Jakob Kaiser (8 February 1888 – 7 May 1961) was a German politician and
resistance leader during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Jakob Kaiser was born in
Hammelburg
Hammelburg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It sits in the district of Bad Kissingen, in Lower Franconia. It lies on the river Franconian Saale, 25 km west of Schweinfurt. Hammelburg is the oldest winegrowing town (''Weinstadt'') in Franconi ...
,
Lower Franconia
Lower Franconia (german: Unterfranken) is one of seven districts of Bavaria, Germany. The districts of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia make up the region of Franconia.
History
After the founding of the Kingdom of Bavaria the state was totally r ...
,
Kingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German E ...
. Following in his father's footsteps, Kaiser began a career as a bookbinder. It was during this time that he became politically active as a member of a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
, through which he became a leader of the
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
labour movement during the
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
.
Kaiser increased his participation in politics by becoming a member of the
Centre Party, where he began serving in the role of representative chairman of
Rhineland
The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section.
Term
Historically, the Rhinelands ...
in 1919. He was elected to the
Reichstag in 1933.
Resistance
After the
Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
came to power in 1933,
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
abolished all unions, replacing them with the Nazi controlled
German Labour Front
The German Labour Front (german: Deutsche Arbeitsfront, ; DAF) was the labour organisation under the Nazi Party which replaced the various independent trade unions in Germany during Adolf Hitler's rise to power.
History
As early as March 1933, ...
. Kaiser opposed
National Socialism
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...
and he joined the resistance in 1934. He was arrested by the
Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
in 1938 under suspicion of
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
, but released shortly thereafter.
Through his participation in the
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
-resistance circle, Kaiser became a close associated of the former Mayor of
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
,
Carl Goerdeler
Carl Friedrich Goerdeler (; 31 July 1884 – 2 February 1945) was a monarchist Conservatism, conservative German politician, executive, economist, civil servant and German resistance to Nazism, opponent of the Nazi Germany, Nazi regime. He oppose ...
. His relationship with Goerdeler allowed him to come into contact with
Claus von Stauffenberg
Colonel Claus Philipp Maria Justinian Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (; 15 November 1907 – 21 July 1944) was a German army officer best known for his failed attempt on 20 July 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the Wolf's Lair.
Despite ...
. Although he was not directly informed of the
20 July Plot
On 20 July 1944, Claus von Stauffenberg and other conspirators attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of Nazi Germany, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia, now Kętrzyn, in present-day Poland. The ...
, his knowledge of Stauffenberg's intention to assassinate
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
as well as his close ties to the resistance group forced him to go into hiding for the remainder of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Leader of the East German CDU
![Bundesarchiv Bild 183-19000-1213, Berlin, CDU- Parteitag, Jakob Kaiser](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-19000-1213%2C_Berlin%2C_CDU-_Parteitag%2C_Jakob_Kaiser.jpg)
After the war, Kaiser returned to
politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
and worked with
Andreas Hermes
Andreas Hermes (16 July 1878 – 4 January 1964) was a German agricultural scientist and politician. In the Weimar Republic, he was a member of several governments, serving as minister of food/nutrition and minister of finance for the Catholic Z ...
to found the
East Berlin
East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...
division of the
Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He was elected president of the Berlin CDU (both the Western and Eastern sections of the party).
Kaiser belonged to a group within the CDU called the
Christian Socialists
Christian socialism is a religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing left-wing politics and socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe capi ...
. They called for the
nationalisation
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
of some major industries.
In 1946 Kaiser helped found the
Free German Trade Union Federation
The Free German Trade Union Federation (german: Freier Deutsche Gewerkschaftsbund or ''FDGB'') was the sole national trade union centre of the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) which existed from 1946 and 1990. As a mass organisat ...
(FDGB). In the same year he was elected co-chairman of the
East German
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
CDU (together with
Ernst Lemmer
Ernst Lemmer (April 28, 1898 – August 16, 1970) was a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and former member of the German Bundestag
The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the on ...
). Although his political views were progressive, he was critical of the
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany (german: Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, , KPD ) was a major political party in the Weimar Republic between 1918 and 1933, an underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and a minor party in West German ...
and its
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
-supported leaders. His belief that the German Congress was controlled by the Soviets resulted in his refusal to join.
In 1947 during the
Ahlen
Ahlen (; Westphalian: ''Aulen'') is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, 30 km southeast of Münster. Ahlen is part of the District of Warendorf and is economically the most important town in that district. Ahlen is part of the larger ...
conference, a joint conference of
West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
and East German CDU leaders, Kaiser's plan of nationalisation of key industries and other moderate leftwing ideas were adopted by the party.
