Paul von Breitenbach

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Photo taken around 1916 by court photographer E. Bieber, Berlin

Paul Justin Breitenbach , von Breitenbach since 1909 (born April 16, 1850 in Danzig ; † March 10, 1930 in Bückeburg ), as Minister of Public Works in Prussia , was responsible, among other things, for the Prussian state railways and also played a key role in the development of the Berlin underground Railway involved.

Life

Breitenbach grew up in Danzig with six siblings and attended grammar school. His father was a lawyer and judiciary in Gdansk. A brother was killed in the Franco-Prussian War near Rouen in 1871 .

Breitenbach was married to Christina Johanna Elvira von Breitenbach. Her son Gerhard von Breitenbach was the district administrator of the Limburg district from 1924 to 1934 . His daughter Erica was married to the diplomat Heinrich von Kaufmann-Asser , who was dismissed in 1933 for racist reasons.

career path

Railway workers memorial sheet , bottom right: Paul von Breitenbach

After studying law in Berlin and Leipzig he became in 1873 court clerk in Berlin, 1877 Gerichtsassessor . In 1878 he switched to the Prussian State Railways . After working in Hanover and Breslau , from 1884 he was responsible for the expansion and operation of the Berlin-Hamburg railway . From 1893 to 1895, Breitenbach was director of the Hanover Railway Operations Office, then in the same function in Altona . In 1896, he was to commissioner of the Prussian minister of public works in Mainz the nationalization of the Hessian Ludwig Railway , the foundation of the Prussian-hessian railway community and the railway management Mainz to conduct. He was appointed its first president on April 1, 1897. In 1903, Breitenbach took over the position of President of the Cologne Railway Directorate .

From here, Reich Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow appointed him Minister of Public Works on May 14, 1906 and head of the Reich Railway Office on May 21, 1906 . He held both posts until November 13, 1918. Paul von Breitenbach also played a central role in the construction of the Berlin subway, especially the line between the western city center and Dahlem (today's U3 line ).

During his time as minister he was also chairman of the Reich Office for the Administration of the Reich Railways in Alsace-Lorraine . From May 22, 1916 to November 19, 1917, Breitenbach was also Vice President of the State Ministry. His political stance is illustrated by a quote from October 5, 1918:

"Breitenbach wants to leave as soon as possible, because he cannot participate in the radicalization (...) of the government. Before the war he was the fiercest opponent of the SPD and since 1914 he had to tolerate their intrusion (...) into the railroad workers. But now he is not ready to agree to a now developing universal validity of a Chamber of Labor law. A conflict between the Reich and Prussia can only be prevented by resigning. "

- Protocols of the Prussian State Ministry, Volume 10, p. 253

On November 8, 1918 Breitenbach submitted his resignation and went on 13 November in pension .

Honors

Paul von Breitenbach, bronze bust, 1920 by August Kraus

medal

In 1898, Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse and the Rhine awarded him the Commander's Cross II. Class of the Hessian Order of Merit .

As King of Prussia, Kaiser Wilhelm II awarded him the Order of the Red Eagle III in 1899 . Class with ribbon, 1904 the Crown Order II. Class and 1913 the Black Eagle Order . He also raised Breitenbach on January 27, 1909 to the hereditary Prussian nobility.

Prince Regent Luitpold awarded Breitenbech the Order of Merit of St. Michael II Class in 1900 .

In 1900 he received the Commander's Cross 2nd Class of the Grand Ducal Baden Order of the Zähringer Löwen .

The Württemberg King Wilhelm II honored Breitenbach in 1908 with the award of the Grand Cross with the Crown of the Order of Frederick .

Further honors

In his presence in 1913 the former Rastatter Platz on the border between Wilmersdorf , Dahlem and Steglitz was renamed Breitenbachplatz and the subway station Breitenbachplatz below was opened.

On the Hohenzollern Bridge in Cologne , below the equestrian statue of Emperor Wilhelm II, the bust of the railway minister was placed in a niche in May 1911.

