Kurt Georg Kiesinger
Kurt Georg Kiesinger | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.jpg) Kiesinger in 1969 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chancellor of Germany[a] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 1 December 1966 – 22 October 1969 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President | Heinrich Lübke Gustav Heinemann | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vice Chancellor | Willy Brandt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Ludwig Erhard | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Willy Brandt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader of the Christian Democratic Union | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 23 May 1967 – 5 October 1971 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| General Secretary | Bruno Heck | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Ludwig Erhard | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Rainer Barzel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 17 December 1958 – 1 December 1966 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | Hermann Veit Wolfgang Haußmann | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Gebhard Müller | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Hans Filbinger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President of the Bundesrat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 1 November 1962 – 31 October 1963 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Vice President | Hans Ehard | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Hans Ehard | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Georg Diederichs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader of the CDU/CSU group in the Bundestag | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Acting | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 9 May 1973 – 17 May 1973 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Deputy | Richard Stücklen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Whips | Leo Wagner Rudolf Seiters Wilhelm Rawe Olaf Baron von Wrangel Paul Mikat | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Rainer Barzel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Karl Carstens | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Kurt Georg Kiesinger 6 April 1904 Ebingen, Württemberg, German Empire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 9 March 1988 (aged 83) Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | CDU (1946–1988) Nazi Party (1933–1945) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse |
Marie-Luise Schneider
(m. 1932) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Lawyer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kurt Georg Kiesinger (German:
Kiesinger gained his certificate as a lawyer in March 1933 and worked as a lawyer in Berlin's
Kiesinger was considered an outstanding orator and mediator, and was dubbed "Chief Silver Tongue". He was an author of poetry and various books, and founded the universities of Konstanz and Ulm as Minister–President of Baden-Württemberg. Kiesinger is also considered controversial, which is mainly due to his affiliation and work with the Nazis. The student movement in particular, but also other sections of the population, saw Kiesinger as a politician who stood for the inadequacy of Germans' coming to terms with the past.
Early life and Nazi activities
Kurt Georg Kiesinger was born in
Kiesinger studied law in
Franco-German journalist
Early political career
Kiesinger joined the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in 1946. From 1946 he gave private lessons to law students, and in 1948 he resumed his practice as a lawyer. In 1947 he also became unpaid secretary-general of the CDU in Württemberg-Hohenzollern.
In the
During that time, he became known for his rhetorical brilliance, as well as his in-depth knowledge of foreign affairs. However, despite the recognition he enjoyed within the Christian Democrat parliamentary faction, he was passed over during various cabinet reshuffles. Consequently, he decided to switch from federal to state politics.
Minister–President of Baden-Württemberg
Kiesinger became Minister-President of the state of Baden-Württemberg on 17 December 1958, an office in which he served until 1 December 1966. At that time Kiesinger was also a member of the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg. As Minister–President he was President of the German Bundesrat from 1 November 1962 to 31 October 1963. During his time in office the state founded two universities, the University of Konstanz and the University of Ulm.
In the early days of the Federal Republic of Germany, oversized coalitions were not uncommon at the state level, and so Kiesinger led a coalition of the
Chancellorship
Kanzlergalerie Berlin
In 1966, following the collapse of the existing
The historian Tony Judt has observed that Kiesinger's chancellorship, like the presidency of Heinrich Lübke, showed the "a glaring contradiction in the Bonn Republic's self-image" in view of their previous Nazi allegiances.[11] One of his low points as Chancellor was in 1968 when Nazi-hunter Beate Klarsfeld, who campaigned with her husband Serge Klarsfeld against Nazi criminals, publicly slapped him in the face during the 1968 Christian Democrat convention, while calling him a Nazi.[5] She did so in French and – whilst being dragged out of the room by two ushers – repeated her words in German, saying "Kiesinger! Nazi! Abtreten!" ("Kiesinger! Nazi! Step down!") Kiesinger, holding his left cheek, did not respond. Up to his death he refused to comment on the incident, and in other opportunities he denied explicitly that he had been opportunistic by joining the NSDAP in 1933 (although he admitted to joining the German Foreign Ministry to dodge his 1940 draft by the Wehrmacht). Other prominent critics included the writers Heinrich Böll and Günter Grass. (In 1966, Grass had written an open letter urging Kiesinger not to accept the chancellorship). In 2006, 40 years later, Grass, in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, would confess to a Waffen-SS membership, which became a controversy on its own.[12]
After the election of 1969, the SPD preferred to form a coalition with the FDP, ending the uninterrupted post-war reign of the CDU chancellors. Kiesinger was succeeded as Chancellor by his former Vice-Chancellor Willy Brandt.
Later years and death
Kiesinger continued to head the CDU/CSU in opposition and remained a member of the Bundestag until 1980. In July 1971 Kiesinger was succeeded as Leader of the Christian Democratic Union by Rainer Barzel. In 1972 he held the main speech for justification to the constructive vote of no confidence by the CDU/CSU parliamentary group against Willy Brandt in the Bundestag. The election of then CDU leader Rainer Barzel as chancellor was unsuccessful because of the bribery of Julius Steiner and probably Leo Wagner by GDR's Stasi.
