Walter Riedel		WALTER RIEDEL(8th Generation) Walter Riedel (1895 - 1974) suffered through two great wars, which had a great impact on his destiny. He was forced to change his citizenship four times due to unfortunate political state of affairs. 1918, Bohemia became part of the Czech Republic and Walter Riedel and the German speaking Sudeten became Czech citizens. Around 1930 the political and economical conflict between the Sudeten and the Czechs turned violent which led to the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the Nazi regime in 1938. At this time 70% of the total Czech glass production was dominated by the Sudeten. In this time the Riedels emerged to the world as a leading manufacturer of perfume flacons and colour overlaid gift items, chandeliers and chandelier parts. Walter Riedel inherited the mechanical genius of his father, developing extremely advanced mould techniques. Those products where then refined by cutting , being mounted onto metal and then wired for electricity. The war and the Nazis commanded the industry to change from luxury goods to strategic war products. Walter Riedel and part of this team worked on picture tubes, part of the radar used for monitoring airspace. This was an unique technological achievement for that time, with Walter increasing the available diameter of the tube from 38 cm to 76 cm. This invention became his destiny. When the Russian army conquered Berlin in 1945, they found an intact tube and were very keen to find the scientist. In this era of Stalin, they forced Walter Riedel to sign a five year working contract and held him prisoner in Russia for 10 years. By the end of the Great War in 1945, the Riedels' property and companies were confiscated and nationalized by the Czechs. The Riedels lost their home. Walter Riedel returned to Austria in 1955. The Swarovski family, with whom the Riedel's were very friendly, hosted Walter Riedel and offered him and his son, Claus Josef Riedel, a new start in Kufstein, Austria, by reopening a glass factory, specializing in mouth blown items, in 1956. Johann Christoph Riedel (1st) Johann Carl Riedel (2nd) Johann Leopold Riedel (3rd) Anton Leopold Riedel (4th) Franz Xaver Riedel (5th) Josef Riedel, The Elder (6th) Josef Riedel, The Younger (7th) Walter Riedel (8th) Claus Josef Riedel (9th) Georg Josef Riedel (10th) Laetizia Riedel (11th) Maximilian Josef Riedel (11th)