Tobias Wilhelm Franz Seldte (29 June 18821 April 1947) was a German

reactionary In politics, a reactionary is a person who favors a return to a previous state of society which they believe possessed positive characteristics absent from contemporary.''The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought'' Third Edition, (1999) p. 729. ...

politician who served as the Reich Minister for Labour in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

.Stackelberg (2007). ''The Routledge Companion to Nazi Germany'', p. 243. Prior to his ministry, Seldte was a founding leader of '' Der Stahlhelm''

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 ...

ex- servicemen's organisation from 1918 to 1934.

Early life and education

Born in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

in the Prussian

province of Saxony The Province of Saxony (), also known as Prussian Saxony (), was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1944. Its capital was Magdeburg. It was formed by the merger of various territories ceded ...

, Seldte was the son of an owner of a factory producing chemical products and soda water. He attended the Wilhelm-Raabe- Gymnasium in Magdeburg and, after an apprenticeship as a salesman, studied chemistry at the universities of

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

and

Greifswald Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin and Neubrandenburg. In 2021 it surpa ...

. In 1908 he took over the business of his early deceased father. As an officer of 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 ...

he was wounded in

and lost his left arm. He then became a front reporter. Awarded with the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

2nd and 1st class,Snyder (1976). ''Encyclopedia of the Third Reich'', p. 320. Seldte also was promoted to the rank of ''

Hauptmann () is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as ''captain''. Background While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literall ...

der Reserve'' in the 66th Infantry Regiment.

''Der Stahlhelm''

As a reaction to 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 ...

, Seldte founded ''Der Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten'' on 25 December 1918, agitating against 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 ...

and German

war reparations War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war. War reparations can take the form of hard currency, precious metals, natural resources, in ...

. According to Seldte, the organization was to use the spirit of the ''Frontsoldaten'' against the 'swinish revolution' taking place in Germany under the Weimar government. While he took charge of ''Der Stahlhelm'' from 1923 onwards, he had to cope with the constant rivalry of his deputy leader, the militant Theodor Duesterberg. Seldte became a member of the national conservative

German National People's Party The German National People's Party (, DNVP) was a national-conservative and German monarchy, monarchist political party in Germany during the Weimar Republic. Before the rise of the Nazi Party, it was the major nationalist party in Weimar German ...

(DNVP) and was a member of the Magdeburg city council (''Stadtrat''). During the later years 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 ...

''Der Stahlhelm'' became increasingly anti-democratic and anti-republican. However, Seldte hoped that the organization could become a leading organ of a united right-wing movement. In 1929 it united its forces with the DNVP under

Alfred Hugenberg Alfred Ernst Christian Alexander Hugenberg (19 June 1865 – 12 March 1951) was an influential German businessman and politician. An important figure in nationalist politics in Germany during the first three decades of the twentieth century, ...

, the Pan-German League and 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 ...

to initiate a German referendum against the

Young Plan The Young Plan was a 1929 attempt to settle issues surrounding the World War I reparations obligations that Germany owed under the terms of Treaty of Versailles. Developed to replace the 1924 Dawes Plan, the Young Plan was negotiated in Paris f ...

World War I reparations Following their defeat in World War I, the Central Powers agreed to pay war reparations to the Allied Powers. Each defeated power was required to make payments in either cash or kind. Because of the financial situation in Austria, Hungary, and ...

. The common goal was to denounce the Chancellor Hermann Müller and his ministers as traitors to their country, nevertheless the plebiscite failed to reach the

quorum A quorum is the minimum number of members of a group necessary to constitute the group at a meeting. In a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature), a quorum is necessary to conduct the business of ...

. In 1931 Seldte helped create the short-lived Harzburg Front, a right-wing alliance against the government of Müller's successor Heinrich Brüning.

Minister for Labour

During the negotiations for the Chancellorship of Germany between

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 ...

and Hitler in mid-January 1933, Seldte threw his vote and ''Der Stahlhelm'' behind Hitler, after which Papen acquiesced to Hitler's demands. On the day of the '' Machtergreifung'' on 30 January 1933, Seldte joined the Hitler Cabinet as Reich Minister for Labour, once again outdoing his long-time rival Duesterberg. In the run-up to the elections of March 1933, ''Der Stahlhelm'' together with Hugenberg's national conservative

(DNVP) attempted to make the ''Kampffront Schwarz-Weiß-Rot'' (" Black White Red Combat Front") into the dominant political camp on the right, but ultimately failed as it only gained 8.0% of the votes cast. Nevertheless, Seldte obtained a seat in the '' Reichstag'' as a DNVP "guest". Returned in subsequent elections as a Nazi Party deputy, he would remain in the ''Reichstag'' until the end of the Nazi regime. On 27 April 1933 Seldte finally joined the Nazi Party and merged ''Der Stahlhelm'' into Ernst Röhm's ''

Sturmabteilung The (; SA; or 'Storm Troopers') was the original paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party of Germany. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and early 1930s. I ...

(SA)'' militia – de facto placing it at the disposal of Hitler. In August 1933, he was awarded the rank of ''SA-

Obergruppenführer (, ) was a paramilitary rank in Nazi Germany that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and adopted by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) one year later. Until April 1942, it was the highest commissioned SS rank after ...

'' and later was appointed '' Reichskommissar'' for the ''Freiwilliger Arbeitsdienst'' employment program, but was soon superseded by his state secretary

Konstantin Hierl Konstantin Alois Hierl (24 February 1875 – 23 September 1955) was a German career military officer who became a major figure in the administration of Nazi Germany. An associate of Adolf Hitler before he came to national power, Hierl became ...

as leader of the ''

Reichsarbeitsdienst The Reich Labour Service (''Reichsarbeitsdienst''; RAD) was a major paramilitary organization established in Nazi Germany as an agency to help mitigate the effects of unemployment on the Economy of Nazi Germany, German economy, militarise the wo ...

