Wilhelm Külz (18 February 1875 – 10 April 1948) was a German liberal politician of the National Liberal Party, the

German Democratic Party The German Democratic Party (, DDP) was a liberal political party in the Weimar Republic, considered centrist or centre-left. Along with the right-liberal German People's Party (, DVP), it represented political liberalism in Germany between 19 ...

(DDP) and later the

Liberal Democratic Party of Germany The Liberal Democratic Party of Germany (, LDPD) was a political party in East Germany. Like the other allied bloc parties of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) in the National Front, it had 52 representatives in the People's Chamber. ...

(LDPD). He held public office both in the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

and in the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

. In 1926, he served as interior minister of Germany in the cabinets of chancellors

Hans Luther Hans Luther () (10 March 1879 – 11 May 1962) was a German politician and Chancellor of Germany for 482 days in 1925 to 1926. As Minister of Finance he helped stabilize the Mark during the hyperinflation of 1923. From 1930 to 1933, Luther was h ...

and Wilhelm Marx.

Early life

Külz was born on 18 February 1875 at Borna near

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

in the

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony () was a German monarchy in Central Europe between 1806 and 1918, the successor of the Electorate of Saxony. It joined the Confederation of the Rhine after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, later joining the German ...

. He was the son of Otto Külz (1839–1921), a Protestant priest, and his wife Anna (1849–1914, née Paschasius). He had a sister, Käthe (1878–1924) and a twin brother, Ludwig (1875–1938). From a conservative family, Wilhelm studied law at the University of Leipzig. He then served in the military (as ''Reserveleutnant''). Külz married Erna Freymond (1881–1963) in 1901. They had one son, Helmut. Also in 1901, he was awarded a doctorate at the ''Staatswissenschaftliche Fakultät'' of the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

with a thesis on the peacetime strength of the army. He then joined the civil service, working at various courts and as city councillor at Leipzig, Hainichen,

Zittau Zittau (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, Upper Lusatian dialect: ''Sitte''; ) is the southeasternmost city in the Germany, German state of Saxony, and belongs to the Görlitz (district), district of Görlitz, Germany's easternmost Districts of Germ ...

and Meerane. In 1904, he became mayor of Bückeburg and president of the ''Landtag'' of the Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe. As an expert in administration, the ''Reichskolonialamt'' (the Imperial ministry for the colonies) made him ''Reichskommissar'' of the colony German South-West Africa, where he worked on establishing

self-government Self-governance, self-government, self-sovereignty or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any ...

in 1907 to 1908. After returning to Bückeburg, Külz was a Reichstag candidate for the National Liberals in 1912 but was not elected. The same year, he was elected ''Oberbürgermeister'' (mayor) of Zittau, an office that he held until 1923. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Külz served as ''Hauptmann'' (captain) and ''Kompanieführer''.

Weimar Republic

In 1919, he joined the

(DDP), which he represented first in the

Weimar National Assembly The Weimar National Assembly (German: ), officially the German National Constitutional Assembly (), was the popularly elected constitutional convention and de facto parliament of Germany from 6 February 1919 to 21 May 1920. As part of it ...

and then from 1922 to 1932 in the Reichstag. In 1923, he was elected as ''2. Bürgermeister'' of

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. In 1926 to 1927, Külz served as ''Reichsminister des Innern'' (interior minister) in the second cabinet of

and the third cabinet of Wilhelm Marx. Elected as ''Oberbürgermeister'' (mayor) of Dresden in 1931, Külz was removed from office by the ''Reichskommissar'' for

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

in March 1933, after he had refused to hoist a flag with the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

swastika over city hall. Until 1945, he was active as a private entrepreneur.

Postwar

After 1945, he took a leading role in establishing the

(LDPD). He founded the Berlin branch of the LDPD in the summer of 1945 and acted as LDPD chairman from November 1945 after the first leader, Waldemar Koch, had been deposed by Soviet orders. On 17 March 1947, in a conference in

Rothenburg ob der Tauber Rothenburg ob der Tauber () is a town located in the district of Ansbach (district), Ansbach of Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia), the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. It is well known for its well-preserved Middle Ages, medieval old town, a d ...

Külz and

Theodor Heuss Theodor Heuss (; 31 January 1884 – 12 December 1963) was a German liberal politician who served as the first president of West Germany from 1949 to 1959. His civil demeanour and his cordial nature – something of a contrast to German nati ...

were elected co-chairmen of the planned Democratic Party of Germany (DPD), aimed at uniting liberals of both the Soviet and the Western occupation zones. The plans were never realised since Wilhelm Külz, unlike the East German CDU leader, Jakob Kaiser, participated in SED-dominated ''Deutscher Volkskongress'' (German People's Congress for Unity and True Peace) that took place on 6 December 1947. That brought about internal confrontations both within the LDPD as well as between the East and West German partners in the DPD. Although the LDPD leadership criticised that participation, it was unable to take any further steps demanded by the West German liberals. During a session of the united leadership of the DPD that took place on 18 January 1948 and Külz refused to attend, Heuss argued that the Liberal Democrats' unwillingness to take any measures against Külz proved their commitment to "the Russian conception of German unity". Arthur Lieutenant, the spokesman of the LDPD on the matter, declared that under those circumstances and considering reproaches laid against East German liberals, no further co-operation was possible. That was in fact the end of DPD. Together with Otto Nuschke (CDU) and Wilhelm Pieck (SED), Wilhelm Külz led the German People's Council (''Deutscher Volksrat''), forerunner of

Volkskammer The Volkskammer (, "People's Chamber") was the supreme power organ of East Germany. It was the only branch of government in the state, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs were subservient to it. The Volkskammer was initia ...

of GDR. From 1945 on, Külz was the publisher of the LDPD daily ''Der Morgen''. In March 1948, Külz once again was the representative of the LDPD at the ''Deutscher Volkskongress'', organized at the behest of the Soviet authorities and the SED. On the morning of 10 April 1948, Külz was found by his party deputy, Arthur Lieutenant, to have died in the night at his Berlin apartment, apparently from a heart attack.

Legacy

Although he was mostly unknown in West Germany and still is in Germany, Külz was viewed in East Germany as a prime example of a bourgeois but upright citizen who found his way to socialism. He was seen as one of the founding fathers of East Germany. ''Wilhelm-Külz-Stiftung'', a foundation close to the Free Democratic Party, is named after him.

Bibliography

References

Sources

External links

''Wilhelm Külz Stiftung''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kulz, Wilhelm 1875 births 1948 deaths People from Borna Politicians from the Kingdom of Saxony German Lutherans German Democratic Party politicians German State Party politicians Liberal Democratic Party of Germany politicians Interior ministers of Germany Members of the Weimar National Assembly Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic German twins