geheimrat koppel, who owned "auergesellschaft", was later intimately involved in the financing of and influencing the direction of scientific entities in germany. among them were the "kaiser-wilhelm gesellschaft" (kaiser wilhelm society) and its research institutes. the third reich forced koppel to sell "auergesellschaft", and it was purchased in 1934 by the german corporation degussa, a large chemical company with extensive experience in the production of metals.