Wilhelm Kurth

Wilhelm Kurth (born June 1, 1893 in Winden (Nassau) ; † March 6, 1946 in Koblenz ) was a German politician ( SPD ) and Lord Mayor of Koblenz from 1945 to 1946.

Life and work

Kurth was a social democrat and union secretary.

Acting as the Lord Mayor of Koblenz

After the conquest of Koblenz by American troops in March 1945, Kurth was appointed mayor on June 8, 1945 by the American military government to succeed Franz Lanter's first post-war mayor . After the Americans withdrew from Koblenz on July 17, 1945, the French took over the military administration. The main task of the new city administration under Mayor Kurth was to free the city from the millions of cubic meters of rubble, to restore the infrastructure and to supply the population with food. The biggest problem, however, was the strong migration back of the population evacuated to Thuringia by the end of 1944. In just a short time, 40,000 people streamed back into their houses, which had been destroyed by the heavy air raids , and presented the city administration with insoluble difficulties. On July 21, 1945, the mayor was therefore forced to impose a ban on immigration and immigration to Koblenz. To promote reconstruction, he made a dramatic appeal on July 28, 1945 to the people of Koblenz.

After only ten months in office, his untimely death on March 6, 1946 brought his efforts to an abrupt end. His successor was Wilhelm Guske for only a short time , then his deputy Josef Schnorbach took over the office of Lord Mayor.

literature

• Wolfgang Schütz: Koblenz heads. People from the city's history - namesake for streets and squares. Verlag für Werbung Blätter GmbH Mülheim-Kärlich, Ed .: Bernd Weber, 2005 (2nd revised and expanded edition).
• Energieversorgung Mittelrhein GmbH (ed.): History of the city of Koblenz . Overall editing: Ingrid Bátori in conjunction with Dieter Kerber and Hans Josef Schmidt
  • Vol. 1: From the beginning to the end of the electoral era . Theiss, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-8062-0876-X
  • Vol. 2: From the French city to the present . Theiss, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-8062-1036-5