British politician and historian Roy Jenkins says he was "the oldest statesman ever to function in elected office." He remains the oldest head of government for a major country in modern European history. == The Cologne years == === Early life and education === Konrad Adenauer was born as the third of five children of Johann Konrad Adenauer (1833–1906) and his wife Helene (née Scharfenberg; 1849–1919) in Cologne, Rhenish Prussia, on 5 January 1876.
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman who served as the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) from 1949 to 1963.
British politician and historian Roy Jenkins says he was "the oldest statesman ever to function in elected office." He remains the oldest head of government for a major country in modern European history. == The Cologne years == === Early life and education === Konrad Adenauer was born as the third of five children of Johann Konrad Adenauer (1833–1906) and his wife Helene (née Scharfenberg; 1849–1919) in Cologne, Rhenish Prussia, on 5 January 1876.
One of the formative influences of Adenauer's youth was the Kulturkampf, an experience that as related to him by his parents left him with a lifelong dislike for "Prussianism", and led him like many other Catholic Rhinelanders of the 19th century to deeply resent the Rhineland's inclusion in Prussia. In 1894, he completed his Abitur and began studying law and politics at the universities of Freiburg, Munich and Bonn.
In 1896, at the age of 20, he was mustered for the Prussian army, but did not pass the physical exam due to chronic respiratory problems he had experienced since childhood.
He graduated in 1900, and afterwards worked as a lawyer at the court in Cologne. === Leader in Cologne === As a devout Catholic, he joined the Centre Party (Deutsche Zentrumspartei or just Zentrum) in 1906 and was elected to Cologne's city council in the same year.
He graduated in 1900, and afterwards worked as a lawyer at the court in Cologne. === Leader in Cologne === As a devout Catholic, he joined the Centre Party (Deutsche Zentrumspartei or just Zentrum) in 1906 and was elected to Cologne's city council in the same year.
A major debate had occurred within the Zentrum since 1906 regarding the question of whether the Zentrum should "leave the tower" (i.e.
In 1909, he became Vice-Mayor of Cologne, an industrial metropolis with a population of 635,000 in 1914.
In 1909, he became Vice-Mayor of Cologne, an industrial metropolis with a population of 635,000 in 1914.
From 1917 to 1933, he served as Mayor of Cologne and became a member of the Prussian House of Lords. Adenauer headed Cologne during World War I, working closely with the army to maximize the city's role as a rear base of supply and transportation for the Western Front.
He paid special attention to the civilian food supply, enabling the residents to avoid the worst of the severe shortages that beset most German cities during 1918–19.
In 1918, he invented a soy-based sausage called the Cologne sausage to help feed the city.
In the face of the collapse of the old regime and the threat of revolution and widespread disorder in late 1918, Adenauer maintained control in Cologne using his good working relationship with the Social Democrats.
In a speech on 1 February 1919 Adenauer called for the dissolution of Prussia, and for the Prussian Rhineland to become a new autonomous Land (state) in the Reich.
When the terms of the Treaty of Versailles were presented to Germany in June 1919, Adenauer again suggested to Berlin his plan for an autonomous Rhineland state and again his plans were rejected by the Reich government. He was mayor during the postwar British occupation.
During the Weimar Republic, he was president of the Prussian State Council (Preußischer Staatsrat) from 1921–33, which was the representation of the provinces of Prussia in its legislature.
To save the Rhineland economy, Adenauer opened talks with the French High Commissioner Paul Tirard in late October 1923 for a Rhenish republic in a sort of economic union with France which would achieve Franco-German reconciliation, which Adenauer called a "grand design".
Adenauer, who disliked Stresemann as "too Prussian," rejected that condition, which marked the end of his chance of becoming Chancellor in 1926. === Years under the Nazi government === Election gains of Nazi Party candidates in municipal, state and national elections in 1930 and 1932 were significant.
Adenauer, who disliked Stresemann as "too Prussian," rejected that condition, which marked the end of his chance of becoming Chancellor in 1926. === Years under the Nazi government === Election gains of Nazi Party candidates in municipal, state and national elections in 1930 and 1932 were significant.
Adenauer, who disliked Stresemann as "too Prussian," rejected that condition, which marked the end of his chance of becoming Chancellor in 1926. === Years under the Nazi government === Election gains of Nazi Party candidates in municipal, state and national elections in 1930 and 1932 were significant.
