Berthold Beitz (September 26, 1913 - July 30, 2013) was a German steel industrialist. He was the head of the Krupp steel conglomerate beginning in the 1950s. He was credited with helping to lead the re-industrialization of the Ruhr Valley and rebuilding Germany into an industrial power. He gained acclaim for saving some 250 Jewish workers during World War II by declaring them to be essential workers at an oil facility in Poland. In 1973, he received the Righteous Among the Nations title awarded by the Israeli Yad Vashem, the highest honor given to a non-Jew, for saving Jews.