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Eugen Schiffer | |
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| Vice-Chancellor of Germany | |
| In office 3 October 1919 – 27 March 1920 | |
| Chancellor | Gustav Bauer |
| Preceded by | Bernhard Dernburg |
| Succeeded by | Erich Koch-Weser |
| Deputy Minister President of Germany | |
| In office 13 February 1919 – 19 April 1919 | |
| Minister President | Philipp Scheidemann |
| Preceded by | Matthias Erzberger |
| Succeeded by | Bernhard Dernburg |
| Minister of Justice | |
| In office 10 May 1921 – 22 October 1921 | |
| Chancellor | Hermann Müller Constantin Fehrenbach Joseph Wirth |
| Preceded by | Rudolf Heinze |
| Succeeded by | Gustav Radbruch |
| In office 3 October 1919 – 26 March 1920 | |
| Chancellor | Gustav Bauer |
| Preceded by | Otto Landsberg |
| Succeeded by | Andreas Blunck |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 13 February 1919 – 19 April 1919 | |
| Minister President | Philipp Scheidemann |
| Preceded by | Siegfried von Roedern |
| Succeeded by | Bernhard Dernburg |
| Member of the Reichstag (Weimar Republic) | |
| In office 24 June 1920 – 5 January 1925 | |
| Constituency | Magdeburg |
| (German Empire) | |
| In office 7 February 1912 – 9 November 1918 | |
| Constituency | Magdeburg 5 |
| Member of theWeimar National Assembly | |
| In office 6 February 1919 – 21 May 1920 | |
| Constituency | Magdeburg |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1860-02-14)14 February 1860 Breslau,Kingdom of Prussia |
| Died | 5 September 1954(1954-09-05) (aged 94) West Berlin,West Germany |
| Political party | German Democratic Party |
| Alma mater | University of Breslau |
| Occupation | Politician |
Eugen Schiffer (14 February 1860 – 5 September 1954) was a German lawyer andliberal politician. He served asMinister of Finance anddeputy head of government in theWeimar Republic from February to April 1919. From October 1919 to March 1920, he was again deputy head of government andMinister of Justice. In 1921, he once more became Minister of Justice. Schiffer was a founder-member of the liberalGerman Democratic Party (DDP) in 1918 and 1919 and co-founder in 1946 of itsEast German successor party, theLiberal Democratic Party of Germany (LDPD).
Eugen Schiffer was born inBreslau in the PrussianProvince of Silesia on 14 February 1860 as the son of Bernhard Schiffer (1830–1900, a merchant) and his wife Mathilde (1832–88, née Kassel). Schiffer graduated from theElisabeth-Gymnasium in Breslau with theAbitur and went on to study law at Breslau,Leipzig andTübingen. He entered the Prussian judicial service in 1880 and after positions inZabrze (Upper Silesia) andMagdeburg becameKammergerichtsrat in Berlin in 1906. In 1910, Schiffer was promoted toOberverwaltungsgerichtsrat.[1]
In 1888, Schiffer married Bertha (1858-1919, née Buttermilch). They had two daughters (Mathilde, born in 1889, marriedWaldemar Koch in 1933) and a son. In 1896, the Jewish Schiffer converted to Protestantism.[1]
During theFirst World War, Schiffer was an adviser to GeneralWilhelm Groener and was in charge of the law department at the War Ministry. In October 1917, he becameUnterstaatssekretär (Undersecretary) at theReichsschatzamt (Treasury). At the same time, Schiffer was a delegate to thelower chamber of the Prussian diet for theNational Liberal Party (1903-1918) and a member of theReichstag from 1912 to 1917. His oratory skills, support from big industry and his ambitious nature made him a well known deputy. He was in favor of strengthening the power of the parliament but as a monarchist opposed the revolution.[1]
Nevertheless, after theGerman Revolution he becameStaatssekretär at the Treasury in November 1918. From 1918 to 1919, Schiffer was a founder-member of theGerman Democratic Party (DDP) and was a member and leader of the DDP parliamentary group in both theWeimar National Assembly (1919–20) and theReichstag (1920–1924). He also remained a delegate to theLandtag of Prussia until 1924.[1]
From February 1919 until his resignation in April 1919, Schiffer was deputy toMinisterpräsidentPhilipp Scheidemann and Minister of Finance in thefirst democratically elected German government. During his time in office, Schiffer developed a temporary tax regime that provided the basis for what later became known asErzbergersche Finanzreformen (named afterMatthias Erzberger).[1] Schiffer asked Scheidemann for his dismissal from the cabinet on 28 March 1919, giving "personal reasons". He also named disagreement about the creation and filling of several public sector positions as an issue.[2]
After the Scheidemann cabinet resigned in June 1919 over theTreaty of Versailles, the DDP initially refused to become part of theBauer cabinet, but in early October, the Democrats rejoinedSPD andZentrum in government. As a result Schiffer became Minister of Justice and, once again, deputy to the head of government, now with the title of Vice-Chancellor. He opposed plans tosocialize industries and worked towards a fundamental reform of the civil service.[1]
However, in March 1920, during theKapp-Lüttwitz-Putsch Schiffer did not flee the capital with the majority of the cabinet. His role over the days of the putsch was controversial. Since he negotiated with the putschists without a formal mandate from the government, made promises in the name of presidentFriedrich Ebert and offered those responsible for the putsch amnesty, Schiffer was forced to resign by the SPD after the end of the putsch.[1]
From May to October 1921, Schiffer once again was Minister of Justice in the first cabinet ofJoseph Wirth. In 1921-22, Schiffer was head of the German delegation at the negotiations with the Allies onUpper Silesia in Geneva that led to the treaty of 15 May 1922 securing trading rights and minority rights in the region. In 1922-23, he was the German representative at theInternational Court of Justice inThe Hague. In 1924, Schiffer supported the acceptance of theDawes Plan.[1]
In 1925, he resigned from the DDP and retired from active politics after an attempt to merge the parties of the political centre in a singleLiberale Vereinigung.[1]
After retiring from politics, Schiffer focused on heading theBerliner Verwaltungsakademie, the first institution of higher learning for the German civil service, which he had help found in 1921. He also practiced law, served as an adviser to the bank "Bankhaus Mendelssohn & Co." and was chairman of the board atAnhaltischen Kohlenwerke AG. In 1928, his bookDie Deutsche Justiz launched a public debate over a judicial reform.[1]
After having been initially left mostly alone by theNazis due to the influence of highly placed advocates (Erich Seeberg [de],Johannes Popitz andLutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk), in 1943 he was forced, along with his daughter Marie, to move to theBerlin Jewish Hospital [de].[1]
After the end of theSecond World War, together with his son-in-lawWaldemar Koch andWilhelm Külz, Schiffer founded theLiberaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands (LDPD) in the Soviet-occupied sector of Berlin. For three years after August 1945, Schiffer headed the central administration of Justice (Justizverwaltung) under the Soviet military government. He then moved toWest-Berlin.[1]
Eugen Schiffer died inBerlin-Charlottenburg on 5 September 1954.[1]
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| Preceded by | Vice Chancellor of Germany 1919 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Vice Chancellor of Germany 1919–1920 | Succeeded by |
Scheidemann cabinet – 13 February to 20 June 1919 | ||
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First Wirth cabinet – 10 May 1921 to 22 October 1921 | ||
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