Walter Bartram

Walter Bartram on a 1952 election poster

Walter Bartram (born April 21, 1893 in Neumünster ; † September 29, 1971 in Latendorf ) was a German politician ( CDU ). Bartram was Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein from 1950 to 1951 .

biography

After graduating from high school, Bartram studied economics and law in Freiburg im Breisgau , where he joined the Corps Suevia Freiburg , as well as in Kiel and Würzburg . After completing his studies, he joined the Lübeck oil mill in 1919 as an authorized signatory , but in 1920 he moved to Hamburg as manager of the Bremen oil factory . From 1925 to 1926 he was director of the Bremen-Bresigheim oil factories in Bremen and finally from 1926 to 1933 director of the association of oil factories in Mannheim . From 1936 to 1946 he was then director of F. Thörl's United Oil Works in Hamburg-Harburg . From 1947 he was the owner of the Aspe concentrate factory in Timmaspe near Nortorf.

During the Weimar Republic he was a member of the DVP from 1920 to 1933 . In 1936 he joined the NSDAP . After the Second World War , he joined the CDU in 1946. He was district chairman of the CDU in Neumünster. On May 4, 1952, he was re-elected to the German Bundestag for the deceased member of parliament Carl Schröter (CDU) . He was then a member of the German Bundestag until 1957 and represented the constituency of Segeberg - Neumünster .

Bartram took part in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin as a member of the national polo team.

State election in Schleswig-Holstein 1950 and consequences

The state elections in Schleswig-Holstein in 1950 ended with a severe defeat for the Schleswig-Holstein SPD , which until now had an absolute majority in the state parliament thanks to the right to vote. However, the opposition electoral bloc made up of CDU, FDP and DP also failed to achieve a majority. The winner of the election was the BHE , which competed for the first time.

Nevertheless, the electoral bloc tried to elect its candidate Paul Pagel (CDU) as prime minister via a constructive vote of no confidence . This attempt failed when the majority of the BHE voted against Pagel and the Diekmann cabinet (SPD) initially remained in office. Pagel's waiver of the office of prime minister formed the basis of a coalition agreement between the electoral bloc and the BHE. In this coalition agreement, the CDU had the right to propose this position. However, the leading politicians of the Union were not eligible for the BHE. The CDU therefore decided on August 25, 1950 to name Walter Bartram, who had never appeared in national politics. The BHE approved this choice.

On September 5, 1950, Walter Bartram was therefore elected as Prime Minister of the State of Schleswig-Holstein in a coalition with the BHE, FDP and DP.

In addition to the economic situation, the main topics of the election campaign were questions of land reform and school policy . The SPD caused a scandal in 1949 when they enshrined their controversial demands for land reform and a six-year elementary school in the constitution of Schleswig-Holstein . Because the constitution was passed with a simple majority, but could only be changed with a 2/3 majority, the Social Democrats believed they could secure their positions against other political majorities. With a 2/3 majority in the coalition, the constitutional amendments were repealed on November 15, 1950.

In the election campaign leading up to the state elections on July 9, 1950, denazification was another important issue, and the BHE in particular (with 23.4% surprise winner of the election) vehemently demanded that it be ended. However, there was broad agreement between the parties on this issue. On March 14, 1951, the law to end denazification was passed with a large majority from all parties. Only the less burdened and followers were affected . Levels I (main culprits (war criminals)) and II (accused (activists, militarists, beneficiaries)) were not exonerated.

All members of Bartram's cabinet , with the exception of Interior Minister Paul Pagel (CDU), had belonged to Nazi organizations in the Third Reich . Paul Pagel prompted the coining of the term “renazification”.

In the CDU there was a power struggle between Carl Schröter and Walter Bartram. After less than a year, the CDU withdrew its Prime Minister's confidence. Bartram had to resign from the office of Prime Minister on June 25, 1951. This was preceded by the criticism of the BHE, which attached itself to the financial situation of the country. In the budget for 1951, expenditure of 572 million DM and income of 368 million DM were planned. Bertram's attempt to bring about federal aid failed. Under these circumstances, the BHE refused to approve the budget.

After Bartram's resignation, Friedrich-Wilhelm Lübke (CDU) was elected Prime Minister in the third ballot against the votes of the BHE, but was subsequently able to reactivate the coalition.

See also

• List of former NSDAP members who were politically active after May 1945

literature

• Klaus Albert: The CDU took over government responsibility in the state of Schleswig-Holstein. Review of Prime Minister Dr. Walter Bartram (1950/51) . In the journal of the Society for Schleswig-Holstein History, Volume 108 (1983), pp. 281-317.

• Erich Maletzke, Klaus Volquartz: The Schleswig-Holstein Landtag. 1983, pages 66-72.
• Rudolf Vierhaus , Ludolf Herbst (eds.), Bruno Jahn (collaborators): Biographical manual of the members of the German Bundestag. 1949-2002. Vol. 1: A-M. KG Saur, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-598-23782-0 , p. 38.

Web links

Commons : Walter Bartram  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Walter Bartram in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
2. ↑ Klaus Bästlein: From the Hanseatic judiciary. In: Klaus Bästlein, Helge Grabnitz, Wolfgang Scheffler: "For leaders, people and fatherland ..." Hamburg justice under National Socialism. Hamburg judicial authority (ed.), Hamburg 1992, p. 154 ff.