Hermann Dietsche

Hermann Dietsche (born July 29, 1884 in Waldshut ; † July 15, 1972 ibid) was a German engineer and politician. He was a member of the Baden Christian Social People's Party (BCSV) , later the CDU .

Life

After attending secondary school in Waldshut and secondary school in Karlsruhe , Dietsche began studying at the Agricultural University in Berlin , which he completed with an examination as a brewing engineer.

Activity abroad

He then took on tasks abroad for a brewery and worked in Chile and Peru from 1911 to 1914 . From 1915 to 1929 he held managerial positions in breweries in Karlsruhe and Waldshut. In 1930 he worked as a brewery appraiser in Abyssinia and from 1930 to 1939 he worked as a brewery manager in Batavia and then managed the establishment of a German brewery in Singapore .

End of the war in 1945

"Dietsche, who returned from abroad in 1940 and later worked for the district office", was already in conversation with the head of the nutrition office, Dr. Schwörer, with whom it was possible “to open up ways that would inform them about the military and political situation and the intentions of the ruling class at the time.” The night before the French invaded - a Wehrmacht unit had previously been forced to withdraw and "two days before the invasion, the ground in Waldshut became too hot for the Nazi celebrities" - the group that had meanwhile formed around Dietsche organized the handover of the city. Anti-tank barriers were opened early in the morning on April 25, 1945 and when "the French planes [...] saw the white flags, they turned and flew on to Tiengen."

After the city was handed over at 1.30 p.m., the following day, a request from District Administrator Dr. Ernst certain mayors to relieve and Hermann Dietsche took over "on April 27th [1945 ...] the business of the acting mayor" with two officials and an interpreter. The French accepted Dietsche and “already on April 28th there was a discussion on this question [“ about a dozen rapes ”] and the French commanding officer promised that a Moroccan unit, which was the main perpetrator of these attacks, would be in the city will leave. ”(A. Bader: Waldshut , p. 6 ff.).

> On the invasion and occupation of Baden by the French army: End of the war in the southern Black Forest (1945)

Dietsche also consistently advocated citizenship in other matters - he referred to the Hague Land Warfare Regulations - and he was also active in preventing the establishment of a five-kilometer-wide zone along the Swiss border in May 1945, decided by the Allied High Command . In December 1946, as mayor had already been elected, his position earned him a suspension from office by the military government, which was not lifted until October 1947. (Bader, 52 and 83 f.). As early as May 1945 he had "regular meetings at the town hall" which "(had to) be kept secret from the occupying power".

post war period

After the "first free elections in the French zone " on September 15, 1946, the newly elected councilors met on September 29 to elect the mayor: "Hermann Dietsche was elected mayor in Waldshut". Dietsche ran for the Baden Christian Social People's Party , which received almost 53% in the election in the Waldshut district with 13,056 votes. (Bader, 58 f.).

Dietsche was first mayor of the city of Waldshut from 1945 to 1957 and at the same time district councilor . From November 1946 to April 1947 he was a member of the Advisory State Assembly of the State of Baden . As a direct candidate for the CDU in the constituency of Säckingen-Waldshut, he was a member of the Baden state parliament from 1947 to 1952 .

Honors

• 1952: Cross of Merit on Ribbon of the Federal Republic of Germany
• 1964: Granted honorary citizenship of the city of Waldshut

literature

• Andreas Bader: City and district of Waldshut as reflected in their local newspaper SÜDKURIER 1945 - 1964. Printing and publishing house Konstanz GmbH, Konstanz 1965.
• Josef Weik: Member of the Bundestag and Landtag history of Baden-Württemberg 1945-1980. Stuttgart, 1980
• Landtag of Baden-Württemberg (ed.): MdL, The Members of the Landtag in Baden-Württemberg 1946–1978 , Stuttgart 1978, ISBN 3-12-911930-2 , p. 107

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Recordings in a 16mm film made by Dietsche's wife Johanna indicate that the product was Beck's beer. Copy in archive TV Eichberg.
2. ^ Andreas Bader: City and district of Waldshut in the mirror of their local newspaper SÜDKURIER 1945 - 1964. Printing and publishing house Konstanz GmbH, Konstanz 1965, p. 4.