Jakob Altmaier (23 November 1889 in Flörsheim, Germany – 8 February 1963 in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

, West Germany) was a German journalist and a politician in the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

. He was one of few German Jews who returned to Germany after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and became active in politics.

Early life

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Altmaier volunteered for the Germany army and was severely wounded. In 1918, he participated in the

German revolution German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

that resulted in the establishment of the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...

. From 1917 to 1919, he was the editor of the Frankfurt paper the ''Volksstimme'', and throughout the 1920s he continued to work as a journalist for various papers, including the

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

, and for the Social Democratic Press Agency. As a foreign correspondent, he reported from Belgrade, Paris, and London. With the rise of the Nazi party in 1933, he fled to Paris. After the outbreak of war, he went to the Balkans, Spain, and finally to northern Africa, where was associated with British forces. Until 1948, he was a correspondent for two social-democratic newspapers. Altmaier lost over 20 relatives during the Holocaust.

Political life

In 1949, Altmaier returned to Germany. He was a member of the post-World War II

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...

from its inception in 1949 until his death, as the Hanau representative. He was intimately involved with the 1952 reparation treaty between West Germany and Israel. Altmaier was also a member of the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up o ...

from 1950 until his death.

Honors

The Jakob-Altmaier street in Hanau as well as Altmaier street in Flörsheim am Main are named after Altmaier. The city of Flörsheim made him an honored citizen.

External links

Altmaier collection
at the Archive of the Social Democratic Party at the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation
Jakob Altmaier Collection
at the Leo Baeck Institute, NY

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altmaier, Jakob 1889 births 1963 deaths 20th-century German Jews Jewish German politicians Members of the Bundestag 1961–1965 Members of the Bundestag 1957–1961 Members of the Bundestag 1953–1957 Members of the Bundestag 1949–1953 Members of the Bundestag for Hesse Members of the Bundestag for the Social Democratic Party of Germany

Early life

Political life

Honors

Further reading

External links

References