He stated that as Mayor he had violated Prussian laws in order to allow NSDAP events in public buildings and Nazi flags to be flown from city flagpoles and that in 1932 he had declared publicly that the Nazis should join the Reich government in a leading role.
At the end of 1932, Adenauer had indeed demanded a joint government by his Zentrum party and the Nazis for Prussia. During the next two years, Adenauer changed residences often for fear of reprisals against him, while living on the benevolence of friends.
From 1917 to 1933, he served as Mayor of Cologne and became a member of the Prussian House of Lords. Adenauer headed Cologne during World War I, working closely with the army to maximize the city's role as a rear base of supply and transportation for the Western Front.
Political manoeuvrings around the aging President Hindenburg then brought the Nazis to power on 30 January 1933. By early February Adenauer finally realized that all discussions and any attempts at compromise with the Nazis were futile.
Cologne's city council and the Prussian parliament had been dissolved; on 4 April 1933, he was officially dismissed as mayor and his bank accounts frozen.
However, both Hitler and Speer concluded that Adenauer's political views and principles made it impossible for him to play any role in Nazi Germany. Adenauer was imprisoned for two days after the Night of the Long Knives on 30 June 1934; however, on 10 August 1934, maneuvering for his pension, he wrote a ten-page letter to Hermann Göring (the Prussian interior minister).
With the help of lawyers in August 1937 he was successful in claiming a pension; he received a cash settlement for his house, which had been taken over by the city of Cologne; his unpaid mortgage, penalties and taxes were waived.
After the failed assassination attempt on Hitler in 1944, he was imprisoned for a second time as an opponent of the regime.
Adenauer was subsequently rearrested (as was his wife), but in the absence of any evidence against him, was released from prison at Brauweiler in November 1944. === After World War II and the founding of the CDU === Shortly after the war ended, the American occupation forces once again installed him as Mayor of Cologne, which had been heavily bombed.
After the city was transferred into the British zone of occupation, however, the Director of its military government, General Gerald Templer, dismissed Adenauer for incompetence in December 1945.
During the Weimar Republic, Adenauer had often been considered a future Chancellor and after 1945, his claims for leadership were even stronger.
In January 1946, Adenauer initiated a political meeting of the future CDU in the British zone in his role as doyen (the oldest man in attendance, Alterspräsident) and was informally confirmed as its leader.
In a December 1946 letter, Adenauer wrote that the Prussian state in the early 19th century had become an "almost God-like entity" that valued state power over the rights of individuals.
Adenauer worked diligently at building up contacts and support in the CDU over the following years, and he sought with varying success to impose his particular ideology on the party. Adenauer's leading role in the CDU of the British zone won him a position at the Parliamentary Council of 1948, which had been called into existence by the Western Allies to draft a constitution for the three western zones of Germany.
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman who served as the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) from 1949 to 1963.
He was the chairman of this constitutional convention and vaulted from this position to being chosen as the first head of government once the new "Basic Law" had been promulgated in May 1949. == Chancellor of West Germany == === First government === The first election to the Bundestag of West Germany was held on 15 August 1949, with the Christian Democrats emerging as the strongest party.
As such, Adenauer was in favor of joining NATO, something that Schumacher was strongly opposed to. The Free Democrat Theodor Heuss was elected the first President of the Republic, and Adenauer was elected Chancellor (head of government) on 15 September 1949 with the support of his own CDU, the Christian Social Union, the liberal Free Democratic Party, and the right-wing German Party.
Privately, Adenauer considered Germany's eastern provinces to be lost forever. At the Petersberg Agreement in November 1949 he achieved some of the first concessions granted by the Allies, such as a decrease in the number of factories to be dismantled, but in particular his agreement to join the International Authority for the Ruhr led to heavy criticism.
Adenauer's dismissal by the British contributed much to his subsequent political success and allowed him to pursue a policy of alliance with the West in the 1950s without facing charges of being a "sell-out". After being dismissed, Adenauer devoted himself to building a new political party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which he hoped would embrace both Protestants and Roman Catholics in a single party.
After the outbreak of the Korean War on 25 June 1950, the U.S.
Further contributing to the crisis atmosphere of 1950 was the bellicose rhetoric of the East German leader Walter Ulbricht, who proclaimed the reunification of Germany under communist rule to be imminent.
To soothe French fears of German rearmament, the French Premier René Pleven suggested the so-called Pleven plan in October 1950 under which the Federal Republic would have its military forces function as part of the armed wing of the multinational European Defense Community (EDC).
Adenauer deeply disliked the "Pleven plan", but was forced to support it when it became clear that this plan was the only way the French would agree to German rearmament. In 1950, a major controversy broke out when it emerged that Adenauer's State Secretary Hans Globke had played a major role in drafting anti-semitic Nuremberg Race Laws in Nazi Germany.
Starting in August 1950, Adenauer began to pressure the Western Allies to free all of the war criminals in their custody, especially those from the Wehrmacht, whose continued imprisonment he claimed made West German rearmament impossible.
The Adenauer era witnessed a dramatic rise in the standard of living of average Germans, with real wages doubling between 1950 and 1963.
This rising affluence was accompanied by a 20% fall in working hours during that same period, together with a fall in the unemployment rate from 8% in 1950 to 0.4% in 1965.
By 31 January 1951, the amnesty legislation had benefited 792,176 people.
Adenauer was keen to see Britain join the European Coal and Steel Community as he believed the more free-market British would counterbalance the influence of the more dirigiste French, and to achieve that purpose he visited London in November 1951 to meet with Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
The Allies were willing to do whatever necessary to get the much-needed German rearmament underway, and in January 1951, General Dwight Eisenhower, commander of NATO forces, issued a statement which declared the great majority of the Wehrmacht had acted honorably. On 2 January 1951, Adenauer met with the American High Commissioner, John J.
In response to Adenauer's demands and pressure from the German public, McCloy on 31 January 1951 reduced the death sentences of most of the 102 men at Landsberg, hanging only 7 of the prisoners while the rest of those condemned to death were spared. By 1951 laws were passed by the Bundestag ending denazification.
Though Adenauer had tried to get Britain to join the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951–52, by the early 1960s Adenauer had come to share General de Gaulle's belief that Britain simply did not belong in the EEC.
Adenauer's German policy was based upon Politik der Stärke (Policy of Strength), and upon the so-called "magnet theory", in which a prosperous, democratic West Germany integrated with the West would act as a "magnet" that would eventually bring down the East German regime. In 1952, the Stalin Note, as it became known, "caught everybody in the West by surprise".
Those treaties were cited as a main reason for the assassination attempt by the radical Jewish groups against Adenauer. On 27 March 1952, a package addressed to Chancellor Adenauer exploded in the Munich Police Headquarters, killing one Bavarian police officer, Karl Reichert.
A savings scheme for homeownership was set up in 1952, while the Housebuilding Act of 1956 reinforced incentives for owner-occupation.
The 1952 Maternity Leave Law foresaw 12 weeks of paid leave for working mothers, who were also safeguarded from unfair dismissal, and improvements in unemployment benefits were carried out.
The West German government kept all proof under seal in order to prevent antisemitic responses from the German public. === Second government === When the East German uprising of 1953 was harshly suppressed by the Red Army in June 1953, Adenauer took political advantage of the situation and was handily re-elected to a second term as Chancellor.
For all of his efforts as West Germany's leader, Adenauer was named Time magazine's Man of the Year in 1953.
In 1954, he received the Karlspreis (English: Charlemagne Award), an award by the German city of Aachen to people who contributed to the European idea, European cooperation and European peace. The German Restitution Laws (Bundesentschädigungsgesetz) were passed in 1953 that allowed some victims of Nazi prosecution to claim restitution.
Under the 1953 restitution law, those who had suffered for "racial, religious or political reasons" could collect compensation, which were defined in such a way as to sharply limit the number of people entitled to collect compensation. In the spring of 1954, opposition to the Pleven plan grew within the French National Assembly.
Faced with this pressure, Adenauer promptly capitulated to the expellee lobby. In late 1959, a controversy broke out when it emerged that Theodor Oberländer, the Minister of Refugees since 1953 and one of the most powerful leaders of the expellee lobby had committed war crimes against Jews and Poles during World War II.
In 1954, he received the Karlspreis (English: Charlemagne Award), an award by the German city of Aachen to people who contributed to the European idea, European cooperation and European peace. The German Restitution Laws (Bundesentschädigungsgesetz) were passed in 1953 that allowed some victims of Nazi prosecution to claim restitution.
