Jakob Degen (administrative officer)

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Jakob Degen portrait 1919

Jakob Degen (* 20th May 1859 in Schwegenheim , † 8. August 1947 in Kronach ) was a Bavarian Administrative Officer and District Officer / District in Kronach.

Origin and childhood

Degen was born on May 20, 1859 in Schwegenheim near Germersheim in the Palatinate (Bavaria) and was baptized as a Protestant under the name Jakob Georg . He was the only child of the farmer Georg Jakob Degen and Maria Eva Degen, b. Silver nail. He spent his childhood on his parents' farm in Schwegenheim.

Apprenticeship and first years of employment

He attended elementary school in Schwegenheim (1865–1869), the Latin school in Germersheim (1869–1873) and the grammar school in Speyer (1873–1877). In 1878 he did his military service as a one-year volunteer in Würzburg with the 9th Infantry Regiment . In 1878 Degen began studying law at the universities of Würzburg , Berlin and Strasbourg . In 1881 he passed the legal exam as the best participant in Bavaria in Würzburg. He then completed his legal internships in Germersheim, Frankenthal , Ludwigshafen and Zweibrücken . His tenure was carried out in 1886 as a district office Assessor at the district office Wertingen in Swabia, where he remained until 1897th

Term of office as board member of the district office in Kronach

On March 1, 1897, he was appointed head of the Kronach District Office and appointed District Administrator. (The term "Landrat", which is common today, was only introduced in the German Reich at the beginning of 1939, together with the terms " Landkreis " and " Landratsamt " for this lowest administrative level). He held this office until May 31, 1925.

Around 1905 the Ministry of the Interior offered Degen the option of running the district office in Augsburg , Würzburg or Nuremberg because of his achievements . He declined because he felt more committed to building up Kronach than to managing traditionally wealthy districts. (His perseverance and perseverance were rewarded: towards the end of his term of office and in the course of the general economic and demographic development, by 1925 the commercial and industrial companies and the number of employees there had increased about tenfold, the population of the district was with a birth surplus of approx 500 / year increased by approx. 6000 people).

Starting position

When Degen took up his post in Kronach, he found the following starting point for his activity: The Kronach district office, located in the Bavarian administrative district of Upper Franconia , emerged in 1862 from the original Kronach district court and in 1900 comprised 61 communities with 241 localities. At that time, 30,785 inhabitants lived in an area of ​​307.80 km², 18,938 of them Catholic, 11,718 Protestant , 121 Israelite , and 8 other faiths.

Economically, the district was still predominantly rural and agricultural at the turn of the 20th century. Poor soil quality and small farm sizes (3–5 ha) often did not offer sufficient yields for agriculture. In the few industrial companies (glass and porcelain production) around 500 workers were employed, and home work was often an additional or even the only source of income for the population. Declining since 1850, the focus was on the timber industry and rafting , as well as the extraction and processing of various types of stone and the coal stores around Stockheim . Besides the single-track Hochstadt-Probstzella railway line (since 1885), there were state, district and connecting roads, mostly in poor condition or unpaved. The water supply came from public wells.

Taking the popular saying that the Franconian Forest is “only a nursery and poor house” as a basis by creating opportunities to find a living in the district was the great general challenge of this term of office. In addition, this required an improved health and education system as well as healthy living conditions - and, last but not least, expertise, perseverance and skill in the development of state subsidies.

Work in the various areas of responsibility of the district / district office

  • Healthcare

From 1901, at his instigation, the first district hospital was built in Kronach with 40 beds, which was opened on November 20, 1903. His work for the health sector included activities for the Red Cross , measures to combat epidemics, in particular for tuberculosis care, as well as the expansion of medical, rescue and fire fighting.

After all community health insurances in the district were abolished on June 3, 1913, he promoted the establishment of a general local health insurance fund .

  • Energy supply and infrastructure

Under his leadership, the municipalities were gradually electrified from 1919 onwards, as well as the construction of waterworks (in Kronach as early as 1899) and 16 water pipes in the district.

