Kiesinger gained his certificate as a lawyer in March 1933 and worked as a lawyer in Berlin'sKammergericht court from 1935 to 1940.[1] He had joined theNazi Party in 1933, but remained a largely inactive member. To avoidconscription, in 1940 he was appointed to the broadcast policy department of theForeign Office byJoachim von Ribbentrop, and became deputy head of thebroadcasting andpropaganda departments in 1942.[2] In 1946 he became a member of the Christian Democratic Union. He was elected to theBundestag in 1949, and was a member of the Bundestag until 1958 and again from 1969 to 1980. He left federal politics for eight years (from 1958 to 1966) to serve as Minister-President ofBaden-Württemberg, and subsequently became Chancellor by forming agrand coalition withWilly Brandt'sSocial Democratic Party.
Kiesinger was considered an outstanding orator and mediator, and was dubbed "Chief Silver Tongue". He was an author of poetry and various books, and founded the universities ofKonstanz andUlm as Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg. Kiesinger is also considered controversial, which is mainly due to his affiliation and work with the Nazis. Thestudent movement in particular, but also other sections of the population, saw Kiesinger as a politician who stood for the inadequacy of Germans'coming to terms with the past.
Kurt Georg Kiesinger was born inEbingen,Kingdom of Württemberg (nowAlbstadt,Baden-Württemberg). His father was a commercial clerk in companies engaged in the local textile industry. Kiesinger was baptizedCatholic because his mother was Catholic, though his father wasProtestant. His mother died six months after he was born. His maternal grandmother exerted a strong influence on Kiesinger and encouraged him, while his father was indifferent to his advancement. After a year, his father was remarried to a Karoline Victoria Pfaff. They had seven children, of whom Kiesinger's half-sister Maria died a year after she was born. Pfaff was also aCatholic. Kiesinger was therefore shaped by both denominations and later referred to himself gladly as a "Protestant Catholic". Politically, Kiesinger grew up in aliberal, democratically-minded milieu.
He became a member of theNazi Party in February 1933. In 1940, he was called to arms but avoided mobilization by finding a job in theForeign Office'sbroadcasting department, rising quickly to become deputy head of the department from 1943 to 1945 and the department's liaison with thePropaganda Ministry.[3] He worked underJoachim von Ribbentrop, who would later be condemned to death atNuremberg. After the war, he was interned by the Americans for his connection to Ribbentrop and spent 18 months in theLudwigsburg camp before being released as a case of mistaken identity.[4]
Kiesinger joined the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in 1946. From 1946 he gave private lessons to law students, and in 1948 he resumed his practice as a lawyer. In 1947 he also became unpaid secretary-general of the CDU inWürttemberg-Hohenzollern.
1961 election poster for Kiesinger
In thefederal election in 1949 he was elected to theBundestag, in which he went on to sit until 1958 and again from 1969 to 1980. In his first legislative term he represented the constituency of Ravensburg, in which he achieved record results of over 70 percent, from 1969 the constituency ofWaldshut. For the1976 federal election, Kiesinger renounced his own constituency and entered parliament via theBaden-Württemberg state list of his party. In the first two legislative periods (1949–1957) he was chairman of the mediation committee of the Bundestag andBundesrat. On 19 October 1950, Kiesinger received 55 votes against his party friend Hermann Ehlers (201 votes) in the election for President of the Bundestag, although he had not been proposed. In 1951 he became a member of the CDU executive board. From 17 December 1954 to 29 January 1959, he was chairman of the Bundestag Committee on Foreign Affairs, to which he had been a member since 1949.
During that time, he became known for his rhetorical brilliance, as well as his in-depth knowledge of foreign affairs. However, despite the recognition he enjoyed within the Christian Democrat parliamentary faction, he was passed over during various cabinet reshuffles. Consequently, he decided to switch from federal to state politics.
