Hugo Heimann (15 April 1859 – 23 February 1951) was a German publisher and
Social Democratic
Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
politician.
Biography
Heimann was born in
Konitz
Unterwellenborn is a municipality in the district Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, in Thuringia, Germany. It was created on 1 February 2006 by fusion of the municipalities , Goßwitz, Könitz, Lausnitz bei Pößneck and Unterwellenborn itself which had coop ...
,
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...
, the son of Eduard (1818–1861) and Marie Heimann. The family moved to
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, where he attended the
Evangelisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster
The Evangelisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster, located in suburban Schmargendorf, Berlin, is an independent school with a humanistic profile, known as one of the most prestigious schools in Germany. Founded by the Evangelical Church in West Berl ...
but left school without passing his
Abitur
''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
. He started an apprenticeship as a bookseller and worked at
Nicholas Trübner
Nicholas Trübner (17 June 1817 – 20 March 1884), born Nikolaus Trübner, was a German-English publisher, bookseller and linguist.
Early life
The eldest of four sons of a goldsmith in Heidelberg, Trübner was born there on 17 June 1817, and ed ...
publishing house in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
from 1880 to 1884. He became Trübner's private secretary and returned to Berlin after Trübner's death. Here, he became a partner of the ''J. Guttentagsche Verlagsbuchhandlung'' publishing house and its sole proprietor in 1890. Heimann's publishing house became the official publisher for juridical publications of the
Reichsjustizamt
Reichsjustizamt () was the highest authority of the law in the German Empire, and was the predecessor of ''Reichsministerium der Justiz'', the Reich Ministry of Justice.
Reichsjustizamt was under the jurisdiction of the ''Reichskanzler'' or Imp ...
, especially regarding the new nationwide civil law code, the
Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch
The ''Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch'' (, ), abbreviated BGB, is the civil code of Germany, codifying most generally-applicably private law. In development since 1881, it became effective on 1 January 1900, and was considered a massive and groundbr ...
. In 1898, he sold the company, which would become part of
Walter de Gruyter
Walter de Gruyter GmbH, known as De Gruyter (), is a German scholarly publishing house specializing in academic literature.
History
The roots of the company go back to 1749 when Frederick the Great granted the Königliche Realschule in Be ...
in 1919.
In 1899, with a donation of 600,000 goldmarks, he founded the Free Public library in
Berlin-Kreuzberg
Kreuzberg () is a district of Berlin, Germany. It is part of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte. During the Cold War era, it was one of the poorest areas of West Berlin, but since German reunification in 1990, it has ...
. Initially stocked with 7,000 books it soon reached a number of 20,000 volumes and 540 newspapers and magazines. The first floor of the library housed the official archives of the Social Democratic Party, about 8000 printed and numerous handwritten documents. The archive included the private library of
Karl Marx
Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...
and
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels" ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.Max Schippel. While the bulk of the official archive was moved to the SPD's headquarter in November 1904, 443 books remained at Heimann's library, including a large number of books of Marx and Engels' provenance.
Following
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 ...
Heimann gifted the library to the City of Berlin in 1919 which renamed the library "Hugo Heimannsche Bücherei und Lesehalle" in 1920. Since opening it had attracted 2.5 million visitors.
In 1901 he financed the construction of a row of eight small houses, the Red Houses at Prinzenallee 46, Gesundbrunnen. The property was transferred to several Social Democratic politicians like
Karl Liebknecht
Karl Paul August Friedrich Liebknecht (; ; 13 August 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a German politician and revolutionary socialist. A leader of the far-left wing of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), Liebknecht was a co-founder of both ...
,
Eduard Bernstein
Eduard Bernstein (; 6 January 1850 – 18 December 1932) was a German Marxist theorist and politician. A prominent member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), he has been both condemned and praised as a "Revisionism (Marxism), revisi ...
and Paul Singer, which, as private real estate was a binding premise for passive electoral rights, allowed them to be elected to the City council.
Political career
Heimann joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany and became a close friend of
August Bebel
Ferdinand August Bebel (; 22 February 1840 – 13 August 1913) was a German socialist activist and politician. He was one of the principal founders of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).
Bebel, a woodworker by trade, co-founded the Sa ...
and Paul Singer. He was a member of the Berlin city council from 1900 to 1932, his fraction's chairman from 1911 to 1925 and the city council chairman from 1919 to 1932.
Heimann was one of the first eight Social Democrats elected as members of the
Prussian House of Representatives
The Prussian House of Representatives () was the lower chamber of the Landtag of Prussia (), the parliament of Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia from 1850 to 1918. Together with the upper house, the Prussian House of Lords, House of Lords (), it formed ...
under the terms of the
Prussian three-class franchise
The Prussian three-class franchise (German: ) was an indirect electoral system used from 1848 until 1918 in the Kingdom of Prussia and for shorter periods in other German states. Voters were grouped by district into three classes, with the total ...
in 1908.
Throughout 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 Ger ...
Heimann was a People's deputy in Berlin and became a member of the
Weimar National Assembly
The Weimar National Assembly (German: ), officially the German National Constitutional Assembly (), was the popularly elected constitutional convention and de facto parliament of Germany from 6 February 1919 to 21 May 1920. As part of it ...
of 1919/20. From 1920 to 1932 Heimann represented the Berlin constituency (Berlin 2) in the Reichstag, he was almost perpetually chairman of the budget committee.
Exile in the US
In 1939 Heimann emigrated via the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
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 ...
, where both of his sons, Leonhard and
Eduard Heimann
Eduard Magnus Mortier Heimann (11 July 1889 – 31 May 1967) was a German economist and social scientist who advocated ethical socialist programs in Germany in the 1920s and later in the United States. He was hostile to capitalism but thought it ...
, lived. His daughter Johanna remained in Germany and was either deported and killed in a
Concentration camp
A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...
or committed suicide facing her deportation.
In exile he was active in the
Social Democratic Federation
The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James ...
. He did not return to Germany after
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 ...
and died in New York City in 1951.
Remembrance
Heimann became the 56th honorary citizen of Berlin in 1926. This was revoked by the Nazis in 1933 but restored in 1947.
A memorial plaque at the location of the Red Houses, which were destroyed in World War II, the Hugo-Heimann-Bridge, the Hugo Heimann library (closed in 2015) and the Hugo-Heimann-school at Hugo-Heimann-Straße remember him.