Herbert Czaja (November 5, 1914 – April 18, 1997) was a German Christian democratic politician. Czaja was born to a multi-ethnic and multilingual family in

Cieszyn Cieszyn ( , ; cs, Těšín ; german: Teschen; la, Tessin; szl, Ćeszyn) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitan ...

in Poland, which was part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

at the time of his birth. During the Second Polish Republic he was politically active in the German Christian People's Party, a centrist party representing German-speaking Catholics in Poland, and obtained a doctorate in

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

from the Jagiellonian University. In 1946 he was expelled from his native Poland by the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

during the

expulsion of Germans after World War II Expulsion or expelled may refer to: General * Deportation * Ejection (sports) * Eviction * Exile * Expeller pressing * Expulsion (education) * Expulsion from the United States Congress * Extradition * Forced migration * Ostracism * Persona ...

and came as a refugee to Stuttgart in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, where he worked as a teacher and became active in politics for the Christian Democratic Union. He served as a member of the city council of Stuttgart from 1947 to 1953, as a member of the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Common ...

from 1953 to 1990, was a long-time member of the Central Committee of German Catholics from 1948, and was President of the Federation of Expellees from 1970 to 1994. His political activity focused both on the refugees from Eastern Europe and on Catholic affairs. In the official propaganda of the

Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million ne ...

, Czaja was portrayed as one of West Germany's most important politicians and his influence often exaggerated. After the Cold War, Czaja was involved in Polish-German reconciliation efforts. He was awarded the Knight Commander's Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

in 1984.

Early life in Austria-Hungary and Poland

Herbert Czaja was born in Teschen (Cieszyn) in

to a bilingual family of Polish, Czech and German origin. Cieszyn was a typically multi-ethnic city where many had both Polish and German (Austrian) roots. His father Albert Czaja was a respected notary who was fluent in Polish, German and Czech;Dr. Herbert Czaja
/ref> his mother was Louise née Smekal. His father's name Czaja is Polish, while his mother's name Smekal is of Czech origin. Herbert Czaja became a Polish citizen at age four when his hometown became part of the Second Polish Republic. He was fluent in Polish and German. Czaja studied German studies,

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

, and philosophy in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. Influenced by his bilingual family and upbringing, he became interested in minority issues, and during the 1930s, he was active in German student organisations in the

Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ...

of Poland, as a member of Senator Eduard Pant's German Christian People's Party, a Catholic party working for the interests of the German minority in Poland. In 1937, he joined the German Association for the National Pacification of Europe, an anti-Nazi group in Poland founded by Eduard Pant. At the same time, he worked as a teacher in eastern Upper Silesia. In 1939, before the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

in German literature at the Jagiellonian University with the dissertation ''Stefan Georges Ringen um autonomes Menschentum'' ("The struggle of

Stefan George Stefan Anton George (; 12 July 18684 December 1933) was a German symbolist poet and a translator of Dante Alighieri, William Shakespeare, Hesiod, and Charles Baudelaire. He is also known for his role as leader of the highly influential literary ...

for autonomous humanity"). His doctoral advisor was Adam Kleczkowski, one of Poland's most respected German studies scholars. He then briefly worked as a scientific assistant at the Jagiellonian University. During World War II, when his hometown was annexed by Germany, he was considered part of the

ethnic German , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

community by the German authorities. From October 1940 to March 1941 Czaja worked as a secondary school teacher in

Zakopane Zakopane ( Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the extreme south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has been ...

and then from March 1941 to May 1942 in Przemyśl. He continued to be involved in anti-Nazi activities, but fearing prosecution for treason and upon the advice of a friend, he volunteered for the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

in 1942 to get away from Silesia, serving until he was severely wounded in early 1945.

Expulsion from Poland

When Czaja returned to Cieszyn, his parents' home had been destroyed, communists had taken control over Poland and the situation of ethnic Germans in Silesia was dire. The boundaries between Germans and Poles were blurry in multi-ethnic families like the Czajas, and Czaja appears to initially have been considered Polish upon his return to his hometown. Czaja's mentor and doctoral advisor Adam Kleczkowski offered him a position at the Jagiellonian University to undertake a Habilitation, but Czaja would be required to declare Polish nationality. Under the circumstances of ethnic persecution of the group he felt most attached to and a communist dictatorship now in place in Poland, Czaja was unwilling to declare Polish nationality. Shortly after in 1946, Czaja was expelled by the Polish People's Republic authorities during the

Political career in West Germany

Herbert Czaja settled in Stuttgart, where he immediately became involved in politics for the Christian Democratic Union and its youth wing, the

Junge Union The Junge Union Deutschlands (''Young Union of Germany'') or JU is the joint youth organisation of the two conservative German political parties, CDU and CSU. Membership is limited to individuals between 14 and 35 years of age. Junge Union c ...