In the early days of the Federal Republic of Germany, oversized coalitions were not uncommon at the state level, and so Kiesinger led a coalition of theCDU,SPD,FDP/DVP andBHE until 1960, but then aCDU/CSU-FDP coalition, coalition from 1960 to 1966. On 15 April 1961, the BHE disbanded.
In 1966, following the collapse of the existingCDU/CSU-FDP coalition in the Bundestag, Kiesinger was elected to replaceLudwig Erhard as Federal Chancellor, heading a new CDU/CSU-SPD alliance with the SPD leaderWilly Brandt asVice Chancellor and Foreign Minister. The Kiesinger government remained in power for nearly three years. Kiesinger reduced tensions with the Soviet bloc nations, establishing diplomatic relations withCzechoslovakia,Romania, andYugoslavia, but he opposed any major conciliatory moves. A number of progressive reforms were also realised during Kiesinger's time as Chancellor. Pension coverage was extended in 1967 via the abolition of the income-ceiling for compulsory membership. In education, student grants were introduced, together with a university building programme, while a constitutional reform of 1969 empowered the federal government to be involved with the Länder in educational planning through joint planning commission. Vocational training legislation was also introduced, while a reorganisation of unemployment insurance promoted retraining schemes, counselling and advice services, and job creation places. In addition, under theLohnfortzahlunggesetz of 1969, employers had to pay all employees’ wages for the first six weeks of sickness.[8] In August 1969,[9] theLandabgaberente (a higher special pension for farmers willing to cede farms that were unprofitable according to certain criteria) was introduced.[10]
The historianTony Judt has observed that Kiesinger's chancellorship, like the presidency ofHeinrich Lübke, showed the "a glaring contradiction in the Bonn Republic's self-image" in view of their previous Nazi allegiances.[11] One of his low points as Chancellor was in 1968 when Nazi-hunterBeate Klarsfeld, who campaigned with her husbandSerge Klarsfeld against Nazi criminals, publicly slapped him in the face during the 1968 Christian Democrat convention, while calling him a Nazi.[5] She did so in French and, whilst being dragged out of the room by two ushers, repeated her words in German, saying "Kiesinger! Nazi! Abtreten!" ("Kiesinger! Nazi! Step down!") Kiesinger, holding his left cheek, did not respond, though Klarsfeld was sentenced to a year in prison that same day under expedited proceedings.[12] Up to his death he refused to comment on the incident, and in other opportunities he denied explicitly that he had been opportunistic by joining the NSDAP in 1933 (although he admitted to joining the German Foreign Ministry to dodge his 1940 draft by the Wehrmacht). Other prominent critics included the writersHeinrich Böll andGünter Grass. (In 1966, Grass had written an open letter urging Kiesinger not to accept the chancellorship). In 2006, 40 years later, Grass, in an interview with theFrankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, would confess to aWaffen-SS membership, which became a controversy on its own.[13]
After theelection of 1969, the SPD preferred to form a coalition with the FDP, ending the uninterrupted post-war reign of the CDU chancellors. Kiesinger was succeeded as Chancellor by his former Vice-Chancellor Willy Brandt.
Kiesinger continued to head the CDU/CSU in opposition and remained a member of the Bundestag until 1980. In July 1971 Kiesinger was succeeded asLeader of the Christian Democratic Union byRainer Barzel. In 1972 he held the main speech for justification to theconstructive vote of no confidence by theCDU/CSU parliamentary group against Willy Brandt in the Bundestag. The election of then CDU leader Rainer Barzel as chancellor was unsuccessful because of the bribery of Julius Steiner and probablyLeo Wagner by GDR'sStasi.
In 1980 Kiesinger ended his career as politician and worked on his memoir. Of his planned memoirs, only the first part (Dark and Bright Years) was completed, covering the years up to 1958. It was released after his death in 1989. Kiesinger died inTübingen on 9 March 1988, 28 days short of his 84th birthday. After arequiem mass inStuttgart's St. Eberhard Church, his funeral procession was followed by protesters (mainly students) who wanted his former membership in theNazi Party remembered.
