Lucien Rosengart

Lucien Rosengart was born on 22 October 1889 in Paris, the youngest of four children. He was just two years old when his mother died. The father ran a factory for precision mechanical devices. Lucien had visited school before joining his father's business only around 5 years.

He was considered to be creative and only slightly adapted, but attracted attention early by surprising results of his activities. He had already the official license to drive motor vehicles and ships with 19 years, whatever was required to exams for it.

Immediately followed a three-year military service with war experience in Africa. After all, he seemed to have acquired commercial knowledge there, that he could use in the foundation of a small workshop. Including an apprentice there were three and manufactured screws with washers, signs of progressive product standardization.

He remained in Paris when he enlarged the company after half a year. Hardly surprising for particularly successful companies, the third expansion was after one year. The number of employees and of products also continued to grow. Including a hand lamp which receives current from a wind-up dynamo by pistol grip. He also introduced very successful dynamos for the diffidently starting electric vehicle lighting.

In 1912, he has expanded his company once again and became the direct suppliers for vehicle manufacturers. According to his talent for rationalization also in the production of military equipment, he was exempted in the First World War. Since he was first not able to fulfill fast enough the construction of detonators for the grenades, manufactured by (Andre) Citroën, the Rosengart's production facilities expanded almost explosively.

Only after the war the actual company Citroën was created and came after a very successful start directly into dangerous pecuniary difficulties. Rosengart succeeded to relieve Citroën from the financial squeeze. From now on he was a sort of co-director of Citroën, just not in public. It can be assumed that the to this extent for Europe model rationalization at Citroën was owed to Rosengart.

But not only the internal rationalization he organized consistently, but also the advertising for the products, e.g. test drives the famous chain vehicles in the far north and the heart of Mali in Africa. Additionally, he still had his own, quite extensive fabrication and was director of the Association of Taxi transport and deputy director at Peugeot. In 1923 he left Citroën.

Hard to believe that there should have been no French, among many foreign vehicles in which not Rosengart products were used. Where the emphasis is on 'vehicles' and not 'cars'. One of his locations was even on the Champs Elysee. He now manufactured also auxiliary drives for bicycles and boats. The principle of payment by installments was also introduced by Citroen at this time.

Even at the engines there was a license from a car, meanwhile widely used in Europe, the Austin Seven. Rosengart was now French licensee in addition to the Dixi plants in Eisenach, the German license holder. Herbert Austin was even one of the three directors. Figure 9 shows the range of vehicles at prices of 13900-16900 Franc in 1928.

Rosengart may also had known enough about the great and magnificent French cars of the time, but he counted on the small cars, by the way very successful by skilfull advertising. Many private drivers participated with the car in its class very successfully in many competitions. Several times one made available cars for spectacular endurance tests up to 100,000 km.

Although the basic structure of the Rosengart cars hardly changed despite enormous modifications of the bodies after the Second World War, a six-cylinder came in 1931. The displacement of 1097 cc revealed that in principle only two cylinders were added. After all, the crankshaft was now beared threefold instead of only at their ends.

However Rosengart made furore with another action. He got in touch with the Adler plants in Frankfurt, where there was a front-wheel drive before the Avant Traction of Citroën. Together with the rear drive 'Primus' he now had two new models for the French market (Figure 6). In Figure 8 you can see a beautifully restored specimen of Rosengart's stylist Robin designed convertible just before the Second World War.

On can imagine the efforts, the Jew Rosengart had to take to bring himself in security from the Germans, the gradually gained control of very large parts of France. Nevertheless, he succeeded to survive camouflaged in an estate. Shortly after the war he married the woman who had hidden him successfully, but sold its factories or what was left of it.

He still lived until 1976, and was again and mainly to some degree successful as a painter in the style of naive and even presented highly considered inventions. He is considered as a participant at important key positions in the development of the French automotive industry. As a Knight of the Legion of Honor was given to him a state funeral. 03/14