Wilhelm Dietrich Iversen

Wilhelm Dietrich Iversen , also Willi Iversen or Willy Iversen , (born August 14, 1879 in Munkbrarup ; † June 28, 1939 there ) was a German farmer and politician.

Childhood and successes as a farmer

Wilhelm Dietrich Iversen was the oldest of eight children of Heinrich Iversen (born October 19, 1848 in Sörupmühle ; † July 12, 1927 in Munkbrarup) and his wife Katharina, née Henningsen (born February 22, 1854 in Kalleby ; † May 15, 1939 in Flensburg ). The father worked as a main teacher and organist, was a well-known poet and religious philosopher. He ran subsistence farming on his "Küsterland" , mastered piano, violin and organ playing, took over the direction of the choral society and wrote compositions. He was also a member of the board of directors of the savings and loan fund and co-founded the Munkbrarups agricultural association.

Like his siblings, Iversen attended their father's elementary school. He then learned to be a farmer friend on the farms and did voluntary military service with the guardsmen. After that he worked as a progressive and open-minded farmer. At the beginning of the 20th century he used modern methods to maintain a neighboring farm that his father had bought on a large loan. At the time of the Caprivi cabinet, the court was in extremely poor condition. In order to be able to discharge and build up the property, Iversen tried to raise additional income.

In 1907 Iversen traveled to Russia for the first time without any knowledge of foreign languages, where he wanted to sell fishing cattle . It failed because of the position of the Swedes in attempts to initiate business in the Baltic States. He then traveled to southern Russia and in particular to Bessarabia , where German colonialists lived, in whom he was particularly interested. That is why he always took the Association's Handbook for Germanness Abroad with him on his travels . There were also trips to Ukraine and the Crimea. He achieved great sales. At the world exhibition in Kiev in spring 1914 , he won all the gold and silver medals for foreign breeding cattle. Any further business that might result from this did not take place due to the outbreak of the First World War .

During the war Iversen worked as an expert for the War Department . In doing so, he expanded business relations with Holland. In addition, on behalf of the ministry, he bought cattle in the Balkans for delivery to the Western Front. He had big problems, especially with Romanians, but was able to successfully set up supplies for the soldiers.

Iversen, who ran the farm himself until the end of his life, died there in an accident at work.

Act as a politician

After the end of the war, Iversen worked as a food commissioner for the Schleswig I voting area. In order to rebuild the economy and restore orderly political conditions, he then became politically active. From 1919 to 1921 he represented the Schleswig-Holstein State Party in the Prussian State Constitutional Assembly and received a mandate from the German People's Party in the election to the Prussian State Parliament in 1928 .

Iversen took over the chairmanship of the Schleswig-Holstein Homeland Federation from Professor Scheel and was in charge of the farmers' association. He had not actively applied for either post. His appointment can therefore be seen as a sign of recognition of his objective approach. Since he saw education as a prerequisite for a successful professional activity, he advocated expanding adult education centers for farmers. He was also committed to the care of the people and the culture of Schleswig-Holstein.

Because of his personality and his objective and sober assessment of the political situation, Iversen made friends in all parties. This included Interior Minister Carl Severing and Gustav Stresemann . From 1928 he was exposed to the resistance of the NSDAP , which he sharply criticized. He attended party events, mostly as the only critic, and ended his speeches mostly with the statement: "Whoever votes Hitler chooses war!" appealed to the self-responsibility of his audience. “Only the discipline of all good and brave can bring us salvation and healing,” said Iversen.

Gerhard Stoltenberg wrote in 1962 in his habilitation Political currents on the Knivsbergrede: "Such words found a Schleswig-Holstein farmer in the time of confusion and upheaval ... words that we today not without movement alike as an expression of here still living spiritual tradition the liberal constitutional movement of the 19th century, as perceived as an early anticipation of the German and European tasks of the present that we became aware of after the catastrophe of World War II. "

After the seizure of power , Iversen had to resign from all offices. The National Socialists repeatedly searched his house and tried to completely prevent his public activity. Until the end of his life he stuck to his objective criticism of the political situation.

family

Iversen's first marriage was Margarete Dorothea Nissen (* March 7, 1883 in Groß-Quern ; † March 23, 1919 in Flensburg ), with whom he had three children. In his second marriage he married Katharine Peters (* August 1, 1890, † October 28, 1948). This marriage resulted in two children.

literature

• Hans Iversen: Iversen, Wilhelm Dietrich . in: Schleswig-Holstein Biographical Lexicon . Volume 2. Karl Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1971, pp. 181-183

Individual evidence

1. ↑ See for example in the journal of the Society for Schleswig-Holstein History. Volume 128, 2003, page 154.
2. ↑ See, for example, the articles on the history of parliamentarism and political parties. Volume 24. 1962, page 34.
3. ↑ Quotation taken from the personal entry in the Schleswig-Holstein Biographical Lexicon