Wilhelm Hansmann

Wilhelm Hansmann (born October 29, 1886 in Eichlinghofen , † October 27, 1963 in Dortmund ) was a German, social democratic politician. He was district administrator of the districts of Hörde and Ennepe-Ruhr , a Prussian and North Rhine-Westphalian member of the state parliament and for eight years senior city director in Dortmund.

Life

Wilhelm was the eldest of nine children of the politician Heinrich Hansmann and his wife Emma Hansmann, née Ruhfus. He first did an apprenticeship as a gardener and then attended the Johanneum in Hamburg. On February 5, 1905, he joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and took over the management of the Eichlinghof local association from his father. From 1906 to 1908 he attended the Free University in Berlin.

At the beginning of the First World War he was drafted into the army and took part as a soldier in the battles for Liège , Verdun and Reims. These experiences made him a staunch opponent of war. He returned home wounded and began political work again. He was initially a workers 'and soldiers' council in Arnsberg . There he befriended the family of the district president Max König . He married his daughter, Rosa Eleonore König, in 1920, but she died three years later.

From 1919 until its incorporation to Dortmund in 1928 William Hansmann was District Administrator of the district Hörde . He was particularly committed to social policy, for example in setting up children's homes or building housing. In addition, he was involved in the founding of the Vereinigte Elektrizitätswerke Westfalen AG (VEW) and the Dortmunder Wasserwerke GmbH . Hansmann married again, this time the doctor Charlotte Hansmann, nee Steinkopf.

Since 1928 he belonged to the Prussian state parliament , a year later he was again district administrator, this time in the Ennepe-Ruhr district . Immediately after the seizure of power , he was banned from speaking . On March 17, 1933, he was attacked and mistreated by the National Socialists.

With the help of his sister Martha Neumann (née Hansmann), Hansmann fled via Düsseldorf and Cologne to Saarbrücken , where he was actively involved in the resistance against the National Socialists. In August 1933 he was on the first expatriation list of the German Reich . After the annexation of the Saar region, he emigrated to Morsbach (near Forbach ) in France, he had personally received permission to stay near the border from the French Interior Minister Albert Sarraut . He joined the short term the Resistance and emigrated in 1942 to the Swiss Winterthur - lakes .

Wilhelm Hansmann speaks in Herne in 1946

On October 30, 1945 he returned to Dortmund and resumed political work. He was a co-founder of the European Mayors' Association and was a member of the first council body after the Second World War. In early 1946 he was mayor of the city of Dortmund for a short time. On April 16, 1946 he was elected Oberstadtdirektor Dortmund. He became a member of the Appointed Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia , but then focused again on local politics. In his era, the city was rebuilt, including the construction of the Westfalenhalle , the theater on Hiltropwall and the new town hall. The high proportion of green spaces in Dortmund and the founding of the Dortmund Zoo go back to his initiative . He was also involved in the establishment of the Dortmund Social Academy and the North Rhine-Westphalia subsidiary. For the city of Dortmund he was a member of the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe , the Ruhrtalsperrenverein and the Ruhrsiedlungsverband . His term of office was extended several times by a council resolution beyond the pension limit; on December 31, 1954, he finally resigned from his position as City Director. He continued to represent the city as chairman of the supervisory board of VEW (1946–1963), the Dortmund municipal utilities and the Dortmund-Hamm consumer cooperative .

Wilhelm Hansmann died in Dortmund in 1963.

Awards

Wilhelm Hansmann was granted honorary citizenship of the city of Dortmund on December 17, 1956. He was the first to receive this award in Dortmund after the Second World War.

A meeting place for older people (Wilhelm-Hansmann-Haus) in Dortmund and an allotment garden in Dortmund-Wambel are named after him.

literature

City of Dortmund (Ed.): Wilhelm Hansmann. Life and work . Ceremony on October 29, 1986 to commemorate the 100th birthday of Wilhelm Hansmann, former Lord Mayor and long-time City Director in Dortmund. Dortmund 1986.

Web links

Wilhelm Hansmann at the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia

Individual evidence

↑ Michael Hepp (Ed.): The expatriation of German citizens 1933-45 according to the lists published in the Reichsanzeiger . tape 1 : Lists in chronological order. De Gruyter Saur, Munich 1985, ISBN 978-3-11-095062-5 , pp. 3 (reprinted 2010).
↑ VEW AG (Ed.): More than energy. The company history of VEW 1925–2000. Klartext Verlag, Essen 2000, ISBN 978-3-88474-890-9 , p. 391.
^ ^A ^b Günther Högl: Hansmann, Wilhelm . In: Hans Bohrmann (Ed.): Biographies of important Dortmunders. People in, from and for Dortmund . tape 3 . Klartext, Essen 2001, ISBN 3-88474-954-4 , p. 93 ff .

personal data
SURNAME	Hansmann, Wilhelm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German politician (SPD), MdL
DATE OF BIRTH	October 29, 1886
PLACE OF BIRTH	Eichlinghofen
DATE OF DEATH	October 27, 1963
Place of death	Dortmund

[1] Michael Hepp (Ed.): The expatriation of German citizens 1933-45 according to the lists published in the Reichsanzeiger . tape 1 : Lists in chronological order. De Gruyter Saur, Munich 1985, ISBN 978-3-11-095062-5 , pp. 3 (reprinted 2010).

[2] VEW AG (Ed.): More than energy. The company history of VEW 1925–2000. Klartext Verlag, Essen 2000, ISBN 978-3-88474-890-9 , p. 391.

[BBD-3] A ^b Günther Högl: Hansmann, Wilhelm . In: Hans Bohrmann (Ed.): Biographies of important Dortmunders. People in, from and for Dortmund . tape 3 . Klartext, Essen 2001, ISBN 3-88474-954-4 , p. 93 ff .