Fritz Schäffer (12 May 1888 – 29 March 1967) was a German

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

of the

Bavarian People's Party The Bavarian People's Party (German: ; BVP) was a principally Catholic christian democratic political party in Bavaria during the Weimar Republic. After the collapse of the German Empire in 1918, it split away from the federal Centre Party and ...

(BVP) and the Christian Social Union (CSU). He was the Bavarian Minister of Finance from 1931 to 1933, when the Nazis came to power in Berlin. In 1945 he became the first Minister President of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

to hold office after the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. From 1949 to 1957, he was the West German federal Minister of Finance and, from 1957 to 1961, federal Minister of Justice.

Biography

Fritz Schäffer was born in 1888 as the son of Gottfried Schäffer and Amalia Mayr. He went to school in

Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (; Austro-Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an Independent city#Germany, independent city on the Danube, in Upper Bavaria, with 142,308 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2023). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and

Neuburg an der Donau Neuburg an der Donau (Central Bavarian: ''Neiburg an da Donau'') is a town which is the capital of the Neuburg-Schrobenhausen district in the state of Bavaria in Germany. Divisions The municipality has 16 divisions: * Altmannstetten * Bergen, N ...

, afterwards studying law in Munich. He joined as a volunteer the Bavarian ''Infanterie-Leib-Regiment'' in 1915. After service in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

and

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

, he was wounded at

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

in May 1916 and released from army service. Schäffer started working for the Bavarian state government in 1917. He married Else Dyroff in September 1917. He was imprisoned from 1933 until 1934, after which he worked as a lawyer. He was imprisoned again in

Dachau concentration camp Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

after the

20 July Plot The 20 July plot, sometimes referred to as Operation Valkyrie, was a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, the chancellor and leader of Nazi Germany, and overthrow the Nazi regime on 20 July 1944. The plotters were part of the German r ...

until the end of World War II, from August to October 1944.

Politics

From 1918 to 1933, Schäffer was a member of the BVP. In 1929, he became chairman of this Bavarian regionalist party. From 1920 to 1933, he was a member of the

Landtag of Bavaria The Landtag of Bavaria, officially known in English as the Bavarian State Parliament, is the unicameral legislature of the German state of Bavaria. The parliament meets in the Maximilianeum in Munich. Elections to the Landtag are held every ...

. In his early political career, he made some anti-Semitic speeches, a fact that would haunt him in his later political life. Nevertheless, he opposed the Nazis' rise to power in Bavaria and took part in the formation of the ''Bayernwacht'' in 1931, an organisation aimed at protecting conservative politicians from the SA. He aimed at forming a coalition, which would include the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

and the Centre Party, arguing that such a step would neutralise the Nazi party to some extent. After this failed, he attempted to elevate the last Bavarian crown prince, Rupprecht, to the dictatorial position of ''Staatskommissar''. The move ultimately failed due to the resistance of Bavarian prime minister,

Heinrich Held Heinrich Held (6 June 1868 – 4 August 1938) was a German Catholic politician and Minister President of Bavaria. He was forced out of office by the Nazi takeover in Germany in 1933. Biography Heinrich Held was born in Erbach in the Taunus, ...

, who feared that Schäffer would be made prime minister in his stead. In 1933, he found himself imprisoned for his actions against the Nazis. In 1945 he was among the founders of the CSU. He was engaged in continuous strife with the party leader, Josef Müller over party politics. Müller wished to make the party multi-confessional, while Schäffer tried to move it towards a revival of the Catholic-dominated BVP. He was made the first postwar prime minister of Bavaria by General George S. Patton in 1945, but was relieved of his post by General

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

after a couple of months, when his anti-Semitic past became known. Eisenhower, unlike Patton, also disliked the fact that Schäffer hired ex-Nazis for his administration."Power Grabber"
''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''. 20 February 1956. accessed: 8 May 2008. He was barred from politics by the US authorities until 1948, accused of being a Nazi sympathizer. He managed to clear himself of this charge and reentered politics afterwards. From 1949 to 1961, he was a member of the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

. He became Minister of Finance of the new Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 and held this post until 1957. In 1957, after elections,

Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman and politician who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of West Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of th ...

chancellor of Germany The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal Cabinet of Germany, government of Germany. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Government of Germany, ...

, attempted to remove Schäffer from his cabinet as his tight fiscal policies were felt as a hindrance to Germany's economic growth. After political negotiations, Schäffer was awarded the justice ministry instead. During his time as German Minister of Finance, he became the second-most powerful man in federal politics. He was known for his tight fiscal policies, aimed at keeping the German currency stable. In this role, he strongly resisted any reparation claims to victims of the Nazi reign. Paying for the Past
google book review, author: Christian Pross, Belinda Cooper, publisher: JHU Press, accessed: 8 May 2008 After German rearmament, Schäffer was engaged in many arguments about defense spending, often irritating his

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

partners by his refusals to allocate more money to it.

References

External links

Bavarian government website - Fritz Schäffer
(in German)
Paying for the Past
google book review, author: Christian Pross, Belinda Cooper, publisher: JHU Press * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schaffer, Fritz 1888 births 1967 deaths Politicians from Munich Politicians from the Kingdom of Bavaria German Roman Catholics Bavarian People's Party politicians Leaders of political parties in Germany Members of the Bundestag for the Christian Social Union in Bavaria Finance ministers of Germany Members of the Bundestag 1949–1953 Members of the Bundestag for Bavaria Minister-presidents of Bavaria Ministers of the Bavaria State Government Members of the Landtag of Bavaria Military personnel of Bavaria German Army personnel of World War I Dachau concentration camp survivors Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

Biography

Politics

See also

References

Further reading

External links