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Gottlob Kamm (born October 21, 1897 in Schorndorf ; † November 21, 1973 there ) was a German politician ( SPD ).

From April 1946 to February 1948, as Minister of State for Political Liberation, he was responsible for denazification in the American-occupied Württemberg-Baden . From 1945 to 1948 Kamm was mayor and from 1954 to 1971 city ​​councilor of his hometown Schorndorf. From 1947 to 1973 he was also a member of the district council .

biography

The asymmetrical house on the wall in Schorndorf is the birthplace of Gottlob Kamm.

Before 1933: youth and the beginning of a political career

Kamm was born on October 21, 1897, the youngest of twelve children of the butcher Wilhelm Kamm and his wife Marie. The mother was interested in politics, worked out the works from Kant to Marx in her own study and thus became a supporter of the labor movement . The family lived in a house inherited from their grandparents on the Schorndorf town wall. After attending primary school in Schorndorf, Kamm completed an apprenticeship as a precision mechanic in Stuttgart, which he completed in 1914 with a journeyman's examination. In 1913, Kamm joined the Socialist Workers' Youth (SAJ). After he had registered with the Württemberg Army for military service, he was drafted into the infantry as a machine gun sniper on August 1, 1916. He shot down three enemy aircraft on the Western Front and received numerous awards, including the Iron Cross First Class . On July 29, 1917, he was injured in his right ankle by a grenade, the following gangrene required an amputation up to the middle thigh: Kamm lost his right leg.

After the First World War , Kamm first worked as a mechanic. In October 1918, after previous training at the war disabled school, he became head of the district organization of the Reich Association of War Disabled. He then became a specialist in the Württemberg Ministry of Labor. He made the end of 1924 with a kiosk at the station in Schorndorf independently . As a part-time job, he worked as a local editor for the social democratic Free People's Newspaper in Göppingen .

In September 1922, Kamm joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), having previously been a member of the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany . His political career finally began in 1925. In December 1925 he was elected to the Schorndorf municipal council, where he helped shape local politics until Hitler came to power in 1933.

time of the nationalsocialism

Kamm's political activities brought him to the Oberer Kuhberg concentration camp for almost four months in the spring of 1934 during the Nazi era . After his release from the concentration camp , he did not find a new job until January 1935. The time until the end of the National Socialists' rule in 1945 was a very difficult and bitter time for Gottlob Kamm, so his previously published books were publicly burned and he was questioned several times by the Gestapo.

After 1945: State minister and local politician

In June 1945 Kamm was appointed mayor of Schorndorf, in September of that year he was responsible for the re-establishment of the SPD local association Schorndorf. In March 1946 he became State Secretary in the state government of Württemberg-Baden in Stuttgart for special tasks in North Württemberg- North Baden and in August 1946 Minister for Political Liberation. In June 1946 he was elected to the constitutional state assembly of Württemberg-Baden for the SPD , in November 1946 he was elected to the state parliament of Württemberg-Baden via constituency 26 (Waiblingen) .

His experience during the time of National Socialism had a decisive influence on his actions as a minister. It was not uncommon for him to find himself in conflict between the relentless implementation of denazification and the reconstruction of the country. The occupying powers wanted to remove the militarists and former National Socialists from all state, political and economic positions with the so-called arbitration chamber proceedings - which were inadequately equipped and for whom Kamm found suitable employees with difficulty . However, the division of those affected into categories such as “main culprit”, “burdened” or “fellow travelers” often turned out to be problematic, because individual guilt and collective guilt can often only be inadequately separated or assessed. The widespread Persilscheine made the proceedings even more difficult.

In February 1948 he resigned from his position as state minister and devoted himself primarily to local politics. Until 1950 he was still a member of the state parliament in Württemberg-Baden. In 1954 Kamm became city councilor of Schorndorf and remained so until his resignation in 1971. However, he not only made a contribution to Schorndorf, but also worked as a district member from 1947 to 1973. In both committees, he mainly campaigned for social issues, especially for young people. Kamm also made sure that hundreds of German scientists were given work permits again.

Kamm died in his hometown at the age of 76. Because of his commitment to social needs, he was not only seen in Schorndorf as an “advocate for the common people”. The press described him as "one of the most controversial figures in Baden-Württemberg's post-war history" and a "tough politician".


Comb was with since 1925 Pink comb married (1907-1996) who, like her husband was a member of the SPD and the Constituent State Assembly Wuerttemberg-Baden, also local association chairman of the SPD and the Workers' Welfare Association (AWO) was operating in local government women's work and in 1970 with the Order of Merit 1 Class was honored. They had four children, two sons and two daughters. The eldest son, Bertold Kamm (born May 10, 1926), brought his memories into the book The Liberation Minister (see literature).

Honor plaque at the birthplace of Gottlob Kamm in Schorndorf

Honors

  • 1953: Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
  • 1967: Honorary citizenship and gold medal of merit of the city of Schorndorf
  • 2007: Placement of a plaque of honor at Kamm's birthplace in Schorndorf
  • Gottlob-Kamm-Platz in Schorndorf
  • Gottlob-Kamm-Strasse in Neckargemünd

literature

Web links

Commons : Gottlob Kamm  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Documentation Center Oberer Kuhberg Ulm eV (Ed.): From Ulm concentration camp prisoner to the liberation minister of Württemberg-Baden. ( Memento from July 1, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) In: DZOK Mitteilungen. Issue 44, November 2005, pp. 1-4. (pdf; 1.2 MB)
  2. ↑ a b Frank-Roland Kühnel: Landtag, MPs and constituencies in Baden-Württemberg 1946 to 2009. Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-923476-01-5 , p. 207.
  3. ↑ a b c honorary citizen Gottlob Kamm. Biography on the official website of the city of Schorndorf. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  4. ↑ Bertold Kamm, Wolfgang Mayer: The Liberation Minister. Silberburg-Verlag , Tübingen 2005, ISBN 978-3874076555
  5. ↑ A brave woman who turns 100 today. In: Schorndorfer Nachrichten of July 26, 2007; here on the SPD Schorndorf website. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  6. ↑ Honor plaque for the social democrat and honorary citizen Gottlob Kamm attached. In: Schorndorfer Nachrichten of October 22, 2007, here on the SPD Schorndorf website. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
personal data
SURNAME Comb, thank God
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German politician
DATE OF BIRTH October 21, 1897
PLACE OF BIRTH Schorndorf
DATE OF DEATH November 21, 1973
Place of death Schorndorf