Charles Louis Hueber (21 August 1883 – 18 August 1943) was an Alsatian politician. He was the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of Strasbourg between 1929 and 1935, and a member of the

French National Assembly The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known a ...

twice.
Charles, Louis HUEBER (1883 - 1943)
' Hueber became involved in political struggles at a young age. In 1900 he founded the Alsatian section of the Metal Workers Trade Union. In 1910 he became the secretary of the

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 For ...

branch in Alsace-Lorraine. He fought in the German Army during

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 ...

, and became a sergeant. During the revolutionary upsurge of 1918, Hueber acted as the chairman of the Strasbourg Soldiers Council.Goodfellow, Samuel.
From Communism to Nazism: The Transformation of Alsatian Communists
', in ''Journal of Contemporary History'', Vol. 27, No. 2 (Apr., 1992), pp. 231-258 At the end of the war, Hueber argued in favour of the creation of an independent, neutral Alsatian state. During the December 1920 Congress of Tours, Hueber and several other Alsatian delegates supported the call to form a

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...

. A month later, he founded the communist newspaper '' Die Neue Welt''. Hueber became the most prominent figure of the Communist Party in Alsace. He later became the editor of the Alsatian edition of ''

l'Humanité ''L'Humanité'' (; ), is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organ of the French Communist Party, and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, ''L'Humanité'' would not exist." History and profile Pre-World Wa ...

''. In 1923 Hueber took part in an international communist meeting in

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

, organized to protest the French occupation of the Ruhr. He was arrested by French authorities for his participation in the event, a fact that elevated his standing within the Communist Party. He was imprisoned at

La Santé Prison La Santé Prison (named after its location on the Rue de la Santé) (french: Maison d'arrêt de la Santé or ) is a prison operated by the French Prison Service of the Ministry of Justice located in the east of the Montparnasse district of the ...

. The fame he achieved from being arrested helped him to get elected to the French National Assembly the following year. Hueber was elected from the 1st constituency of Bas-Rhin. Hueber was elected

of Strasbourg in 1929 by the ''

Volksfront Volksfront, also known as Volksfront International, was an American White separatism, white separatist organization founded on October 20, 1994, in Portland, Oregon. According to Volksfront's now defunct website, the group described itself as an ...

'' (a coalition of communists and clerical autonomists). Hueber claimed that the electoral pact was a coalition of

anti-imperialist Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is a term used in a variety of contexts, usually by nationalist movements who want to secede from a larger polity (usually in the form of an empire, but also in a multi-ethnic so ...

forces. He was expelled from the Communist Party in the autumn of 1929. He became one of the main leaders of the Opposition Communist Party of Alsace-Lorraine (KPO). During the period of 1933 and 1936 Hueber and his followers gradually moved towards pro-

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 ...

positions. However, he publicly denied to being

antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

. In 1935 the ''Volksfront'' fell apart as the Republican People's Union (UPR) deserted it. Hueber lost his seat as Mayor to Charles Frey as the coalition that had backed him disappeared. He was re-elected to the National Assembly in 1936. During both of Hueber's National Assembly tenures, he formed part of the committee on Alsace-Lorraine. Hueber frequently addressed the Assembly in

Alsatian language Alsatian ( gsw-FR, Elsässisch, links=no or "Alsatian German"; Lorraine Franconian: ''Elsässerdeitsch''; french: Alsacien; german: Elsässisch or ) is the group of Alemannic German dialects spoken in most of Alsace, a formerly disputed regi ...

. On 8 December 1927 Hueber held a speech in Alsatian in the National Assembly, the content of which were so shocking for the Assembly that large chunks were stricken from the official protocol. Hueber had attacked the status of the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...

in Alsace-Lorraine, stating that France was oppressing the Alsatian working class and that Alsace was under French colonial rule. Hueber escaped arrest in the 1939 crackdown on Alsatian autonomist leaders, due to his deteriorating health. Hueber did not take part in the 1940 Congress of Vichy vote. In 1941, Hueber became a functionary of the

NSDAP 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 ...

.Wieviorka, Olivier.
Orphans of the Republic: The Nation's Legislators in Vichy France
'. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2009. p. 140 On 14 February 1942 Hueber was appointed municipal councilor of Strasbourg by the German authorities.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hueber, Charles 1883 births 1943 deaths People from Guebwiller People from Alsace-Lorraine Politicians from Grand Est Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians French Communist Party politicians Proletarian Unity Party (France) politicians Alsatian Workers and Peasants Party politicians Nazi Party politicians Members of the 13th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 16th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Mayors of Strasbourg German Army personnel of World War I French collaborators with Nazi Germany Former Marxists