Hermann Hummel (22 June 1876 – 13 September 1952) was a German

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

in the

Republic of Baden The Republic of Baden () was a German state during the Weimar Republic. It was formed as the successor to the Grand Duchy of Baden during the German revolution of 1918–1919 and formally dissolved in 1945. Today it is part of the federal state ...

. He was a member of the DDP.

Early life and career

Hummel was born in

Lahr Lahr (officially Lahr/Schwarzwald since 30 September 1978) (); ) is a city in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany, approximately 50 km north of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, 40 km southeast of Strasbourg, and 95 km southwest of Ka ...

in the

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a Margravia ...

. He studied astronomy, chemistry, mathematics and philosophy at the universities of

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

, and

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. He simultaneously completed a degree in engineering at the Technical University of Karlsruhe. He later became a chemistry teacher at a high school in Karlsruhe and thus began his teaching career. In 1906, Hummel moved up to teach chemistry at a secondary school in Karlsruhe. It was not long after this that he began to put his knowledge of chemistry to practical use. From 1912 to 1914, he worked in a paint factory, Electra Werke GmbH. 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 ...

, he joined as a war volunteer in the field artillery regiment No. 27. He continued to serve as a lieutenant of the reserve from 1915 until 1917. During this time, he participated in fighting on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. From 1917 until the end of the war, he worked in the inspection of Air Force troops.

Chemist and businessman

In late 1922, Hummel joined the administration of the Badische Anilin and Soda Fabrik. He served as one of the directors and a member of the supervisory board of the company. Subsequently, he participated in the construction of

IG Farben I. G. Farbenindustrie AG, commonly known as IG Farben, was a German Chemical industry, chemical and Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical conglomerate (company), conglomerate. It was formed on December 2, 1925 from a merger of six chemical co ...

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, in whose supervisory board he also participated. In addition, he was a member of the supervisory board of the

August Horch August Horch (12 October 1868 – 3 February 1951) was a German engineer and automobile pioneer, the founder of the manufacturing giant that eventually became Audi. Beginnings Horch was born in Winningen, Rhenish Prussia. His initial ...

automobile plants in Zwickau GmbH and was a member of the Economic Policy Committee of the National Association of German Industry. By 1930, Hummel was the sole shareholder of Imprimatur GmbH and tried to financially support the opposition newspaper

Frankfurter Zeitung The ''Frankfurter Zeitung'' (, ) was a German-language newspaper that appeared from 1856 to 1943. It emerged from a market letter that was published in Frankfurt. In Nazi Germany, it was considered the only mass publication not completely control ...

against the propaganda machine of 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 ...

and

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...

. In addition to his activities in the economy, he was a member of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society for the Advancement of Sciences, the Society of Friends of the Technical University of Karlsruhe and the Institute of Social Studies at the Ruprecht-Karls University of Heidelberg. In 1939, he emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, but he returned to Germany in 1951 and settled down in the

Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...

, where he lived until his death in

Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its c ...

the following year at the age of 78.

State President of Baden

Upon the proclamation of the

in 1918, Hummel first served as Deputy Minister for Military Affairs. On 1 April 1919, he was appointed Minister of Culture and Teaching. On 23 November 1921, Hummel led a coalition of the

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together wi ...

, the

Centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

, and the DDP. The coalition collapsed on 23 November 1922.

References

Rulers of Baden
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hummel, Hermann 1876 births 1952 deaths People from Lahr People from the Grand Duchy of Baden German Protestants German People's Party (1868) politicians Progressive People's Party (Germany) politicians German Democratic Party politicians Members of the Reichstag 1924–1928 Members of the Reichstag 1928–1930 Members of the Second Chamber of the Diet of the Grand Duchy of Baden 20th-century German chemists Heidelberg University alumni University of Freiburg alumni University of Strasbourg alumni Karlsruhe Institute of Technology alumni German Army personnel of World War I