'' organization. Seldte also was made a member of the

Academy for German Law The Academy for German Law () was an institute for legal research and reform founded on 26 June 1933 in Nazi Germany. After suspending its operations during the Second World War in August 1944, it was abolished after the fall of the Nazi regime on ...

. In March 1934 Seldte was made the federal leader of the ''Nationalsozialistischer Deutscher frontkämpfer-Bund (Stahlhelm)'' () (NSDFBSt), a successor organization of ''Der Stahlhelm'', which however was disbanded in November 1935. Seldte was also a member of the Prussian state government as Prussian Labour Minister from 1 April 1935, in the cabinet of Minister President

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...

. With this appointment, Seldte became an

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...

member of the

Prussian State Council The Prussian State Council ( German: ''Preußischer Staatsrat'') was the second chamber of the bicameral legislature of the Free State of Prussia between 1921 and 1933; the first chamber was the Prussian Landtag (). The members of the State Cou ...

. In 1935 Seldte requested to be released from official responsibilities, but Hitler refused. Throughout his tenure as chief of the Labor Ministry, Seldte never enjoyed the full support of Hitler, who did not think he was worth much. As a result, members of the Nazi hierarchy began encroaching on his areas of responsibility and Seldte was marginalized accordingly. For instance, Hermann Goering's Four Year Plan which he began to implement in late 1936, ran roughshod over Seldte's Labor Ministry altogether. Seldte, without substantial power, remained Reich and Prussian Minister for Labour until the end 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 ...

. Even after Hitler's suicide and the nomination of

Grand Admiral Grand admiral is a historic naval rank, the highest rank in the several European navies that used it. It is best known for its use in Germany as . A comparable rank in modern navies is that of admiral of the fleet. Grand admirals in individual ...

Dönitz as his successor, Seldte kept his post, being named Labour Minister in the Flensburg government. As Reich Minister for Labour, Franz Seldte was one of the signatories of the Work Order Act (''Gesetz zur Ordnung der nationalen Arbeit'') from 1934, which introduced the Führer principle (''Führerprinzip'') in factories and significantly restricted the rights of employees.

Death

Seldte was captured at the end of the war and imprisoned in

Camp Ashcan Central Continental Prisoner of War Enclosure No. 32, code-named ''Ashcan'', was an Allied prisoner-of-war camp in the ''Palace Hotel'' of Mondorf-les-Bains, Luxembourg during World War II. Operating from May to August 1945, it served as a proce ...

Mondorf-les-Bains Mondorf-les-Bains (; ; ) is a Communes of Luxembourg, commune and town in south-eastern Luxembourg. It is part of the Remich (canton), canton of Remich. Mondorf-les-Bains is a spa town (hence its name), and has the only casino in Luxembourg. , ...

. During the

Nuremberg trials #REDIRECT Nuremberg trials {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from move ...

, Seldte tried to exonerate himself by claiming that he had stood against the dictatorship of Hitler and that he advocated for a two-chamber system of parliamentary governance. His story was not convincing. Seldte died in a US military hospital in April 1947 at

Fürth Fürth (; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is the Franconia#Towns and cities, s ...

, before the Nuremberg Tribunal had the chance to formally try him on the charges.

Legacy

In Nazi-era Germany, streets were named after him in several German cities, among them his hometown

and

Leverkusen Leverkusen () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the south, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne, and to the north the state capital, Düsseldorf. The city is part of the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan ...

. In Forst (Lausitz), the football stadium at the water tower was named ''Franz-Seldte-Kampfbahn''. In

Oberhausen Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...

, the square behind the main railway station was named after him.

References

Bibliography

* Bracher, Karl D. ''The German Dictatorship: The Origins, Structure, and Effects of National Socialism''. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1970. * Evans, Richard J. ''The Third Reich in Power''. New York: Penguin, 2006. * Fischer, Klaus. ''Nazi Germany: A New History''. New York: Continuum, 1995. * Kershaw, Ian. ''Hitler: 1889-1936, Hubris''. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000. * Klee, Ernst. ''Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945''. Frankfurt-am-Main: Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, 2007. * * Longerich, Peter. ''Heinrich Himmler''. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. * Mazower, Mark. ''Hitler's Empire: How the Nazis Ruled Europe''. New York: Penguin, 2009. * Shirer, William L. ''The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich''. New York: MJF Books, 1990, 959 * Snyder, Louis L. ''Encyclopedia of the Third Reich''. London: Robert Hale, 1976 * Stackelberg, Roderick. ''The Routledge Companion to Nazi Germany''. New York: Routledge, 2007. * Taylor, James, and Warren Shaw. ''Dictionary of the Third Reich''. New York: Penguin, 2002. * Wistrich, Robert S. ''Who's Who in Nazi Germany''. New York: Routledge, 2001. *

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Seldte, Franz 1882 births 1947 deaths 20th-century German businesspeople Burials in Bavaria German amputees German Army personnel of World War I German casualties of World War I German city councillors German National People's Party politicians German people of World War II German politicians with disabilities German Protestants Government ministers of Nazi Germany Members of the Academy for German Law Members of the Prussian State Council (Nazi Germany) Members of the Reichstag 1933 Members of the Reichstag 1933–1936 Members of the Reichstag 1936–1938 Members of the Reichstag 1938–1945 Military personnel from Saxony-Anhalt Ministers of labor of Germany Nazi Party politicians Nazis who died in prison custody Organization founders People from the Province of Saxony Politicians from Magdeburg Prisoners who died in United States military detention Prussian politicians Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 2nd class SA-Obergruppenführer Stahlhelm members TU Braunschweig alumni University of Greifswald alumni