Kurt Georg Kiesinger
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Kurt Georg Kiesinger (; 6 April 1904 – 9 March 1988) was a German politician who served as the
chancellor of West Germany The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,; often shortened to ''Bundeskanzler''/''Bundeskanzlerin'', / is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the Ge ...
from 1 December 1966 to 21 October 1969. Before he became Chancellor he served as Minister President of
Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
from 1958 to 1966 and as President of the Federal Council from 1962 to 1963. He was Chairman of the Christian Democratic Union from 1967 to 1971. Kiesinger gained his certificate as a lawyer in March 1933 and worked as a lawyer in Berlin's Kammergericht court from 1935 to 1940. He had joined the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
in 1933, but remained a largely inactive member. To avoid
conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
, he found work at the
Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...
in 1940, and became deputy head of the Foreign Office's
broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...
department. During his service at the Foreign Office, he was denounced by two colleagues for his anti-Nazi stance. In 1946 he became a member of the Christian Democratic Union. He was elected to the
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 ...
in 1949, and was a member of the Bundestag until 1958 and again from 1969 to 1980. He left federal politics for eight years (from 1958 to 1966) to serve as Minister President of
Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
, and subsequently became Chancellor by forming a grand coalition with
Willy Brandt Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as the chancellor of West Ge ...
's
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...
. Kiesinger was considered an outstanding orator and mediator, and was dubbed "King Silver Tongue". He was an author of poetry and various books, and founded the universities of
Konstanz Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was th ...
and
Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...
as Minister President of Baden-Württemberg. Kiesinger is also considered controversial, which is mainly due to his affiliation and work with the Nazis. The
student movement Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. Although often focused on schools, curriculum, and educational funding, student groups have influenced greater political e ...
in particular, but also other sections of the population, saw Kiesinger as a politician who stood for the inadequacy of Germans' coming to terms with the past.


Early life and Nazi activities

Kurt Georg Kiesinger was born in
Ebingen Ebingen is a town in the large district of Albstadt, district Zollernalbkreis, in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the river Schmiecha, a left-hand tributary of the Danube, south of Tübingen and west of Ulm. History E ...
,
Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which exist ...
(now
Albstadt Albstadt () is the largest city in the district of Zollernalbkreis in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the Swabian Jura mountains, about halfway between Stuttgart and Lake Constance. Geography Albstadt is spread across a variety of ...
,
Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
). His father was a commercial clerk in companies engaged in the local textile industry. Kiesinger was baptized Catholic because his mother was Catholic, though his father was a protestant. His mother died six months after he was born. His maternal grandmother exerted a strong influence on Kiesinger and encouraged him, while his father was indifferent to his advancement. After a year, his father was remarried to a Karoline Victoria Pfaff. They had seven children, of whom Kiesinger's half-sister Maria died a year after she was born. Pfaff was also a Catholic. Kiesinger was therefore shaped by both denominations and later referred to himself gladly as a "Protestant Catholic". Politically, Kiesinger grew up in a liberal, democratically-minded milieu. Kiesinger studied law 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 ...
and worked as a then as
lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
in Berlin from 1935 to 1940. As a student, he joined the (non-''
couleur Couleur (from French, meaning ''colour'' in English language, English) is the expression used in Central European ''Studentenverbindungen'' for the various headgear and distinctive ribbons worn by members of these student societies. There are thr ...
'' wearing) Roman Catholic corporations '' KStV Alamannia Tübingen'' and Askania-Burgundia Berlin. He became a member of the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
in February 1933, but remained a largely inactive member. In 1940, he was called to arms but avoided mobilization by finding a job in the
Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...
's
broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...
department, rising quickly to become deputy head of the department from 1943 to 1945 and the department's liaison with the Propaganda Ministry. He worked under
Joachim von Ribbentrop Ulrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (; 30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946) was a German politician and diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945. Ribbentrop first came to Adolf Hitler's not ...
, who would later be condemned to death at
Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
. After the war, he was interned by the Americans for his connection to Ribbentrop and spent 18 months in the Ludwigsburg camp before being released as a case of mistaken identity. Franco-German journalist
Beate Klarsfeld Beate Auguste Klarsfeld (née Künzel; born 13 February 1939) is a Franco-German journalist and Nazi hunter who, along with her French husband, Serge, became famous for their investigation and documentation of numerous Nazi war criminals, inc ...
demonstrated Kiesinger's close connections to Ribbentrop and Joseph Goebbels, the head of Nazi Germany's Propaganda Ministry. She also asserted that Kiesinger had been chiefly responsible for the contents of German international broadcasts which included anti-Semitic and
war propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to Social influence, influence or persuade an audience to further an Political agenda, agenda, which may not be Objectivity (journalism), objective and may be selectively presenting facts to en ...
, and had collaborated closely with SS functionaries and Franz Alfred Six. The latter was responsible for mass murders in Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe and was tried as a war criminal in the '' Einsatzgruppen Trial'' at Nuremberg. Even after becoming aware of the extermination of the Jews, Kiesinger had continued to produce anti-Semitic propaganda. These allegations were based in part on documents that Albert Norden published about the culprits of war and Nazi crimes.


Early political career

Kiesinger joined the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in 1946. From 1946 he gave private lessons to law students, and in 1948 he resumed his practice as a lawyer. In 1947 he also became unpaid secretary-general of the CDU in
Württemberg-Hohenzollern Württemberg-Hohenzollern (french: Wurtemberg-Hohenzollern ) was a West German state created in 1945 as part of the French post-World War II occupation zone. Its capital was Tübingen. In 1952, it was merged into the newly founded state of Bad ...
. In the federal election in 1949 he was elected to the
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 ...
, in which he went on to sit until 1958 and again from 1969 to 1980. In his first legislative term he represented the constituency of Ravensburg, in which he achieved record results of over 70 percent, from 1969 the constituency of Waldshut. For the 1976 federal election, Kiesinger renounced his own constituency and entered parliament via the
Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
state list of his party. In the first two legislative periods (1949–1957) he was chairman of the mediation committee of the Bundestag and Bundesrat. On 19 October 1950, Kiesinger received 55 votes against his party friend Hermann Ehlers (201 votes) in the election for President of the Bundestag, although he had not been proposed. In 1951 he became a member of the CDU executive board. From December 17, 1954 to January 29, 1959, he was chairman of the Bundestag Committee on Foreign Affairs, to which he had been a member since 1949. During that time, he became known for his rhetorical brilliance, as well as his in-depth knowledge of foreign affairs. However, despite the recognition he enjoyed within the Christian Democrat parliamentary faction, he was passed over during various cabinet reshuffles. Consequently, he decided to switch from federal to state politics.


Minister President of Baden-Württemberg

Kiesinger became Minister President of the state of
Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
on 17 December 1958, an office in which he served until 1 December 1966. At that time Kiesinger was also a member of the
Landtag of Baden-Württemberg The Landtag of Baden-Württemberg is the diet of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It convenes in Stuttgart and currently consists of 154 members of five political parties. The majority before the 2021 election was a coalition of the All ...
. As Minister President he was
President of the German Bundesrat In Germany, the President of the Bundesrat or President of the Federal Council (German: ''Bundesratspräsident'') is the chairperson (speaker) of the Bundesrat (Federal Council). The president is elected by the Bundesrat for a term of one year ...
from 1 November 1962 to 31 October 1963. During his time in office he founded two universities, the
University of Konstanz The University of Konstanz (german: Universität Konstanz) is a university in the city of Konstanz in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Its main campus was opened on the Gießberg in 1972 after being founded in 1966. The university is Germany's ...
and the
University of Ulm Ulm University (german: Universität Ulm) is a public university in Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1967 and focuses on natural sciences, medicine, engineering sciences, mathematics, economics and computer sci ...
. In the early days of the Federal Republic of Germany, oversized coalitions were not uncommon at the state level, and so Kiesinger led a coalition of the CDU,
SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been t ...
, FDP/DVP and BHE until 1960, but then a coalition from 1960 to 1966. On 15 April 1961, the BHE disbanded.


