Rudolf Stapenhorst

Rudolf Stapenhorst (1864–1944)

Arnold Heinrich Rudolf Stapenhorst (born May 15, 1864 in Lienen , † October 26, 1944 in Bielefeld ) was the long-time mayor or lord mayor of Bielefeld. During his term of office there was a considerable growth of the city through incorporations. In addition, parks and buildings that shape the cityscape were created.

Beginnings

Stapenhorst studied law and received his doctorate for Dr. jur. During his studies in 1885 he became a member of the Tübingen fraternity Derendingia . He then worked for the government in Minden and as a representative of the district administrator in Büren . In 1895 he was elected second mayor of the city of Bielefeld. Initially, he was responsible for the city's police and school systems. During his tenure, a local police school was set up, which was closed again due to the nationalization of the police after the November Revolution.

In the field of schooling, several new school buildings were built under his responsibility before 1914. This reduced the average class size from 74 to 50 children. Due to his negotiating skills, the previously denominational Cecilienschule came under municipal sponsorship in 1913. He was also heavily involved in founding the Bielefeld School of Crafts and Applied Arts and the metalworking school.

Construction activities

After the term of office of the First Mayor Gerhard Bunnemann ended in 1910, Stapenhorst was unanimously elected as his successor. As a representative of his city, he took a seat in the Prussian manor house . The supply crisis of the First World War , the political upheavals caused by the November Revolution, the period of inflation and periods of high unemployment in the 1920s later fell into his term of office .

Against political resistance, he pushed through that emergency workers were not only deployed in the field of road and sewer construction, but also to create parks. This created in 1921 to designs by the horticultural director Paul Meyer Kamp on the site of a former brickworks the public park and in 1926 was Kesselbrink converted into a public park. In 1926 he made a significant contribution to the fact that the Rudolf-Oetker-Halle was built on the west side of the Bürgerpark. From the beginning of his term in office, he has been pushing for land to be purchased for the benefit of the city. These and other purchases met with considerable resistance from the city council and could only be enforced with a narrow majority.

Expansion of the urban area

In addition, he endeavored to incorporate a number of previously independent suburban communities into the city of Bielefeld. With this goal he met resistance , especially from the DNVP . They feared that the inclusion of these mainly workers-populated places could increase the influence of the SPD and KPD in Bielefeld's local politics. The DVP representatives saw economic advantages in the expansion plans and the SPD also supported Stapenhorst. The necessary statements and approvals from the higher authorities also extended the incorporation process. As a result, Stapenhorst's term of office, which was supposed to be retired in 1930, was extended to 1933. However, he reserved the right to leave office beforehand.

The "Law on the Extension of the City of Bielefeld" was passed by the Prussian Landtag in June 1930 and came into force in October of that year. Several communities and farmers such as Schildesche , Sieker , Gellershagen or Stieghorst became part of Bielefeld. This increased the population from 90,000 to 120,000.

Term expires

The merger made new elections for local councils necessary. These took place on November 30, 1930. From this the NSDAP emerged as the clear winner. She increased the number of her mandates from two to twelve. The DVP lost particularly hard. The number of her mandates fell from nine to three. The DDP was no longer represented in the city parliament. The SPD was able to win three additional mandates and formed the strongest parliamentary group with 22 city councilors. The KPD was also able to win an additional mandate.

Against a Social Democrat, a National Socialist was elected head of the city council. The strengthening of the NSDAP increased the number of critics of Stapenhorst in the city parliament. The situation was exacerbated by the effects of the global economic crisis . As a result, the number of unemployed increased dramatically and the municipal financial situation deteriorated sharply. For this reason, the government in Minden installed state commissioners in Bielefeld. The NSDAP then tried to hold Stapenhorst personally responsible for the situation. The KPD and NSDAP jointly voted for a corresponding motion for disapproval. It was not least because of these events that he left office prematurely in 1932. The choice of his successor Paul Prieß proved difficult.

During the last session of the city parliament in 1931, there was a debate about granting Stapenhorst honorary citizenship on the occasion of his 65th birthday. Stapenhorst made acceptance conditional on the decision being unanimous. The topic was then dropped. He did not take part in the inauguration of his successor Paul Prieß on April 1, 1932.

Last years

In retirement he lived as a respected citizen in Bielefeld. During this time he was also the chairman of the Teutoburg Forest Association . He died in a bomb attack in 1944.

As early as 1930, the former Bürgerweg was renamed Stapenhorststrasse.

See also

• History of the city leaders of Bielefeld

Individual evidence

1. ^ Helge Dvorak: Biographical Lexicon of the German Burschenschaft. Volume I: Politicians. Sub-Volume 5: R – S. Winter, Heidelberg 2002, ISBN 3-8253-1256-9 , p. 483.
2. ↑ Till Wöhler: Garden Director Paul Meyerkamp. Chamber of Architects NRW (www.archive.org), 2004, accessed on August 30, 2019 . 

Web links

• Bernd J. Wagner: March 31, 1932: Dr. Rudolf Stapenhorst is retiring. In: Historical "RückKlick". Bielefeld City Archives , 2007, accessed on August 30, 2019 .