From 1900 he personally dealt with the idea and the design for three dams for the generation of electrical energy, for flood reduction and drinking water supply. The plans he had commissioned remained unrealized during his lifetime, but were realized as the Ködeltalsperre 68 years later . Flood dams and exposures were built in Küps , Neuses and Wallenfels .

Degen supported the construction of the railway lines Kronach- Nordhalben (1900), Kronach-Stockheim- Burggrub - Sonneberg (from 1901), Pressig - Rothenkirchen - Tettau (from 1903) and a few years later Kronach- Weißenbrunn .

Jakob Degen, to the right of the post office president, at the opening of the Wilhelmsthal motor mail line

In addition, there were extensive road and bridge construction projects, in particular the new construction of the district roads Neuses-Weißenbrunn, Steinberg- Gifting - Posseck in Bavaria - Eila , Kronach-Burgstall- Mitwitz , and on Friedrichsburger Berg as well as the construction and operation of numerous motorized mail lines in the district.

  • Education and cult

A particular concern for him was the improvement of the school and training system in his district through the new construction and expansion of a total of 34 school buildings in: Schneckenlohe prot. 1893 / cath. 1895, Hesselbach 1896, Stockheim prot. 1898 / cath. 1899, Frisians 1900, Gehülz prot. 1901 / cath. 1910, Theisenort prot. 1901 / cath. 1907, Posseck in Bayern 1902, Neuses 1903, Steinberg 1903, Oberlangenstadt 1904, Burggrub 1905, Wolfersgrün 1905, Ziegelerden 1905, Neufang 1906, Wilhelmsthal 1906, Vogtendorf 1906, Neukenroth 1907, Schnaid 1907, Steinwiesen prot. 1907 / cath. 1908, Johannisthal 1908, Haig 1909, Knellendorf 1910, Reitsch 1911, Kaltenbrunn 1912, Neundorf 1912, Fischbach 1913, Neuengrün 1913, Wallenfels 1917, Thonberg 1919. The church buildings in Wilhelmsthal, Breitenloh and Steinberg, as well as the building, received support from the Kronach District Office the rectory in Burggrub and Breitenloh. He also promoted the creation of new cemeteries and cemetery buildings.

  • Economic and social affairs
    Degen at his opening address at the trade show in August 1924

Degen promoted economic development to create new work and income opportunities in the district through: ongoing efforts to locate industrial companies and businesses, support for guilds and business training schools, the founding of the Kronach business association, the opening up of the region for tourism (foundation of the Frankenwaldverein- West on December 26, 1898 in the inn "Zum Scharfen Eck" in Kronach), his participation in the trade committee and the implementation of industrial and trade shows in 1904 and 1924.

Johannisthal settlement colony around 1920

His commitment to the construction of good apartments, to the improvement of living and housing conditions, for hygiene and disease control led to the foundation of the district building cooperative (1922), the creation of 369 apartments and the establishment of the settlement colony in Johannisthal . His wife Ida Degen recalled: “When you used to drive through Johannisthal, you always had a crowd of begging children behind the car; that had stopped. A colony of small houses had emerged, for which the land had to be bought from the Schmölz rulers . The rule consisted of about 25 families, e.g. Part abroad, all of which had to be asked for their consent to the transfer of land. Until that was achieved! But the district official did not let go. And the population of Johannisthal got a new colony with houses u. Gardens. "

The reconstruction of entire villages after catastrophic fires, like the one in Wallenfels on 23–24. July 1911, and urgently the care of the affected population had to be organized.

Fire disaster in Wallenfels in 1911

A special concern of Degen was the promotion of agriculture and forestry , arable farming, fruit growing and horticulture, soil improvement, fishing , livestock and beekeeping . His commitment to nature conservation concerns z. B. the forest management of fallow sandstone soils and the planting of bird protection trees . On March 28, 1918, at his instigation, an agricultural winter school with an attached housekeeping school was set up in the Franciscan monastery . The agricultural school was rebuilt in Kulmbacher Strasse in Kronach while he was still in office (relocation on October 27, 1926), and he remained a permanent member of the board of trustees there even after his retirement.

