Emden at the time of the Weimar Republic

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At the time of the Weimar Republic , Emden was the economic focus of East Frisia and a stronghold of the workers' parties in the otherwise largely agrarian region. Like other places in the republic, it was badly affected by inflation in 1923, but the subsequent economic recovery phase was shorter than in many other regions and was over by 1927. The NSDAP gained noticeably in influence from 1928 onwards.

Initial situation: Emden as a port and industrial city

Aerial photo 1920

For centuries, Emden has been the largest city in East Frisia with the most important port in the region. Since the end of the 19th century, the city experienced a noticeable economic upswing, brought about by its function as the “sea gate” of the up-and-coming Ruhr area . The handling in the port increased significantly, mainly due to the import of iron ore for the smelters of the Rhenish-Westphalian industrial area. In 1913, one eighth of the iron ore imports from the Ruhr area were handled via the port of Emden . A noticeable industrialization also took place in the city itself; The North Sea Works (1903), but also a briquette factory and other heavy industrial companies are to be mentioned. Since the demand for qualified workers, especially skilled workers, could not be satisfied in the city itself, workers from outside moved to Emden. The population of Emden grew by 65% ​​between 1890 and 1910, about half of which came from the East Frisian moorland and marshland, the other half from outside East Frisia, including skilled shipyard workers from other northern German cities.

At the latest with the influx of workers from abroad, the trade union and later social democratic potential also grew in the city, which is otherwise characterized by liberals ( national liberals and free- minded ). The first approaches to the formation of workers' associations had already been made after 1848, but they did not last. That changed in the 1890s.

Workers and Soldiers Council

The November Revolution also met with great echo in Emden. After the sailors refused to give orders on the warships in Schillig roadstead near Wilhelmshaven and the resulting Kiel sailors 'uprising , a soldiers ' council was established in Emden on November 6, 1918, but initially consisted of naval officers. On November 8th, it became a workers 'and soldiers' council , which took over military and civil power in the seaport city. He was considered to be the most radical in East Friesland and in part also had an impact beyond the urban area. In a letter from Aurich's district president Theodor von Heppe dated January 29, 1919, it said: “The workers and soldiers' council there is not only provocative and incitatory towards others through its tyranny, but also admittedly intends to take the lead among the workers and soldiers To set up soldiers' councils in all of East Friesland. ” In a further report from February 27th, he added that “ the situation in the district is constantly becoming more worrying, mainly due to the radical influence of the Emden (sic!) Workers and Soldiers Council (sic !) Wise “ pointed. Compared to the Wilhelmshaven Workers 'and Soldiers' Council, however, the Emder was even considered less radical, which historiography attributes not least to the manageability of the naval units stationed in Emden, mainly submarines, torpedo boats and escort boats: “On the small ones lying in Emden Fleet units (...) the mood of the sailors was not by far as revolutionary and irritable as on the large ships of the deep sea fleet stationed in Wilhelmshaven. ”In the days that followed, the officers withdrew from the council, which was largely dominated by SPD politicians .

In Emden without echo: Bernhard Kuhnt

The socialist republic of Oldenburg / East Friesland , proclaimed by Bernhard Kuhnt in Wilhelmshaven, had no echo in Emden. However, after its founding on January 1, 1919, the KPD gained strong influence. The Workers 'and Soldiers' Council remained in Emden, however: after the invasion of government troops on February 27, 1919, it was dissolved on March 1 of that year.

In the winter months of 1918/19 there were so-called “bacon parades” from Emden to the farmers in the surrounding villages, which was followed by rioting on the farm workers. The Emden suburbs, which are still rural today, were also affected. Together with the Rheiderland , the district of Emden was the part of East Frisia most affected by this unrest. These looting, some of which were violent, were an expression of the poor food situation and less of a revolutionary undertaking. The situation only calmed down after the deployment of the Reichswehr troops stationed in the region . In response to this, resident groups were formed in almost all villages in the Emden area and in the city itself .

