Hermann Kling (17 February 1880 - 20 January 1957) was a German politician ( CSVD, CDU).

Life

Hermann Jakob Kling was born in

Owen Owen may refer to: Origin: The name Owen is of Irish and Welsh origin. Its meanings range from noble, youthful, and well-born. Gender: Owen is historically the masculine form of the name. Popular feminine variations include Eowyn and Owena. ...

, a small protestant town set in the hill countryside of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Wür ...

, between Stuttgart and

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

. He was the second of the five recorded children born to Jakob Friedrich Kling (1847–1918) by his marriage to Karoline Luise Obenland / Kling (1853–1936). He attended school locally and then moved on to the

Teacher Training college A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...

at nearby

Nürtingen Nürtingen () is a town on the river Neckar in the district of Esslingen (district), Esslingen in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. History The following events occurred, by year: *1046: First mention of ''Niuritingin'' in th ...

. After successfully passing through the basic training programme he joined the Württemberg public schools service. Between 1902 and 1903 he taught at Mitteltal near

Baiersbronn Baiersbronn is a municipality and a village in the district of Freudenstadt in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is situated in the Black Forest on the Murg river. Nearby is the mountain of Rinkenkopf (759.6 m) with its hillfort, the R ...

and Kirchheim. Between 1910 and 1913 Kling undertook university level studies at

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in thre ...

. Subjects covered included Philosophy, Pedagogy, Psychology and History along with Civil and Administrative Law. In 1916 he was appointed to the headship of a junior school, although he was only able to take it up in November 1918, after returning from the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. Between August 1914 and November 1918 he served in the 122nd Fusilier Regiment (Württemberg), reaching the rank of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

and compiling, after the war, a history of the regiment during the

. He won the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia e ...

first and second class, the Knight's Cross of Württemberg and the Knight's Cross Class 2 with Swords of the Friedrich Order. After the revolution Kling turned to politics, joining the short-lived Christian Social People's Service (party - ''"Christlich-Sozialer Volksdienst"'' / CSVD), a protestant conservative party produced through a political merger. In May 1928 he became a member of the regional legislature (''"Landtag"''), remaining a member till 1933 when the assembly was dissolved. On the national stage, he was one of 14 CSVD candidates elected to the national parliament (''"Reichstag"'') in the 1930 general election. However, he remained a member only till 16 January 1931, after which he restricted himself to the regional legislature (''"Landtag"''). His Reichstag seat was taken over by

Hermann Strathmann Hermann Strathmann (30 August 1882 – 19 November 1966) was a German theologian and politician. Life Empire years and war: 1882–1919 Hermann Strathmann was born in Opherdicke, then a small town a short distance to the east of Dortmund. ...

. Régime change arrived in 1933 and the new government lost little time in

imposing Imposing was a notable Australian thoroughbred racehorse. He was a chestnut son of Todman from the Arctic Explorer mare Hialeah. Some of his major race victories included the 1979 AJC Epsom Handicap, AJC George Main Stakes and the STC Hil ...

one-

party dictatorship A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...

. The CSVD dissolved itself in June 1933 after which Kling served out the final months of the regional legislature (''"Landtag"'') as a "Hospitant" (loosely: guest member) of the

Nazi party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

. However, the matter was for most purposes theoretical, since the Landtag's final session took place on 8 June 1933 and the Landtag was formally abolished in January 1934. In 1937 Kling acquired "Gut Sonnenhof", a small farm in Beuren. He lived there and farmed the land till 1950. After the

ended in 1945 he returned to politics, although he continued to run the farm at the same time. In January 1946 he was a member of the regional "pre-parliament" created under the auspices of the US military occupation. By this time Hermann Kling was a member of the CDU, a centre-right political party which had emerged the previous year, although its roots went back to the Weimar years. The "pre-parliament" was a nominated chamber, but elections were held in June 1946 for a

constitutional assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

, mandated to create a regional constitution for the newly configured state of

Württemberg-Baden Württemberg-Baden was a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It was created in 1945 by the United States occupation forces, after the previous states of Baden and Württemberg had been split up between the US and French occupation zones. ...

. There was a further regional election in November 1946, held simultaneously with a referendum to approve the new constitution, and Kling was elected to the regional parliament (''Landtag'') of

, remaining a member of it till 1950.Wer ist wer? Das Deutsche WHO’s WHO. 1951, page 317.

Personal

In 1909 Hermann Kling married Hulda Honnegger (1881–1966). Their sons Hermann and Gerhard Paul were born in 1911 and 1918.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kling, Hermann Josef 1880 births 1957 deaths People from Esslingen (district) People from the Kingdom of Württemberg Christian Social People's Service politicians Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic German Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Iron Cross, 1st class