Hermann Ehlers (1 October 1904 – 29 October 1954) was a German

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

. He was the 2nd

President of the Bundestag The president of the Bundestag (german: Präsident des Deutschen Bundestages or ) presides over the sessions of the Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany, with functions similar to that of a speaker in other countries. In the German orde ...

from 19 October 1950 to 29 October 1954. He was a member of the Christian Democratic Union.

Early life

Ehlers was born 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 constitu ...

on 1 October 1904 to Hermann Heinrich Ludwig Ehlers and Adelheid Louise Auguste (Rabe) Ehlers. His parents moved to Berlin from Sülze shortly before Hermann's birth due to the opening of a job with the post office for the elder Ehlers. Hermann was raised in a bourgeoisie, politically conservative and evangelical environment.

University and Early Political Involvement

After graduating from vocational school in

Steglitz Steglitz () is a locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in Southwestern Berlin, the capital of Germany. is a Slavic name for the European goldfinch, similar to the German . Steglitz was also a borough from 1920 to 2000. It contained th ...

in 1922, Ehlers began studying law at the

Humboldt 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 ...

. Ehlers' time at college was surely influenced by the revolutions, inflation, unemployment, and political radicalization that characterized Germany following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, and Ehler became exceedingly active in student political groups such as the "Verband der Vereine Deutscher Studenten" (United German Student Union). Ehlers began studying 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 ...

in the summer of 1924, where he began attending the lectures of the famous but controversial professor of

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in fe ...

Carl Schmitt Carl Schmitt (; 11 July 1888 – 7 April 1985) was a German jurist, political theorist, and prominent member of the Nazi Party. Schmitt wrote extensively about the effective wielding of political power. A conservative theorist, he is noted as ...

. Schmitt, a pioneer in the realm of authoritarian politics, ultimately inspired Ehlers to write his dissertation on the "Essence and Effects of an Imperial Prussian State." Ehlers was also heavily influenced by the early national-socialist

Arthur Moeller van den Bruck Arthur Wilhelm Ernst Victor Moeller van den Bruck (23 April 1876 – 30 May 1925) was a German cultural historian, philosopher and writer best known for his controversial 1923 book ''Das Dritte Reich'' ("The Third Reich"), which promoted German ...

during this time, and began to sympathize with 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 ...

, a precursor to the

National Socialist German Worker's Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported th ...

of the 1930s.

Nazi-Era

Although initially enthusiastic about the sense of national awakening that occurred in the wake of the appointment of

Adolf 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 the ...

as chancellor, Ehlers was ultimately turned away from the Nazi movement by his Christian beliefs and activity within the church. After passing the state bar exam and receiving the title of " Gerichtsassessor" in July 1931, Ehlers began working in the administration service of the ''Evangelischen Kirche der Altpreußischen Union'' (Evangelical Church of the Prussian Union). He continued to work in various offices for the church throughout the 1930s. In 1937, Ehlers along with three other members of 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 ...

were 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 orga ...

on charges of "disobedience to the state." These charges stemmed from a decision made by the Confession Church to act against the will of the Reich and publish the names of those who had succeeded from the church for political gain. Since Ehlers was not present at the meeting in which the church decided to publish these names, he was released from prison after only fourteen days. His arrest reflects the fine line he and his fellow church members were walking in relation to the Nazi government. Throughout the remainder of the Nazi-Era Ehlers would continue to identify Hitler's regime as the primary opponent of the church, and viewed the ongoing battle as a necessary one: "We no longer oppose an illegitimate church government, but rather the state. We must go the way of disobedience. This will certainly mean an exasperating fight.".Krüger p.143 Ehlers was drafted into the military on 23 October 1940, and assigned to

anti-aircraft warfare Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

. He became a candidate for the title of officer on 20 February 1942 and was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

a year later. Throughout his time in the military he continued to commit himself to the council of the Confessing Church.

Post-War

Ehlers decided in August 1946 on the basis of his Christian beliefs to begin working with the CDU, and began his political career as a councilman in Oldenburg. He was elected to 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 Comm ...

in 1949, and his election as

in 1950 served as a symbol of the party's commitment to remaining interconfessional. Ehlers death because of a septic

tonsillitis Tonsillitis is inflammation of the tonsils in the upper part of the throat. It can be acute or chronic. Acute tonsillitis typically has a rapid onset. Symptoms may include sore throat, fever, enlargement of the tonsils, trouble swallowing, a ...

on 29 October 1954 in an Oldenburg hospital came as a surprise to all involved.

Family life and legacy

Ehlers was married to Jutta Taubert, who died in Switzerland in 2002. Multiple schools and dormitories within Germany carry his name, and the

Hermann Ehlers Stiftung Hermann or Herrmann may refer to: * Hermann (name), list of people with this name * Arminius, chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe in the 1st century, known as Hermann in the German language * Éditions Hermann, French publisher * Hermann, Miss ...

continues to operate as a

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-govern ...

for the CDU to this day. The Evangelical Task Force of the CDU/CSU has awarded the Hermann Ehlers Medal to church and political personalities for their service to evangelicalism since 2004.

Sources