The Resident Defense of Emden (as the largest East Frisian town) was East Frisia as the strongest in terms of head count (662) and armament (500 weapons). The defenses in the surrounding villages and today's districts were also of particular importance in a comparison across East Friesland, for example the resident army of the suburb Wybelsums, together with the one in Oldersum, was the second strongest in the Emden district in terms of headcount after the one in Pewsum and comprised 80 people. These had 20 weapons. The resident services were only dissolved after a corresponding decree by the Prussian Interior Minister Carl Severing on April 10, 1920.

Political development from 1919 to 1933

Due to the socio-economic structure of the city, there was not only a strong social democratic movement in Emden during the Weimar Republic , the Communist Party was also very active and achieved above-average results in national elections (see table). There was "(...) considerable communist influence among the dock workers, the workforce of the fish processing companies and shipyards, the sailors of the herring fishing fleet (...)." According to a later characterization in the Germany reports of the Sopade , the dock workers of Emden were considered to be "pretty radical group ”. According to a population and occupational census from 1925, 37.1% of Emden's employees worked in the trade and transport sector, and a further 29.5% in industry and craft. The incorporation of Wolthusen and Borssum in 1928 increased the potential of the Social Democrats and, above all, the Communists, because in Borssum the KPD had a majority in the local council in 1928. In the stronghold of East Friesland, which was liberal before the First World War and in which the city of Emden had a prominent position, the Reichstag election results of the two largest liberal parties, the DDP and DVP, gradually melted together: if they had together won 45 percent of the vote in 1919, it was in the last election in March 1933, which can still be described as reasonably free, just 5.4 percent - so it was quite exactly a loss of 40 percentage points. The Reichstag elections in May 1924 had already indicated a shift to the right in Emden, which after 1928 increased again significantly and gained speed. The Center Party , which was strong throughout the Reich and was dominated by Catholicism , part of the Weimar coalition , played only an extremely subordinate role in Protestant Emden throughout the years of the Weimar Republic.

Election results of the Reichstag elections during the Weimar Republic
Political party Jan. 1919 June 1920 May 1924 Dec. 1924 May 1928 Sep 1930 July 1932 Nov. 1932 March 1933
KPD - 6.9% 16.9% 10.4% 18.6% 17.4% 18.3% 20.2% 18.5%
USPD 10.0% 21.8% 0.7% - - - - - -
SPD 35.4% 13.2% 18.1% 25.4% 26.0% 23.5% 24.0% 22.7% 20.2%
center 3.4% 3.5% 3.6% 3.6% 2.8% 2.0% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5%
DDP 32.6% 15.0% 11.6% 16.6% 11.1% 9.7% 4.5% 4.3% 3.6%
DVP 12.4% 29.4% 19.2% 22.1% 15.9% 6.2% 2.0% 3.3% 1.8%
DNVP 6.2% 8.6% 16.4% 15.1% 12.3% 8.5% 7.5% 11.0% 12.2%
NSDAP - - 7.2% 4.3% 2.3% 23.2% 37.3% 31.2% 38.3%
Others - 1.6% 6.3% 2.6% 11.1% 9.6% 3.9% 4.9% 2.4%

Numbers in bold indicate a result above the party's nationwide share, the result of the NSDAP in July 1932 is in bold and italic because it corresponded exactly to the Reich average.

The city of Emden was cut off from its main market, the Ruhr area, due to the French occupation of the Ruhr in 1923. Imports and exports of ore and coal decreased significantly. The domestic industry, namely shipbuilding , also came to a temporary standstill due to a shipyard crisis in 1923/24.

In the following three years the economic development in the port recovered somewhat. However, the transition of the bulk cargo handling facilities from Westfälische Transport AG to the state-owned (= Prussian ) Emder Hafenumschlagsgesellschaft (1926) was also associated with an investment program that, according to the local Chamber of Commerce and Industry, made the port facilities "most modern in Europe" in bulk cargo transport but was associated with the rationalization of jobs. The job losses could hardly be compensated on the Emden labor market. The next serious crisis occurred in 1927, the very year in which German industry achieved its highest profits during the Weimar years. Around 1,500 inland waterway operators have been on strike since mid-November, paralyzing traffic on the Dortmund-Ems Canal. At the end of the year the miners in the Swedish ore mines and Swedish dock workers also went on strike, so that ore imports from Sweden came to a complete standstill. As a consequence, the number of unemployed in Emden had roughly doubled at the end of 1927.

