Hellmut von Gerlach Society

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The articles German-Polish Society of the Federal Republic of Germany and Hellmut von Gerlach Society overlap thematically. Help me to better differentiate or merge the articles (→  instructions ) . To do this, take part in the relevant redundancy discussion . Please remove this module only after the redundancy has been completely processed and do not forget to include the relevant entry on the redundancy discussion page{{ Done | 1 = ~~~~}}to mark. Tohma ( discussion ) 12:42, Dec. 26, 2016 (CET)

The Hellmut von Gerlach Society was founded in Berlin in 1948, still all of Germany . As the first German-Polish society, as experience from the Second World War, it stood up for an understanding with the neighboring people. The company's founders came from all walks of life. After the establishment of two German states in 1949, the company continued to exist in the GDR . For the Federal Republic of Germany, the Hellmut von Gerlach Society was re-established in Düsseldorf in 1950. Its founding chairman was General a. D. Hanns von Rohr . Both companies were named after the German publicist and politician Hellmut von Gerlach . In 1918/1919 Gerlach was Undersecretary of State in the Prussian Ministry of the Interior. In this office he campaigned for German-Polish reconciliation and as a result was exposed to severe hostility. In 1951 the conservative von Gerlachs family, who died in exile in Paris in 1935, sued against the use of the name in both states. The societies changed their name to "Society for Cultural and Economic Exchange with Poland - German-Polish Society".

In the GDR, the company was virtually dissolved in 1953 by restructuring and changing its area of ​​responsibility. Parts of society went on in the later League for Friendship of Nations . However, all efforts to re-establish a German-Polish society within the league were unsuccessful. It was not until April 1990 that the "German Society for Good Neighbors with Poland" was created in the GDR, initiated by members of the former Hellmut von Gerlach Society.

In the Federal Republic of Germany, at the request of Poland , the society adopted the name “ German-Polish Society of the Federal Republic of Germany ” in order to enable the establishment of a “German-Polish Society of the GDR”; However, this never happened due to the resistance of the political leadership in the GDR.

literature

  • Hübner, Christa: On the work of the German-Polish Society for Peace and Good Neighborhood 1948-1952 ; in: Zeitschrift für Geschichtswwissenschaft 27 (1979), pp. 409-422.
  • Jagemann, Feo: Offensive Policy. Four decades of German-Polish efforts , Bielefeld 1988.
  • Lotz, Christian: Between prescribed and serious friendship. The efforts of the Helmut von Gerlach Society to bring about a German-Polish rapprochement in the GDR and in the Federal Republic (1948–1972) ; in: Hahn, Hans Henning / Heidi Hein-Kircher / Kochanowska-Nieborak, Anna (eds.): Culture of Remembrance and Reconciliation Kitsch , Marburg 2008, pp. 201–219.
  • Ruchniewicz, Krzysztof: Próba zbliżenia NRD-Polska pod koniec lat czterdziestych i na początku pięćdziesiątych, utworzenie i działalność Helmut von Gerlach Society ; in: Sobótka (2000) 4, pp. 527-556.