Under the 1953 restitution law, those who had suffered for "racial, religious or political reasons" could collect compensation, which were defined in such a way as to sharply limit the number of people entitled to collect compensation. In the spring of 1954, opposition to the Pleven plan grew within the French National Assembly.
In August 1954, the Pleven plan died when an alliance of conservatives and Communists in the National Assembly joined forces to reject the EDC treaty under the grounds that West German rearmament in any form was an unacceptable danger to France. British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden used the failure of the EDC to argue for independent West German rearmament and West German NATO membership.
To achieve these aims, Adenauer gave a great deal of power to the military reformer Wolf Graf von Baudissin. In November 1954, Adenauer's lobbying efforts on behalf of the "Spandau Seven" finally bore fruit with the release of Konstantin von Neurath.
Employer-funded child allowances for three or more children were established in 1954, and in 1957 the indexation of pension schemes was introduced, together with an old age assistance scheme for agricultural workers.
He worked to restore the West German economy from the destruction of World War II to a central position in Europe, presiding over the German Economic Miracle together with his Minister of Economics, Ludwig Erhard, and a driving force in re-establishing national military forces (the Bundeswehr) and intelligence services (the Bundesnachrichtendienst) in West Germany in 1955 and 1956.
Additionally, Adenauer promised that the West German military would be under the operational control of NATO general staff, though ultimate control would rest with the West German government; and that above all he would never violate the strictly defensive NATO charter and invade East Germany to achieve German reunification. In May 1955, West Germany joined NATO and in November a West German military, the Bundeswehr, was founded.
in addition, an advanced welfare state was established. In return for the release of the last German prisoners of war in 1955, the Federal Republic established diplomatic relations with the USSR, but refused to recognize East Germany and broke off diplomatic relations with countries (e.g., Yugoslavia) that established relations with the East German régime.
He worked to restore the West German economy from the destruction of World War II to a central position in Europe, presiding over the German Economic Miracle together with his Minister of Economics, Ludwig Erhard, and a driving force in re-establishing national military forces (the Bundeswehr) and intelligence services (the Bundesnachrichtendienst) in West Germany in 1955 and 1956.
This helped to lead to the formation of the European Economic Community in 1957, which was intended to be the foundation stone of the European "Third Force". Adenauer reached an agreement for his "nuclear ambitions" with a NATO Military Committee in December 1956 that stipulated West German forces were to be "equipped for nuclear warfare".
A savings scheme for homeownership was set up in 1952, while the Housebuilding Act of 1956 reinforced incentives for owner-occupation.
This helped to lead to the formation of the European Economic Community in 1957, which was intended to be the foundation stone of the European "Third Force". Adenauer reached an agreement for his "nuclear ambitions" with a NATO Military Committee in December 1956 that stipulated West German forces were to be "equipped for nuclear warfare".
With Adenauer's fourth-term election in November 1961 and the end of his chancellorship in sight, his "nuclear ambitions" began to taper off. === Third government === In 1957 the Saarland was reintegrated into Germany as a federal state of the Federal Republic.
The election of 1957 essentially dealt with national matters.
In 1957, the Federal Republic signed the Treaty of Rome and became a founding member of the European Economic Community.
Employer-funded child allowances for three or more children were established in 1954, and in 1957 the indexation of pension schemes was introduced, together with an old age assistance scheme for agricultural workers.
The French government then proposed that France, West Germany and Italy jointly develop and produce nuclear weapons and delivery systems, and an agreement was signed in April 1958.
In September 1958, Adenauer first met President Charles de Gaulle of France, who was to become a close friend and ally in pursuing Franco-German rapprochement.
Marxism meant both the Communists and the Social Democrats as the latter were officially a Marxist party until the Bad Godesberg conference of 1959.
Adenauer believed Macmillan to be a spineless "appeaser", who had made a secret deal with Khrushchev at the expense of the Federal Republic. Adenauer tarnished his image when he announced he would run for the office of federal president in 1959, only to pull out when he discovered that under the Basic Law, the president had far less power than he did in the Weimar Republic.
One of Adenauer's reasons for not pursuing the presidency was his fear that Ludwig Erhard, whom Adenauer thought little of, would become the new chancellor. By early 1959, Adenauer came under renewed pressure from his Western allies, to recognize the Oder-Neisse line, with the Americans being especially insistent.
