Alfred Baumgarten

Alfred Baumgarten (born June 14, 1875 in Euskirchen , † April 30, 1951 in Hamburg ) was a German railway official. He is considered the creator of the modern course book .

Life

The studied civil engineer entered the railroad service in 1902. From 1907 he worked as a government building officer, in 1920 he was promoted to the higher government building officer and head of the operations department of the Elberfeld railway department . Between 1924 and 1933, Baumgarten was the Reichsbahndirektor in the head office of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft in Berlin, responsible for processing the passenger train schedule. He was considered an "important representative of modernization efforts and international connections" in the Reichsbahn headquarters. In particular he developed the official course book for the Reichsbahn , which took the place of that of the Reichspostpublished Reich curriculum. From 1927 the official course book appeared in five regional editions, and from 1933 a nationwide edition appeared as the “official course book for the Reich.” The design of the course book developed by Baumgarten is decisive for the design of timetable tables in Germany and other countries up to the present day remained.

After the " seizure of power " by the National Socialists in January 1933 and the entry into force of the law to restore the civil service , Baumgarten could have remained in his post despite his Jewish descent, since he had already entered the state service before 1914 and thus fell under the so-called front - line fighter privilege . However, the National Socialists, including the Reichsbahn architect Richard Brademann , demanded the removal of Jewish officials from the Reichsbahn, which was independent on the basis of the Dawes Plan and under international control. Since the Reichsbahn general director Julius Dorpmüller feared for his position, he gave in to the pressure and released several members of the head office from their duties.

Baumgarten's leave of absence took place in the summer of 1933, but at Dorpmüller's request he was able to change to the post of director of the Transport and Construction Museum at Hamburger Bahnhof . At the end of 1935 Baumgarten was dismissed due to the Nuremberg race legislation , in 1939 he emigrated to London .

Baumgarten died in 1951 during a stay in Hamburg .

On the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the German railways, a special exhibition at the Jewish Museum Franconia in 2010 and 2011 dealt with Alfred Baumgarten and the history of the official course book.

literature

Alfred Gottwaldt : The "father of the official course book." Memory of the Reichsbahndirektor Alfred Baumgarten. In: Dumjahn's yearbook for railway literature 2001. Dumjahn, Mainz 2000, ISBN 3-921426-46-4 , pp. 48–65.

Web link

Information on Alfred Baumgarten on the regional historical homepage of Hans-Dieter Arntz , contribution from July 11, 2010 (with reproduction of the obituary from: Die Deutsche Bundesbahn 26 (1952), p. 513)

Individual evidence

^ Alfred B. Gottwaldt: The Reichsbahn and the Jews 1933 - 1945: Anti-Semitism on the railroad in the prewar period. Marix Verlag, Wiesbaden 2011, ISBN 978-3-86539-254-1 , p. 106.
↑ The law was implemented at the Reichsbahn by the order on the restoration of the civil service of April 18, 1933. For this Alfred B. Gottwaldt: The Reichsbahn and the Jews 1933 - 1945 ... 2011, p. 126ff.

personal data
SURNAME	Baumgarten, Alfred
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German railway official
DATE OF BIRTH	June 14, 1875
PLACE OF BIRTH	Euskirchen
DATE OF DEATH	April 30, 1951
Place of death	Hamburg

[1] Alfred B. Gottwaldt: The Reichsbahn and the Jews 1933 - 1945: Anti-Semitism on the railroad in the prewar period. Marix Verlag, Wiesbaden 2011, ISBN 978-3-86539-254-1 , p. 106.

[2] The law was implemented at the Reichsbahn by the order on the restoration of the civil service of April 18, 1933. For this Alfred B. Gottwaldt: The Reichsbahn and the Jews 1933 - 1945 ... 2011, p. 126ff.