Felix Pinner

Born on February 22, 1880, in Birnbaum in the Prussian province of Posen, Felix Pinner became known as a German writer and economic journalist. He wrote about business, politics, and modern industry, and he is especially associated with clear, informed commentary on economic life in Germany.

Pinner worked for major newspapers and, by the 1920s, was leading the financial section of the Berliner Tageblatt, one of the most important liberal newspapers of the Weimar Republic. He also published books, including studies of industry and public figures such as Emil Rathenau und das elektrische Zeitalter, showing his interest in how technology and economics were shaping modern society.

After the Nazis came to power in 1933, he left Germany and emigrated to the United States with his wife, Gertrud. He died in New York City on May 3, 1942. His life reflects both the energy of German intellectual life in the early twentieth century and the rupture caused by exile.