Adenauer gave his "explicit and unconditional approval" to the idea of non-aggression pacts in late January 1959, which effectively meant recognising the Oder-Neisse line, since realistically speaking Germany could only regain the lost territories through force.
Faced with this pressure, Adenauer promptly capitulated to the expellee lobby. In late 1959, a controversy broke out when it emerged that Theodor Oberländer, the Minister of Refugees since 1953 and one of the most powerful leaders of the expellee lobby had committed war crimes against Jews and Poles during World War II.
Despite his past, on 10 December 1959, a statement was released to the press declaring that "Dr.
Other Christian Democrats made it clear to Adenauer that they would like to see Oberländer out of the cabinet, and finally in May 1960 Oberländer resigned. === Fourth government === In 1961, Adenauer had his concerns about both the status of Berlin and US leadership confirmed, as the Soviets and East Germans built the Berlin Wall.
Though Adenauer had tried to get Britain to join the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951–52, by the early 1960s Adenauer had come to share General de Gaulle's belief that Britain simply did not belong in the EEC.
With Adenauer's fourth-term election in November 1961 and the end of his chancellorship in sight, his "nuclear ambitions" began to taper off. === Third government === In 1957 the Saarland was reintegrated into Germany as a federal state of the Federal Republic.
Other Christian Democrats made it clear to Adenauer that they would like to see Oberländer out of the cabinet, and finally in May 1960 Oberländer resigned. === Fourth government === In 1961, Adenauer had his concerns about both the status of Berlin and US leadership confirmed, as the Soviets and East Germans built the Berlin Wall.
Their strained relationship impeded effective Western action on Berlin during 1961. The construction of the Berlin Wall in August 1961 and the sealing of borders by the East Germans made Adenauer's government look weak.
Adenauer chose to remain on the campaign trail, and made a disastrous misjudgement in a speech on 14 August 1961 in Regensburg when he engaged in a personal attack on the SPD Mayor of West Berlin, Willy Brandt saying that Brandt's illegitimate birth had disqualified him from holding any sort of office.
The Élysée Treaty was signed in January 1963 to solidify relations with France. In October 1962, a scandal erupted when police arrested five Der Spiegel journalists, charging them with espionage for publishing a memo detailing weaknesses in the West German armed forces.
"'Suspicious Federal Chancellor' Versus 'Weak Prime Minister': Konrad Adenauer and Harold Macmillan in the British and West German Quality Press during the Berlin Crisis (1958 to 1962).
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman who served as the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) from 1949 to 1963.
The Adenauer era witnessed a dramatic rise in the standard of living of average Germans, with real wages doubling between 1950 and 1963.
The Élysée Treaty was signed in January 1963 to solidify relations with France. In October 1962, a scandal erupted when police arrested five Der Spiegel journalists, charging them with espionage for publishing a memo detailing weaknesses in the West German armed forces.
In January 1963, Adenauer privately supported General Charles de Gaulle's veto of Britain's attempt to join the European Economic Community, and was only prevented from saying so openly by the need to preserve unity in his cabinet as most of his ministers led by Erhard supported Britain's application.
Adenauer failed in his efforts to block Erhard as his successor, and in October 1963 he turned the office over to Erhard.
This rising affluence was accompanied by a 20% fall in working hours during that same period, together with a fall in the unemployment rate from 8% in 1950 to 0.4% in 1965.
He remained chairman of the CDU until his resignation in December 1966. Adenauer ensured a generally free and democratic society, except the banning of the communist party and the BND spying on SPD on behalf of the CDU (see #Intelligence services and spying), and laid the groundwork for Germany to reenter the community of nations and to evolve as a dependable member of the Western world.
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman who served as the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) from 1949 to 1963.
It was Adenauer himself who personally instructed the BND to spy on his SPD rival, the future chancellor Willy Brandt. == Death and legacy == Adenauer died on 19 April 1967 in his family home at Rhöndorf.
Konrad Adenauer (1987) 182 pages excerpt and text search "Konrad Adenauer" in Encyclopædia Britannica (Macropedia) © 1989 Tammann, Gustav A.
Adolf Hitler and East Germany's Erich Honecker were excluded from the nominations (as both are considered tyrants in modern Germany, and in the case of Hitler, would cause international controversy if nominated). Adenauer was the main motive for one of the most recent and famous gold commemorative coins: the Belgian 3 pioneers of the European unification commemorative coin, minted in 2002.
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