Constantin Fehrenbach | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Fehrenbach in 1913 | |
| Chancellor of Germany (Weimar Republic) | |
| In office 25 June 1920 – 10 May 1921 | |
| President | Friedrich Ebert |
| Deputy | Rudolf Heinze |
| Preceded by | Hermann Müller |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Wirth |
| President of the Weimar National Assembly /President of the Reichstag | |
| In office 14 February 1919 – 21 June 1920 | |
| President | Friedrich Ebert |
| Chancellor | Philipp Scheidemann |
| Preceded by | Eduard David |
| Succeeded by | Paul Löbe (asPresident of the Reichstag) |
| In office June 1918 – November 1918 | |
| Monarch | Wilhelm II |
| Chancellor | Georg von Hertling Prince Maximilian of Baden |
| Preceded by | Johannes Kaempf |
| Succeeded by | Eduard David (as President of the Weimar National Assembly) |
| Member of theReichstag | |
| In office 24 June 1920 – 26 March 1926 | |
| Constituency | Baden |
| Member of theWeimar National Assembly | |
| In office 6 February 1919 – 21 May 1920 | |
| Constituency | Baden |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1852-01-11)11 January 1852 |
| Died | 26 March 1926(1926-03-26) (aged 74) |
| Political party | Centre Party |
| Signature |  |
Constantin Fehrenbach, sometimes erroneously[1]Konstantin Fehrenbach, (11 January 1852 – 26 March 1926), was a German politician who was one of the major leaders of the CatholicCentre Party. He served aspresident of the Reichstag in 1918 and then as president of theWeimar National Assembly from 1919 to 1920. In June 1920, Fehrenbach becameChancellor of Germany. During his time in office, the central issue he had to face was German compliance with the terms of theTreaty of Versailles. He resigned in May 1921 when his cabinet was unable to reach a consensus onwar reparations payments to theAllies. Fehrenbach remained in theReichstag and headed the Centre Party's contingent there from 1923 until his death in 1926.
Fehrenbach was considered part of the Centre Party's left wing,[2] which included noted politicians such asMatthias Erzberger andJoseph Wirth, as well as Catholic workers' associations and Catholic trade unions.[3]
Constantin Fehrenbach was born on 11 January 1852 inWellendingen nearBonndorf in what was then theGrand Duchy of Baden as the son of Johann Georg Fehrenbach, a teacher (1826–1895), and his wife Rosina (1832–1900), née Gensecke.[4]
From 1865 he attended theFreiburg Boys' Seminary and the Berthold Gymnasium, from which he graduated in 1871. He began studying Catholic theology at theUniversity of Freiburg before switching to law in 1875. During his studies, he joined a student fraternity that gave him access to circles of notables among the local bourgeoisie.[5] In 1882 he began to practise law in Freiburg and soon became a successful criminal lawyer. In 1879, Fehrenbach married Maria (1855–1921), née Hossner at Freiburg. They had one daughter.[4][6]
Fehrenbach started his political career in 1884 when he became a member of the Freiburg city council for the CatholicCentre Party. The next year he was elected to theLandtag (state legislature) of Baden, again for the Centre Party. He resigned his seat in 1887 after disagreements with the leader of the party in Baden,Theodor Wacker [de] over the dismantling ofOtto von Bismarck's anti-CatholicKulturkampf laws.[5] In 1895, Fehrenbach becameStadtrat (member of the city government) in Freiburg and in 1896Kreisabgeordneter (district representative). In 1901 he was re-elected to the BadenLandtag and remained a member until 1913 (in 1907–1909 as president).[6]
In 1903, Fehrenbach also became a member of the ImperialReichstag. On 3 December 1913, he gained fame throughout Germany with a speech on theZabern Affair, which had been triggered by popular unrest against the German military stationed in theAlsatian town ofZabern. He spoke out against theArmy General Staff and delivered a strong plea in favor of a constitutional state and against the military as a state within the state.[5]
In 1917, Fehrenbach became the chairman of theHauptausschuss (Head Committee) of the Reichstag, which could meet when the Reichstag was adjourned and have discussions with the government on matters of foreign policy and the conduct of the war. He supported theReichstag Peace Resolution, which called for a negotiated peace without annexations. In July 1918, Fehrenbach became the last President of the Imperial Reichstag.[4][6]
During the early days of theGerman Revolution of 1918–1919, Fehrenbach, a committed supporter of a constitutional monarchy, wanted to convene the Imperial Reichstag in order to preserve the monarchy, but the move was opposed by the revolutionary interim government, theCouncil of the People's Deputies.[7]
