Johann Viktor (23 December 1890 – 21 September 1967), known professionally as Johannes "Joho" Hoffmann, was a German politician. A founding member and chairman of the Christian People's Party of Saarland (''Christliche Volkspartei'' or CVP), Hoffman served as Minister-President of the French

Saar Protectorate The Saar Protectorate ( ; ), officially Saarland (), was a short-lived French protectorate and a disputed territory separated from Germany. On joining the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG/West Germany) in 1957, it became the smallest "federal ...

from 1947 to 1955.

Biography

Hoffmann was born in 1890 in Landsweiler-Reden.A village merged into the municipality of Schiffweiler He came from a humble background. After graduation, he studied theology in

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

with the aim of becoming a priest. Soon, however, he changed his mind, moved to the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, and studied journalism. After the start of

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 ...

he volunteered, fought in

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

among others, and was awarded the Iron Crescent. After the First World War, Johannes Hoffmann worked as a journalist at the central organ of the German Center Party in Berlin. On 1 October 1929 he became chief editor of the ''Saarbrücker Landeszeitung'', the largest

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

newspaper in the Saar. After the rise of

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

, he took a stand against the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

in the Saar press, which was at this time still free. In 1934 he was therefore dismissed as editor-in-chief in an act of anticipatory obedience. He then founded the New Saar Post and struggled in his articles against the National Socialist regime and against the connection of the Saarland into 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 ...

. After the Saar status referendum on 13 January 1935, he emigrated first to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, then to

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. In 1936 his German citizenship was revoked. The Luxembourg government refused him admission as a journalist, so he was only able to publish a few articles in the ''Luxemburger Wort''. To feed his family, he leased a

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

. He was active in the Popular Front movement Lutetia Circle. In 1939 he received a position at the German-language program of French radio in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In his broadcasts, he reported on crimes committed by the Nazi regime. In 1940, at the beginning of the Western campaign, he was interned by the French in

Audierne Audierne (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. On 1 January 2016 the former commune of Esquibien merged into Audierne.Finistère Finistère (, ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. Its prefecture is Quimper and its largest city is Brest, France, Brest. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

). After the

Fall of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Net ...

, Hoffmann fled to the unoccupied zone. By 1941, he was hiding in a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

. In 1941, using a fake passport, he managed to escape to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

via

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. He traveled from Portugal to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. In

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, he was welcomed into the home of the Canadian ambassador. He was co-founder and head of the Free-Germany Movement in Brazil.

Postwar career

Hoffmann returned to the

Saarland Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...

in 1945, was a founding member of the Christian People's Party of Saarland and was its chairman. He was elected almost unanimously due to his personal integrity. At the same time, he became editor of the ''Saarland Volkszeitung'' (organ of the CVP) and co-editor of new ''Saarbrücker Zeitung''. In 1947, he was President of the Constitutional Commission and of the Legislative Assembly of the Saarland, which adopted the Constitution of Saarland. From 1947 to 1955, he was Prime Minister of Saarland. In 1950, he reached an end of the French occupation regulations for Saarland. Due to its policy, the Saarland was from 1953 a de facto

independent state Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of a ...

. His aim was "to find a solution for the Saar that would contribute to the relaxation of Franco-German relations and to promote the necessary European unity" (Hoffmann). He pursued a separatist policy, aiming to separate the Saarland from Germany not only economically, but also politically. After the 1955 referendum vote, wherein the majority of the population rejected the

Saar statute The Saar Statute was a Franco-West German agreement signed in 1954 which resulted from lengthy diplomatic negotiations between France and West Germany. It helped to pave the way for a more modern Europe following post World War II tensions and geo ...

negotiated between Germany and France and therefore the Europeanisation of the Saar, he stepped down as Prime Minister. One of the slogans directed against him before the vote by the home parties was: "The fat man must go." Hoffmann and the CVP policy were characterized by a close economic and political tie to France, coupled with an active social policy and authoritarian domestic politics. In 1956 he retired permanently from politics. In 1963 he published the book ''Das Ziel war Europa'' (''The Goal was Europe''), in which he outlined his policy goals and gave an account of his tenure. Hoffmann died in Völklingen in 1967 and was buried in the New World Cemetery in

Saarlouis Saarlouis (; , ; formerly Sarre-Libre and Saarlautern) is a town in Saarland, Germany, capital of the district of Saarlouis (district), Saarlouis. In 2020, the town had a population of 34,409. Saarlouis is located on the river Saar (river), Saar. ...

— his grave is located right next to his opponent and future successor

Hubert Ney Hubert Ney (12 October 1892 – 3 February 1984) was a German politician ( Zentrum, CVP, CDU) and Minister President of Saarland (1956). He was born and died in Saarlouis. He was related to Michel Ney . Life and career Hubert Ney starte ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffmann, Johannes 1890 births 1967 deaths Minister-presidents of Saarland Politicians from the Saar Protectorate