The son of an elementary school teacher, he attended the Oberrealschule in
Ludwigsburg, where he graduated from high school in 1916. After his military service in
World War I, he studied chemical technology from 1919 at the
Technical University of Stuttgart and completed his studies with a diploma examination in 1921 and a doctorate in engineering in 1922. After initial positions in
Stuttgart and
Dresden, he took up a position as a chemist at H. Th. Böhme AG in
Chemnitz on 1 August 1924, where he initially researched in the field of textile auxiliaries. In 1927 he was given power of attorney and was appointed chief chemist. The great success of Fewa led to the
Henkel Groups entry into
Böhme in 1935 and the founding of Böhme-Fettchemie, of which Bertsch was a member of the Management Board from then on, before joining the Henkel Management Board in October 1941. Also in 1950, Bertsch was first appointed part-time professor of chemical technology at the
Humboldt University of Berlin. In 1953, he was accepted into the
German Academy of Sciences (DAW) and was full-time director of the Academy Institute for Organic Chemistry from 1954 until his retirement in 1963. Bertsch received several awards for his services in the GDR, including the
National Prize of the GDR II. Klasse (1953) and the
Patriotic Order of Merit in silver (1959). == References ==