In 1947 the Soviets forced him to resign as party chairman. However, he remained a member of the party's Executive Committee.
In 1948 Kaiser was forced to leave East Berlin and he went to West Berlin where he joined the West German
Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Within the CDU he became a major rival of
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a Germany, German statesman who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the fir ...
, the party leader. Kaiser disagreed with Adenauer's
social market economy
The social market economy (SOME; german: soziale Marktwirtschaft), also called Rhine capitalism, Rhine-Alpine capitalism, the Rhenish model, and social capitalism, is a socioeconomic model combining a free-market capitalist economic system alon ...
and called for the
nationalisation
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
of key industries. Kaiser strongly believed in a neutral, united
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, and hoped that Germany would be a bridge between the West and the East.
In 1950 Kaiser was elected a vice-chairman of the West German CDU. From 1949 until 1957 he was
Minister of All-German Affairs in Adenauer's cabinet.
![Ehrengrab Jakob Kaiser](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Ehrengrab_Jakob_Kaiser.jpg)
Kaiser died on 7 May 1961 in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
. He is buried in the
Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf
Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf (Zehlendorf forest cemetery) is a cemetery located in Berlin's Nikolassee district. The cemetery occupies an area of 376,975 m2. An additional Italian war cemetery was created there in 1953. A number of notable people of Ber ...
, in the
Steglitz-Zehlendorf
Steglitz-Zehlendorf () is the sixth borough of Berlin, formed in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform by merging the former boroughs of Steglitz and Zehlendorf.
Home to Free University of Berlin, the Berlin Botanical Garden, and a variety of mu ...
borough of Berlin.
[Wernicke, Ingolf (2010). ''Berliner Friedhofsspaziergänge''. Berlin: Jaron Verlag. . p. 127.]
Marriages
Kaiser was married twice. In 1953, after the death of his first wife, he married his longtime colleague in trade union activism,
Elfriede Kaiser-Nebgen
Elfriede Kaiser-Nebgen (11 April 1890 – 22 October 1983) was a German social scientist and labor activist who was active in the country's Christian trade unions (CTU) and similar organizations. She took part in the German resistance to Nazism bef ...
(1890–1983). She was instrumental in helping to save his life after the failure of the 20 July Plot.
[Schneider, Dieter. '"Elfriede Nebgen: Auf der Suche nach Synthese und Einheit" (Elfriede Nebgen: In Search of Synthesis and Unity). In ''Sie waren die ersten. Frauen in der Arbeiterbewegung'' (They were the first: Women in the labour movement), Dieter Schneider, ed. Frankfurt: Büchergilde Gutenberg, 1988, , pp. 269-284.]
Legacy
*Th
''Jakob-Kaiser-Platz'' a transportation hub in
Charlottenburg-Nord
Charlottenburg-Nord (, literally "Charlottenburg North") is a locality (''Ortsteil'') in the northern part of the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf borough of Berlin, Germany. It is chiefly composed of after-war housing estates, allotment gardens and com ...
(
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
), was named after him on 12 May 1961, five days after his death.
*Th
Jakob-Kaiser-Hausis home to 1,745 offices, 314 of which belong to current
members
Member may refer to:
* Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon
* Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set
* In object-oriented programming, a member of a class
** Field (computer science), entries in ...
of the German
Bundestag
The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...
See also
*
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
*
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
*
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a Germany, German statesman who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the fir ...
*
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany (german: Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, , KPD ) was a major political party in the Weimar Republic between 1918 and 1933, an underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and a minor party in West German ...
*
Christian Democratic Union (East Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (german: Christlich-Demokratische Union Deutschlands, CDU) was an East German political party founded in 1945. It was part of the National Front with the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) and a bl ...
*
Christian Democratic Union in Exile
*
Christian Democratic Union
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaiser, Jakob
1888 births
1961 deaths
People from Bad Kissingen (district)
German Roman Catholics
Centre Party (Germany) politicians
Christian Democratic Union (East Germany) politicians
Members of the 20 July plot
Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
People from the Kingdom of Bavaria
Roman Catholics in the German Resistance
German trade unionists
Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic
Catholic socialists
Members of the Bundestag for Berlin
Members of the Bundestag 1953–1957
Members of the Bundestag 1949–1953
Members of the Bundestag for the Christian Democratic Union of Germany
Members of Parlamentarischer Rat
Burials at the Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf