Difference between revisions of "Konrad Adenauer"
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| − | '''Konrad Adenauer''' (1876- 1967), was the first chancellor (top official) of the Federal Republic of Germany, 1949-63. He was the founder and leader of the [[Christian Democratic Union]], a coalition of Catholics and Protestants that since 1946 has generally dominated German politics. A devout Catholic, he belied his age as one of the oldest national leaders in world history by a vigorous commitment to democracy, capitalism, and anti-Communism. A stern patriarch and shrewd politician, Adenauer was deeply committed to the traditional values of Christianity and pursued a single-mindedly Western-oriented foreign policy. He restored the West Germany economiy to dominance in Europe, rebuilt its army, came to terms with France, helped establish European unity, fought relentlessly against the Communists in rival [[East Germany]], and made his nation a pillar of [[NATO]] and a form ally of the United States. To a large extent Adenauer's policies still dominate Germany.[[File:Adenauer1.jpg|thumb| | + | '''Konrad Adenauer''' (1876- 1967), was the first chancellor (top official) of the Federal Republic of Germany, 1949-63. He was the founder and leader of the [[Christian Democratic Union]], a coalition of Catholics and Protestants that since 1946 has generally dominated German politics. A devout Catholic, he belied his age as one of the oldest national leaders in world history by a vigorous commitment to democracy, capitalism, and anti-Communism. A stern patriarch and shrewd politician, Adenauer was deeply committed to the traditional values of Christianity and pursued a single-mindedly Western-oriented foreign policy. He restored the West Germany economiy to dominance in Europe, rebuilt its army, came to terms with France, helped establish European unity, fought relentlessly against the Communists in rival [[East Germany]], and made his nation a pillar of [[NATO]] and a form ally of the United States. To a large extent Adenauer's policies still dominate Germany.[[File:Adenauer1.jpg|thumb|250px]] |
==Career== | ==Career== | ||
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==West Germany== | ==West Germany== | ||
Adenauer became one of the founders of the [[Christian Democratic Union]] (CDU), a conservative coalition of Catholics and Protestants whose aim was to rebuild a shattered Germany in the Christian spirit. Adenauer insisted there be harmony between Protestants and Catholics in the new party. | Adenauer became one of the founders of the [[Christian Democratic Union]] (CDU), a conservative coalition of Catholics and Protestants whose aim was to rebuild a shattered Germany in the Christian spirit. Adenauer insisted there be harmony between Protestants and Catholics in the new party. | ||
| − | + | ==Chancellor== | |
In 1946, at age 70, his great political career really began. Adenauer became CDU party leader and won a series of electoral battles against the vchief rival, the [[Social Democrats]] (SDP), the former Socialist party. The three western zones of occupation merged into West Germany and in 1948 he became president of the parliamentary council, charged with designing a democratic constitution for the German Federal Republic. In 1949, the first German Federal Diet elected him chancellor. He was re-elected in 1953, 1957, and 1961. He retired in 1963, but remained the powerful head of the CDU until his death. | In 1946, at age 70, his great political career really began. Adenauer became CDU party leader and won a series of electoral battles against the vchief rival, the [[Social Democrats]] (SDP), the former Socialist party. The three western zones of occupation merged into West Germany and in 1948 he became president of the parliamentary council, charged with designing a democratic constitution for the German Federal Republic. In 1949, the first German Federal Diet elected him chancellor. He was re-elected in 1953, 1957, and 1961. He retired in 1963, but remained the powerful head of the CDU until his death. | ||
| + | ===Domestic policies=== | ||
| + | Adenauer's always hewed to a few fundamental principles. He opposed the agglomeration of economic and political power in the hands of the state--the goal of the Socialists, saying it was a danger for the freedom of the individual. he promoted a division of power between business and the state, in which a limited, controlling function devolves upon the state, offers greater guarantees for the preservation of personal liberties. | ||
| + | ===Foreign policies=== | ||
| + | In foreign policy Adenauer regarded as essential the conclusive settlement of Germany's see-saw policy between East and West, which in his opinion brought to the German people the disasters of the two world wars. He bound Germany firmly to the democratic West. His uncompromising hosilitity toward the Soviet Union wasa major element in the [[Cold War]]. | ||
==Further reading== | ==Further reading== | ||
Revision as of 12:28, May 29, 2009
Konrad Adenauer (1876- 1967), was the first chancellor (top official) of the Federal Republic of Germany, 1949-63. He was the founder and leader of the Christian Democratic Union, a coalition of Catholics and Protestants that since 1946 has generally dominated German politics. A devout Catholic, he belied his age as one of the oldest national leaders in world history by a vigorous commitment to democracy, capitalism, and anti-Communism. A stern patriarch and shrewd politician, Adenauer was deeply committed to the traditional values of Christianity and pursued a single-mindedly Western-oriented foreign policy. He restored the West Germany economiy to dominance in Europe, rebuilt its army, came to terms with France, helped establish European unity, fought relentlessly against the Communists in rival East Germany, and made his nation a pillar of NATO and a form ally of the United States. To a large extent Adenauer's policies still dominate Germany.
Career
Adenauer was born in 1876, in Cologne, the son of a poor law clerk. He became a lawyer and a civil servant in Cologne, specializing in local taxation. Adenauer was elected a deputy mayor, then senior deputy mayor (1911), and served as lord high mayor of Cologne 1917-33.
Adenauer played a leading role in German national politics as a member of the Catholic Center Party. From 1917 to 1933 he served in the provincial diet of the Rhineland and in the Prussian state council as a representative of the Center Party. He later became president of the council and was also a member of the executive committee of the Center Party. In 1926 Adenauer publicly advocated a political union of Evangelical and Catholic Christians. He hoped to oppose the philosophy of the socialist class struggle with a program for a Christian social order of society.
Nazi Era
In 1933 Adenauer was dismissed from all his positions by the Hitler regime for "crimes against the German people." For 12 years he lived quietly near Bonn. In late 1944 the Gestapo put in a concentration camp.
After Germany's surrender in May 1945 the Americans reinstalled Adenauer as lord mayor of Cologne. A few months later he was dismissed by the British, when Cologne was made part of their occupation zone, "for reasons of political incompetence."
West Germany
Adenauer became one of the founders of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), a conservative coalition of Catholics and Protestants whose aim was to rebuild a shattered Germany in the Christian spirit. Adenauer insisted there be harmony between Protestants and Catholics in the new party.
Chancellor
In 1946, at age 70, his great political career really began. Adenauer became CDU party leader and won a series of electoral battles against the vchief rival, the Social Democrats (SDP), the former Socialist party. The three western zones of occupation merged into West Germany and in 1948 he became president of the parliamentary council, charged with designing a democratic constitution for the German Federal Republic. In 1949, the first German Federal Diet elected him chancellor. He was re-elected in 1953, 1957, and 1961. He retired in 1963, but remained the powerful head of the CDU until his death.
Domestic policies
Adenauer's always hewed to a few fundamental principles. He opposed the agglomeration of economic and political power in the hands of the state--the goal of the Socialists, saying it was a danger for the freedom of the individual. he promoted a division of power between business and the state, in which a limited, controlling function devolves upon the state, offers greater guarantees for the preservation of personal liberties.
Foreign policies
In foreign policy Adenauer regarded as essential the conclusive settlement of Germany's see-saw policy between East and West, which in his opinion brought to the German people the disasters of the two world wars. He bound Germany firmly to the democratic West. His uncompromising hosilitity toward the Soviet Union wasa major element in the Cold War.
Further reading
- Granieri, Ronald J. The Ambivalent Alliance: Konrad Adenauer, the CDU/CSU, and the West, 1949-1966 (2004) 250 pages excerpt and text search
- Heidenheimer, Arnold J. Adenauer and the CDU: the Rise of the Leader and the Integration of the Party (1960)
- Cudlipp, E. Adenauer (1985)
- Hiscocks, Richard. The Adenauer Era (1966)
- Rovan, Joseph. Konrad Adenauer (1987) 182 pages excerpt and text search
- Schwarz, Hans-Peter. Konrad Adenauer: A German Politician and Statesman in a Period of War, Revolution and Reconstruction. Vol. 1: From the German Empire to the Federal Republic, 1876-1952.
- Schwarz, Hans-Peter. vol 2: Konrad Adenauer a German politician and statesman in a period of war, revolution and reconstruction (1995) 759 pp. excerpt and text search vol 2
- Williams, Charles. Konrad Adenauer: The Father of the New Germany (2001), 624pp
Primary sources
- Adenauer, Konrad. Memoirs, (4 vols. English edition 1966-70)