Wilhelm Benölken

Wilhelm Benölken (born September 5, 1889 in Asbeck (Münsterland) , † October 18, 1965 in Bocholt ) was a German politician and first Lord Mayor of the city of Bocholt in the post-war period.

Life

After graduating from high school in Coesfeld, Wilhelm Benölken studied medicine in Marburg , Kiel , Munich and Gießen , took his state examination in 1916 and received his doctorate in May 1919. During the First World War he was deployed on the Eastern Front. In December 1920 Benölken settled as an ENT doctor in Bocholt, ran a successful practice and soon set up an ear, nose and throat department in St. Agnes Hospital. His good work, especially in the surgical area, made him known far beyond Bocholt's borders. It was no coincidence that the British military government appointed him as the first post-war Lord Mayor. In September 1945 he was commissioned by her to form a magistrate's college. A municipal council was elected on October 13, 1946, and Benölken assumed its chairmanship until October 30, 1946. From then on he returned to his medical profession, which he practiced until 1963. In recognition of his services and as a token of gratitude, the square in front of the grammar school bears his name, Benölkenplatz .

Web links

• Wilhelm Benölken. Street names in Bocholt

literature

• District archive Borken: "... The best of the cities and the flat country at all times ..:", From the development and work of the Westmünsterland district of Borken, p. 384 ff.