Hans Keller (international lawyer)

Hans Karl Ernst Ludwig Keller (born January 2, 1908 in Speyer ; † July 17, 1970 in Munich ) was a German international lawyer who advocated a supranational European peace order during the 1930s and maintained numerous contacts with other European countries. He was discreetly supported by changing National Socialist organizations.

Professional and political career

Hans Keller studied law and economics with the degrees Dr. oec. publ. 1930 in Munich, Docteur en droit 1931 in Bordeaux and Dr. jur. 1932 in Kiel. In 1931 he first founded an association called the German Europe Union , but later dropped it. At the beginning of 1934 he called the International Working Group of Nationalists , the IAdN, in Zurich . The Academy for the Rights of the Peoples in Oslo followed in 1936 . “Both institutions, which establish numerous foreign contacts, were sponsored by various Nazi organizations against the will of the Federal Foreign Office until 1940.” During the Second World War , Keller was called up as an interpreter for the Air Force. After the end of the war, he was active in numerous associations and societies and was a city councilor in Munich between 1952 and 1966. He died unexpectedly on July 17th, 1970 at the age of 62.

Keller as a right-wing conservative European in the Third Reich

Keller founded the International Working Group of Nationalists in Zurich in early 1934. With the founding of the IAdN, Keller anticipated a project within the sphere of influence of the Paneuropean Union : In June 1934, the Europa-Union, Swiss movement for the unification of Europe under democratic auspices and with the idea of containing German National Socialism , was born in Basel upscale. Compared to the Swiss European Union, which was oriented towards internationalist-liberal democracy, the IAdN was authoritarian, right-wing conservative and national-ethnocentric. According to his guiding principle, the European nations should not be hindered in their living needs by unsuitable norms, but should cooperate with one another in ethnic respect and establish a comprehensive international peace order of a special kind. The IAdN was not a mass movement, but remained an association of right-wing intellectuals. Between 1934 and 1936 three international congresses took place: 1934 in Berlin, 1935 in London and 1936 in Oslo. The National Socialists were in the assessment of the IAdN resp. Keller disagreed: the Foreign Office tried to suppress his activities, while the Reich Propaganda Ministry under Goebbels and later the Secret State Police supported him. The context of the IAdN resp. Kellers with the Hitler regime remained hidden from most of the members. For example, Berlin was able to use the IAdN for international counter-propaganda against the CAUR (Cornitati d'azione per I'universalita di Roma), founded in 1933 by the Italian fascists , which was also authoritarian and internationalist, but rejected and openly attacked the racism and anti-Semitism of the Nazis .

Fonts (selection)

The third Europe , 1934.
Farewell to "international law" , 1938.
The struggle for international order, 1939.
The right of the peoples , 1940.
International Law and Duty , 1954.
International Law and the World Economy , 1957.

literature

“Anti-Europe” or “Laws of Finance Capital”? On the presentation of the NS-Europe plans in source collections , in: Zeithistorische Forschungen / Studies in Contemporary History, online edition, 9 (2012), no.3
Daniel Spichtinger: National Socialist European Plans. Extended bibliography. 2000
Kreisau Circle: Thoughts on the European Reorganization . In: Dossier Kreisau Circle. Documents from the resistance against National Socialism , ed. v. Roman Pencil , Frankfurt / Main 1987
Reinhard Kühnl: The Fascism in Sources and Documents , Cologne 1975. In it numerous documents on Nazi war and post-war politics in Europe.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Voice of the Palatinate Volume 21, Issue No. 3 (3rd quarter 1970), p. 16.
↑ Hans Werner Neulen: Europe and the 3rd Reich. Unification efforts in the German sphere of influence 1939-45. Munich 1987, p. 405.
^ ^A ^b Hans Werner Neulen: Europe and the 3rd Reich. Unification efforts in the German sphere of influence 1939-45. Munich 1987, p. 23.
^ ^A ^b Hans Werner Neulen: Europe and the 3rd Reich. Unification efforts in the German sphere of influence 1939-45. Munich 1987, p. 405.
↑ European Union. Internet presence
↑ Hans Werner Neulen: Europe and the 3rd Reich. Unification efforts in the German sphere of influence 1939-45. Munich 1987, pp. 23-24.

personal data
SURNAME	Keller, Hans
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Keller, Hans Karl Ernst Ludwig (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German international lawyer
DATE OF BIRTH	January 2, 1908
PLACE OF BIRTH	Speyer
DATE OF DEATH	17th July 1970
Place of death	Munich

[SdP-1] Voice of the Palatinate Volume 21, Issue No. 3 (3rd quarter 1970), p. 16.

[2] Hans Werner Neulen: Europe and the 3rd Reich. Unification efforts in the German sphere of influence 1939-45. Munich 1987, p. 405.

[neulen_23-3] A ^b Hans Werner Neulen: Europe and the 3rd Reich. Unification efforts in the German sphere of influence 1939-45. Munich 1987, p. 23.

[neulen_405-4] A ^b Hans Werner Neulen: Europe and the 3rd Reich. Unification efforts in the German sphere of influence 1939-45. Munich 1987, p. 405.

[5] European Union. Internet presence

[6] Hans Werner Neulen: Europe and the 3rd Reich. Unification efforts in the German sphere of influence 1939-45. Munich 1987, pp. 23-24.