. He was a member of the city council of Stuttgart from 1947 to 1953. He also co-founded the Union of Expellees in the CDU and chaired the branch in Northern Württemberg. In 1948 he was elected a member of the Central Committee of German Catholics, an office he held for decades. His political career in West Germany focused equally on refugee affairs and on Catholic issues. He was also a central member of the Ackermann Community, a Catholic organisation promoting ties between Germans and Czechs. He served as a member of the

, the Parliament of West Germany, from 1953 to 1990. During this time he represented Stuttgart-Nord from 1983 to 1990. He also served as spokesman of the

Landsmannschaft der Oberschlesier A Landsmannschaft (; Latin ''natio'', plural nationes) is a German fraternity of several fraternity forms called ''Studentenverbindung''. The older forms of ''Landsmannschaften'' were part of corporations and are closely aligned with the beginn ...

from 1969 and was president of the Federation of Expellees (''Bund der Vertriebenen'', BdV) from 1970 to 1994. In the 1970s and 1980s, Czaja voted, along with several conservative politicians, against the recognition of the Oder-Neisse line as the Polish-German definitive border. Also in 1990, he argued that the reunification of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

with the territory of the former

German Democratic Republic 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 **G ...

was not a complete reunification according to the German constitution of 1949, as it did not include the eastern provinces of Germany as of 1937. Czaja proposed to establish out of Western Poland an autonomous zone under international administration.Jeszcze Steinbach nie zginęła
09-03-2009

Rzeczpospolita () is the official name of Poland and a traditional name for some of its predecessor states. It is a compound of "thing, matter" and "common", a calque of Latin ''rés pública'' ( "thing" + "public, common"), i.e. ''republic'', in Engli ...

During the Cold War, Herbert Czaja figured prominently in the official state propaganda of the communist regime of the People's Republic of Poland, and was often portrayed as an

enemy of the state An enemy of the state is a person accused of certain crimes against the state such as treason, among other things. Describing individuals in this way is sometimes a manifestation of political repression. For example, a government may purport to m ...

. His influence in West German politics was often exaggerated by the Polish communists. After the end of the Cold War, he was active in Polish-German reconciliation efforts in the 1990s, and worked as an adviser for the authorities of

Opole Voivodeship Opole Voivodeship, or Opole Province ( pl, województwo opolskie ), is the smallest and least populated voivodeship (province) of Poland. The province's name derives from that of the region's capital and largest city, Opole. It is part of Upper Si ...

in modern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. While promoting ethnic peace between Poles and Germans, he maintained that the historically eastern German provinces could in the future be reunited with Germany, as he repeated in his 1996 book ''Unterwegs zum kleinsten Deutschland?'' Czaja however stated that no expulsions may ever be repeated; that millions of Poles had lived in a German state before and could so once again if these lands would be reintegrated into Germany. Czaja explicitly called for a Centre against Expulsions in Berlin to be established by Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic in a joint effort to promote peace and reconciliation.

Family

Czaja died in Stuttgart in 1997, survived by a wife and ten children. His oldest daughter, Christine Maria Czaja, published a biography of her father in 2003, titled ''Herbert Czaja: Anwalt für Menschenrechte'' (Herbert Czaja: Advocate for Human Rights).

Honours

Herbert Czaja was awarded the Officer's Cross of the

in 1968. He was awarded the Commander's Cross of the same order in 1973 and the Knight Commander's Cross in 1984. He was awarded the Medal of Merit of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

in 1988. A street in Stuttgart, Dr.-Herbert–Czaja-Weg, was named in his honour in 2002.

Literature

* Christine Maria Czaja (2003): ''Herbert Czaja: Anwalt für Menschenrechte''. Kulturstiftung der deutschen Vertriebenen * Waldemar Zylla (ed.), ''Festschrift zum 70. Geburtstag von Dr. Herbert Czaja am 5. November 1984'', Oberschlesischer Heimatverlag, 1984 * Gottfried Zieger, Boris Meissner, Dieter Blumenwitz (eds.), ''Deutschland als Ganzes: Rechtliche und historische Überlegungen – anläßlich des 70. Geburtstages von Herbert Czaja am 5 November 1984'', Verlag Wissenschaft und Politik, 1985

References