Johannes Hoffmann (politician, 1890)

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Johannes Hoffmann (1941, when entering Brazil)

Johannes (actually Johann Viktor) Hoffmann (born December 23, 1890 in Landsweiler-Reden in the district of Ottweiler ; † September 21, 1967 in Völklingen , popularly known as "Joho") was a Saarland politician ( CVP ). He was the first Prime Minister of the Saarland .

Life

Grave of Johannes Hoffmann in Saarlouis

Johannes Hoffmann was born in Landsweiler-Reden in 1890. He came from a humble background. After graduating from high school, he first studied theology in Trier with the aim of becoming a priest. But soon he changed his mind, moved to the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg and studied journalism . After the beginning of World War I , he volunteered , fought in Turkey , among other places, and received the Iron Crescent .

After the First World War, Hoffmann worked as a journalist for the central organ of the German Center Party in Berlin and lived in Berlin-Lichterfelde at Jägerstraße 18b (today No. 18d). On October 1, 1929, he became editor-in-chief of the Saarbrücker Landeszeitung , the largest Catholic newspaper on the Saar. After Hitler came to power , he took a stand against the National Socialists in the Saarland press , which at that time was still free . In 1934 he was therefore dismissed as editor-in-chief in an act of anticipatory obedience . Thereupon he founded the Neue Saarpost and fought in his articles against the National Socialist regime and against the annexation of the Saar area to the German Reich . After the Saar referendum on January 13, 1935, he emigrated first to France and then to Luxembourg . In 1936 his German citizenship was revoked. Fearing German reprisals, the Luxembourg government refused him admission as a journalist, so that he was only able to publish a few articles in the Luxemburger Wort . He leased a farm to support his family. He was active in the Lutetia Circle Popular Front Movement . In 1939 he got a job with the German-language program of the French radio in Paris. In his broadcasts he reported on the crimes of the National Socialist regime. In 1940, at the beginning of the western campaign , he was interned by the French in Audierne in the Finistère department ( Brittany ). After the collapse of France, Hoffmann fled to the unoccupied zone . Until 1941 he hid in a monastery in Provence . In 1941, with the help of a forged passport, he managed to travel to Portugal via Spain . He went on to Brazil . In Rio de Janeiro , he was welcomed into his home by the Canadian ambassador. He was co-initiator and leader of the Free German Movement in Brazil.

politics

Hoffmann returned to Saarland in 1945 , was a founding member of the Christian People's Party of Saarland (CVP) and became its state chairman. The choice was made almost unanimously because of his personal integrity. At the same time he was editor of the Saarländische Volkszeitung ( party organ of the CVP) and co-editor of the Neue Saarbrücker Zeitung . In 1947 he was President of the Constitutional Commission and the Legislative Assembly of the Saarland, which passed the Saarland constitution. From 1947 to 1955 he was Prime Minister of the Saarland . In 1950 he achieved an end to the French occupation statute for the Saarland . Because of its politics, Saarland was in fact an independent state from 1953. His aim was "to find a solution for the Saar that would help ease the Franco-German relationship and promote the necessary European unity " (Hoffmann). He pursued a separatist policy with the aim of separating the Saarland from Germany not only economically but also politically. After the Saar referendum in 1955 , in which the majority of the population rejected the Saar Statute negotiated between Germany and France and thus the Europeanization of the Saar, he resigned as Prime Minister. One of the opposing parties' slogans before the vote was: “The fat man has to go.” Hoffmann and the CVP's ​​policy was characterized by close economic and political ties to France, while at the same time active social policy and authoritarian domestic policy . In 1956 he finally withdrew from politics. In 1963 he published the book Das Ziel was Europa , in which he outlined the goals of his policy and gave a balance sheet of his reign. Hoffmann died in Völklingen in 1967 and was buried in the Neue Welt cemetery in Saarlouis - his grave is right next to that of his political opponent and later successor Hubert Ney .

Quote about Hoffmann

“It is difficult to break free from narrow national reservations, to overcome habits and centuries-old prejudices in order to be resolute in the path of progress and the future. It is thanks to clear-sighted men that they tried to hurry ahead of their time, and it is thanks to President Hoffmann, despite the difficulties and unpopularity, to have devoted themselves to this task. "

- Robert Schuman , French Prime Minister and Foreign Minister , President of the European Parliament 1958–1960

Others

Relief in the Saardom

Hoffmann married the saleswoman Frieda Krause, a native of Reppist, in the Calau district in Brandenburg, in Berlin-Lichterfelde in 1919. He had six children with her. A son was killed in Russia in 1943 . A second son became a monk with the Oblates , in whose monastery Hoffmann hid from 1940 to 1941.

The name "Joho" corresponds to the abbreviation Hoffmann used to identify his newspaper articles. The abusive term "the fat one" was coined by Heinrich Schneider - whom he also liked to refer to as "Heini Schneider" in return.

According to an anecdote , an image carved into sandstone in the Saardom shows Hoffmann. The relief was originally intended to be attached in thanks for Hoffmann's donations to repair the war damage caused during World War II . However, since the support turned out to be less than promised, the relief was placed above the nave, invisible to the church visitor.

