Otto Wels
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Otto Wels (15 September 1873 – 16 September 1939) was a German politician who served as a member of the Reichstag from 1912 to 1933 and as the chairman of the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...
(SPD) from 1919 until his death in 1939. He was military commander of Berlin in the turbulent early days of the
German Revolution of 1918–1919 German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
, and during the 1920 Kapp Putsch he was instrumental in organizing the general strike that helped defeat the anti-republican putschists. Near the end of the
Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...
's life, however, he saw the futility of calling a general strike against the 1932 Prussian coup d'état because of the mass unemployment of the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. His 1933 speech in the Reichstag in opposition to
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
and the
Enabling Act An enabling act is a piece of legislation by which a legislative body grants an entity which depends on it (for authorization or legitimacy) for the delegation of the legislative body's power to take certain actions. For example, enabling act ...
marked the end of the Weimar Republic prior to the Act becoming law. After passage of the Act effectively gave Hitler dictatorial power, Wels fled the country and established the SPD exile organization
Sopade Sopade (Social Democratic Party of Germany in exile (''Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands im Exil''), also written SoPaDe or SOPADE, ) was the name of the board of directors (''Vorstand'') of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (Social De ...
. He died in Paris in 1939, two weeks after the start of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.


Early life and career

Born in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
on 15 September 1873, Wels was the son of an innkeeper (Johann Wels and his wife Johanne). The restaurant, which served as a meeting place for early SPD supporters, exposed Wels to the workers' movement at a young age. In 1891 he began an apprenticeship as a paper hanger and joined the SPD. Around 1893, he married Bertha Antonie Reske, a seamstress. They had two sons, Walter and Hugo. In the early 1890s, he represented other workers in the Berlin Craftsmen's Chamber and was elected the first chairman of the local SPD branch. From 1895 to 1897 he performed his military service in the
German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...
, where he was harassed by officers due to his politics (he was not granted leave during his entire service period). On finishing his military service, he enrolled at the Workers' Educational Society in Berlin before returning to politics. He was unsuccessful in his re-election bid for SPD local chairman (District Five) but continued to campaign until he was elected a representative in the new SPD party organisation in 1901. From 1906 he worked as a
trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
official and
party secretary In politics, a party secretary is a senior official within a political party with responsibility for the organizational and daily political work. In most parties, the party secretary is second in rank to the party leader (or party chairman). In s ...
in the Province of Brandenburg and on the press committee of '' Vorwärts'', the SPD's party newspaper. In 1912 he was elected to the Reichstag, and with the support of
August Bebel Ferdinand August Bebel (; 22 February 1840 – 13 August 1913) was a German socialist activist and politician. He was one of the principal founders of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Bebel, a woodworker by trade, co-founded the Sa ...
, the chairman and one of the founders of the SPD, he joined the SPD executive committee the next year. His position on the committee allowed him to take a central role in the development of the SPD. During the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Wels supported ''
Burgfriedenspolitik (, ) was a political truce between the German Empire's parliamentary parties during World War I. They agreed not to criticise the government's handling of the war, to keep their disagreements out of public view and to postpone elections until ...
'', the political truce between Germany's political parties under which the trade unions refrained from striking, the SPD voted for war credits and the parties agreed not to criticize the government and its handling of the war.


Weimar Republic


German Revolution

On 9 November 1918, the date of the proclamation of the republic in Germany, Wels spoke to the
Naumburg Naumburg () is a town in (and the administrative capital of) the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany. It has a population of around 33,000. The Naumburg Cathedral became a UNES ...
rifle brigade at their request to explain the political situation following the collapse of the
German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
at the end of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. The brigade was one of the units considered especially loyal to Emperor Wilhelm II that had been brought into the city as reinforcements against revolutionary activity. Wels convinced the soldiers that to avoid a civil war they should not use their weapons. At the end of his speech, the brigade went over in a body to the side of the supporters of the
German Revolution German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
. Buoyed by his success, Wels spoke at other barracks so persuasively that he was credited with keeping the death toll that day to just fifteen. Also on 9 November, Wels became a member of the revolutionary
Workers' and Soldiers' Council A workers' council, also called labour council, is a type of council in a workplace or a locality made up of workers or of temporary and instantly revocable delegates elected by the workers in a locality's workplaces. In such a system of poli ...
of Berlin. He advocated successfully for the Independent Social Democratic Party (USPD) – a more leftist and anti-war group that had broken away from the SPD in 1917 – to be represented equally with the SPD on the Council. The next day he was made military commander of Berlin.


Christmas crisis

The '' Volksmarinedivision'' was the revolution's main military unit in Berlin and as such under Wels' control. In December 1918, the Council of People's Deputies, Germany's temporary government, ordered the division to move outside Berlin and reduce the number of its soldiers. When they refused, Wels withheld their pay to force them to comply. During the week before Christmas, he attempted to negotiate with them, but when no progress was made, they detained and maltreated him. Assaults on the division's locations at the Berlin Palace and Neuer Marstall by regular troops loyal to the government – the 1918 Christmas crisis – failed to dislodge the mutineers. Negotiations led to a compromise under which the ''Volksmarinedivision'', in exchange for receiving its back pay and remaining a unit, vacated the Palace and Marstall and freed Wels, who was forced to step down from his position as city commander.