Chancellorship

In 1966 following the collapse of the existing
CDU/CSU CDU/CSU, unofficially the Union parties (german: Unionsparteien, ) or the Union, is a centre-right Christian-democratic political alliance of two political parties in Germany: the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and the Christian Soc ...
- FDP coalition, Kiesinger was elected to replace Ludwig Erhard as Chancellor, heading a new CDU/CSU-
SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been t ...
alliance. The government formed by Kiesinger remained in power for nearly three years with the SPD leader
Willy Brandt Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as the chancellor of West Ge ...
as Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister. Kiesinger reduced tensions with the Soviet bloc nations establishing diplomatic relations with
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
,
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
and
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
but he opposed any major conciliatory moves. A number of progressive reforms were also realised during Kiesinger's time as Chancellor. Pension coverage was extended in 1967 via the abolition of the income-ceiling for compulsory membership. In education, student grants were introduced, together with a university building programme, while a constitutional reform of 1969 empowered the federal government to be involved with the Länder in educational planning through joint planning commission. Vocational training legislation was also introduced, while a reorganisation of unemployment insurance promoted retraining schemes, counselling and advice services and job creation places. In addition, under the “Lohnfortzahlunggesetz” of 1969, employers had to pay all employees’ wages for the first six weeks of sickness. In August 1969, the Landabgaberente (a higher special pension for farmers willing to cede farms that were unprofitable according to certain criteria) was introduced. The historian
Tony Judt Tony Robert Judt ( ; 2 January 1948 – 6 August 2010) was a British-American historian, essayist and university professor who specialized in European history. Judt moved to New York and served as the Erich Maria Remarque Professor in European ...
has observed that Kiesinger's chancellorship, like the presidency of
Heinrich Lübke Karl Heinrich Lübke (; 14 October 1894 – 6 April 1972) was a German politician, who served as president of West Germany from 1959 to 1969. He suffered from deteriorating health towards the end of his career and is known for a series of emba ...
, showed the "a glaring contradiction in the Bonn Republic's self-image" in view of their previous Nazi allegiances. One of his low points as Chancellor was in 1968 when Nazi-hunter
Beate Klarsfeld Beate Auguste Klarsfeld (née Künzel; born 13 February 1939) is a Franco-German journalist and Nazi hunter who, along with her French husband, Serge, became famous for their investigation and documentation of numerous Nazi war criminals, inc ...
, who campaigned with her husband
Serge Klarsfeld Serge Klarsfeld (born 17 September 1935) is a Romanian-born French activist and Nazi hunter known for documenting the Holocaust in order to establish the record and to enable the prosecution of war criminals. Since the 1960s, he has made notab ...
against Nazi criminals, publicly slapped him in the face during the 1968 Christian Democrat convention, while calling him a
Nazi 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 ...
. She did so in French and – whilst being dragged out of the room by two ushers – repeated her words in German saying "''Kiesinger! Nazi! Abtreten!''" ("Kiesinger! Nazi! Step down!") Kiesinger, holding his left cheek, did not respond. Up to his death he refused to comment on the incident and in other opportunities he denied explicitly that he had been opportunistic by joining the NSDAP in 1933 (although he admitted to joining the German Foreign Ministry to dodge his 1940 draft by the Wehrmacht). Other prominent critics included the writers
Heinrich Böll Heinrich Theodor Böll (; 21 December 1917 – 16 July 1985) was a German writer. Considered one of Germany's foremost post-World War II writers, Böll is a recipient of the Georg Büchner Prize (1967) and the Nobel Prize for Literature (1972). ...
and
Günter Grass Günter Wilhelm Grass (born Graß; ; 16 October 1927 – 13 April 2015) was a German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor, and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was born in the Free City of Da ...
(in 1966, Grass had written an open letter urging Kiesinger not to accept the chancellorship). After the election of 1969, the SPD preferred to form a coalition with the FDP, ending the uninterrupted post-war reign of the CDU chancellors. Kiesinger was succeeded as Chancellor by his former
Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...
Willy Brandt Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as the chancellor of West Ge ...
.


Later years and death

Kiesinger continued to head the CDU/CSU in opposition and remained a member of the Bundestag until 1980. In July 1971 Kiesinger was succeeded as
Leader of the Christian Democratic Union The Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (''Vorsitzender der Christlich Demokratischen Union'') is the most senior political figure within the Christian Democratic Union of Germany. Since 31 January 2022, the office has been held by Friedri ...
by
Rainer Barzel Rainer Candidus Barzel (20 June 1924 – 26 August 2006) was a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He served as the 8th President of the Bundestag from 1983 to 1984. Barzel had been the leader of his parliamentary group ...
. In 1972 he justified the
constructive vote of no confidence The constructive vote of no confidence (german: konstruktives Misstrauensvotum, es, moción de censura constructiva) is a variation on the motion of no confidence that allows a parliament to withdraw confidence from a head of government only if t ...
by the CDU/CSU parliamentary group against Willy Brandt in the Bundestag. The subsequent vote in Brandt with the aim of electing the then CDU leader Rainer Barzel as chancellor was unsuccessful because of the bribery of Julius Steiner and probably
Leo Wagner Leo Wagner (13 May 1919 – 8 November 2006) was a German politician (CSU). Between 1961 and his resignation from it, formally at the end of 1976, he served as a member of the West German Bundestag (parliament). For many years he was part of the ...
by GDR's Stasi. In 1980 Kiesinger ended his career as politician and worked on his memoir. Of his planned memoirs, only the first part (''Dark and Bright Years'') was completed, covering the years up to 1958. It was released after his death in 1989. Kiesinger died in
Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in thr ...
on 9 March 1988, four weeks before his 84th birthday. After a
requiem mass A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...
in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
's St. Eberhard Church, his funeral procession was followed by protesters (mainly students) who wanted his former membership in the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
remembered.