Fehrenbach was elected to theWeimar National Assembly on 19 January 1919 inGermany's first election that gave women the right to vote. When the Assembly convened on 6 February to draft and adopt a constitution for Germany and to act as its interim parliament, Fehrenbach was elected its vice president, but since three of the highest offices were in the hands of theSocial Democratic Party (SPD), the Centre Party objected. The Assembly's president then stepped down, and Fehrenbach was elected in his place.[7]
As President of the National Assembly, Fehrenbach had to face the difficult issue of whether Germany should accept theTreaty of Versailles. In a speech to the Reichstag on 12 May, he said, to enthusiastic agreement: "We had hoped for a peace of an international alliance, of an international understanding. This is not an opening to such a peace, it is the perpetuation of war." The Assembly reluctantly approved the Treaty, and, also under Fehrenbach, debated and approved theWeimar Constitution.[7]
The1920 Reichstag election led to the collapse of theWeimar coalition made up of the SPD, theGerman Democratic Party (DDP) and theCentre Party, which had formed the governments during the National Assembly. The SPD lost a significant share of the vote to its left-wing rival party, theIndependent Social Democrats (USPD), leading to the formation of a middle-class minority cabinet consisting of the Centre, DDP and center-rightGerman People's Party (DVP). After some hesitation, Fehrenbach accepted the offer to become Chancellor.[5] With only 168 of 469 seats (36%) in the Reichstag behind his government, it was from the beginning in a weak position to handle the difficulties it faced.[5]
As Chancellor, Fehrenbach had to deal with the communist-led revolt known as theMarch Action, which was put down with considerable loss of life by government troops, and with theThird Silesian Uprising of Polish insurgents. In social policy, his government improved unemployment benefits, with the maximum amount for single males over the age of 21 increasing in November 1920 from 7 to 10 marks.[8]
The most important task of his chancellorship was the fulfilment of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Fehrenbach led the German delegation at theSpa conference from 5 to 16 July 1920, where German disarmament andreparations were discussed. The total amount and the terms of reparations payments were also the subject of the conferences at Paris and London during the early months of 1921. At the first London Conference in March, Fehrenbach and his foreign ministerWalter Simons protested against what they saw as the exorbitantly high total reparations payments, which had not been finalized in the Versailles Treaty.[9] In order to put pressure on Germany to accept the reparations terms, theEntente on 5 May issued theLondon ultimatum, which threatened an Allied occupation of the Ruhr if Germany did not comply with theLondon Schedule of Payments and the Treaty of Versailles' requirements for disarmament and the extradition of German "war criminals".[10]
Before the ultimatum was issued, the American government had declined Germany's request to act as mediator in the reparations dispute, which left Germany with few viable options. Rumors of an ultimatum had reached Fehrenbach's cabinet a few days before 5 May, and since the DVP had already announced that it would no longer support the government's foreign policy, the cabinet resigned on 4 May.[11] Fehrenbach remained in charge of the caretaker government until his replacement byJoseph Wirth of the Centre Party on 10 May.
In 1922, Fehrenbach became a judge on theState Court for the German Reich (Staatsgerichtshof).[6] In late 1923, Fehrenbach was elected head of the Centre Party contingent in the Reichstag, a position in which he remained until his death in 1926.[6]
Following the assassination of Foreign MinisterWalther Rathenau, who was Jewish, by the ultra-nationalist paramilitaryOrganisation Consul on 24 June 1922, Fehrenbach became vice-chairman of the Association for Defence against Antisemitism (Verein zur Abwehr des Antisemitismus [de]). He also supported the founding in 1924 of theReichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold, an unarmed, militarily structured joint organization of the SDP, DDP and Centre Party whose stated purpose was the non-violent protection of the republic from its enemies.[12]
Fehrenbach died on 26 March 1926 in Freiburg im Breisgau.[4]
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| Preceded by | Chancellor of Germany 25 June 1920 – 4 May 1921 | Succeeded by |
North German Confederation.svg) Bundeskanzler (1867–1871) | |
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| German Empire Reichskanzler (1871–1918) | |
Weimar Republic.svg) Reichskanzler (1919–1933) |
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Nazi Germany.svg) .svg) Reichskanzler (1933–1945) |
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Federal Republic Bundeskanzler (1949–present) | |
Fehrenbach cabinet – 25 June 1920 to 10 May 1921 | ||
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