Constantin von Dietze
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Friedrich Carl Nicolaus Constantin von Dietze (9 August 1891 – 18 March 1973) was an
agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the ...
, lawyer, economist, and theologian. He was a member of both the
Confessing Church The Confessing Church (german: link=no, Bekennende Kirche, ) was a movement within German Protestantism during Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to unify all Protestant churches into a single pro-Nazi German E ...
and the "
Freiburg Circle The Freiburg Circles were a school of History of economic thought, economic thought founded in the 1930s in Germany. History The Circles subsumed three initially religiously motivated working groups whose memberships overlapped, namely the ''Freibu ...
" during the
Nazi era Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
.


Early life and World War I

Friedrich Carl Nicolaus Constantin von Dietze was born in Gottesgnaden, the son of a former ''
Rittmeister __NOTOC__ (German and Scandinavian for "riding master" or "cavalry master") is or was a military rank of a commissioned cavalry officer in the armies of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Scandinavia, and some other countries. A ''Rittmeister'' is typic ...
'', Constantin von Dietze by his marriage to Johanna Gündell. His grandfather, Adolf von Dietze-Barby, was a close friend of
Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of J ...
and a conservative member of the
Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
House of Representatives. Dietze attended the
Landesschule Pforta Pforta, or Schulpforta, is a school located in Pforta monastery, a former Cistercians, Cistercian monastery (1137–1540), near Naumburg on the Saale River in the Germany, German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The site has been a school since the 16th ...
and studied law with the intention of someday working either in
administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...
or diplomacy. He attended the universities of
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
,
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 ...
, and
Halle an der Saale Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anh ...
. After a year of voluntary military service, Dietze entered
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
as a lieutenant. He was captured by the
Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...
in 1915 and taken to a
detention camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
in
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
, where he learned Russian and began reading economic works. He was released three years later following the
Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
and returned to Germany. After returning to Germany, Dietze resumed his studies at the
University of Breslau A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...
, where he received a doctorate in political science in 1919 for his work on Stolypinian land reform.