On August 11, 1928, the then 18-year-old high school student Johann Menso Folkerts founded the local branch of the NSDAP . If it was initially ignored in elections, its share in the elections increased considerably by 1933. The National Socialists also made gains at the local level. Among other things, they made use of the financial situation: The city was heavily in debt in the late years of the Weimar Republic (and beyond). Although many residents were by no means poor, the magistrate did not initially raise taxes in order to reduce the debt. Rather, the tax rates remained well below the average for neighboring cities for a long time. The NSDAP therefore spoke of mismanagement in election campaigns.

Urban planning

Several quarters received significant development boosts, including the administrative district , Herrentor , Klein-Faldern , Barenburg and Port Arthur / Transvaal .

literature

  • Marianne Claudi, Reinhard Claudi: Golden and other times. Emden, city in East Frisia . Gerhard Verlag, Emden 1982, ISBN 3-88656-003-1 .
  • Hillard Delbanco: Church fight in East Friesland 1933-1945. (Treatises and lectures on the history of East Frisia, Volume 68), Verlag Ostfriesische Landschaft, Aurich 1988, ISBN 3-925365-36-2 .
  • Beatrix Herlemann : The East Frisian Agriculture in National Socialism. In: Emder Yearbook for Historical Regional Studies Ostfriesland , Vol. 81 (2001), pp. 205–216.
  • Eberhard Kliem: The City of Emden and the Navy - From the Great Elector to the Federal Navy. Verlag ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 2008, ISBN 978-3-8132-0892-4 .
  • Eckart Krömer: Small economic history of East Frisia and Papenburg . Verlag SKN, Norden 1991, ISBN 3-922365-93-0 .
  • Onno Poppinga , Hans Martin Barth, Hiltraut Roth: Ostfriesland. Biographies from the Resistance. Syndicate authors and publishing company, Frankfurt am Main 1977, ISBN 3-8108-0024-4 .
  • Dietmar von Reeken : East Frisia between Weimar and Bonn. A case study on the problem of historical continuity using the example of the cities of Emden and Aurich. (Sources and studies on the history of Lower Saxony after 1945, Volume 7). Verlag August Lax, Hildesheim 1991, ISBN 3-7848-3057-9 .
  • Herbert Reyer (Ed.): East Frisia in the Third Reich. The beginnings of the National Socialist tyranny in the Aurich administrative region 1933–1938. Ostfriesische Landschaftliche Verlags- und Vertriebsgesellschaft, Aurich 1992, ISBN 3-932206-14-2 , therein:
    • Beatrix Herlemann: persecution, resistance and opposition of the organized labor movement in East Frisia. Pp. 49-62.
  • Herbert Reyer (Ed.): East Frisia between republic and dictatorship. (Treatises and lectures on the history of East Frisia, Volume 76). Ostfriesische Landschaftliche Verlags- und Vertriebsgesellschaft, Aurich 1998, ISBN 3-932206-10-X , therein:
    • Albert Janssen: The district of Leer 1930 to 1934 and the role of district administrator Dr. Conring in the transition from democracy to Nazi dictatorship. Pp. 299-378.
    • Inge Lüpke-Müller: The Wittmund district between republic and dictatorship. Political structures and election results from 1918 to 1933. pp. 11–84.
    • Herbert Reyer: Revolution and democratic new beginning in the city and district of Aurich. Pp. 85-122.
  • Heinrich Schmidt : Political history of East Frisia. (East Frisia in the protection of the dike, vol. 5). Verlag Rautenberg, Leer 1975, DNB 200446355 .
  • Ernst Siebert, Walter Deeters , Bernard Schröer: History of the city of Emden from 1750 to the present. (East Frisia in the protection of the dike, vol. 7). Verlag Rautenberg, Leer 1980, DNB 203159012 , therein:
    • Walter Deeters: History of the City of Emden from 1890 to 1945. P. 198–256.