In 1928 a bronze bust by the sculptor August Kraus was set up in the meeting room of the headquarters of the Deutsche Reichsbahn.

Breitenbachstrasse in the Berlin district of Borsigwalde was named after him, as was the access road to the ICE maintenance facility of Deutsche Bahn in Krefeld- Oppum . There are other Breitenbachstrasse in Frankfurt am Main (near the Main-Weser-Bahn in Bockenheim ), Cologne (near the Gremberg marshalling yard ), Mönchengladbach and Wiesbaden (both near the respective main train station).

literature

  • v. Breitenbach - Prussian Minister of Public Works. In: Deutsche Straßen- und Kleinbahn-Zeitung , Volume 31, No. 51 (December 21, 1918), pp. 427–429.
  • Minister of State Dr. von Breitenbach †. In: Newspaper of the Association of German Railway Administrations, Volume 70, No. 11 (from March 13, 1930), pp. 281–283.
  • Funeral service for Excellence von Breitenbach in the headquarters of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft in Berlin. In: Newspaper of the Association of German Railway Administrations, Volume 70, No. 11 (from March 13, 1930), pp. 297–298.
  • Paul von Breitenbach †. In: Zentralblatt der Bauverwaltung , 50th year 1930, No. 11 (from March 19, 1930) ( urn : nbn: de: kobv: 109-opus-60383 ), p. 227.
  • Eugen Caspary: The Limburg District Administrator Gerhard von Breitenbach (1924-1934). In: Nassauische Annalen (Jahrbuch, ISSN  0077-2887 ), year 2007, p. 496.

Web links

Commons : Paul von Breitenbach  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Zentralblatt der Bauverwaltung , Volume 50, 1930, No. 11 (from March 19, 1930), p. 227; zlb.de .
  2. ↑ Paul Justin von Breitenbach: My book of life. 1850-1920. Manuscript at the Federal Archives Koblenz , III 3 - 4211 / Breitenbach
  3. ↑ Overview of the occupation of the Royal Prussian and Grand Ducal Hessian Railway Directorate in Mainz, the director's office and the inspectors . In: Eisenbahndirektion Mainz (Ed.): Collection of the published official gazettes , year 1897, p. 179, p. 239.
  4. ^ Eisenbahndirektion Mainz (Hrsg.): Collection of the published Official Gazette 7 (1903). Mainz 1904. Official Gazette of April 20, 1903. No. 22, p. 205.
  5. ↑ a b Protocols of the Prussian State Ministry , Volume 10 (July 1909 to November 1918) (PDF)
  6. ^ Eisenbahndirektion Mainz (Ed.): Collection of the published official gazettes. Born in 1898, No. 17 of April 16, 1898, p. 128. (Note about the Prussian permission to accept orders)
  7. ^ Eisenbahndirektion Mainz (Ed.): Collection of the published official gazettes from February 11, 1899. Volume 3, No. 6. Personal-Nachrichten, p. 51.
  8. ^ Eisenbahndirektion Mainz (Hrsg.): Collection of the published Official Gazette 7 (1903). Mainz 1904. Official Gazette of January 24, 1903. No. 5. Awards, p. 48.
  9. ^ Eisenbahndirektion Mainz (Hrsg.): Collection of the published official gazettes from December 22, 1900. 4th volume, No. 58. Personal-Nachrichten, p. 444.
  10. ^ Eisenbahndirektion Mainz (Ed.): Collection of the published official gazettes from January 26, 1901. Volume 5, No. 9., Personal-Nachrichten, p. 26.
  11. ↑ Zentralblatt der Bauverwaltung , Volume 28, 1908, No. 87 (of October 31, 1908), p. 577; ( zlb.de ).
personal data
SURNAME Breitenbach, Paul von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Breitenbach, Paul Justin von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German lawyer, Prussian government official (Minister of Public Works)
DATE OF BIRTH April 16, 1850
PLACE OF BIRTH Danzig
DATE OF DEATH March 10, 1930
Place of death Buckeburg