Franz Böhm (16 February 1895 – 26 September 1977) was a German

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

, lawyer, and

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

Early life

Franz Böhm was born on 16 February 1895 in

Konstanz Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was th ...

. He moved along with his family in 1898 to

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

as his father was appointed the Minister of Cultural Affairs for the

Grand Duke of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden (german: Großherzogtum Baden) was a state in the southwest German Empire on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918. It came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden and subse ...

Early career

After completing his Abitur and military service, Böhm enlisted in the military at the beginning of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was the first citizen of Karlsruhe to be awarded the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

. In 1919 Böhn began studying law and political science at the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemb ...

and completed his

Staatsexamen The ("state examination" or "exam by state"; pl.: ''Staatsexamina'') is a German government licensing examination that future physicians, dentists, teachers, pharmacists, food chemists, psychotherapists and jurists (i.e., lawyers, judges, publi ...

in 1924, receiving shortly thereafter a job as a public prosecutor. Böhm published his first essay entitled "Das Problem der privaten Macht, ein Beitrag zur Monopolfrage" (The problem of private power; a contribution to the question of monopolies) in 1928, establishing himself as a prominent economist. In the wake of the publication of this essay, fellow economists

Alexander Rüstow Alexander Rüstow (8 April 1885 – 30 June 1963) was a German sociologist and economist. In 1938 he originated the term neoliberalism at the Colloque Walter Lippmann. He was one of the fathers of the " Social Market Economy" that shaped the eco ...

and

Friedrich Lutz Friedrich Lutz (22 February 1852 in Heidenheim – 14 May 1918 in Oettingen) was a German politician, Bavarian brewery owner, and farmer. He was mayor (bürgermeister) of Heidenheim, a member of the Bavarian Landtag and a member of the German ...

strongly encouraged Böhm to write a disputation of the economic work of Adam Smith. Böhm eagerly took up their suggestion and wrote what would become his principal work: "Wettbewerb und Monopolkampf."Blumenberg-Lampe p.109 After writing these pieces Böhm received a professorship at the

, where he and colleague

Walter Eucken Walter Eucken (; 17 January 1891 – 20 March 1950) was a German economist of the Freiburg school and father of ordoliberalism. He is closely linked with the development of the concept of "social market economy". Early life Walter Eucken was born ...

established the Freiburger Schule. During this time Böhm worked closely with Eucken and Hans Grossmann-Doerth in establishing the groundwork for their economic theory,

Ordoliberalism Ordoliberalism is the German variant of economic liberalism that emphasizes the need for government to ensure that the free market produces results close to its theoretical potential but does not advocate for a welfare state. Ordoliberal ideals ...

. From 1925 to 1931 Böhm served in the economic ministry of the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...

Nazi era

The liberal economic beliefs of the ''Freiburger Schule'' directly contrasted the economic beliefs of the

Nazi Regime Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. Every assembly of the ''Freiburger Schule'' was therefore a direct afront to the regime. Public discussions became evermore dangerous, so the school was quickly forced to begin meeting secretly. During this time the assembly began calling itself the "Diehl-Seminar" in recognition of its meeting place, the home of Karl Diehl. Böhm had his ability to teach revoked from him by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

in 1938 due to his public outspokenness against the anti-Jewish policies of the regime. During the same year, Böhm became active in the ''Freiburger Konzil'', which served as a meeting point for anti-Nazi professors from the

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

and pastors of the

Confessing Church The Confessing Church (german: link=no, Bekennende Kirche, ) was a movement within German Protestantism during Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to unify all Protestant churches into a single pro-Nazi German ...

. Böhm became heavily involved throughout the following years in opposition groups such as the Bonhoeffer-Krise and th
Arbeitsgemeinschaft Erwin von Beckerath
a council of liberal economists opposed to Nazi economic practices. Only through name confusion resulting from a mistake by the Nazis was Böhm able to avoid arrest after the failed

July 20 plot On 20 July 1944, Claus von Stauffenberg and other conspirators attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of Nazi Germany, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia, now Kętrzyn, in present-day Poland. The ...

. This confusion relates to the arrest of the

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

Franz Boehm, who had already been arrested on June 5, 1944 for preaching against the

Nazi film industry Nazism created an elaborate system of propaganda, which made use of the new technologies of the 20th century, including cinema. Nazism courted the masses by the means of slogans that were aimed directly at the instincts and emotions of the peop ...

Post-war and political career

After the war Böhm was able to resume teaching in Freiburg and was granted the position of

Prorector Academic rank (also scientific rank) is the rank of a scientist or teacher in a college, high school, university or research establishment. The academic ranks indicate relative importance and power of individuals in academia. The academic rank ...

. In 1946 he accepted a professorship at the

. During his time at the university he worked with

to found the German scholarly journal

ORDO ''Ordo'' (Latin "order, rank, class") may refer to: * A musical phrase constructed from one or more statements of a rhythmic mode pattern and ending in a rest * Big O notation in calculation of algorithm computational complexity * Orda (organizati ...

in 1948, which remains today a mouthpiece of German institutional economists. During this time Böhm became active in politics, joining the CDU shortly after the war. He served as the minister of cultural affairs in

Hessen Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Darms ...

under Karl Geiler from 1 November 1945 until February 1946, when he resigned due to differences of opinion with the American occupying forces. Böhm was a member of the

German Bundestag German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

from 1953 until 1965. During this time he was the leader of the German delegation for the reparations negotiations with Israel. Throughout his time in the Bundestag Böhm remained deeply connected to the

and his students, continuing to provide seminars despite his role in the Bundestag. His political role remained secondary in importance to his career as an instructor.Blumenberg-Lampe p.114 Böhm died on 26 September 1977 in Rockenberg. The Franz-Böhm Schule, a

Berufsschule Education in Germany is primarily the responsibility of individual German states (), with the federal government playing a minor role. Optional Kindergarden (nursery school) education is provided for all children between one and six years o ...

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

, is named in his honor.

References

External links