Republic of Baden

Republic of Baden

coat of arms	flag
Situation in the German Reich
Arose from	Grand Duchy of Baden
Incorporated into	Württemberg-Baden ; South Baden
Today (part of):	Baden-Württemberg
Data from 1925
State capital	Karlsruhe
Form of government	republic
Head of state	President
Constitution	Constitution of the Republic of Baden of March 21, 1919
Consist	1918-1945
surface	15,070 km²
Residents	2,312,462
Population density	153 inhabitants / km²
Religions	58.4% Roman Catholic 39.4% Ev. 1.0% Jews 1.2% others
anthem	Badnerlied (unofficial)
Reichsrat	3 votes
License Plate	IV B
administration	4 State Commission. 11 districts 53 (after 1924: 40) administrative districts 1,536 municipalities
map

The Republic of Baden was a state of the German Empire during the Weimar Republic and the time of National Socialism and territorially identical to the German federal state previously known as the Grand Duchy of Baden .

Emergence

Republic of Baden

The Baden State Ministry had announced a reform of the electoral law on November 2, 1918, but even this could no longer prevent the progress of things and the imminent end of the Grand Duchy . On November 8th, soldiers' councils were formed in Lahr and Offenburg . A day later, workers 'and soldiers' councils were formed in Mannheim and Karlsruhe , as a result of which the Baden State Ministry resigned. In Karlsruhe and Mannheim, welfare committees were formed, consisting of the city administration, city councils and parties. The Karlsruhe Welfare Committee and the soldiers' council there formed a provisional government from party representatives on November 10th , which took over governance. This was confirmed on November 11th by a meeting of the Baden workers 'and soldiers' councils, which constituted itself as a state committee.

The new Prime Minister Anton Geiß and his predecessor, Heinrich von und zu Bodman , visited the Grand Duke, who had fled Karlsruhe, at Zwingenberg Castle . On November 13th, Grand Duke Friedrich II temporarily waived his power to govern.

The provisional government proclaimed the Free People's Republic of Baden on November 14 and set the election date for a state constitutional assembly on January 5, 1919. On November 22, 1918, Friedrich II finally renounced the throne at Langenstein Castle , and with the consent of his cousin Prince Max von Baden he also declared this for him and his descendants. Friedrich II called himself Margrave of Baden after his abdication.

designation

On November 10, 1918, a provisional government for Baden was established. The question of the form of government was reserved for a state assembly still to be elected. On November 14th, the now Baden provisional people's government called itself the free people's republic .

The law of March 21, 1919 relating to the Baden constitution describes Baden as a democratic republic and directly uses the term Baden republic . The terms free state or people's republic, which are often found in the literature in connection with this republic, do not appear in the constitution.

The term "Free State of Baden" was still used officially on official documents. The travel pass No. 939, issued by the district office of the city of Achern, bears the heading GERMAN REICH - Free State of Baden .

politics

Governments

On the night of November 9-10, the soldiers' council met in Karlsruhe and the welfare committee set up by Karlsruhe mayor Karl Siegrist met together and agreed on a provisional government.

On January 5, 1919, the election for the Baden Constituent National Assembly took place, which was called to its constituent session on January 15. Since the USPD did not receive any mandates here, its members left the provisional government on January 7th, leaving the government members of those parties that also formed the so-called Weimar coalition in Germany as a whole .

In accordance with Section 39 of the constitution of March 21, 1919, the Landtag elected the members of the State Ministry in accordance with Section 52. According to Section 52 of the Constitution, the State Ministry “consisted of ministers, the number and scope of which is regulated by law. The ministers are elected from the citizens who can be elected to the Landtag, with the names of the ministries to be administered by the Landtag in public session. Every year the state parliament appoints the president, who bears the official title of 'state president', and his deputy from the ministers.

If necessary, members without their own business group (Councilors of State) can be assigned to the State Ministry with a seat and vote from the State Parliament. They are elected like the ministers. Their number must not exceed the number of ministers. ”From 1920 to 1929, a different minister was elected annually as president, with the president's party membership also changing.

