Ernst Bach (politician)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ernst Friedrich Bach (born September 19, 1902 in Castrop , today part of Castrop-Rauxel ; † March 18, 1965 in Siegen ) was a German politician ( DNVP , CSVD , CDU ).

Life

Ernst Bach was a trained businessman.

He was initially a member of the German National People's Party (DNVP), which in Siegerland was a successor organization to the anti-Semitic Christian Social Party of the German Empire, and from 1923 to 1930 managing director of the regional organization Siegerland-Wittgenstein-Olpe, then until 1933 regional managing director of the Christian Social People's Service ( CSVD) for Westphalia and Secretary General for West Germany. At the beginning of 1930, he and the large majority of the Siegerland German Nationals switched to the CSVD, which operated regionally as "Evangelischer Volksdienst" (EVD).

In 1920 Bach took part in the fighting of the Freikorps against the Red Ruhr Army and against the French military authorities as a member of a demolition squad . He later declared that he “actively led the battle against the Ruhr”. He had "had to stab a French detective", which is why the French police wrote him out for a search. Bach was a city councilor in Siegen from 1929 to 1933.

After the transition to National Socialism and the resulting end of the activities of the CSVD, which made Bach unemployed, he initially ended his political activity. He was now successful as a peddler with coffee, cigars and textiles in the Ruhr area and Siegerland. After a few years he was able to buy into a large paint company in Siegen, for which he now worked as a commercial manager. A wholesale company soon joined. Bach was appointed ring leader ( military economic leader ) in his branch.

In addition, he worked in a local fraternal council of the Confessing Church , in the youth association for decisive Christianity and as local chairman of the evangelical men's service.

British military government 1946 on Bach and his clique

After the end of National Socialism, Bach tried to found a district organization Siegerland of the CDU with some friends of the same opinion. He encountered resistance from the British military authorities, who initially forbade such a foundation by former functionaries of the DNVP, the alliance partner of the NSDAP. They judged “ Bach and his clique ” - alongside him Otto Rippel and Rudolf Gädecke - as “ militarists and monarchists, and in every way alien to any attempt to democratize Germany ”. The British military government issued a political ban on Bach, but this was soon lifted with the general change in the general political situation (" Cold War ").

Bach was a member of the Siegen City Council from 1946 to 1961, and later chairman of the CDU parliamentary group there. From 1948 to 1956 he was Lord Mayor of the city of Siegen. After 1948, the companies that he now owned due to successful economic activity under National Socialism experienced a significant boom in the wake of the economic miracle by taking on large orders.

In 1959, the Siegen district court dismissed a lawsuit brought by Bach against the local SPD chairman, stating that he had “used his position in local politics to gain advantages for his or her family members that were not granted to him. In other words: he used his position in local politics to conduct personal business. ”The statement by the SPD opponent that he was a“ political trader ”accordingly contained neither defamation nor defamation. In terms of form, it is not an insult. A judicial appraiser had determined the multiple illegal granting of state funds to companies and relatives of Bach and his active participation in it.

In 1952 he initiated the nationwide founding meeting of the Evangelical Working Group of the CDU in Siegen.

From 1958 until his death in 1965 he was a member of the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament , which elected him to the Federal Assembly in 1949, 1954, 1959 and 1964 .

Ernst Bach was federal treasurer of the CDU from 1950 to 1959. He had to resign from this position as the main person responsible for a serious donation scandal after it became known that a cover publisher that he ran (and which paid him tax-free expenses in "considerable amounts") had "discreetly concealed donations from industry" and other large donors to his Party were forwarded. This scandal revealed a secret financing practice of the parties that could not be sanctioned by criminal law, and in 1959 led to their regular financing from public funds via the “promotion of political education work of the parties”.

On December 20, 1955, Bach, along with Heinrich Barth , Bruno Heck , Konrad Kraske , Robert Pferdmenges , Adolf Süsterhenn and Richard Stücklen, was one of the founding members of the “Society for Christian-Democratic Educational Work”, the predecessor of the later “ Konrad Adenauer Foundation ” .

In 1965 Bach succumbed to liver disease. The city of Siegen has named a street after him.

literature

  • Philippe Blanchet: The CDU of the Siegerland. Origin, development. 1945-1949. Wins 1979.
  • Detours to money . In: Der Spiegel . No. 36 , 1956, pp. 13-21 ( online ).
  • Ulrich Friedrich Opfermann : Siegerland and Wittgenstein under National Socialism. People, data, literature. A handbook on regional contemporary history. (Siegen contributions, special volume 2001), Siegen 2000, 2nd edition 2001.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Detours to money . In: Der Spiegel . No. 36 , 1956, pp. 16 ( online ).
  2. ↑ All details after: Detours to Money . In: Der Spiegel . No. 36 , 1956, pp. 13-21 ( online ).
  3. ↑ affairs. The scope of what is permissible . In: Der Spiegel . No. 30 , 1958, pp. 15-19 ( online ). CDU treasurer. The political business . In: Der Spiegel . No.  36 , 1959, pp. 21 ( online ).
  4. ↑ Detours to money . In: Der Spiegel . No. 36 , 1956, pp. 13-21 ( online ). Der SPIEGEL reported… In: Der Spiegel . No.  38 , 1956, pp. 58 ( online ). Der SPIEGEL reported… In: Der Spiegel . No.  43 , 1956, pp. 66 ( online ). Der SPIEGEL reported… In: Der Spiegel . No.  14 , 1957, pp. 66 ( online ).
  5. ↑ The time of foundation: "Society for Christian-Democratic Educational Work" ( Memento of the original from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 81 kB) Konrad Adenauer Foundation .  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.kas.de
predecessor Office successor
Ernst Weisselberg Mayor of Siegen
1948 - 1956 		Erich Pachnicke
personal data
SURNAME Bach, Ernst
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bach, Ernst Friedrich (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German politician (DNVP and CDU), MdL
DATE OF BIRTH September 19, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Castrop
DATE OF DEATH March 18, 1965
Place of death Wins