Opposition to the Nazis

Throughout the 1920s Dietze worked as a professor at the universities of
Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
,
Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...
, and
Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...
. On 1 April 1933 he left the University of Jena and moved to
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 ...
as the successor to economist Max Sering at the
University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...
. During his first year in Berlin, Dietze came in contact with many leading politicians including
Hanns Kerrl Hanns Kerrl (11 December 1887 – 14 December 1941) was a German Nazi politician. His most prominent position, from July 1935, was that of Reichsminister of Church Affairs. He was also President of the Prussian Landtag (1932–1933) and head of ...
and
Roland Freisler Roland Freisler (30 October 1893 – 3 February 1945), a German Nazi jurist, judge, and politician, served as the State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of Justice from 1934 to 1942 and as President of the People's Court from 1942 to 1945. As ...
. Dietze wasted little time establishing himself as an opponent of the
Nazi regime Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, joining the
Confessing Church The Confessing Church (german: link=no, Bekennende Kirche, ) was a movement within German Protestantism during Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to unify all Protestant churches into a single pro-Nazi German E ...
and consistently voicing his disapproval of the policies of
Reich ''Reich'' (; ) is a German language, German noun whose meaning is analogous to the meaning of the English word "realm"; this is not to be confused with the German adjective "reich" which means "rich". The terms ' (literally the "realm of an emp ...
Minister of Food The Minister of Food Control (1916–1921) and the Minister of Food (1939–1958) were British government ministerial posts separated from that of the Minister of Agriculture. In the Great War the Ministry sponsored a network of canteens known as ...
Richard Walther Darré. As a result, the Institute for Agricultural and Housing Engineering was closed by the Nazis in 1934. As President of the ''
Verein für Socialpolitik The Verein für Socialpolitik (), or the German Economic Association, is an important society of economists in the German-speaking area. History The Verein was founded in Eisenach in 1872 as a response to the "social question". Among its founder ...
'', Dietze acted directly against the Nazi Regime by granting a Jewish doctoral candidate his doctorate in 1935 (Rubin Kellman i.e. Reuven Avineri. Submitted 27 June 1935, approved May 6, 1936). He protected him from being expelled from the university until the end of his doctorate. After moving to
Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population o ...
in 1936 to replace Karl Diehl at the University of Freiburg, Dietze became increasingly active in the
Confessing Church The Confessing Church (german: link=no, Bekennende Kirche, ) was a movement within German Protestantism during Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to unify all Protestant churches into a single pro-Nazi German E ...
's opposition to the Nazis. He was arrested and held in captivity 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 ...
for two weeks in 1937 after a conflict with the "
German Christians Christianity is the largest religion in Germany. It was introduced to the area of modern Germany by 300 AD, while parts of that area belonged to the Roman Empire, and later, when Franks and other Germanic tribes converted to Christianity from t ...
" in which he informed visitors attending the church of the arrest of the Confessing Church's pastor and subsequent replacement with a pastor for the "German Christians." In 1938 Dietze worked with Adolf Lampe and
Walter Eucken Walter Eucken (; 17 January 1891 – 20 March 1950) was a German economist of the Freiburg school and father of ordoliberalism. He is closely linked with the development of the concept of "social market economy". Early life Walter Eucken was born ...
to found the ''Arbeitsgemeinschaft Erwin von Beckerath'', which would later become the Freiburger Kreis. Through this group Dietze would come into direct contact with
Carl Friedrich Goerdeler Carl Friedrich Goerdeler (; 31 July 1884 – 2 February 1945) was a monarchist conservative German politician, executive, economist, civil servant and opponent of the Nazi regime. He opposed some anti-Jewish policies while he held office and was ...
and
Dietrich Bonhoeffer Dietrich Bonhoeffer (; 4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the secular world have ...
. After the failure 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 ...
, Dietze was arrested for his relationship with Goerdeler and Bonhoeffer and was charged with
high 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 ...
. He was imprisoned in
Ravensbrück concentration camp Ravensbrück () was a German concentration camp exclusively for women from 1939 to 1945, located in northern Germany, north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück (part of Fürstenberg/Havel). The camp memorial's estimated figure o ...
and at ''Zellengefängnis Lehrter Straße 3'' in Berlin. His impending conviction and death sentence were impeded only by the collapse of the
Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, making him one of the few political prisoners who avoided being executed in the
Plötzensee Prison Plötzensee Prison (german: Justizvollzugsanstalt Plötzensee, JVA Plötzensee) is a juvenile prison in the Charlottenburg-Nord locality of Berlin with a capacity for 577 prisoners, operated by the State of Berlin judicial administration. The d ...
.Blesgen, p. 128


Post-war

After returning to Freiburg on 17 June 1945, Dietze resumed teaching at the university and served as its Rector from 1946 until 1949. During this time he founded a research establishment for agricultural politics and sociology, of which he was the president until his death. In 1948 Dietze received an honorary doctorate in Theology from the
University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...
for his commitment to Christian lifestyle and ethics in the field of economics. He became a member of the advisory council to the
Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (german: Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft, ), abbreviated BMEL, is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its primary headquarters are located in Bonn with ...
in 1950 and served as president of the
Evangelical Church in Germany The Evangelical Church in Germany (german: Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, abbreviated EKD) is a federation of twenty Lutheranism, Lutheran, Continental Reformed church, Reformed (Calvinism, Calvinist) and united and uniting churches, United ( ...
from 1955 until 1961. In 1958 and 1961 he was awarded a
Bundesverdienstkreuz The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...
. In 1960 Dietze was appointed a Doctor of Agriculture by the agricultural faculty at the
University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine U ...
. Dietze died on 18 March 1973 at the age of 81 in
Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population o ...
.


Further reading

* Blesgen, Detlef J. (2004). "Constantin von Dietze." Christliche Demokraten gegen Hitler: Aus Verfolgung und Widerstand zur Union. Ed. Buchstab, Günter; Kaff, Brigitte; Kleinmann, Hans-Otto. Freiburg, Germany: Herder, 2004. 123–130. Print.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dietze, Friedrich Carl Nicolaus Constantin von 1891 births 1973 deaths People from Calbe People from the Province of Saxony German agronomists German economists 20th-century German Protestant theologians Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Alumni of the University of Cambridge University of Tübingen alumni Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg alumni German Army personnel of World War I University of Breslau alumni Academic staff of the University of Göttingen Academic staff of the University of Rostock Academic staff of the University of Jena Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin Academic staff of the University of Freiburg German male non-fiction writers Member of the Mont Pelerin Society 20th-century agronomists