The Weimar coalition ruled the Republic of Baden until November 21, 1929. After the state elections in October 1929, the center and the SPD continued to run the government without the DDP, which again suffered a relatively large loss of votes. In November 1930 the basis of the government coalition was broadened with the entry of the DVP . In the dispute over the Baden Concordat , the SPD left the coalition at the end of November 1932.

With the provisional law to bring the countries into line with the Reich , the countries lost their sovereignty. On March 8, 1933, the Reich Minister of the Interior, Wilhelm Frick , informed the Baden state government that he had applied the ordinance of the Reich President for the Protection of People and State of February 28, 1933 and that Robert Wagner ( NSDAP ) had been appointed Reich Commissioner for Baden.

On March 9, 1933, Wagner issued an appeal to the people of Baden in which he announced that the Reich government had instructed him to take over the entire powers of the highest Baden state authorities.

By a second law for the alignment of the states with the Reich ( Reichsstatthaltergesetz ; "Old Reichsstatthaltergesetz") of April 7, 1933 , the office of the state president was abolished and the appointment of a Reichsstatthalter determined by the Reich President on the proposal of the Reich Chancellor. On May 5, 1933, Wagner was appointed Reich Governor for Baden. On May 6, 1933, Wagner appointed Walter Köhler Prime Minister of Baden, an office that was newly created.

designation	management	Term of office	Parties	Election by
provisional people's government	Anton Geiß (SPD)	November 10, 1918 to April 2, 1919	SPD ; USPD ; Progress ; DDP ; center	Soldiers' Council and Welfare Committee
Cabinet Goiss II	Anton Geiß (SPD)	April 2, 1919 to August 4, 1920	SPD; DDP; Center = Weimar coalition	National Assembly
Cabinet Trunk I	Gustav Trunk (center)	August 4, 1920 to November 21, 1921	SPD; DDP; center	National Assembly
Cabinet Hummel	Hermann Hummel (DDP)	November 21, 1921 to November 7, 1922	SPD; DDP; center	1st state parliament
Cabinet Remmele I	Adam Remmele (SPD)	November 7, 1922 to November 7, 1923	SPD; DDP; center	1st state parliament
Cabinet Koehler I	Heinrich Köhler (center)	November 7, 1923 to November 7, 1924	SPD; DDP; center	1st state parliament
Hellpach cabinet	Willy Hellpach (DDP)	November 7, 1924 to November 26, 1925	SPD; DDP; center	1st state parliament
Cabinet Trunk II	Gustav Trunk (center)	November 26, 1925 to November 23, 1926	SPD; DDP; center	2nd state parliament
Cabinet Koehler II	Heinrich Köhler (center)	November 23, 1926 to February 3, 1927	SPD; DDP; center	2nd state parliament
Cabinet Trunk III	Gustav Trunk (center)	February 3, 1927 to November 23, 1927	SPD; DDP; center	2nd state parliament
Cabinet Remmele II	Adam Remmele (SPD)	November 23, 1927 to November 23, 1928	SPD; DDP; center	2nd state parliament
Cabinet Schmitt I	Josef Schmitt (center)	November 23, 1928 to November 21, 1929	SPD; DDP; center	2nd state parliament
Cabinet Schmitt II	Josef Schmitt (center)	November 21, 1929 to November 20, 1930	SPD; center	3rd state parliament
Wittemann cabinet	Franz Josef Wittemann (center)	November 20, 1930 to September 18, 1931	SPD; Center; DVP	3rd state parliament
Cabinet Schmitt III	Josef Schmitt (center)	September 18, 1931 to March 10, 1933	SPD; Center; DVP	3rd state parliament
Commissariat Government	Robert Wagner (NSDAP)	March 10 to May 6, 1933	NSDAP ; Steel helmet	appointed by the imperial government
Cabinet Koehler	Walter Köhler (NSDAP)	May 6, 1933 to April 4, 1945	NSDAP	appointed by Reich Governor

Parliament

→ Main article: Parliament of the Republic of Baden

In the election for the Baden National Assembly on January 5, 1919, the center was the strongest party before the SPD . The parties of the Weimar coalition together achieved 91.5% of the vote. On March 21, 1919, the Baden National Assembly unanimously passed the new Baden Constitution , which was adopted on April 13 in the first referendum in German history with a large majority of voters. It is the only constitution of the Weimar Republic passed through a referendum. At the beginning of April 1919, the state parliament formed a government made up of parties from the Weimar coalition.

