Otto Engelhardt

Otto Engelhardt (7 August 1866 – 14 September 1936) was a German engineer and diplomat. He was a director of the Sevillian Electricity Company and the Seville Tram Company and honorary consul of the city. In 1932, he renounced German nationality due to the triumph of Nazism, and was shot dead four years later as a victim of the repression of the rebels in the Spanish Civil War.

Early life and education Otto Engelhardt was born on 7 August 1866 in Braunschweig, Duchy of Brunswick, German Confederation, as the son of Federico and Ana. During his tenure as director, the company had exceptional development; for example, it went from 28 employees in 1898 to 465 in 1910, and the wiring increased from 48,000 meters to 180,000,

Don Otto, as his Sevillian countrymen called him, later took charge of the Seville Tram company, where he reduced the working hours in winter for drivers and collectors, who dedicated an emotional plaque to him in gratitude. In 1916, he requested help from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to build a German school, since on the occasion of Portugal's entry into the First World War, there were many German families in Portugal and teachers from the German school in Lisbon, but this request was rejected by the Ministry and the students had to go to the German School in Madrid.

Criticism of Nazism Cover of "Goodbye, Germany, with its barons and fascists" (1931–1934). The rise of Nazism sickened him, and thus, in 1932, Engelhardt renounced German nationality and obtained Spanish nationality, becoming a "loyal citizen of the Spanish Republic". There is also an award inspired by his life that recognizes and honors people who represent the same values and ideals today as Engelhardt did a century ago. It is now a protected building by a subsidiary municipal rule by which only "improvement and beautification works" can be carried out in the home. Despite this, it is currently in a state of abandonment and lamentable deterioration.