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German Dynasties: The Thyssens - The name is a myth. But not only heavy industry, exquisite art and immeasurable wealth are associated with it.

German Dynasties: The Thyssens (2010)
Director: Sebastian Dehnhardt, Julia Melchior
Genre: Documentary, History
Country: Germany
Language: English
Release date: November 8, 2010 (Germany)

Storyline:
The founder of the dynasty August Thyssen (1842 - 1926) represents a steep industrial career in the 19th century. Entrepreneurial spirit, work fanaticism and grotesque avarice bring him the fortune of the capable, but August Thyssen is not happy in his life. The steely toughness that is the basic trait of his nature alienates him more and more from his family. After August Thyssen's death, the steel empire passes to his eldest son Fritz (1873-1951), whose life dramatically reflects the history of the Third Reich. Hardly any other major industrialist - with his fervent enthusiasm for the National Socialists - makes such a decisive contribution to Adolf Hitler's "seizure of power" as Fritz Thyssen.
When, after the Röhm putsch in 1934, he realizes his errors regarding the criminal system of the Nazis, he openly opposes the regime and risks his life. While fleeing from the Nazis into exile in Argentina, Fritz and his wife Amélie fall into the clutches of the Gestapo. By the end of the war Fritz and Amélie Thyssen are interned in concentration camps and narrowly escape death. The assets are confiscated by the Nazis and the company comes under state control. The steel magnate does not live to see the restitution of his assets and the restart of the first blast furnace after the war. Acquitted of guilt but a broken man, Fritz Thyssen dies in Argentina in 1951. In 1999 Thyssen AG finally merges with its former rival Krupp to become one of the world's biggest steel groups.
The art treasures of the Thyssens, however, survive the war unscathed in the family's possession and are bequeathed to Hans-Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza (1921 - 2002) in 1947. With a keen understanding of art and commercial skill Hans-Heinrich develops his legacy into the largest private art collection alongside that of the British Queen. Today, the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid houses Thyssen's art treasure, making it one of the Spanish capital's biggest cultural attractions. "Heini," as Hans-Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza is commonly known, is regarded as a "collector of old masters and beautiful women." Changing marriages with heiresses and beauty queens, quarrels over money and paternity constantly provide the tabloids with details from the world of the rich and super-rich.
At the end of the 1990s, a legal dispute between Heini and his eldest son over the family fortune, estimated at three billion euros, made the headlines as the "society trial of the century. With the death of the great patron in 2002, the curtain seems to have fallen on the drama of the family epic. But the descendants of the family branches still carry on the legacy of their forefathers. Heini's daughter Francesca von Habsburg has made a name for herself as a patron of contemporary art. The documentary "German Dynasties: The Thyssens" chronicles one of the most influential German families through the lens of history.
Unpublished film footage from family holdings as well as numerous interviews with the descendants from all branches of the family describe the history of the Thyssens not only in a highly personal and emotional way, but also with previously unknown perspectives on the dramatic lives of the outstanding personalities.

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