The SeSiSo Club was a political and cultural discussion group in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

in the 1920s. Its members were of diverse political affiliations. The club had no official existence: its name was derived from the surnames of its chairmen,

Hans von Seeckt Johannes "Hans" Friedrich Leopold von Seeckt (22 April 1866 – 27 December 1936) was a German military officer who served as Chief of Staff to August von Mackensen and was a central figure in planning the victories Mackensen achieved for Germany ...

Walter Simons Walter Simons (24 September 1861 – 14 July 1937) was a German lawyer and politician. He was Foreign Minister of the Weimar Republic in 1920-21 and served as president of the '' Reichsgericht'' from 1922 to 1929. Early life Walter Simons was bo ...

and

Wilhelm Solf Wilhelm Heinrich Solf (5 October 1862 – 6 February 1936) was a German scholar, diplomat, jurist and statesman. Early life Solf was born into a wealthy and liberal family in Berlin. He attended secondary schools in Anklam, western Pomerania, an ...

. The club's values were

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

and

Humanism Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

. Meetings took place in the Hotel Kaiserhof with up to 400 participants, often members of the

elite In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. ...

, discussing the issues of the time. The first meeting was on 2 January 1922 and the club continued into the 1930s.Berliner Themenjahr 2013: Solf, Hanna
/ref> Guests included

Harry Graf Kessler Harry Clemens Ulrich Graf von Kessler (23 May 1868 – 30 November 1937) was an Anglo-German count, diplomat, writer, and patron of modern art. English translations of his diaries "Journey to the Abyss" (2011) and "Berlin in Lights" (1971) reve ...

, Otto Hoetzsch,

Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi Richard Nikolaus Eijiro, Count of Coudenhove-Kalergi (16 November 1894 – 27 July 1972) was an Austrian-Japanese politician, philosopher and Count of Coudenhove-Kalergi. A pioneer of European integration, he served as the founding president of ...

, Sir Horace Rumbold (when he was British ambassador in Berlin),

Ernst von Harnack Ernst Wolf Alexander Oskar Harnack (15 July 1888 – 5 March 1945), granted the title von Harnack in 1914, was an official of the Prussian provincial government, a German politician, and a German Resistance fighter. He was arrested, tried and ...

Arthur Zarden Arthur Heinrich Ludwig Zarden (27 April 1885 in Hamburg – 18 January 1944 in Berlin) was a leading personality in German tax legislation and for a short time State Secretary in the Reich Finance Ministry. Career Not much is known about Zarden ...

Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord Kurt Gebhard Adolf Philipp Freiherr von Hammerstein-Equord (26 September 1878 – 24 April 1943) was a German general ('' Generaloberst'') who was the Commander-in-Chief of the Reichswehr, the Weimar Republic's armed forces. He is regarded as "a ...

and

Paul Wolff Metternich Paul Graf Wolff Metternich zur Gracht (December 5, 1853 – November 29, 1934) was a Prussian and German ambassador in London (1901–1912) and Constantinople (1915–1916). He was a prominent German opponent of Ottoman actions during ...

. Although the club had little political influence, during the time of

National Socialism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

some of its members joined various resistance groups including the

Solf Circle The Solf Circle (german: Solf-Kreis) was an informal gathering of German intellectuals involved in the resistance against Nazi Germany. Most members were arrested and executed after attending a tea party in Berlin on 10 September 1943 at the resid ...

Bethmann Dinner

On 29 November 1921 Seeckt, Simons and Solf entertained

Walther Rathenau Walther Rathenau (29 September 1867 – 24 June 1922) was a German industrialist, writer and liberal politician. During the First World War of 1914–1918 he was involved in the organization of the German war economy. After the war, Rathenau ...

and Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord to dinner in honour of Chancellor

Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg Theobald Theodor Friedrich Alfred von Bethmann Hollweg (29 November 1856 – 1 January 1921) was a German politician who was the chancellor of the German Empire from 1909 to 1917. He oversaw the German entry into World War I. According to bi ...

, who had died on 1 January 1921 and whose birthday was on 29 November. The SeSiSo Club continued the tradition of a gala Bethmann Dinner every 29 November.

References

Further references may be found in the original article (in German). {{Reflist Culture in Berlin Weimar culture 1922 establishments in Germany Defunct clubs and societies