Election results :

year	center	SPD	DDP	CVP	DNVP	Badischer Landbund	DVP	KPD	USPD	WVbM	NSDAP	WP	CSVD	BBP
1919	36.6% (39)	32.1% (36)	22.8% (25)	7.0% (7)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1921	37.9% (34)	22.7% (20)	8.5% (7)	8.5% (7)		8.3% (7)	6.0% (5)	3.9% (3)	3.0% (2)	1.3% (1)	-	-	-	-
1925	36.8% (28)	20.9% (16)	8.7% (6)	-	12.2% (9)		9.2% (7)	6.2% (4)	-	3.0% (2)	-	-	-	-
1929	36.7% (34)	20.1% (18)	6.7% (6)	3.7% (3)		-	8.0% (7)	5.9% (5)	-	-	7.0% (6)	3.8% (3)	3.8% (3)	3.0% (3)

Number of mandates won in brackets. 100% missing votes: nominations not represented in the state parliament.

Until 1933, Baden was mostly ruled by the Center Party. Despite attempts by Württemberg to bring about unification during the Nazi era, Baden remained unchanged in its borders until the end of the Second World War . The country has been through the Nazi Reich government but from 1933 into line and the Reich Governor and Gauleiter Robert Wagner assumed.

administration

→ Main articles : District Office (Baden)  and administrative structure of Baden

By 1924, Baden was divided into four provincial commissioner districts , eleven districts and 53 administrative districts. The number of administrative districts was reduced to 40 after 1924, with the number of municipalities still being 1,536.

Preparations for a "Reichsgau Upper Rhine"

On June 22, 1940, the armistice was signed between France and Germany. The Alsace was initially like other occupied by Germany French territories under German military administration. On the basis of a decree by Adolf Hitler of August 2, 1940, a civil administration was created in Strasbourg , the head of which (head of the civil administration - CdZ) was the " Reichsstatthalter des Landes Baden" Robert Wagner . The administrative departments created there were mostly led in personal union by the heads of the relevant Baden authorities. A significant number of Baden officials were also seconded to Alsace. The aim was to create a " Reichsgau Upper Rhine " by merging Baden and Alsace, with the central authorities being located in Strasbourg. In preparation, the Baden ministries were to be relocated from Karlsruhe to Strasbourg, but the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Finance and Economics resisted. However, the Baden Ministry of Culture moved. The official gazette of the Baden Ministry of Culture was merged with that of the corresponding department of the Alsatian civil administration on January 1, 1943.

While a "Reichsgau Upper Rhine" was not realized, a party branch Baden-Alsace of the NSDAP existed from March 22, 1941.

In April 1945 the territory of Baden in the north was occupied by the 7th US Army . South Baden was conquered by the 1st French Army after some fierce fighting.

→ Main article : End of the war in the southern Black Forest (1945)

Post-war Germany

After the Second World War, the northern part of Baden became part of the American zone and the southern part of the French zone . The southern border of the American occupation zone was chosen in such a way that the Karlsruhe – Munich motorway (today's A8 ) was within the American occupation zone for the entire route. The boundaries were the respective district boundaries. The military governments of the zones of occupation founded the states of Württemberg-Baden in the American zone and Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern in the French zone in 1945/46 . These states became federal states in the course of the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany on May 23, 1949 .