Books

* ''Schwäbische Kindheit''. (“Swabian childhood.”), Wunderlich Verlag, Tübingen 1964. * ''Ideen vom Ganzen. Reden und Betrachtungen''. (“Ideas from the whole. Speeches and reflections.”), Wunderlich Verlag, Tübingen 1964. * ''Stationen 1949-1969,''. (“Stations 1949-1969.”), Wunderlich Verlag, Wunderlich Verlag, Tübingen 1969. * ''Die Stellung des Parlamentariers in unserer Zeit''. (“The position of the parliamentarian in our time.”), Stuttgart 1981. * ''Dunkle und helle Jahre: Erinnerungen 1904–1958''. (“Dark and Bright Years: Memoirs 1904–1958.”), Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1989


References


Notes


Further reading

* Braunbuch, chapter "Kiesinger - ein führender Nazi-Propagandist als Bonner Regierungschef", 3rd Volume, Berlin, GDR 1968, https://web.archive.org/web/20101120003249/http://braunbuch.de/8-01.shtml * Philipp Gassert: ''Kurt Georg Kiesinger 1904–1988. Kanzler zwischen den Zeiten''. DVA, München 2006,
Rezension Daniela Münkler
un

rezensionen.ch, 19. Juli 2006, S. 31). * Michael F. Feldkamp
''Katholischer Studentenverein Askania-Burgundia im Kartellverband Katholischer Deutscher Studentenvereine (KV) zu Berlin 1853–2003''.
(PDF) Eine Festschrift herausgegeben von der K.St.V. Askania-Burgundia, Berlin 2006. * Otto Rundel: ''Kurt Georg Kiesinger. Sein Leben und sein politisches Wirken''.
Kohlhammer Verlag W. Kohlhammer Verlag GmbH, or Kohlhammer Verlag, is a German publishing house headquartered in Stuttgart. History Kohlhammer Verlag was founded in Stuttgart on 30 April 1866 by . Kohlhammer had taken over the businesses of his late father-in-l ...
, Stuttgart 2006, . * Günter Buchstab, Philipp Gassert, Peter Thaddäus Lang (Hrsg.): ''Kurt Georg Kiesinger 1904–1988. Von Ebingen ins Kanzleramt''. Herder, Freiburg 2005, im Auftrag der
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung The Konrad Adenauer Foundation (german: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, KAS) is a German political party foundation associated with but independent of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The foundation's headquarters are located in Sank ...
, . * Reinhard Schmoeckel, Bruno Kaiser: ''Die vergessene Regierung. Die große Koalition 1966–1969 und ihre langfristigen Wirkungen.'' Bouvier Verlag, Bonn 2005, . * Maria Keipert (Red.): ''Biographisches Handbuch des deutschen Auswärtigen Dienstes 1871–1945.'' Herausgegeben vom Auswärtigen Amt, Historischer Dienst. Band 2: Gerhard Keiper, Martin Kröger: ''G–K.'' Schöningh, Paderborn u. a. 2005, . * Albrecht Ernst: ''Kurt Georg Kiesinger 1904–1988. Rechtslehrer, Ministerpräsident, Bundeskanzler.'' Begleitbuch zur Wanderausstellung des Hauptstaatsarchivs Stuttgart, Stuttgart 2004, . * Joachim Samuel Eichhorn: Durch alle Klippen hindurch zum Erfolg: Die Regierungspraxis der ersten Großen Koalition (1966–1969) (Studien zur Zeitgeschichte, Band 79); München 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kiesinger, Kurt Georg 1904 births 1988 deaths 20th-century Chancellors of Germany Chancellors of Germany Presidents of the German Bundesrat Nazi Party politicians German Roman Catholics Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg Members of the Bundestag for Baden-Württemberg Members of the Bundestag 1976–1980 Members of the Bundestag 1972–1976 Members of the Bundestag 1969–1972 Members of the Bundestag 1957–1961 Members of the Bundestag 1953–1957 Members of the Bundestag 1949–1953 Nazi Party members People from Albstadt People from the Kingdom of Württemberg People of the Cold War Ministers-President of Baden-Württemberg Members of the Bundestag for the Christian Democratic Union of Germany