The President Theodor Heuss House Foundation (''

German 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 Ge ...

: Stiftung Bundespräsident-Theodor-Heuss-Haus'', Abbr. ''THH'') in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

is a

non-partisan foundation dedicated to preserving the memory of

social liberal Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited g ...

journalist and politician

Theodor Heuss Theodor Heuss (; 31 January 1884 – 12 December 1963) was a German liberal politician who served as the first president of West Germany from 1949 to 1959. His civil demeanour and his cordial nature – something of a contrast to German nati ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

‘s first Federal President after the

Second World War 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 ...

. It was established in 1994 by the

German Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the lower house of the German federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag was established by Title III of the Basic Law for ...

to commemorate the life and work of Heuss and to "contribute to the understanding of recent history". The Foundation is active in the fields of

civic education In the field of political science, civics is the study of the civil and political rights and obligations of citizens in a society. The term ''civics'' derives from the Latin word ''civicus'', meaning "relating to a citizen". In U.S. politics, ...

and political and

historical research Historical method is the collection of techniques and guidelines that historians use to research and write histories of the past. Secondary sources, primary sources and material evidence such as that derived from archaeology may all be draw ...

, focusing on the

history of democracy A democracy is a political system, or a system of decision-making within an institution, organization, or state, in which members have a share of power. Modern democracies are characterized by two capabilities of their citizens that differentia ...

and

liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...

. It maintains the ''Theodor Heuss Archive'' as well as a public memorial centre in Heuss‘ former Stuttgart domicile, the eponymous ''Theodor Heuss House''. The Theodor Heuss House Foundation is publicly funded by the

German Federal Government The Federal Government (, ; abbr. BReg) is the chief Executive (government), executive body of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany and exercises executive power at the Federal level (Germany), federal level. It consists of the Chancellor ...

and independent from any political party. It is led by a three-member Executive Board and a five-member Board of Trustees headed by former German Federal Minister of Justice

Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger ( Leutheusser; born 26 July 1951) is a German politician of the liberal Free Democratic Party and a prominent advocate of human rights in Germany and Europe. Within the FDP, she is a leading figure of the soci ...

as chairwoman. The founding chairman of the Board of Trustees was the German-British sociologist

Ralf Dahrendorf Ralf Gustav Dahrendorf, Baron Dahrendorf, (; 1 May 1929 – 17 June 2009) was a German-British sociologist, philosopher, political scientist and liberal politician. A class conflict theorist, Dahrendorf was a leading expert on explaining an ...

.Dieter Dowe, "The Development of the Memorial Foundations of German Politicians and the American Presidential Libraries - A Comparative View", in Astrid M. Eckert (ed.), ''Institutions of Public Memory: The Legacies of German and American Politicians,'' Washington D.C.: German Historical Institute, 2007, pp. 67–73.

History

In the early 1950s, then Federal President Theodor Heuss decided to spend his retirement in Stuttgart. To this end, he had a bungalow built in a sought-after hillside location in the immediate vicinity of Villa Porsche. Following the end of his second term of office, Heuss moved into the house in 1959. After Heuss' death in 1963, the house was used for several years by the original ''Theodor Heuss Archive'' which in its first incarnation was dissolved in June 1971. The house was then rented out exclusively to private individuals in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1994, the

decided to establish two new federal foundations dedicated to the memory of German statesmen (''Politikergedenkstiftungen''), the Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt Foundation (dedicated to

Willy Brandt Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and concurrently served as the Chancellor ...

) and the President Theodor Heuss House Foundation, both modeled after the Federal Chancellor

Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman and politician who served as the first chancellor of West Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of the Christian Democrati ...

House Foundation (founded in 1978) and the President Friedrich Ebert Memorial (founded in 1986). The new Theodor Heuss House Foundation acquired Theodor Heuss' former Stuttgart domicile and had it remodelled, renovated and extended with an annex according to the plans of the Stuttgart architect

Behnisch & Partner Behnisch may refer to: *Günter Behnisch (1922–2010), German architect * Willi Behnisch (born 1956), Argentine cinematographer, film director, and screenplay writer *Behnisch Architekten Behnisch Architekten is an architecture, architectural ...

. After a first permanent exhibition dedicated to Theodor Heuss had been displayed between 2002 and 2021, the house underwent extensive renovation work before being reopened by Federal President

Frank-Walter Steinmeier Frank-Walter Steinmeier (; born 5 January 1956) is a German politician who has served as President of Germany since 2017. He was previously Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany), federal minister for foreign affairs from 2005 to 2009 and again f ...

in May 2023.

Exhibitions

In addition to different temporary exhibitions, three permanent exhibitions can be seen in the Theodor Heuss House in Stuttgart: Theodor Heuss' original furnishings in the style of the late 1950s can be seen in his living quarters; a historical exhibition (''Demokratie als Lebensform'') is dedicated to the life and work of Theodor Heuss and his wife, the social activist and politician

Elly Heuss-Knapp Elisabeth Eleonore Anna Justine Heuss-Knapp (''née'' Knapp; 25 January 1882 – 19 July 1952) was a German politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), social reformer, author and wife of German president Theodor Heuss. She was the founder ...

; and an exhibition presents the functions of the German Federal President within the German constitutional framework.

Publications

The Foundation published a couple of book series. The ''Zeithistorische Impulse'' series comprises edited volumes and monographs on contemporary historical research. Under the title ''Theodor Heuss. Stuttgarter Ausgabe'', the Foundation publishes a scholarly edition of Theodor Heuss' letters, speeches and writings. The Letters series is completed with eight volumes, which were published between 2009 and 2014 and offer an annotated selection from the approximately 60,000 letters written by Heuss.

References

External links

Stiftung Bundespräsident-Theodor-Heuss-Haus
{{#interlanguagelink:fr, Fondation Président Theodor Heuss Foundations based in Germany Charities based in Germany Political and economic think tanks based in Germany Organisations based in Stuttgart Museums in Baden-Württemberg Tourist attractions in Stuttgart Heuss, Theodor