The difficult years: First World War and its aftermath, Great Depression and inflation

Degen made great contributions during the First World War and in the post-war years in organizing and maintaining the coal and food supply, the hospital and prisoner-of-war system, and the demobilization problem, especially since there was only one emergency staffing in the district office due to the war.

The food crisis, the introduction of the forced economy in 1914 and the issuance of food cards from January 1, 1915 required the establishment of a delivery and local authority association for the procurement and distribution of food in his district. The municipal association existed until the beginning of 1922 with his participation. The establishment of people's kitchens and his consistent action against the black market (border surveillance) contributed to the fact that food for the population of the Kronach district could be poorly ensured despite the poor harvests of 1915/16.

The Degen couple suffered no less from the food crisis. Ida Degen noted in her memoirs: “Now you buy on brands, and you got so little that you went hungry if you didn't hoard. And I couldn't do that. Neither of us looked good, u. Your father, who was on vacation in the Palatinate for eight days, was told by the uncle doctor in Ingenheim that if he continued like this, he could close the boutique in a few months. - From then on we got through the fat spot from u. 1/2 pound more butter than we would have got from Marken, sometimes a goose too, so we could hold out. "

Since the beginning of the war, many employment opportunities had been lost with the slowdown in the export industry. In return, he succeeded at his instigation in receiving war armament orders , in particular for the manufacture of projectile baskets and for the grenade turning .

The proclamation of the Soviet republic in Kronach on November 8, 1918, brought about disputes, which Degen managed to de-escalate in order to maintain public order. The global economic crisis, mass unemployment and inflation around 1922/23 required public emergency measures (e.g. road construction to Breitenloh and Mitwitz) to create jobs. Overall, the support of the local economy and the social welfare in the already structurally weak region made the highest demands on the administration of the district board.

Memberships

Degen founded the Kronach trade association and was a member of the district building cooperative, the trade committee, the district chamber of farmers (on the board), the district council , the municipal association, the Red Cross and numerous other local and national associations and organizations.

Family and private

His marriage to Ida Sofie Maria Schierlinger (December 11, 1867 to September 22, 1961) took place in Munich on January 22, 1898 . The marriage had two sons: Wilhelm Georg Jakob Degen (October 14, 1903 to December 10, 2008), District Court Director in Passau and Georg Jakob Heinrich Leo Degen (March 3, 1905 to January 27, 1969), Chief Forestry Councilor in Kronach.

From 1897 the family lived in an official apartment on the 1st floor of the district office in Bienenstrasse in Kronach. In 1925 she moved to the newly built house at Frühmeßleite 1, on the site of the former “Jesser's Quarry” (formerly Crispin Jaser), whose scree Degen had acquired and renatured over 20 years.

Late years and death

After his retirement on May 31, 1925, Degen devoted himself increasingly to local, home, art and family history and published the results of his research through lectures and numerous papers.

The last years of his life were overshadowed by hardship, dangers and billeting during and after the end of the Second World War . He died on August 8, 1947 in his home in Kronach. His tomb is in the Kronach cemetery (2nd grave on the left after the main entrance on the wall of the St. Nicholas chapel).

Appreciations

The Wertinger Advertisement Sheet acknowledged his first term of office in 1897: “At the end of this month, District Office Assessor Degen, now District Administrator in Kronach, is leaving our district, to which he has been a member for 10 ½ years. Rich talent, solid and varied education, constant striving to expand and deepen his knowledge characterize him as well as the willingness to use his workforce to promote charitable purposes. Only fulfilled with the desire to serve the community, free from calculating selfishness, unselfish, humble and tactful in his behavior - that is how we found him all these years ago. (...) ".

The mayor of Kronach, Schmidt, gave him the honorary name of “father of the district” in his farewell tribute in 1925.

A letter from the government of Upper Franconia no. 30082 dated August 11, 1925 contains the following appraisal: “The outgoing board member, Oberregierungsrat Degen, has managed the Kronach district office in an exemplary manner for 27 years and still 1 year in retirement In the difficult war and post-war period, the interests of his subordinates were promoted, but the state's sovereign interests were also preserved. For this, Mr. Oberregierungsrat Degen is given the warmest recognition of the government of Upper Franconia. ”Signed zinc

On the occasion of a commemoration for Jakob Degen on the “ Day of the Tree ” on April 18, 1958, schoolchildren planted three commemorative linden trees for the “Father of the Franconian Forest” in Friesen and on the Kronacher Kreuzberg.

