Josef Holler (lawyer)

Josef Holler (born March 21, 1881 in Königshofen , Office Tauberbischofsheim; † December 5, 1959 in Freiburg im Breisgau ) was a German lawyer . From 1921 to 1934 he was Lord Mayor of the Baden city of Offenburg .

Life

Holler studied law at the universities of Würzburg , Munich , Berlin and Freiburg . After working in various notaries' offices, he came to Altenheim in 1913 . His Catholic character led to joining the German Center Party . In 1899 he had already joined the Catholic student association Gothia-Würzburg (today: KDSt.V. Gothia-Würzburg in the CV ).

After the departure of Offenburg's mayor Hügel, his successor was proposed to him. Despite opposition from the national liberal camp, he was elected to office on April 19, 1920 and, after taking up office on September 14, 1920, took over the management of the municipal court, legal police, registry office, poor affairs and child welfare, welfare, unemployment welfare and employment office, fire insurance and the Chair of the Commission for Charitable and Social Policy Affairs. After the retirement of Lord Mayor Fritz Herrmann , Holler was elected Lord Mayor of the city of Offenburg on June 21, 1921 with 71 out of 76 votes.

The first years of his term of office were marked by the macro-political situation after the Treaty of Versailles . With the separation of Alsace, Ortenau had become a border location. For the refugees who came from there, living space and jobs had to be provided in economically difficult times. The tasks were made more difficult when French troops occupied Offenburg on February 4, 1923. His refusal to hand over the names and dates of birth of the relatives of the officials who had been deported to the occupation authorities led to his arrest on February 28, 1923. On March 15, 1923, before the court martial in Landau, he was sentenced to six months in prison and a fine of 100,000 Reichsmarks. His family was expelled. He was released from prison on August 28, 1923; his expulsion was not lifted until January 22, 1924. Holler described these processes in his work Six Months Prison .

After the local council, the Baden Ministry of the Interior and President Köhler had campaigned for its reuse, it returned to the Offenburg town hall on January 30, 1924. After the withdrawal of French troops on August 18, 1924, the urban community began to flourish under his leadership. To alleviate the housing shortage, new quarters were built north of Rheinstrasse, on Galgenfeld, Weingartenstrasse and Frauenweg. With the expansion of the industrial site on Holderstock, new jobs could be created. Further infrastructural measures that were implemented during his term of office are the correction of the forest stream, the drainage of the Kinzigvorstadt, the reconstruction of the Johannesbrücke, the construction of a new sewage treatment plant and the electrification of the street lighting. He brought the central breeding cattle market to Offenburg and set up an X-ray institute in the city hospital.
Cultural life also received new impulses. After a tourist association, a music school and the adult education center had already been founded in 1922, Holler initiated the Ortenau Autumn Fair in 1924 . In the same year there was a comprehensive exhibition on the work of the Baroque poet Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen . In 1929 he brought the viticulture congress to Offenburg.

Because of his services, he was confirmed in office on March 27, 1930 with 83 of 87 votes. After the National Socialists came to power, he resigned prematurely on January 10, 1934 under political pressure.

On April 1, 1934, he joined Notary III in Freiburg / Br. back into civil service. After the end of the Second World War, he was appointed Ministerialrat in the Ministry of Justice of the State of Baden in 1947, and later as Ministerialdirektor, and in this role he contributed to the rebuilding of the legal system. On July 1, 1950, he retired.

Holler was an enthusiastic and well-known numismatist who mainly dealt with the early numismatics of Breisgau and scientifically processed various coin treasures. His own significant collection consisted almost exclusively of items related to Baden. After his death, it was auctioned off in 1960.

On the occasion of the 30th return of his election as mayor, the city of Offenburg granted him honorary citizenship in 1951. Holler died on December 5, 1959 at the age of 78 and was buried in the Freiburg cemetery.

Honors

• April 19, 1951: Honorary citizenship of the city of Offenburg

  in grateful recognition of the most loyal fulfillment of duty and tireless successful work in all areas of local government for the good and prosperity of the city

• 1952: Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

Schitften

• Preface in: Ernst Batzer (Ed.): Grimmelshausen and the Ortenau. Festival book for the exhibition in Offenburg from 9 August to 1 September 1925. Verlag der Stadt Offenburg, Offenburg 1925.
• Six months in prison. Memories from the French period 1923/24. H. Schneid, Offenburg 1930.
• A find of medieval gold coins from Britzingen. In: Schau-ins-Land. Year run 65/66, 1938/1939, pp. 147–154 .
• An important find Swabian-Alemannic pfennigs from Breisgau. In: Swiss Numismatic Review . Vol. 31/35, 1952/1953, pp. 11-32.
• Gold coins made from river gold. In: Badische Heimat . Vol. 30, No. 1/2, 1950, ISSN  0930-7001 , pp. 129-130.

literature

• Marie Luise Goppel-Dr. Plum Holler. 115th Auction of Münchner Münzhandlung Karl Kress, 1960.
• Otto Kähni: The honorary citizens of the city of Offenburg. City of Offenburg, Offenburg 1970.

Individual evidence

1. ^ The honorary members, old men and students of the CV Vienna 1925, p. 679.