Equilibrism owes a great deal to Helmut Creutz in terms of content. For example, the parts of our concept that deal with monetary, tax and health insurance reform are based on the foundations he laid. He was a man who always got to the bottom of matters. Equipped with a keen analytical eye, he not only recognised grievances in society, but also always unearthed their roots.

While many react to injustices with vociferous protest, he first wanted to point out the framework conditions that made these injustices possible – and at the same time show the way in which these conditions could be changed. In other words, put reason before emotion, which is often blind.

Like so many of his generation, the Second World War prevented him from completing a school education that would have enabled him to fulfil his dream of becoming an engineer. On top of that, he was wounded in the war and taken prisoner. His health was badly damaged when he returned.

In the reconstruction years, it was not about how much professional experience someone already had, but what they dared to do. And Helmut Creutz had a lot of confidence in himself, above all because he was curious and used his analytical mind. He was always quick to recognise: “This is how something is – and this is how it could be”.

This applied to the field of interior design, in which he was active and developed new furniture concepts, for example. But it applied even more to all socio-political areas. Starting with the situation in the company where he had worked for over 20 years and where a change of ownership led to untenable conditions, Helmut Creutz realised that only solidarity can make a workforce strong.

And he began to write: “Gehen oder kaputtgehen. Company diary” (1973). When his daughter starts school, he is depressed to realise that nothing significant has changed in the 40 years since his school days. As a consequence, he writes “Haken krümmt man beizeiten. A father’s school diary” (1977).

Increasingly, he is also noticing inconsistencies in the area that affects everyone: Housing. And once again he takes a cool-headed analytical approach to the matter: he obtains figures and visualises them in graphics – an approach that becomes his trademark, so to speak. “Bauen, Wohnen, Mieten – Welche Rolle spielt das Geld?” was self-published in 1986. Helmut Creutz has arrived at the fundamental problem areas: The existing monetary and land regimes, which provide the owners of land and capital with unearned income!

These returns must be diverted from those who do the work – and as well disguised as possible. Helmut Creutz worked to lift these veils over the following decades until his death in 2017. Once again taking a matter-of-fact approach, obtaining the necessary figures, putting them into context and designing graphics that ensure that the obvious virtually jumps out at the viewer. With “The Money Syndrome. Ways to a Crisis-Free Market Economy” in 1993, he presents a concentrated collection of his analyses.

This easy-to-understand book, which has since been reprinted several times, has become a standard work for anyone who wants to look beyond standard economic literature.

Helmut Creutz never tired of pointing out connections in countless lectures (e.g. between wars and money) and patiently answered questions from listeners and readers. These prompted him to write his last book “Die 29 Irrtümer rund ums Geld” (2004). When Equilibrism rented the hall of the Literaturhaus for the book launch in Munich, we ourselves began to doubt whether we weren’t megalomaniacs.

The people make it exciting – they arrive late and without registering, but then in such large numbers that many have to be turned away and the event takes place late! We are delighted that Helmut has been given the setting he deserves!

With Helmut Creutz, Equilibrismus e.V. has not only lost an important source of inspiration, but also a personal friend, which he had become through his modest manner. He was something of a star for the money and floor reform scene – but not in his own eyes.

In their 2005 non-fiction book “Equilibrism – New concepts instead of reforms for a world in balance”, the authors thanked Helmut Creutz with these words:

Helmut Creutz: “If someone allows himself to be robbed as he did, while also advising the thieves on how best to go about it, and – as if all this were not enough – even checks the result afterwards, then surely the reason for this cannot be naivety, but a selfless willingness to spread the fruits of one’s labour as widely as possible – and genuine friendship”. All parts of this book that deal with the subject of money and economics breathe the spirit of this cool head and sharp analyst.