Remarks

  1. ^ Dietmar von Reeken : Ostfriesland between Weimar and Bonn. A case study on the problem of historical continuity using the example of the cities of Emden and Aurich. (Sources and studies on the history of Lower Saxony after 1945, Volume 7). Verlag August Lax, Hildesheim 1991, ISBN 3-7848-3057-9 , p. 16, note 7. In the following by Reeken: Ostfriesland between Weimar and Bonn.
  2. ↑ Axel von Schack, Albert Gronewold: Working alone, you won't get fed up. On the social history of the city of Emden 1848-1914 . Verlag Edition Temmen, Bremen 1994, ISBN 3-86108-233-0 , passim .
  3. ↑ Quoted in: Herbert Reyer : Revolution and democratic new beginning in the city and district of Aurich. In: Herbert Reyer (Hrsg.): Ostfriesland between republic and dictatorship (treatises and lectures on the history of Ostfriesland, volume 76). Ostfriesische Landschaftliche Verlags- und Vertriebsgesellschaft, Aurich 1998, ISBN 3-932206-10-X , pp. 85–122, here p. 113.
  4. ^ Heinrich Schmidt: East Frisia in the protection of the dike: Political history of East Frisia . Self-published, Leer 1975, without ISBN, p. 465.
  5. ^ Ernst Siebert, Walter Deeters, Bernard Schröer: History of the city of Emden from 1750 to the present . Rautenberg, Leer 1980 (Ostfriesland in the protection of the dike, vol. 7), p. 230/231.
  6. ↑ Hans Bernhard Eden: The Resident Services of Ostfriesland from 1919 to 1921. In: Emder Yearbook for Historical Country Studies Ostfriesland , Vol. 65 (1985), pp. 81-134, here pp. 94, 98, 105, 107, 114.
  7. ↑ Beatrix Herlemann : Persecution, resistance and opposition of the organized labor movement in East Friesland. In: Herbert Reyer (Ed.): Ostfriesland in the Third Reich. The beginnings of the National Socialist tyranny in the Aurich administrative region 1933–1938. Aurich 1999, pp. 49–62, here: p. 49. Herlemann follows: Persecution, resistance and opposition.
  8. ^ Herlemann: Persecution, Resistance and Opposition. S. 60. She quotes the Germany reports of Sopade, 2nd year, p. 569.
  9. ^ Von Reeken: Ostfriesland between Weimar and Bonn. P. 18.
  10. ^ Von Reeken: Ostfriesland between Weimar and Bonn. P. 29.
  11. ↑ According to a 1925 census, of the city's 27,770 inhabitants, 23,721 were Protestant (= 85.4 percent) and 1,668 were Catholic (= six percent). Numbers from Marianne Claudi, Reinhard Claudi: Golden and other times. Emden, city in East Frisia . Gerhard Verlag, Emden 1982, ISBN 3-88656-003-1 , p. 215. In the following: Claudi, Claudi: Golden and other times.
  12. ^ From 1930 German State Party.
  13. Jump up in both elections in 1924 as Völkische Lists.
  14. ↑ In the elections in May 1928, the majority of the people belonged to the Völkisch-national bloc, in all subsequent elections more than two thirds and in March 1933 almost completely to the Christian-Social People's Service .
  15. ^ Von Reeken: Ostfriesland between Weimar and Bonn. Attachment.
  16. ^ Walter Deeters: History of the city of Emden from 1890 to 1945. In: Ernst Siebert, Walter Deeters, Bernard Schröer: History of the city of Emden from 1750 to the present. (East Frisia in the protection of the dike, vol. 7). Verlag Rautenberg, Leer 1980, DNB 203159012 , p. 235 f. In the following Deeters: History of the city of Emden from 1890 to 1945.
  17. ^ Heinrich August Winkler : The long way to the west . Two volumes. Fifth, reviewed edition, Beck, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-406-49523-0 (Volume I), ISBN 3-406-49524-9 (Volume II). Here Volume I, p. 473. In the following Winkler: The long way to the west.
  18. ^ Von Reeken: Ostfriesland between Weimar and Bonn. P. 22 f.
  19. ^ Dietmar von Reeken: Johann Menso Folkerts. In: Biographisches Lexikon für Ostfriesland, Volume II. Ostfriesische Landschaftliche Verlags- und Vertriebsgesellschaft, Aurich 1997, pp. 122–124 (PDF file; 78 kB), Internet publication on the website of the Ostfriesische Landschaft, accessed on March 3, 2013 .