Crises of the republic

After
Friedrich Ebert Friedrich Ebert (; 4 February 187128 February 1925) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as the first President of Germany (1919–1945), president of Germany from 1919 until ...
of the SPD was elected German President on 11 February 1919, Wels acted as the party's presiding officer and was formally elected co-chairman with Hermann Müller on 14 June. From 6 February 1919 to 21 May 1920, Wels was a member of the
Weimar National Assembly The Weimar National Assembly (German: ), officially the German National Constitutional Assembly (), was the popularly elected constitutional convention and de facto parliament of Germany from 6 February 1919 to 21 May 1920. As part of it ...
, Germany's interim parliament and constitutional convention, where he sat on the Committee for the Preliminary Consultation of the Draft Constitution of the German Reich. Following the completion of the Assembly's work, he was elected to the new Reichstag of the Weimar Republic. During the 1920 Kapp Putsch, Wels and union leader Carl Legien led the general strike that was central to ending the putsch, and afterwards demanded the resignation of his party colleague Gustav Noske as
Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' (; ) was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first two years of Nazi Germany. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...
minister. He played a key role in founding the paramilitary
Iron Front The Iron Front () was a German "extraparliamentary" and paramilitary organization in the Weimar Republic which consisted of social democrats, trade unionists, and democratic socialists. Its main goal was to defend democracy against totalita ...
and ''
Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold The (, , simply in short) was an organization in Weimar Republic, Germany during the Weimar Republic with the goal to defend German parliamentary democracy against internal subversion and extremism from the left and right and to compel the ...
'' in defence of Germany's parliamentary democracy against the rising extremist forces of the Nazi ''SA'', '' Der Stahlhelm'' and the communist-led '' Rotfrontkämpferbund''. In 1923 Wels became a member of the executive board of the
Labour and Socialist International The Labour and Socialist International (LSI) was an international organization of socialist and labourist parties, active between 1923 and 1940. The group was established through a merger of the rival Vienna International and the Berne Intern ...
. After the 1930 Reichstag election, which saw the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...
gain 95 seats, Wels advocated the toleration of the cabinet of Chancellor Heinrich Brüning even though Brüning was heading a presidential cabinet that bypassed the Reichstag and ruled by presidential decree. The SPD feared that if they voted for a no-confidence motion against Brüning there could be new elections that would strengthen the Nazi's position even more. In the July 1932 Prussian coup d'état, Chancellor
Franz von Papen Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen, (; 29 October 18792 May 1969) was a German politician, diplomat, Prussian nobleman and army officer. A national conservative, he served as Chancellor of Germany in 1932, and then as Vice-Chancell ...
ousted the elected government of
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
and took over control of Germany's largest state as Reich Commissioner, a move that was seen as a major blow to democracy in the Republic. Wels nevertheless argued against calling a general strike to oppose Papen. Because of the mass unemployment in Germany at the time, Wels thought that workers would not be able to force Papen to back down. Following the Reichstag election of November 1932 in which the Nazis lost seats, Wels rejected any negotiations with the new chancellor,
Kurt von Schleicher Kurt Ferdinand Friedrich Hermann von Schleicher (; 7 April 1882 – 30 June 1934) was a German military officer and the penultimate Chancellor of Germany#First German Republic (Weimar Republic, 1919–1933), chancellor of Germany during the Weim ...
.


Enabling Act

Wels had underestimated
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
and was taken by surprise when President
Paul von Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German military and political leader who led the Imperial German Army during the First World War and later became President of Germany (1919†...
named him chancellor on 30 January 1933. The SPD saw the move as constitutional and called on its members to use restraint. Following the promulgation of the
Reichstag Fire Decree The Reichstag Fire Decree () is the common name of the Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of People and State () issued by German President Paul von Hindenburg on the advice of Chancellor Adolf Hitler on 28 February 1933 in immed ...
on 28 February, Wels was threatened with arrest and fled with his family to Austria, but he returned in early March. The SPD by then saw that the proposed
Enabling Act An enabling act is a piece of legislation by which a legislative body grants an entity which depends on it (for authorization or legitimacy) for the delegation of the legislative body's power to take certain actions. For example, enabling act ...
, which would give Hitler's cabinet the right to pass laws without the consent of the Reichstag for a period of four years, presented a mortal threat to the rule of law and the democratic constitution. When they decided to oppose it, Wels volunteered to give the speech against Hitler, saying "I will do it. (...) This is about the party and the honour of the party."