In the cities of Wallenfels (1932) and Kronach (1957) one street was named "Jakob-Degen-Strasse".

Orders and decorations

Foundation, endowment

Until 1929 there was a Jakob Degen Foundation at the Agricultural School in Kronach. It was dissolved as a result of the currency reform.

Publications

  • Publication for Franconian Forest Reservoirs. 1900. Archives of the District Office in Kronach.
  • Architectural monuments in the Kronach district. In: Sounds of home from the Franconian Forest. Supplement to the "Franconian Press". Vol. 3/1907. No. 6.
  • Industry in the Franconian Forest./Geschichtliches vom Fw. In: Festschrift for the 50th anniversary of the Franconian Forest Association. Kronach 1926.
  • Goethe, a Kronacher? In: Frankenwald. Journal of the Franconian Forest Association. Born 2/1926. H. 8.
  • History of Kronach. In: Franconia. Special issue Kronach. Issue 7/1928. Published by Müller & Schmidt, Coburg.
  • From the history of the city of Kronach. In: Das Bayerland , Vol. 40, No. 3, Munich 1929.
  • Emperor Heinrich II in Kronach. In: Leaves from the Franconian Forest. Local supplement to the "Franconian Forest". [hereinafter referred to as BvFw] born in 1933.
  • From the family history of the Barons von Würtzburg . In: BvFW, year 1934, No. 1, 3, 5, 6, 9.
  • Oskar von Redwitz . The poet of Schmölz near Kronach. In: BvFw. Born in 1934. No. 1.
  • The builder Johann Jakob Michael Küchel and his relationship with Kronach. In: BvFw. Born in 1934. No. 2.
  • Two kinds of Saxony. In: BvFW, born 1934, No. 3.
  • Kronach in the Margrave War 1552/54. In: BvFw. Born in 1934. No. 4.
  • A monumental tomb in the Kronach parish church - been! [re. Christoph Neustetter, 1578–1585 captain in Kronach]. In: BvFW, born 1934, No. 5.
  • The master builder Johann Christein in Kronach. In: BvFW, born 1934, No. 5.
  • The Bamberg Cathedral Treasure in Kronach / Prehistory about Kronach. In: Sounds of home from the Franconian Forest. Supplement to the "Franconian Press". Born in 1935.
  • Kronacher Chronicle. In: BvFW, born 1935, No. 1.
  • Gehülz. A contribution to local history. In: BvFw. Born 3/1935. No. 7.
  • The industry in the Franconian Forest. In: BvFw. No. 7. 1935
  • Villages and village complexes in the Franconian Forest. In: BvFw. No. 7. 1935.
  • History of the Franconian Forest. In: BvFw. No. 7. 1935.
  • Prehistory to Kronach. In: BvFw. Born 3/1935. No. 8 (The helmet from Thonberg) and No. 10 (finds from Wildenberg).
  • Kronacher buildings and their masters. In: Anniversary number of the Franconian Forest Association. 1936.
  • Balthasar Neumann in Kronach. In: Bamberger Blätter for Franconian art and history. Ax. to the Bamberger Volksblatt. Born 13/1936. No. 2. and BvFw. Born 4/1936. Number 1.
  • From the history of the barons of Würtzburg. In: BvFw. Born in 1936, No. 1.
  • Steinberg in the Franconian Forest. In: BvFw. Born in 1936.
  • Lucas Cranach and Hans von Kulmbach . 2 painters from neighboring Franconian states. In: BvFw. Born 4/1936. Number 1.
  • Hesselbach. A contribution to local history. In: BvFw. Born 13/1937. H. 9.
  • Ortschronik Kronach 1936–1941. Kova Kommunalschriftenverlag Munich-Berlin. In: Kronach City Archives (Dek-NS).

