 82 Albert Ballin and “big politics”. p. 84 5. Albert Ballin and the “great seminal Catastrophe of the 20th Century“. p.90 Economic expansion and military confrontation. p. 90 Albert Ballin in July 1914. p. 92 Hapag in the first world war. p. 94 Political influence in wartime Berlin. p. 97 Albert Ballin’s attitudes to the war aims of the German Empire. p. 100 Albert Ballin’s attitudes to submarine warfare. p.102 Peace via Wilson. p. 104 The end. p. 107 6. Epilogue. p. 117 7.Appendices. p. 121 Family tree (excerpt). p. 121 Albert Ballin and Hapag. p. 122 8. Sources, literature and photo credits. p. 124 9. Name index. p. 130