Speech in opposition

Wels gave his speech on 23 March 1933, during the last session of the multi-party Reichstag. He began by agreeing with Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler's demand for equal treatment of Germany among the nations of the world and stated that he, Wels, "was the first German who stood up to the untruth of Germany’s guilt for the outbreak of the world war before an international forum". He went on to say that the SPD agreed with another statement of Hitler's, that "from the lunacy of the theory of eternal winners and losers came the madness of reparations and, in their wake, the catastrophe of the world economy". He then quoted from the speech that Chancellor
Gustav Bauer Gustav Adolf Bauer (; 6 January 1870 – 16 September 1944) was a German Social Democratic Party leader and the chancellor of Germany from June 1919 to March 1920. Prior to that, he was minister of labour in the last cabinet of the German Empi ...
of the SPD gave on 23 July 1919 following the resignation of the Scheidemann cabinet in protest against the terms of the
Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...
:
We are defenseless; defenseless but not without honor []. To be sure, the enemies are after our honor, there is no doubt. However, that this attempt at defamation will one day redound back upon the instigators, that it is not our honor that is being destroyed by this global catastrophe, that is our belief to the last breath.
Wels used Bauer's words in order to turn them against Hitler and the Nazis. Equal treatment, he argued, is as necessary for a nation internally as it is internationally. Defeated political opponents, like defeated nations, cannot be treated as if they were outlaws:
Freedom and life can be taken from us, but not our honor. After the persecutions that the Social Democratic Party has suffered recently, no one will reasonably demand or expect that it vote for the Enabling Act.
He went on to enumerate the major accomplishments of the SPD in the Weimar Reichstag and accused the National Socialists of being nationalist but not socialist. If they were socialist, he said, they would have the people behind them and not need an Enabling Act. The SPD understood the Nazi's form of power politics and also that the people's sense of justice was a political power to which they would continue to appeal.
In this historic hour, we German Social Democrats solemnly pledge ourselves to the principles of humanity and justice, of freedom and socialism. No Enabling Act gives you the power to destroy ideas that are eternal and indestructible. ... German social democracy will draw new strength also from the latest persecutions. We greet the persecuted and the oppressed. We greet our friends in Germany. Your steadfastness and loyalty deserve admiration. The courage of your convictions and your unbroken optimism guarantee a brighter future.
All 94 SPD members of the Reichstag who were present voted against the act. Using the powers of the
Reichstag Fire Decree The Reichstag Fire Decree () is the common name of the Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of People and State () issued by German President Paul von Hindenburg on the advice of Chancellor Adolf Hitler on 28 February 1933 in immed ...
, the Nazis had detained several SPD deputies, and others had already fled into exile. The
Communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...
had been banned and so could not vote. The rest of the Reichstag voted in favour. Nazi intimidation had worked so well that even if all 120 SPD deputies had been present and voted against it, the Enabling Act would have still passed with the required two-thirds majority for a constitutional amendment. The passage of the Enabling Act marked the end of parliamentary democracy in Germany and formed the legal authority for Hitler's dictatorship. Within weeks of the passage of the Enabling Act, the Hitler government banned the SPD, and the other German political parties chose to dissolve to avoid persecution, making the Nazi Party the only legal political party in Germany.


Exile and death

In June 1933, Wels went into exile in the
Territory of the Saar Basin The Territory of the Saar Basin (, ; ) was a region occupied and governed by the United Kingdom and France from 1920 to 1935 under a League of Nations mandate. It had its own flag (adopted on 28 July 1920): a blue, white, and black horizontal t ...
, which at the time was under
League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
control. From there he moved to exile in Prague, where he established the
Sopade Sopade (Social Democratic Party of Germany in exile (''Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands im Exil''), also written SoPaDe or SOPADE, ) was the name of the board of directors (''Vorstand'') of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (Social De ...
, the exile organization of the SPD. In August 1933, he was deprived of his German citizenship. As a result of the
Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–194 ...
, Wels had to leave Prague and went to Paris at the end of 1938, where he died on 16 September 1939 at the age of 66. He was buried in the Cimetière Nouveau cemetery at Châtenay-Malabry.


Legacy

In his memoirs, the former chancellor Heinrich Brüning described Otto Wels as "Germany's bravest man in the fight against Hitler".


References


External links


German Resistance Memorial Center Biography

Audio of Wels' speech against the Enabling Act
(in German, with accompanying text in English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wels, Otto 1873 births 1939 deaths Politicians from Berlin Politicians from the Province of Brandenburg Chairmen of the Social Democratic Party of Germany Members of the 13th Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the Weimar National Assembly Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic Members of the Reichstag 1920–1924 Members of the Reichstag 1924 Members of the Reichstag 1924–1928 Members of the Reichstag 1928–1930 Members of the Reichstag 1930–1932 Members of the Reichstag 1932 Members of the Reichstag 1932–1933 Members of the Reichstag 1933 Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold members Members of the Executive of the Labour and Socialist International Exiles from Nazi Germany People of the German Revolution of 1918–1919 German expatriates in France German expatriates in Czechoslovakia People who lost German citizenship