The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany claimed over Article 118 on the restructuring of the three countries. In the course of this, on April 25, 1952, the states of Württemberg-Baden, Baden (i.e. South Baden) and Württemberg-Hohenzollern merged to form the state of Baden-Württemberg. Further details on this topic and the further history are listed under Baden-Württemberg .

literature

• Martin Furtwängler (editor), 2012: The protocols of the government of the Republic of Baden. Volume 1: The Provisional Government November 1918 - March 1919 . W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart, ISBN 978-3-17-022055-3
• Gerhard Kaller, 2003: Bathing in the Weimar Republic. In: Meinrad Schaab , Hansmartin Schwarzmaier (ed.) U. a .: Handbook of Baden-Württemberg History . Volume 4: Die Länder since 1918. Edited on behalf of the Commission for Historical Regional Studies in Baden-Württemberg . Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-608-91468-4 , pp. 23-72.
  • Baden in the time of National Socialism. In: Meinrad Schaab, Hansmartin Schwarzmaier (ed.) U. a .: Handbook of Baden-Württemberg History. Volume 4: Die Länder since 1918. Edited on behalf of the Commission for Historical Regional Studies in Baden-Württemberg. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-608-91468-4 , pp. 151-230.
  • 1969: The abdication of Grand Duke Friedrich II of Baden in November 1918. In: Ekkhart-Jahrbuch, pp. 71–82
• Konrad Exner : The political and economic events of the Republic of Baden during the Weimar Republic. In: Badische Heimat 2/2016, pp. 291–300.
• Ingeborg Wiemann-Stöhr: The educational mobilization. School in Baden under the sign of National Socialism . Verlag Julius Klinkhardt, Heilbronn 2018, ISBN 978-3-7815-2217-6

Web links

Commons : Republik Baden  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Data and facts about the Republic of Baden
• Laws, notices and constitutions for Baden
• Collection of sources "From the Monarchy to the Republic" 1918-1923 (sources from the Baden-Württemberg State Archives)
• Entry Baden - the provisional Baden government [1918/19 on discover regional studies online - leobw; with photo of the entire Provisional Government]

Individual evidence

1. ^ Karlsruher Zeitung with the announcements of the Grand Duke and the provisional government of November 10, 1918
2. ↑ see Gerhard Kaller: The abdication of Grand Duke Friedrich II of Baden in November 1918. In: Ekkhart-Jahrbuch 1969, pp. 77-78 Print of the declaration ( Memento of the original from March 22, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet tested. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ^ Karlsruher Zeitung with the announcements of the Grand Duke and the provisional government of November 14, 1918
4. ↑ see Gerhard Kaller: The abdication of Grand Duke Friedrich II of Baden in November 1918. In: Ekkhart-Jahrbuch 1969, pp. 81–82 Print of the declaration of abdication and picture of the handwritten declaration ( Memento of the original of March 22, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
5. ↑ Karlsruher Zeitung of November 24, 1918; Reprint of the abdication and announcement of the provisional Baden people's government
6. ↑ To the people of Baden! Karlsruher Zeitung - State Gazette for the Grand Duchy of Baden from November 10, 1918. In: Badische Landesbibliothek . Retrieved August 24, 2020.
7. ↑ Announcement. Karlsruher Zeitung - State Gazette for the Grand Duchy of Baden from November 14, 1918. In: Badische Landesbibliothek . Retrieved August 24, 2020.
8. ↑ See Kaller, Baden in der Weimarer Republik , p. 25.
9. ↑ Baden Law and Ordinance Gazette from January 10, 1919
10. ↑ Constitution of March 21, 1919 ( Memento of the original of December 15, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
11. ↑ Reichstag Fire Ordinance
12. ↑ See Kaller, Baden in der Zeit des Nationalozialismus , p. 155.
13. ^ See Freiburger Zeitung of March 10, 1933
14. ^ Reichsstatthaltergesetz
15. ↑ Freiburg newspaper of May 6, 1933
16. ↑ President of the State from April 2, 1919 to March 10, 1933
17. ↑ Baden Law and Ordinance Gazette from January 10, 1919
18. ↑ Karlsruher Zeitung of March 22, 1919
19. ↑ see Karl Stiefel : Baden 1648 - 1952. Volume I, Karlsruhe 1979, p. 377
20. ^ Official Journal of the Baden Ministry of Culture and Education and the Department of Education, Instruction and Public Education of the Chief of Civil Administration . Karlsruhe, Malsch & Vogel, 81.1943 - 82.1944, 10
21. ↑ badische-heimat.de ( Memento of the original from March 22, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
22. ↑ Preview