Bruno Louis Schaefer

Bruno Schäfer 1905

Bruno Louis (Ludwig) Schaefer (born May 25, 1860 in Celle ; † November 24, 1945 in Hamburg ) was a lawyer , Senator of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and the first president of the Lower Elbe State Tax Office in Hamburg.

Professional background

Schaefer completed a law degree in Heidelberg , Berlin and Kiel, which he graduated in 1886 with the grade "good". In Heidelberg he was a member of the Corps Vandalia . Schaefer received his doctorate from the University of Jena in 1881 at the age of only 21. After the assessor exam, which he passed in Berlin in 1886, Schaefer was employed as a court assessor in Hameln. In 1889 he was first magistrate in Mewe (West Prussia), in 1892 Kellinghusen . After temporary employment in the administration of direct taxes, he became a district judge in Hamburg. During this activity he was appointed, along with a few other lawyers, to the task of issuing the Hamburg implementation provisions of the newly passed Civil Code and the new Commercial Code. In recognition of his achievements in this regard, Schaefer was appointed district court director for a short time from January 1, 1900.

In October 1900, Schaefer became a Senate Syndicate, succeeding Dr. Werner von Melle . In 1905, Schäfer worked as a lawyer on the draft for the change in the law, which in Hamburg became known as the so-called electoral robbery. The law, introduced in December 1905, was supposed to ensure that the Social Democrats would not gain influence in the Hamburg citizenship.

On October 11, 1907, Schaefer himself became a member of the Hamburg Senate , succeeding Senator Friedrich Alfred Lappenberg . In his first election he received 111 out of 112 of the votes cast; re-elected on March 28, 1919. At times, Schaefer was in charge of two important authorities: justice and taxes.

In October 1919 Schaefer took over the business of the newly established Lower Elbe Tax Office and was elected its first president on November 8 of the same year. Schaefer held this office until he retired in 1925. After his resignation as president, Schaefer worked as a lawyer and in 1929 was appointed honorary professor of the law and political science faculty of the University of Hamburg.

Public offices

• District Court Director in Hamburg (1900)
• Senats Syndikus in Hamburg (October 1900 to October 1907)

• Senator of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (October 1907 to September 1919) See also: Hamburg Senate 1861–1919 . As a senator, Schaefer was in charge of the judiciary and tax authorities and headed the following departments (selection):
  • Justice Commission (1905-1919),
  • Tax Deputation (1901-1919),
  • Prison Deputation (1909–1913),
  • Central Electoral Commission (1902–1919),
  • Commissariat for the Maritime Office (1909–1913)
  • Section for commercial exchange matters and for complaints in construction police matters and in association matters (1914–1919)
  • Commissariat for the Maritime Office (1909–1913)
  • Deputation for lighting (1908)

• First President of the Lower Elbe State Tax Office in Hamburg (November 1919 to June 1925)
• Honorary Professor of the Law and Political Science Faculty of the University of Hamburg (from 1929)

Honor

On the occasion Schaefers retirement in 1925, was in his honor a newly built customs vessel the regional tax office placed under his name in Service: " President Schaefer ". The customs boat was in service in the Hamburg free port until 1985 and can still be viewed in 2006 as a ready-to-drive museum ship in the museum harbor Oevelgönnein Hamburg. Apart from the different spellings, this small port vehicle has retained the name of its namesake throughout (between around 1945–1985 “SCHAEFER” and “SCHAEFER”, 1985–2006 “PRÄS. SCHAEFER”, since 2006 “PRESIDENT SCHAEFER” again).

be right

Leo Lippmann writes in his memoirs about Schaefer: One of the most important men in the pre-war senate was Dr., who was elected Senate Syndic in 1900 and Senator in 1907. Ludwig Schaefer. His legal knowledge and comprehension was admirable. As the author of many Hamburg laws, as the long-standing President of the Senate Commission for the Jusitzverwaltung and as a Federal Councilor, he has done great services to Hamburg. In the first time after the World War he played an outstanding role in the Erzberger financial reform . In recognition of his collaboration, the government appointed him the first president of the newly created Lower Elbe State Finance Office.

literature

• The members of Vandalia zu Heidelberg as of September 29, 1935 . [Heidelberg 1936], No. 475 (p. 159).

Web links

• Newspaper article about Bruno Louis Schaefer in the 20th century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Place of birth inconsistent: according to the Federal Archives in Celle, see [1] according to the Hamburg State Archives (according to personal files in the StA Hamburg (241-2_A 1845)) Hanover
2. ^ Johann Heinrich Kumpf: The middle authorities of the Reich Finance Administration and their presidents, 1919–1945: a documentation , Finanzgeschichtliche Sammlung der Bundesfinanzakademie, 1999, p. 167.
3. ^ Adolf Bühl: From the old council chamber, memories 1905-1918, Hamburg 1973, p. 8
4. ^ Lippmann, Leo: My life and my official activity. Memories and a contribution to the financial history of Hamburg. From the estate, ed. by Werner Jochmann , Publication of the Association for Hamburg History Vol. IX, Christians Verlag, Hamburg 1964. p. 137