In 1980 Kiesinger ended his career as politician and worked on his memoir. Of his planned memoirs, only the first part (Dark and Bright Years) was completed, covering the years up to 1958. It was released after his death in 1989. Kiesinger died in
Books
- Schwäbische Kindheit. (“Swabian childhood.”), Wunderlich Verlag, Tübingen 1964.
- Ideen vom Ganzen. Reden und Betrachtungen. (“Ideas from the whole. Speeches and reflections.”), Wunderlich Verlag, Tübingen 1964.
- Stationen 1949-1969. (“Stations 1949-1969.”), Wunderlich Verlag, Tübingen 1969.
- Die Stellung des Parlamentariers in unserer Zeit. (“The position of the parliamentarian in our time.”), Stuttgart 1981.
- Dunkle und helle Jahre: Erinnerungen 1904–1958. (“Dark and Bright Years: Memoirs 1904–1958.”), Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1989.
References
- ^ Braunbuch, chapter "Diplomaten Ribbentrops", 3rd Volume, Berlin, GDR 1968, https://web.archive.org/web/20101120003249/http://braunbuch.de/8-01.shtml
- ^ Kurt Georg Kiesinger
- ^ Jeffrey Herf, "Judenhass aus dem Äther. NS-Propaganda für die Arabische Welt während des Zweiten Weltkriegs", in Naziverbrechen. Täter, Taten, Bewältigungsversuche, edited by Martin Cüppers et al., Darmstadt 2013, pp. 45-61, here p. 49.
- ^ Munzinger-Online, s.v.Kurt Georg Kiesinger, Accessed 16 October 2010
- ^ a b "'Nazi hunter' Beate Klarsfeld to receive top German honor". Deutsche Welle. 14 May 2015.
- ^ Transcript of oral history interview Archived 28 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Kapitel aus: Beate Klarsfeld: Wherever they may be, 1972, Seite 26–35.
- ^ "Unwiderstehliche Kraft", Der Spiegel, 28 November 1966, no. 49, p. 31, 1966
- ^ Kolinsky, Eva (ed). The Federal Republic of Germany: The End of an Era.
- ISBN 9789264112834.
- ISBN 9783110111330.
- ISBN 9780143037750.
- ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
Notes
- ^ Due to the division of Germany, Kurt Georg Kiesinger was only the Federal Chancellor in West Germany. The term West Germany is only the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 October 1990. The office of Chancellor did not exist in East Germany.
Further reading
- Braunbuch, chapter "Kiesinger - ein führender Nazi-Propagandist als Bonner Regierungschef", 3rd Volume, Berlin, GDR 1968, https://web.archive.org/web/20101120003249/http://braunbuch.de/8-01.shtml
- Philipp Gassert: Kurt Georg Kiesinger 1904–1988. Kanzler zwischen den Zeiten. DVA, München 2006, , rezensionen.ch, 19. Juli 2006, S. 31).
- Michael F. Feldkamp: Katholischer Studentenverein Askania-Burgundia im Kartellverband Katholischer Deutscher Studentenvereine (KV) zu Berlin 1853–2003. (PDF) Eine Festschrift herausgegeben von der K.St.V. Askania-Burgundia, Berlin 2006.
- Otto Rundel: Kurt Georg Kiesinger. Sein Leben und sein politisches Wirken. ISBN 3-17-019341-4.
- Günter Buchstab, Philipp Gassert, Peter Thaddäus Lang (Hrsg.): Kurt Georg Kiesinger 1904–1988. Von Ebingen ins Kanzleramt. Herder, Freiburg 2005, im Auftrag der ISBN 3-451-23006-2.
- Reinhard Schmoeckel, Bruno Kaiser: Die vergessene Regierung. Die große Koalition 1966–1969 und ihre langfristigen Wirkungen. Bouvier Verlag, Bonn 2005, ISBN 3-416-02246-7.
- Maria Keipert (Red.): Biographisches Handbuch des deutschen Auswärtigen Dienstes 1871–1945. Herausgegeben vom Auswärtigen Amt, Historischer Dienst. Band 2: Gerhard Keiper, Martin Kröger: G–K. Schöningh, Paderborn u. a. 2005, ISBN 3-506-71841-X.
- Albrecht Ernst: Kurt Georg Kiesinger 1904–1988. Rechtslehrer, Ministerpräsident, Bundeskanzler. Begleitbuch zur Wanderausstellung des Hauptstaatsarchivs Stuttgart, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-00-013719-X.
- Joachim Samuel Eichhorn: Durch alle Klippen hindurch zum Erfolg: Die Regierungspraxis der ersten Großen Koalition (1966–1969) (Studien zur Zeitgeschichte, Band 79); München 2009.
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