Walter Koch (politician)

Walter Koch

Walter Franz Koch (born May 18, 1870 in Chemnitz , † December 26, 1947 in Dresden ) was a German diplomat and politician ( DVP ).

Life

From 1889 to March 1892, Walter Koch studied law in Lausanne, Berlin and Leipzig . From 1893 to 1895 Koch was employed in the judicial service at the courts of the Kingdom of Saxony . From 1896 to 1897 he completed a traineeship at the Leipzig Police Department . From 1897 to 1909 Koch was city clerk, bank director and city councilor in Dresden. From 1909 to 1918 he was a councilor in the Saxon Ministry of the Interior . There he was promoted to Ministerial Director in 1916 and appointed Minister on October 16, 1918, which position he held until November 14, 1918.

Walter Koch was a member of the Saxon People's Chamber from February 25 to October 6, 1919 . From 1919 to 1921 he was first Saxon special envoy in Prague and then envoy of the government of Saxony to the imperial government in Berlin.

On September 26, 1921 Koch was appointed first class envoy of the government of the German Reich to the government of the Czechoslovak Republic in Prague. Koch represented the official policy of the imperial government towards the government of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk , with whom he had a good personal relationship. This included the rejection of extremist Sudeten German politicians who hoped that the Reich would support their Irredenta plans and the discrete support of Sudeten Germans who were willing to integrate.

With the acceptance of the chancellorship by Adolf Hitler , this policy changed diametrically. On October 1, 1933 Konrad Henlein founded the "Sudeten German Home Front" (SHF) in Eger, which was supported by the government of the German Reich.

On September 1, 1935, Koch was retired .

Quote

"Fear is the strongest driving force in this nation."

- as German ambassador in Prague via the Czechs

Web links

Literature by and about Walter Koch in the catalog of the German National Library
Short biography at the Saxon State Ministry of the Interior
Literature by and about Walter Koch in the Saxon Bibliography

Individual evidence

^ Paul Egon Huebinger: Thomas Mann, the University of Bonn and contemporary history. Oldenbourg, Munich 1974, p. 461 ( digitized version ).
^ German legation reports from Prague. Part IV. From the eve of the seizure of power in Germany to the resignation of Masaryk 1933–1935. Oldenbourg, Munich 1991, ISBN 3-486-54041-6 , p. 333 ( digitized version ).
↑ Zvláštnosti české povahy (Characteristics of Czech nature) . In: Tomáš Krystlík : Zamlčené dějiny 2 (Secret story 2) . Beta Books, Prague 2010

predecessor	Office	successor
Samuel Saenger	Envoy of the German Reich in Prague October 1920 to September 1, 1935	Ernst Eisenlohr

personal data
SURNAME	Koch, Walter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Koch, Walter Franz (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German ambassador
DATE OF BIRTH	May 18, 1870
PLACE OF BIRTH	Chemnitz
DATE OF DEATH	December 26, 1947
Place of death	Dresden

[1] Paul Egon Huebinger: Thomas Mann, the University of Bonn and contemporary history. Oldenbourg, Munich 1974, p. 461 ( digitized version ).

[2] German legation reports from Prague. Part IV. From the eve of the seizure of power in Germany to the resignation of Masaryk 1933–1935. Oldenbourg, Munich 1991, ISBN 3-486-54041-6 , p. 333 ( digitized version ).

[3] Zvláštnosti české povahy (Characteristics of Czech nature) . In: Tomáš Krystlík : Zamlčené dějiny 2 (Secret story 2) . Beta Books, Prague 2010