Erich Rinner (politician)

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Erich Rinner (born July 27, 1902 in Berlin , † 1982 in Washington, DC ) was a German politician ( SPD ).

Life and work

As the son of an auxiliary brakeman who was employed by the railway and who was later able to become a train driver, Rinner grew up “in poor, but not proletarian circumstances” (self-assessment). He first visited in King City , the primary and the secondary school before then to the study of the University of Berlin economics devoted. To finance his studies, he carried out various auxiliary activities and was employed, among other things, as a supernumerar at the tax office Charlottenburg 2 (1921/1922), as private secretary to the Reichstag member Paul Hertz (1922–1925) and as secretary of the social democratic parliamentary group (1925–1928).

In 1926 he graduated with a degree in economics and completed his studies in 1929 with the acquisition of a doctorate, including the addition of “magna cum laude”. Since 1928 he worked as the private secretary of the Reich Finance Minister Dr. Rudolf Hilferding , gave up this profession, but already in 1930, to work again as secretary of the SPD parliamentary group. Just three years later he rose to become a "paid member of the SPD party executive" and acted there as a representative of the party youth.

The time of National Socialism

Only a few months later he was elected to the four-member emergency committee of the SPD, which was supposed to cover the retreat of the actual party leadership into exile and to show the National Socialist government that the SPD leadership was still in Germany. When the SPD was banned three days later on June 22, 1933, Rinner initially lived illegally in Germany for a few months, but fled to Prague before the end of the year . There he was accepted as the ninth member of the exile executive committee of the SPD, worked under the code name “Ernst Anders” or “Hugo” and was registered under the address “Prague VIII, Troja, Hotel Bures”.

Under his leadership, the Sopade reports on Germany were created there , with the help of which one wanted to counteract the propaganda of the National Socialist government. These, especially in their English version, reached a small but influential circle of readers abroad. But the Prague government was exposed to increasing pressure from the German government, but initially withstood it. But when the British Chamberlain's government pushed for an end to the exile work, the Prague Prime Minister Edvard Beneš felt compelled - despite personal regret - to call on the members of the exile board to end their political work.

They therefore decided to relocate to Paris as early as autumn 1937 , although this did not take place until May 1938. However, the deteriorating political situation also caused problems with the preparation of the “Germany Reports”. Most informants within Germany fell victim to the increased work of the Gestapo . In addition, the occupation of Sudeten Germany made it increasingly difficult to transmit information, especially from the east of the empire. But thanks to Erich Rinner's persistent work, the reports continued to appear, both in English and in German, and were obtained from the Labor Party in England and the Jewish Labor Committee in New York City , among others .

With the outbreak of war, however, the Germany reports were interrupted for the first time. These were briefly taken up again, but discontinued after the German occupation of France. Like all members of the exile board, Erich Rinner threatened extradition to Germany, so he decided to flee to the United States via Lisbon , while most of the exile board went to London .

Probably arriving in the United States towards the end of 1940 , he initially made a career in politics. He wrote papers on the German financing of wars and, among other things, developed analyzes of the organization of work in Germany for the Rockefeller Foundation . Soon afterwards, Rinner became the “former Economic Adviser of the German Federation of Trade Union” and a member of the executive committee of the “German-American Council for the Liberation of Germany”. In addition, he was involved in the German Labor delegation .

The time after politics

But by the end of 1940 Rinner finally withdrew from politics. Instead, he went to Washington, DC , where he initially worked for several years as a “principal regional specialist in the Office of War”. After the end of the war, he decided - in contrast to most of the other non-Jewish, fled party members - not to return to Germany, although in retrospect he said, as a political economist , it was clear to him that Germany would “recover”. Instead, he found a job in an investment bank , where he rose to head the economics department and eventually even became a partner. In 1982 he died in Washington as the father of two sons.

literature

  • Werner Plum (Ed.): The "Green Reports" of the Sopade. Commemorative publication for Erich Rinner (1902–1982). Bonn 1984.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Rinner, Erich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German politician (SPD)
DATE OF BIRTH July 27, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH 1982
Place of death Washington, DC