Ludwig Bergstrasse

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Ludwig Bergstrasse

Ludwig Bergstrasse (born February 23, 1883 in Altkirch in Alsace ; † March 23, 1960 in Darmstadt ) was a German politician ( DDP , later SPD ), historian , political scientist and archivist . From April 14, 1945 to October 12, 1945 he was head of government of the "German Government of the State of Hesse".

Life and work

After attending the elementary school in Kaysersberg , Bergsträsser, the son of a district judge and evangelical faith, switched to the grammar school in Colmar , where he passed the Abitur. From 1902 he then studied history, constitutional law and economics in Heidelberg , Munich , Leipzig and Paris . In 1906 he was in Heidelberg for doctor of philosophy doctorate . In 1910 the habilitation followed with the Venia legendi for the subject of history in Greifswald . He then worked as a private lecturer at the University of Greifswald, where he became associate professor for modern history in 1916. In 1918 he completed his habilitation at the University of Berlin . From 1920 to 1933 Bergsträsser was archivist in the research department of the Reichsarchiv Potsdam , from 1923 to 1928 at the same time a non-official associate professor at the Technical University of Berlin . In 1928 he qualified as a professor for internal politics at the University of Frankfurt , where he became an adjunct professor. In 1933 his license to teach was revoked. He was interrogated by the Gestapo in 1944 as part of the Operation Grid , but remained at large. In 1945 Bergstrasse became honorary professor for politics in Frankfurt, 1950 in Bonn . From 1946 to 1951 he was a lecturer in civics at the Technical University of Darmstadt .

Ludwig Bergsträsser was buried in the old cemetery in Darmstadt (grave site: III wall 162).

The "Ludwig Bergstrasse Prize" named after him is awarded every two years by the Entega Foundation.

Political party

As early as 1906, Bergsträsser was involved in founding the National Association for Liberal Germany . From 1919 he was a member of the DDP, where he led the workers' wing together with Anton Erkelenz . In 1930 he switched to the SPD.

MP

Bergstrasse was a member of the Reichstag from the May elections from 1924 to 1928 .

Bergsträsser was a member of the state parliament in Hesse from 1946 to 1949 . In 1948/49 he was an influential member of the Parliamentary Council that drafted the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany . Bergsträsser was a key player in the policy committee and, as rapporteur, was instrumental in the formulation of fundamental rights in the Basic Law. He was a member of the German Bundestag in the first electoral period (1949–1953) as a member of the Groß-Gerau constituency . At that time he was chairman of the Bundestag committee for libraries.

Public offices

On April 14, 1945, Bergsträsser took over from the US military government the task of building a supra-regional administration as chairman (from May 8, 1945 president) of a "German government" to be established with its seat in Darmstadt. Its powers were fully extended to the areas of the former Starkenburg Province and the Upper Hesse Province of the People's State of Hesse by the beginning of August 1945 and its administration was renamed "German Government of the State of Hesse", meaning Hesse within the boundaries of the former People's State.

After the establishment of Greater Hesse by the American military government's Proclamation No. 2 on September 19, 1945, Bergstrasse's tenure as head of government ended on October 12, 1945. He was followed on October 14, 1945 by Karl Geiler as Prime Minister of Greater Hesse. The previous Darmstadt “German Government” was renamed “District President Hesse” on November 4, 1945, and finally “District President Darmstadt” on January 21, 1946. The People's State of Hesse, with its areas on the right bank of the Rhine, was incorporated into the new state as the administrative district of Darmstadt . Bergsträsser remained district president until 1948.

Honors

Fonts

  • History of the political parties in Germany , Munich 1921.
  • France as it really is in Hochland vol. 36 (1936/37) issue 11, pp. 431–434.
  • The problem of German parliamentarianism , Munich 1950.
  • The development of parliamentarism in Germany , Laupheim 1954.
  • Liberation, Occupation, New Beginning - Diary of the Darmstadt District President 1945–1948 , Munich 1987.

literature

  • Elisabeth Fehrenbach : Ludwig Bergstrasse. In: Hans-Ulrich Wehler : German historians. Vol. VII, Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, Göttingen 1980, ISBN 3-525-33449-4 , pp. 101-117.
  • Jochen Lengemann : The Hessen Parliament 1946–1986 . Biographical handbook of the advisory state committee, the state assembly advising the constitution and the Hessian state parliament (1st – 11th electoral period). Ed .: President of the Hessian State Parliament. Insel-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1986, ISBN 3-458-14330-0 , p. 209–210 ( hessen.de [PDF; 12.4 MB ]).
  • Jochen Lengemann: MdL Hessen. 1808-1996. Biographical index (= political and parliamentary history of the state of Hesse. Vol. 14 = publications of the Historical Commission for Hesse. Vol. 48, 7). Elwert, Marburg 1996, ISBN 3-7708-1071-6 , p. 71.
  • Lexicon of Greifswald university lecturers 1775 to 2006 . Volume 3: 1907 to 1932 . Bock, Bad Honnef 2004, pp. 18-19.
  • Martin Schumacher (Hrsg.): MdR The Reichstag members of the Weimar Republic in the time of National Socialism. Political persecution, emigration and expatriation, 1933–1945. A biographical documentation . 3rd, considerably expanded and revised edition. Droste, Düsseldorf 1994, ISBN 3-7700-5183-1 .
  • Stephanie Zibell: Ludwig Bergstrasse. A political portrait . Mainz 2002 (habilitation thesis).
  • Stephanie Zibell: Ludwig Bergstrasse and the German archive system . In: Archivalische Zeitschrift 87 (2005), pp. 7–38.
  • Stephanie Zibell: Political Education and a Democratic Constitution. Ludwig Bergsträsser (1883–1960). Dietz, Bonn 2006, ISBN 3-8012-4162-9 .
  • Stephanie Zibell: Ludwig Bergsträsser (1883-1960). Political life and work . In: Detlef Lehnert (ed.): From left liberalism to social democracy. Political life paths in historical conflicts of direction 1890–1933 , Böhlau Verlag, Cologne 2015, ISBN 978-3-412-22387-8 , pp. 291–318.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Impulse prizes awarded in Darmstadt .
  2. ↑ Simple search for "German Government of the State of Hesse" in the Hesse archive information system (Arcinsys Hesse).
personal data
SURNAME Bergstrasse, Ludwig
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German politicians (DDP, SPD), MdR, MdL, MdB
DATE OF BIRTH February 23, 1883
PLACE OF BIRTH Altkirch , Alsace
DATE OF DEATH March 23, 1960
Place of death Darmstadt