Aftermath

Bronze plaque at the Saarbrücken Congress Hall

The importance of Hoffmann as a politician in the post-war period is controversial. He was the target of criticism as early as the 1950s. For example, on a poster of the so-called "Heimatbund parties", which campaigned for a rejection of the Saar Statute, it could be read: "Joho, the wrong miner's son, is selling the Saar for Judas wages". Even decades after the vote in 1955, critics disparage him as a “ traitor ” or a “ collaborator ”. His reign was derided as " democrature ". Looking back on Hoffmann's achievements, it was often forgotten that the Europeanization of the Saar, which he was pursuing, was also a declared goal of the Federal Government under Chancellor Konrad Adenauer . Hoffmann is largely forgotten by the younger population today. In 2001 he received a late honor when a street district in Saarlouis was named after him. In 2002 the redesigned square in front of the Saarbrücken congress hall was named "Johannes-Hoffmann-Platz". This was not without controversy among the population, as was shown, among other things, in letters to the editor of the Saarbrücker Zeitung . In 2008 Hoffmann was first honored with a comprehensive biography. The author Heinrich Küppers , historian at the Bergische Universität Wuppertal , portrayed Hoffmann as a politician who was wrongly accused of a lack of patriotism .

Cabinets

Fonts

  • Johannes Hoffmann: On the brink of the Hitler War. Diary sheets . Vorw. And Ed .: Heinrich Küppers. [With a note on the diary sheets]. Gollenstein, Blieskastel 2005. Series: Malstatter contributions from society, science, politics and culture. ISBN 3-935731-86-8
  • The goal was Europe: the way of the Saar 1945–1955 , Olzog 1956.
  • “Will and way of the Saarland”, speech at the 100th session of the Saarland Landtag on April 6, 1951, Saarländische Verlags Anstalt & Druckerei, Saarbrücken 1951, 18 pp.
  • "We call for Christian solidarity". Speech at the 6th state party conference of the CVP from December 7th to 9th, 1951 in Saarbrücken

literature

  • Klaus Altmeyer :  Hoffmann, Johannes. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 9, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1972, ISBN 3-428-00190-7 , p. 428 f. ( Digitized version ).
  • Herbert Elzer: Konrad Adenauer, Jakob Kaiser and the "small reunification": The federal ministries in the foreign policy struggle for the Saar 1949–1955 (= history, politics and society. Series of the Stiftung Demokratie Saarland eV, 9). Röhrig University Press, St. Ingbert, 2008.
  • Markus Gestier : The Christian parties on the Saar and their relationship to the German nation state in the referendum battles in 1935 and 1955 . St. Ingbert 1991 ISBN 3-924555-68-0
  • Markus Gestier, Peter Meyer , Jan von Flocken : Bomber's confession. The attack on the Saar Prime Minister in 1955 was the work of a Stasi specialist . In: Focus , No. 19/1997 (excerpt from it under web links: Assassination attempt on JoHo )
  • Markus Gestier: "Christ Cross or Swastika?" The Catholic opposition to Hitler in the 1935 Saar referendum . In: Journal for the History of the Saar Region No. 40, 1992
  • Union Foundation , Markus Gestier (Ed.): Johannes Hoffmann. An initial assessment . Gollenstein, Blieskastel, 2004, ISBN 978-3-935731-68-3
  • Heinrich Küppers : Johannes Hoffmann (1890–1967). Biography of a German. Droste, Düsseldorf 2008. With illustration series: Research and sources on contemporary history, Vol. 54. ISBN 978-3-7700-1905-2
    • Review: Gérard Foussier: Biographie d'un Allemand. JH au cœur de la question sarroise. in: Documents / Documents. Zs. For the German-French dialogue 3–4 / 2009, Sept., ISSN  0012-5172 p. 25f (in French; short version in German)
    • Review: Stefan Ripplinger : betrayal of Nazism . In: Jungle World , No. 17, April 23, 2009
  • Claudia Philippi: What ideas did Johannes Hoffmann have about the European development of the Saarland? Diploma thesis at the Saarland University of Applied Sciences for Administration; not in trade. Saarbrücken, 2008. 40 sheets.
  • Johannes Hoffmann: The goal was Europe. The way of the Saar 1945–1955 . Conte Verlag, St. Ingbert 2013. First edition 1963. ISBN 978-3-95602-003-2
as a novel

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c marriage certificate StA Berlin-Lichterfelde No. 246/1919 .
  2. ↑ Bild (newspaper) August 18, 2008
  3. ↑ Text excerpts from Google Books p. 41: "Hoffmann is responsible for a massive impairment of liberal-democratic principles up to and including expulsions." Page 22: "[...] the sparrows whistled from the rooftops that any commitment to Germany was undermined Prime Minister [...] Hoffmann suffered badly and could lead to reprisals. "
predecessor Office successor
Peter Scheuer
(Regional Councilor)		 President of the Legislative Assembly of the Saarland in
1947 		Peter Zimmer
(Landtag)
personal data
SURNAME Hoffmann, Johannes
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Joho; The thick
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German politician (CVP), MdL
DATE OF BIRTH December 23, 1890
PLACE OF BIRTH Landsweiler speeches
DATE OF DEATH September 21, 1967
Place of death Völklingen