Herbert Weichmann (23 February 1896 – 9 October 1983) was a German lawyer and politician (

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 ...

) and First Mayor of

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

(1965–1971). In his position as mayor of Hamburg, he served as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the Bundesrat (1968–1969).

Life

Weichmann was born in Landsberg, Upper Silesia, then part of the

German Reich German ''Reich'' (, from ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty entirely from a continuing unitary German ''Volk'' ("na ...

(now Gorzów Śląski, Poland), to a Jewish family of physicians. In 1914 he began to study medicine, but volunteered at the outbreak of 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 ...

in 1914. After the war Weichmann studied law at the Silesian Friedrich Wilhelm University, Breslau, and graduated (Dr. iur.) in 1922. In 1928 he married Elsbeth Greisinger and was appointed as liaison officer to

Prime Minister of Prussia The Minister-President (), or Prime Minister, of Prussia was the head of government of the Prussian state. The office existed from 1848, when it was formed by King Frederick William IV during the 1848–49 Revolution, until the abolition of Pr ...

Otto Braun Otto Braun (28 January 1872 – 15 December 1955) was a politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) during the Weimar Republic. From 1920 to 1932, with only two brief interruptions, Braun was Minister President of Prussia, Ministe ...

. After the takeover of power (1933) by 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 ...

Weichmann fled first to

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, then to France—with a short term of imprisonment (1939–1940)—Spain, Portugal and later the United States. In 1948 he returned to Germany at the invitation of the mayor of Hamburg,

Max Brauer Max Julius Friedrich Brauer (3 September 1887 – 2 February 1973) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the first elected First Mayor of Hamburg after World War II. Life In 1923, Brauer was mayor of the independe ...

, and started his political career there. In 1956 he became a member of the faculty of the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (, also referred to as UHH) is a public university, public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('':de:Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen, ...

. Weichmann died in Hamburg and is buried at

Ohlsdorf Cemetery Ohlsdorf Cemetery ( or (former) ) in the Ohlsdorf, Hamburg, Ohlsdorf quarter of the city of Hamburg, Germany, is the biggest rural cemetery in the world and the fourth-largest cemetery in the world. Most of the people buried at the cemetery are c ...

. Weichmann's son lived in Canada.

Political career

Weichmann started his political career on a Soldiers' council (German: ''Soldatenrat'') in 1918. In 1920, he became a member of the SPD. From 1948 until 1957, he was President of the Hamburg Court of Auditors. In 1957, he was appointed as Senator of Finance, a position he held until his election as First Mayor of Hamburg on 16 June 1965. Weichmann resigned in 1971. He was considered a potential candidate to be the next

President of Germany The president of Germany, officially titled the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international correspondence; the official English title is President of the F ...

, but he did not put himself forward.

Honours

In 1964 Weichmann was appointed as an honorary professor at the University of Hamburg. He was awarded Honorary Citizenship of Hamburg in 1971. In 1989 the non-profit organization ''Herbert und Elsbeth Weichmann-Stiftung'' was founded; its goal is to remember and commemorate the activities of the democratic opposition in exile against Hitler, and to promote academic works about political exile. In Uhlenhorst quarter a street was named ''Herbert-Weichmann-Straße''. In 2007 the ''Herbert Weichmann medallion'' was granted for the first time by the city of Hamburg, honoring "those—both Jewish and non-Jewish—who have contributed to Jewish life in Germany".

Works

*''Der Gesellschaft und dem Staat verpflichtet: einfache und schwierige Wahrheiten.'' (1980) Hamburg: A. Knaus. *''Miterlebtes: Berichte aus 5 Jahrzehnten hamburg. Geschichte.'' (1979) Hamburg: Christians. *''Gefährdete Freiheit: Aufruf zur streitbaren Demokratie.'' (1974) Hamburg: Hoffmann und Campe.

Literature

* Regneri, Guenter. (2015) ''Herbert Weichmann: aus dem Bestehenden die Bausteine des Besseren entwickeln.'' Berlin: Hentrich & Hentrich. * Bahnsen, Uwe. (2001) ''Die Weichmanns in Hamburg: ein Glücksfall für Deutschland.'' Hamburg: Christians.

References

External links

Herbert und Elsbeth Weichmann-Stiftung
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weichmann, Herbert 1896 births 1983 deaths People from Olesno County Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Presidents of the German Bundesrat Jewish German politicians German Army personnel of World War I Mayors of Hamburg People from the Province of Silesia Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States Academic staff of the University of Hamburg University of Breslau alumni Jews from Hamburg Burials at the Ohlsdorf Cemetery