Rudolf Oeser (13 November 1858 – 3 June 1926) was a German journalist and liberal politician. From 1922 to 1924 he was a member of several governments 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 ...

, serving as Minister of the Interior and Minister of Transport.

Early life and career

Oeser was born on 13 November 1858 at Coswig, in the Principality of

Anhalt-Bernburg Anhalt-Bernburg was a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire and a duchy of the German Confederation ruled by the House of Ascania with its residence at Bernburg in present-day Saxony-Anhalt. It emerged as a subd ...

as the son of a manufacturer. He worked as a book trader but then studied philosophy and economics and became a journalist. In 1890-92 he was the editor in chief of the ''Ulmer Zeitung'' and then joined the business editors of the '' Frankfurter Zeitung''. In 1902, he became the head of the editorial team for Germany. He was a member of the German People's Party (DtVP) and then the FVP. In 1902, Oeser was elected to the Landtag of Prussia for the constituency of Frankfurt am Main. He was also a member of the Reichstag from 1907 to 1911, arguing for tax breaks for retail traders, the public control of corporate cartels and syndicates and for changes to the Prussian election law. During

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 ...

, Oeser joined the ' and in 1917 became editor of the ''Ostseezeitung'' and head of the ''Stettiner Druckerei'' (printing business) at

Stettin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major seaport, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and se ...

. However, he continued to contribute articles to the '' Frankfurter Zeitung'' until the early 1920s. As the war casualties mounted, Oeser urged families to have many children and he also favoured giving women the same political and social status as men.

Weimar Republic

After the end of the war, Oeser was once again a member of the Prussian diet, first of the Landesversammlung, the constituent assembly of Prussia in 1919-21 and then 1921-24 of the Landtag, this time for the German Democratic Party (DDP). After March 1919, he was also Minister for Public Works in the Prussian government, making him responsible for infrastructure including the railways. During the '' Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch'' of March 1920, Oeser was one of those arrested by the putschists. To prevent a strike by railway workers, Kapp wanted to release Oeser, who insisted that the other Prussian ministers should also be released. The next day, Oeser and Prussian Minister of Finance demanded Kapp's resignation and threatened him with a strike by railway workers. Nevertheless, after the end of the putsch the railway workers' union asked for Oeser's dismissal, claiming he had failed to oppose the putsch vigorously enough. Oeser remained in office and was in charge of transferring control over the railways to the Reich. He then left the Prussian government in April 1921 and became ''Landeshauptmann'' (provincial head) of the Province of Saxony. In the cabinet of Wilhelm Cuno, Oeser became ''Reichsminister des Innern'' (interior minister) in November 1922. As a staunch democrat and republican, Oeser was a firm supporter of the Weimar Constitution. During the Occupation of the Ruhr, Oeser hoped for France to incur material losses through a devaluation of the franc. He supported the policy of passive resistance, despite the damaging effect it had on the German economy, thinking it might be used not just to end the ''Ruhrkampf'' but also to achieve a revision of the much-despised

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 ...

. After the Cuno cabinet resigned in August 1923, Oeser took over the Reich Transport Ministry () in the cabinet of

Gustav Stresemann Gustav Ernst Stresemann (; 10 May 1878 – 3 October 1929) was a German statesman during the Weimar Republic who served as Chancellor of Germany#First German Republic (Weimar Republic, 1919–1933), chancellor of Germany from August to November 1 ...

. In the coalition crisis of November 1923 he favoured an exit by the Social Democrats from the cabinet but overestimated their willingness to tolerate a minority government. In the subsequent cabinet of Wilhelm Marx Oeser prepared the '' Reichsbahn'' for its independence as a formally private institution. In early April 1924, ''Reichspräsident'' Friedrich Ebert named Oeser as temporary general director of the Reichsbahn, supported by a provisonary board of directors made up of the ministries secretaries of state. To serve its intended role under the Dawes plan, the Reichsbahn required a supervisory board among whose members were some foreigners. Oeser defended this constellation in the Reichstag against attacks from the NSDAP and DNVP. At the end of September, the supervisory board of the Reichsbahn designated Oeser as general director. He left the cabinet formally on 11 October and concentrated on reforming the Reichsbahn. Oeser Rudolf a

In 1925, he became seriously ill and died on 3 June 1926 in Berlin. Oeser had been married to Emilie Oeser.

Works

* ''Die Besteuerung des Kleinhandels durch Umsatz-, Branchen-, Filial-, Personal-, usw. Steuern sowie die Lage des Kleinhandels und die Mittel zu ihrer Besserung'', 1899/1901 * ''Wie stellen wir uns zu den Kartellen und Syndikaten?'', 1902 * ''Mehr Kinder – mehr Erben! Die Bedeutung der biologischen Erbwerte für Kinder und Volk, Zeitgemäße Betrachtungen'', 1918 * ''Unsere Kinder – unsere Zukunft'' (with a foreword by Erich Ludendorff), 1918

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oeser, Rudolf 1858 births 1926 deaths People from Coswig, Saxony-Anhalt People from Anhalt-Bernburg German Protestants German People's Party (1868) politicians Progressive People's Party (Germany) politicians German Democratic Party politicians Interior ministers of Germany Transport ministers of Germany Members of the 12th Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the Prussian House of Representatives Members of the Landtag of Prussia