Walter von Keudell (17 July 1884 – 7 May 1973) was a German forest expert and politician. He served as interior minister of

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 ...

between 1927 and 1928 during the period of 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 ...

Early life

Von Keudell was born in

Castellamare di Stabia Castellammare di Stabia (; nap, Castiellammare 'e Stabbia) is a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania region, in southern Italy. It is situated on the Bay of Naples about southeast of Naples, on the route to Sorrento. History ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, on 17 July 1884. He was the oldest son of

Robert von Keudell Robert von Keudell (27 February 1824 - April 25/26 1903) was a German diplomat, politician and music lover. Life Von Keudell's parents were the Prussian major Leopold von Keudell (1769-1831) and his wife Wilhelmine von Hartmann (1789-1848). He was ...

, German diplomat and a member of the Reichstag. His mother was Alexandra von Grünhof. He had a brother, Otto von Keudell, and a sister, Hedwig von Keudell.

Career

Von Keudell started his career in the forest administration in

Frankfurt/Oder Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...

in 1908. From 1915 he worked at the ''Reichsgetreidestelle'' (Reich grain administration). From 1916 to 1920 von Keudell was ''Landrat'' at Königsberg (Neumark) (today Chojna). As a result of the failed

Kapp Putsch The Kapp Putsch (), also known as the Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch (), was an attempted coup against the German national government in Berlin on 13 March 1920. Named after its leaders Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz, its goal was to undo the ...

, which he supported, von Keudell had to retire and worked as a farmer at ''Gut Hohenlübbichow''. However, he returned to politics and was elected as a member of the Reichstag for the

German National People's Party The German National People's Party (german: Deutschnationale Volkspartei, DNVP) was a national-conservative party in Germany during the Weimar Republic. Before the rise of the Nazi Party, it was the major conservative and nationalist party in Wei ...

(DNVP) from 1924 to 1930 (after 1929

Christian-National Peasants' and Farmers' Party The Christian-National Peasants' and Farmers' Party (german: Christlich-Nationale Bauern- und Landvolkpartei, or CNBL) was an agrarian political party of Weimar Germany. It developed from the German National People's Party (DNVP) in 1928. The gr ...

). On 31 January 1927 von Keudell was appointed ''Reichsinnenminister'' (minister of the interior) and vice chancellor in the fourth cabinet of chancellor

Wilhelm Marx Wilhelm Marx (15 January 1863 – 5 August 1946) was a German lawyer, Catholic politician and a member of the Centre Party. He was the chancellor of Germany twice, from 1923 to 1925 and again from 1926 to 1928, and he also served briefly as the ...

. He was one of three nationalist cabinet members. The cabinet resigned on 12 June 1928 and

Carl Severing Carl Wilhelm Severing (1 June 1875, Herford, Westphalia – 23 July 1952, Bielefeld) was a German Social Democrat politician during the Weimar era. He was seen as a representative of the right wing of the party. Over the years, he took a leadi ...

replaced von Keudell as interior minister on 29 June 1928 when the new government headed by Hermann Müller took office. Von Keudell 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 and from that year was ''Oberlandforstmeister'' and head of the Prussian ''Landesforstverwaltung'' in Brandenburg. In 1934, von Keudell became ''Generalforstmeister''. In 1936, ''Reichsforstmeister''

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...

appointed von Keudell as his ''Staatssekretär'' and deputy at the ''Reichsforstamt'' (ministry of forest affairs). He served in this capacity until 1937. That year he also was a member of the ''Reichsverkehrsrat'' (Reich transportation council). Von Keudell was removed from office in 1937 (''im einstweiligen Ruhestand'') when he refused to implement the forest policy of Göring which advocated the use of the mandatory cutting quota in private forests as in public forests.

Friedrich Alpers Friedrich Alpers (25 March 1901 – 3 September 1944) was a German Nazi politician and SS-''Obergruppenführer''. He was also a Minister of the Free State of Brunswick, and ''Generalforstmeister'' (General forest supervisor). Alpers was respons ...

succeeded von Keudell in the post. In 1948, von Keudell joined the Christian Democratic Union.

Personal life and death

Walter von Keudell was a devout

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

. He died in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

on 7 May 1973.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keudell, Walter von 1884 births 1973 deaths Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians German Protestants German National People's Party politicians Interior ministers of Germany Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic Nazi Party politicians People from the Province of Naples