Wilhelm Gebhardt (politician)
Wilhelm Gebhardt (born October 28, 1897 in Schramberg ; † April 30, 1974 ) was mayor of Crailsheim from 1948 to 1962 . From 1941 to 1945 he was a member of the NSDAP .
Early years
Wilhelm Gebhardt was born on October 28, 1897 in Schramberg in the Black Forest as the son of a civil servant . He attended elementary schools in Calw and Tübingen and later the upper secondary school in Tübingen up to secondary school . From 1912 his administration apprenticeship began with the Lustnau city administration .
Between 1916 and 1918 he took part in the First World War as a non-commissioned officer . As awards for bravery, he received the Württemberg Silver Military Merit Medal and the Iron Cross 2nd class. He described his time in the military in an application for a district council seat in 1953:
"In the first World War I stepped off the IR ( Infantry - regiment ) 122 for Württ. Mountain regiment, which in almost all theaters of war as assault force was used. At the end of the war, detached from the field, I was on the reserve officers course in Münsingen . "
After the war he attended the Higher Administrative School in Stuttgart from October 1919, graduating from a higher administrative service examination in 1920. His first job was as an actuary at the city of Welzheim . There he worked as a city caretaker until September 31, 1931 . Gebhardt was married for the first time from 1922 to 1931 . The second marriage took place in 1933. Four children were born from her; three girls one boy.
On March 18, 1933, he began working for the Crailsheim city administration , initially as senior secretary and later as city inspector . According to his own information from the application cited above, he was first head of the mayor's office there. In the war years he also took over the management of the city tax office and the registry office with council clerks.
In 1939 he had been drafted into the Wehrmacht in an ambulance department . In the US military government questionnaire dated February 23, 1946, several unrelated activities were listed for the period 1931 to March 18, 1933.
As mayor of Crailsheim
With effect from May 17, 1945, Gebhardt was appointed mayor of Crailsheim by the American military government, replacing Friedrich Fröhlich . In August of the same year, he was supposed to be deposed again in the course of the removal of all mayors who belonged to the NSDAP. However, following the emphatic intervention of District Administrator Karl Daurer , he was not released until February 1946. After his dismissal, Daurer initially took him over to the district office .
After his arbitration chamber proceedings were completed, he was able to apply for public office again. In 1948 he ran again for the office of mayor and was elected with a clear majority. His re-election in 1954 was also successful. He was re-elected with 94 percent of the votes cast - with no opposing candidate. In the same year he was awarded the Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by the Federal President.
Act as mayor
Gebhardt was mayor at a difficult time. Crailsheim was badly destroyed in the Second World War and so the reconstruction was incumbent on his creative will.
In October 1955 a conflict arose when residents of the Crailsheimer Fliegerhorst residential area angrily turned to the Hohenloher Tagblatt to criticize the situation of the West elementary school there . In a detailed statement to the local council, Gebhardt pointed out the great efforts of the city to create new school rooms, but also gave consideration to its limited financial scope.
“We cannot speak of a school space shortage, it would only be a matter for the school to reschedule accordingly. If the students at the air base could be expected to go to Altenmünster or to the Leonhard Sachs School or the Volksfestschule, and in my opinion that is the case, at least for the 3rd and 4th graders, then these students could be in beautiful and newest classrooms. One or the other teacher would have to shift, but that can be expected of him in the interests of the children. "
In 1962 Gebhardt retired. He died on April 30, 1974.
reception
The Bürgermeister-Gebhardt-Strasse in the Mittlerer Weg construction area in Crailsheim is named after him.
Classification of the Nazi past
In the questionnaire of the military government he stated about his Nazi activities between 1933 and 1945 that he had been a member of the NSDAP from 1941 to 1945 , also from 1937 to 1945 in the National Socialist People's Welfare and from November 1933 to December 1938 as a Rottenführer in the SA -Reserve . Before 1933 he voted for the SPD . The denazification that took place in August 1946 resulted in a classification as a follower . Several people attested that he had only carried out his Nazi activities for official reasons and under pressure. He described himself as a victim of the party:
“Was in Sept./Oct. In 1944 he was commanded by the district leadership of the NSDAP to work on entrenchments in Lorraine , which was to be regarded as an outright punishment, especially as an official. "
Web links
- Wilhelm Gebhardt. In: crailsheim-zeitgeschichte.de (private website of Armin Ziegler)
Individual evidence
- ↑ BAnz. No. 214/1954
- ↑ Folker Förtsch: Air Base School: Teachers and parents complain about unreasonable grievances. In: Südwest Presse . January 19, 2016, accessed on July 12, 2019 (abridged lecture by the city archivist).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gebhardt, Wilhelm |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Mayor of Crailsheim (1948–1962) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 28, 1897 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Schramberg |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 30, 1974 |