Karl Branner

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Karl Branner (born September 11, 1910 in Kassel ; † October 17, 1997 ibid) was a German SPD politician and Lord Mayor of Kassel from 1963 to 1975 .

Life

Karl Branner was the son of a master baker in the Kassel district Unterneustadt born. After graduating from the Goethe School, he studied economics, history and sociology in Göttingen . In 1933 he joined the NSDAP . He completed his studies in the same year with a diploma in economics, followed by a doctorate in 1937. rer. pole. under Klaus Wilhelm Rath . Branner worked at the AWI ergonomics institute of the Nazi organization DAF . From 1939 Karl Branner was a soldier in World War II , which was followed by a prisoner of war until 1949.

After his return to Kassel in 1949, Branner initially worked in trade union education work and life . He began to be interested in politics and in 1952 became a city ​​councilor for the SPD in Kassel's town hall. Between 1954 and 1957 he was the department head for economics and transport, and from 1957 to 1963 he was mayor . In 1963 he was elected Lord Mayor of Kassel to succeed Lauritz Lauritzen . He held this office until 1975.

Karl Branner's grave

During this time Branner was also a member of the television council and chairman of the finance committee of the ZDF and from 1967 to 1975 board member of the Savings Banks and Giro Association. In 1975 he became its honorary president. Since Branner was very close to the city of Kassel, he twice turned down offers to move to Wiesbaden as a minister in the Hessian state government .

An important aspect in Branner's time as Mayor of Kassel was the rebuilding of the city, which was badly damaged by the war. He was particularly committed to the founding of the Kassel University in 1970 . He himself said accordingly:

This long-term most important success was also one of the most difficult to achieve. The pursuit of my younger years, namely to become a university professor, has remained a dream goal due to the unpredictable events of those decades. For this I feel amply compensated by the knowledge that I was able to help my hometown to become a university town, something no one previously dared to dream of.

The construction of the infrastructure of the city of Kassel, in particular the reconstruction of the Wilhelmshöhe Palace with the picture gallery, also fell during this time. Furthermore, he initiated the advertising for the city associated with the slogan "Kassel - City of Arts and Congresses". In 1990 and 1994 he published two volumes of poems and stories in Kassel dialect .

At the end of 2013, a debate about the Nazi involvement of Branner, but also his predecessors Willi Seidel and Lauritz Lauritzen, flared up. The city of Kassel then commissioned a study. The local councils for Untereustadt and Stadtmitte voted in favor of renaming the Karl Branner Bridge. In November 2015, however, the Kassel magistrate decided not to rename the bridge and to put up a memorial plaque with explanations of Branner's curriculum vitae. The board was removed again in June 2019, as some historians protested against its content and threatened legal consequences. The call for the bridge to be renamed was also taken up again, with citizens of the city of Kassel bringing the name Lübcke Bridge into play as a reminder of the Kassel District President Walter Lübcke , who was murdered by a right-wing radical .

Honors

Karl Branner Bridge in Kassel

On September 21, 1968 Branner was made an honorary member of the German-Italian Society. On March 14, 1971, he was awarded the Louis Spohr plaque by the Central German Singers' Association. On September 11, 1972 he received the Hessian Freiherr vom Stein plaque . On September 2, 1974, the Europa-Union Germany awarded him the Europa-Union Medal for his services. At the suggestion of the Hessian Prime Minister, Branner was awarded the Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany on September 4, 1970, the Great Cross of Merit with a star on September 4, 1974, and the Great Cross of Merit with a star and shoulder ribbon on February 8, 1990 . On October 1, 1975, Karl Branner was made an honorary citizen of the city of Kassel. At the same time he was awarded the Hessian Goethe badge. In 1984 he became an honorary senator of the comprehensive university in Kassel, today's University of Kassel. On January 16, 1995 he was awarded the Hessian Order of Merit . On September 11, 1995, the city of Kassel appointed him honorary mayor. On February 1, 1999, the side hall of the Kassel town hall was named after him in Dr. Karl Branner Seitenhalle was renamed and a portrait bust was unveiled there in his honor.

literature

  • Magistrate of the City of Kassel, Press and Information Office (ed.): Greetings to Karl Branner. Kassel 1982: City of Kassel.
  • Karl Branner (ed.): De Drillerpiffe and other Kasselän classics. Gudensberg-Gleichen 1994: Wartberg.
  • Karl Branner (ed.): D's Kraachenknöbbbchen and other Kasselän classics. Gudensberg-Gleichen 1990: Wartberg.

Further information:

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ See also Jochen Lengemann: Citizens Representation and City Government in Kassel 1835-2006. Volume 2.
  2. ^ Karl Heinz Roth : Intelligence and Social Policy in the "Third Reich". P. 37
  3. ↑ http://www.hna.de/kassel/ehemalige-oberbuergermeister-waren-opportunisten-nazizeit-4960250.html
  4. ↑ Karl Branner Bridge: The city hangs controversial plaques again. June 5, 2019, accessed December 13, 2019 .
  5. ↑ New name for Kasseler Brücke: citizens propose the Lübcke Bridge. June 19, 2019, accessed December 13, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Branner, Karl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German politician (SPD), Lord Mayor of Kassel (1963–1975)
DATE OF BIRTH September 11, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH kassel
DATE OF DEATH 17th October 1997
Place of death kassel