Wilhelm Schmidthals

Wilhelm Schmidthals

Wilhelm Schmidthals (born December 24, 1873 in Bütow , † March 22, 1951 in Steingaden ) was a German politician ( National Liberal Party , DDP , DVP ).

Life and work

After attending elementary school and graduating from high school in Schweidnitz in 1892, Schmidthals, who was of Protestant faith, first completed an agricultural apprenticeship, which he also followed up with a commercial apprenticeship. He then worked as an agricultural officer. In 1901 he leased a manor in Riemberg ( Wohlau district ), and later one in Schlottnig near Liegnitz . Since 1920 he was a member of the Provisional Reich Economic Council . He was also a member of the board of directors of the “Deutsche Rentenbank-Kreditanstalt” and the executive committee of the “German farmers' association”. He was also a board member of the “German Farmers' Union” and the “Working Group of Organizations for Small and Medium-Sized Farms”.

Political party

Schmidthals was a member of the National Liberal Party in the German Empire, of which he was a member of the central board from 1913 to 1918. In contrast to the majority of his party friends, he did not participate in the founding of the DVP , but instead joined the DDP in 1918 . In 1930 he left the DDP and joined the DVP.

MP

After the November Revolution , Schmidthals belonged to the 1st General Congress of Workers 'and Soldiers' Councils in Germany, which took place from December 16-20, 1918, and was chairman of the 24-member Democratic Group there. At the congress he spoke out in favor of dividing large agricultural goods into small farms. In 1919/20 he was a member of the Weimar National Assembly . In the debate on the Reich Settlement Act on July 1, 1919, he spoke out in favor of creating primarily small settlement areas for new farmers. He justified this with the fact that the small farmers were more concerned about their farms than the large farms, which was particularly important in the time of need after the First World War. Although the large goods offer better conditions for grain and potatoes, the small business has better conditions for meat, eggs and milk, which are particularly important in times of need. In addition, the creation of small settlement areas also offers opportunities for families to move to the countryside and thus offer their children a healthier and more pleasant environment.

Web links

• Wilhelm Schmidthals in the database of members of the Reichstag