Michael Georg Poeschke (6 March 1901 in

Erlangen Erlangen (; , ) is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 119,810 inhabitants (as of 30 September 2024), it is the smalle ...

- 10 May 1959 in

Langenzenn Langenzenn is a town in the Fürth (district), district of Fürth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 15 km west of Fürth. The town lies on the river Zenn (river), Zenn and has a population of 10,339 (31 December 2012). Geography It bel ...

) was a German politician ( SPD) and mayor of

from 1946 to 1959.

Life before 1933

Michael Poeschke was born as the ninth child of a tailor in 1901. In 1915, he started his apprenticeship as

drafter A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British English, British and English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman, drafting technician, or CAD technician in American English, American and Canadia ...

. The same year he joined the ''sozialistische Arbeiterjugend, ''a socialist youth organisation. He was the head of Erlangen's subgroup from 1919 to 1923. In 1919 Poeschke joined the SPD. After he became editor of the ''Erlanger Volksblatt'' in 1923, he was elected the first chairman of Erlangen's SPD one year later.

Whilst Nazism

Poeschke was arrested in March 1933 and later moved to the Dachau concentration camp. In April he was released due to the inauguration of the Bavarian

Landtag A ''Landtag'' (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence ...

, which he became member of after its recreation. Shortly after, Poeschke had to go to hospital because of his injuries resulting of his detention. After being arrested again on 30 June 1933, he was released on 20 June 1934. Afterwards, Poeschke moved to

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...

. In 1939, he was conscripted by the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

After World War II

On 6 August 1945, Poeschke was elected 2. mayor of Erlangen. One year later, on 4 September 1946, he became Erlangen's mayor and thus the successor of Anton Hammerbacher. He was reelected in 1948 as well as 1952 (with 92.4% of all votes) and in 1958 (57.8%).

Literature

* Walter Schweigert, Klaus Treuheit (Hrsg.): ''„… daß der Mensch dem Menschen ein Helfer ist“. 120 Jahre Sozialdemokratie in Erlangen''; Erlangen 1990. * H. Hedayati: ''Berühmte Persönlichkeiten geboren in Erlangen''. Stichwort Poeschke, Michael Georg;

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poeschke, Michael 1901 births 1959 deaths Dachau concentration camp survivors Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Wehrmacht Mayors of places in Bavaria Mayors of Erlangen