Oskar Riess

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Oskar Rieß (born July 30, 1895 in Solingen ; † 1957 ) was a German politician and Lord Mayor of Solingen.

From 1928 to 1933 Oskar Rieß was managing director of the savings and construction association Solingen . Then, as a so-called “half-Jew” and because of his membership in the SPD after the “seizure of power” by the National Socialists, he was removed from his position.

Since the autumn of 1944, groups were formed in Solingen that fueled resistance against the Nazi regime; this also included Oskar Rieß and his brothers Max and Willi, as well as the future mayor Eugen Maurer . The groups formed what is known as "Group A", and the members decided to propose Riess to the approaching US troops as the future mayor. Riess himself was not present at this meeting because he was traveling outside of Solingen, but on his return he was addressed by an acquaintance on the street as "Lord Mayor" even though the Nazi regime was officially still in power.

On April 17, 1945, Solingen was finally captured by the US Army after the last fighting . On the same day, before Germany surrendered, Riess was appointed Lord Mayor of Solingen by the US officer in charge. On May 1, 1945, he and his brother Max gave the commemorative speeches at the funeral of the 71 prisoners who had been killed by SS men on April 13 as part of a final phase crime in a ravine of the Wenzelnberg in Langenfeld . A few months later, Rieß was replaced by Josef Brisch , who had held the office of mayor until 1933, and took over the office of building department in July 1945. As such, he devoted himself intensively to rebuilding the city. In 1948 he donated 10,000 marks to help householders in need.

In 2006, a street was named after Oskar Rieß in the “Im Börkhauser Feld” estate of the Solingen savings and construction association. In 2012 there were public discussions in the city because Riess had not been accepted by the city into the mayor's gallery in the town hall on the grounds that he had not been elected by a city council.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ zeitspurensuche.de
  2. ^ Heinz Rosenthal: Solingen. History of a city . Volume 3: From the middle of the 19th century to the end of the Second World War. 1975, ISBN 3-87096-126-0 , p. 474
  3. ^ Heinz Rosenthal: Solingen. History of a city . Volume 3: From the middle of the 19th century to the end of the Second World War. 1975, ISBN 3-87096-126-0 , pp. 444f.
  4. ^ Heinz Rosenthal: Solingen. History of a city . Volume 3: From the middle of the 19th century to the end of the Second World War. 1975, ISBN 3-87096-126-0 , pp. 450f.
  5. ^ Heinz Rosenthal: Solingen. History of a city . Volume 3: From the middle of the 19th century to the end of the Second World War. 1975, ISBN 3-87096-126-0 , p. 444.
  6. ↑ a b Trouble about the city boss's gallery on solinger-tageblatt.de v. July 10, 2012
  7. ↑ a b Committed cooperative members on rp-online.de v. November 20, 2006
personal data
SURNAME Riess, Oskar
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German politician and mayor
DATE OF BIRTH July 30, 1895
PLACE OF BIRTH Solingen
DATE OF DEATH 1957