Jürgen Girgensohn

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jürgen Girgensohn (born August 21, 1924 in Kassel , † July 24, 2007 in Nottingham ) was a German politician ( SPD ). From 1970 to 1983 he was Minister of Culture for the State of North Rhine-Westphalia .

education and profession

From 1934 Girgensohn went to the grammar school in Soest , but was only able to do the Abitur in 1947, after labor service, military service and captivity.

From 1943 to 1945 he was a tank soldier on the Eastern Front. He belonged to the SS division "Wiking". About his time as SS Rottenführer he said in a television interview: “We were really trained during our training, if you will, with sometimes very brutal means. Not everyone took it. There were also some who wanted to get out of there, who couldn't help but commit suicide. "( Götz Aly had discovered the SS past and thus put G. under pressure)

His experiences from war and the consequences of war shaped him as a person and as a politician. He participated in the Easter marches , represented a pacifist attitude and became a member of the German Quakers . He showed "active tolerance" as the superior of thousands of teachers who took to the streets against NATO's double resolution during class. His sympathy for the peace movement towards the end of his term of office is documented in a decree on peace education.

Jürgen Girgensohn began studying at the Dortmund University of Education after the war . After graduating in 1952, he entered the public school service as a teacher. From 1959 to 1967 he worked as a secondary school teacher at the Oberaden secondary school in Bergkamen , from 1965 as vice-principal .

Girgensohn was married and had two children.

Political party

In 1950 Girgensohn joined the SPD and held various board positions there. Among other things, he was a member of the Western Westphalia district board from 1967 to 1984, where he was deputy chairman from 1972.

MP

Girgensohn was from 1952 to 1956 the citizen's representative in Kamen , from 1956 member of the district council and from 1959 deputy district administrator. From 1966 to 1985 he was also a member of the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia .

Public offices

Jürgen Girgensohn on November 7, 1978 during the state visit of King Hussein I and Queen Nūr al-Ḥussain to the Federal Republic of Germany. From left to right: Hugo Borger , Jürgen Girgensohn and Queen Noor al-Ḥussain. In the background the Cologne Cathedral.

From 1964 to 1970 Girgensohn was district administrator for the Unna district .

On December 8, 1970, he was appointed minister of culture to the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia led by Prime Minister Heinz Kühn .

The centerpiece of the social democratic school policy in NRW under Girgensohn was the attempt to introduce the new type of comprehensive school throughout the state. There was bitter resistance to the compulsory introduction of comprehensive schools. The public spoke of “school struggle”. This accumulated in 1978. The new school law, which was introduced against the will but ultimately with the approval of the coalition partner FDP, found a majority in the state parliament, but not in the population.

The opposition CDU, the teachers 'associations belonging to the German Association of Officials - in particular the German Philologist Association and the Realschullehrerverband -, conservative parents' associations - especially parents at high schools - and the churches organized large rallies and leaflet campaigns. An initiative "Stop KOOP" was formed, which from February 16 to March 1, 1978 collected more than 3.6 million signatures against the cooperative comprehensive school and thus far exceeded the 20 percent threshold for a referendum that was valid at the time . The new school law was prevented. Girgensohn's comprehensive school policy had failed and the structured school system was retained.

During his term of office there were also violent disputes over the effects of the so-called radical decree , which he was reluctant to implement.

In connection with the deselection of Ilse Brusis as the state chairman of the Education and Science Union (GEW), the union was publicly accused of having "apparently been taken over by radicals and communists". Cabinet members who were members of the GEW were then publicly requested to leave. Girgensohn replied: "I'm not leaving my union, at most I'll be excluded!"

After a long term in office, during which he was also highly controversial, Girgensohn resigned from his office on October 25, 1983. Hans Schwier was his successor .

Cabinets

Jürgen Girgensohn was a member of the following cabinets in North Rhine-Westphalia:

Sources and literature

  • The cabinet minutes of the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia 1966 to 1970 (sixth electoral period) (Publications of the State Archives North Rhine-Westphalia 8), ed. by Christoph Nonn, Wilfried Reininghaus and Wolf-Rüdiger Schleidgen, included. u. edit by Andreas Pilger, Siegburg 2006, ISBN 3-87710-361-8
  • The cabinet minutes of the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia 1970 to 1975 (seventh electoral period) (Publications of the State Archives North Rhine-Westphalia 27), ed. by Frank Michael Bischoff, Christoph Nonn and Wilfried Reininghaus. u. edit by Martin Schlemmer, Düsseldorf 2009, ISBN 978-3-9805419-7-8

Web links

Commons : Jürgen Girgensohn  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jürgen Girgensohn, in: Claus Bernet: Quäker aus Politik, Wissenschaft und Kunst, 2nd ed. 2008, pp. 62–64
  2. ↑ General-Anzeiger : Stop the school chaos (at archive.org) ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) . July 21, 2006.
  3. ^ Friedrich Ebert Foundation : Archive of Social Democracy .
personal data
SURNAME Girgensohn, Jürgen
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German politician (SPD), MdL
DATE OF BIRTH August 21, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH kassel
DATE OF DEATH July 24, 2007
Place of death Nottingham