Jorgen Skafte Rasmussen

Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen was a Danish engineer and industrialist who spent most of his life in Germany. He founded the company Rasmussen & Ernst in 1903, which produced metal products and steam boiler fittings. He later acquired a textile factory in Zschopau and converted it into a machine factory. He experimented with steam-powered vehicles and later switched to two-stroke engines. He developed a small auxiliary engine for bicycles, which he marketed under the brand name DKW (Dampf-Kraft-Wagen). He also produced motorcycles and cars under the same name, which became very popular in the 1920s and 1930s. He acquired a majority stake in Audi in 1928 and merged it with DKW, Horch and Wanderer to form Auto Union in 1932. Auto Union became one of the largest and most successful car manufacturers in Germany, competing with Opel and Mercedes-Benz. It also produced the famous Silver Arrows racing cars, which dominated the Grand Prix scene in the 1930s. Rasmussen was a visionary and an innovator, who constantly sought to improve his products and explore new technologies. He also supported various causes in science, culture and sports. He funded the reconstruction of Frederiksborg Castle, which had been destroyed by fire in 1859. He also donated his art collection to the Carlsberg Foundation, which he was a member of. He retired from his active role in the company in 1934, after a conflict with the board of directors. He then moved to Sacrow, near Potsdam, where he lived with his family until 1945. He fled from the Soviet army in 1945 and relocated to Flensburg, and in 1947 he returned to Denmark. He lived in Hareskovby, where he built motorcycles under the name DISA in the 1950s. He later moved to Copenhagen, where he died in 1964. He was buried in Pedersborg Church, which he had built in Sorø. He was regarded as one of the most influential and visionary figures in Danish and German automotive history.