literature

  • Georg Fehn, Chronicle of Kronach. 5th volume. Kronach 1971, p. 228, 236, 354, 437f.
  • Herbert Schwarz, Franconian Forest Bibliography. Kronach 1991.
  • Local (farewell to District Office Assessor Degen). In: Wertinger Gazette No. 16 of February 24, 1897.
  • From Kronach and the surrounding area: Farewell party of the Upper Government Councilor Degen. In: Franconian Forest. 78th year from May 29, 1925.
  • Upper Government Council a. D. Degen 70 years old. In: Franconian Forest No. 114, 1929.
  • A man in the service of the homeland. In: Bayerische Ostmark No. 116 from May 20, 1936.
  • “When the forest dies, the people die”. The Day of the Tree became the commemoration of Jakob Degen "the father of the Franconian Forest". In: Neues Volksblatt No. 61 of April 21, 1953.
  • Dam project gains new life. The highest building authority is paying attention to fifty-year-old plans - three reservoirs with power stations planned in the Franconian Forest - the design comes from the late senior government councilor. In: Volksblatt of November 7, 1955.
  • The Franconian Forest - an obligation for all of us - historical and contemporary information on the forest culture of the Franconian Forest. Paragraph: Merit of the Oberregierungsrat Degen. In: Volksblatt No. 70 of March 24, 1956.
  • Stroll through the city's happenings. Jakob Degen in memory. In: Neue Presse No. 288 of December 11, 1957.
  • Forestry and agriculture honored Jakob Degen. In: Neue Presse No. 293 of December 19, 1958.
  • Free shooting memories of 1924. In: Franconian Day No. 183 of August 10, 1974.
  • Kronach owes a lot to the last district official. In: Neue Presse No. 115 of May 21, 1999. Kronach owes the hospital to the last royal district official. Jakob Degen was considered the father of the district. In: Neue Presse from January 23, 2003.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Personal estate of Jakob Georg Degen in family ownership.
  2. ↑ a b c d Personal estate of Ida Degen in family ownership.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k From Kronach and the surrounding area: 3rd farewell party of the Oberregierungsrat Degen. In: Franconian Forest. 78th year from May 29, 1925.
  4. ↑ Municipal directory for the Kingdom of Bavaria, edited on the basis of the census of December 1, 1900. Ed. By the Royal Statistical Bureau Munich: Lindauer, 1902, p.
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h Ortschronik Kronach 1936–1941. Kova Kommunalschriftenverlag Munich-Berlin. In: Kronach City Archives (Dek-NS).
  6. ↑ a b Kronach owes the hospital to the last royal district administrator. Jakob Degen was considered the father of the district. In: Neue Presse from January 23, 2003.
  7. ↑ Dam project gains new life. The highest building authority is paying attention to fifty-year-old plans - three reservoirs with power stations planned in the Franconian Forest - the design comes from the late senior government councilor. In: Volksblatt of November 7, 1955.
  8. ^ Listed from: Photo album of the Kronach district teachers' association. Present to Jakob Degen, family property.
  9. ↑ Free shooting memories from 1924 . In: Franconian Day , No. 183 of August 10, 1974
  10. ↑ a b The Franconian Forest - an obligation for all of us - historical and contemporary information on the forest culture of the Franconian Forest. Paragraph: Merit of the Oberregierungsrat Degen. In: Volksblatt. No. 70 of March 24, 1956.
  11. ↑ a b "When the forest dies, the people die". The Day of the Tree became the commemoration of Jakob Degen "the father of the Franconian Forest". In: Neues Volksblatt No. 61 of April 21, 1953.
  12. ↑ a b Forestry and agriculture honored Jakob Degen. In: Neue Presse No. 293 of December 19, 1958.
  13. ↑ Upper Government Council a. D. Degen 70 years old. In: Franconian Forest No. 114, 1929.
  14. ↑ Local: Farewell to the District Office Assessor Degen. In: Wertinger Gazette No. 16 of February 24, 1897.
personal data
SURNAME Sword, Jacob
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bavarian administrative officer
DATE OF BIRTH May 20, 1859
PLACE OF BIRTH Schwegenheim
DATE OF DEATH August 8, 1947
Place of death Kronach