^Due to the division of Germany, Kurt Georg Kiesinger was only the Federal Chancellor inWest Germany. The termWest Germany is only the common English name for theFederal Republic of Germany between its formation on 23 May 1949 and theGerman reunification through the accession ofEast Germany on 3 October 1990. The office of Chancellor did not exist in East Germany.
^Jeffrey Herf, "Judenhass aus dem Äther. NS-Propaganda für die Arabische Welt während des Zweiten Weltkriegs", inNaziverbrechen. Täter, Taten, Bewältigungsversuche, edited by Martin Cüppers et al., Darmstadt 2013, pp. 45-61, here p. 49.
^Munzinger-Online, s.v.Kurt Georg Kiesinger, Accessed 16 October 2010
Günter Buchstab, Philipp Gassert, Peter Thaddäus Lang (Hrsg.):Kurt Georg Kiesinger 1904–1988. Von Ebingen ins Kanzleramt. Herder, Freiburg 2005, im Auftrag derKonrad-Adenauer-Stiftung,ISBN3-451-23006-2.
Reinhard Schmoeckel, Bruno Kaiser:Die vergessene Regierung. Die große Koalition 1966–1969 und ihre langfristigen Wirkungen. Bouvier Verlag, Bonn 2005,ISBN3-416-02246-7.
Maria Keipert (Red.):Biographisches Handbuch des deutschen Auswärtigen Dienstes 1871–1945. Herausgegeben vom Auswärtigen Amt, Historischer Dienst. Band 2: Gerhard Keiper, Martin Kröger:G–K. Schöningh, Paderborn u. a. 2005,ISBN3-506-71841-X.
Albrecht Ernst:Kurt Georg Kiesinger 1904–1988. Rechtslehrer, Ministerpräsident, Bundeskanzler. Begleitbuch zur Wanderausstellung des Hauptstaatsarchivs Stuttgart, Stuttgart 2004,ISBN3-00-013719-X.
Joachim Samuel Eichhorn: Durch alle Klippen hindurch zum Erfolg: Die Regierungspraxis der ersten Großen Koalition (1966–1969) (Studien zur Zeitgeschichte, Band 79); München 2009.
Dorls(from 13 December 1950 WAV-Gast, from 17 January 1951 WAV, from 26 September 1951 Non-attached, am 23 October 1952 Mandatsaberkennung)
Frommhold(from 7 September 1949 Nationale Rechte, from 5 October 1950 Non-attached (DRP), from 26 March 1952 DP-Gast, from 11 February 1953 Non-attached)
Miessner(from 5 October 1950 FDP-Gast, from 20 December 1950 FDP)
Rößler(from 15 September 1949 Nationale Rechte, from 6 September 1950 Non-attached, from 13 December 1950 WAV-Gast, from 17 January 1951 WAV, from 26 September 1951 Non-attached, until 21 February 1952)
Thadden(from 15 September 1949 Nationale Rechte; 1950 DRP, from 20 April 1950 Non-attached)
Ott(Non-attached, from 4 May 1950 WAV-Gast, from 13 October 1950 BHE/DG, from 21 March 1952 Non-attached, from 26 March 1952 DP/DPB-Gast, from 26 June 1952 Non-attached)
Berg(from 27 June 1955, from 23 February 1956 Non-attached, from 15 March 1956 Demokratische Arbeitsgemeinschaft (DA), from 26 June 1956 FVP, from 14 March 1957 DP/FVP)
Blank(from 23 February 1956 Non-attached, from 15 March 1956 Demokratische Arbeitsgemeinschaft (DA), from 26 June 1956 FVP, from 14 March 1957 DP/FVP)
Blücher(from 23 February 1956 Non-attached, from 15 March 1956 Demokratische Arbeitsgemeinschaft (DA), from 26 June 1956 FVP, from 14 March 1957 DP/FVP)
Hübner(from 23 February 1956 Non-attached, from 15 March 1956 Demokratische Arbeitsgemeinschaft (DA), from 26 June 1956 FVP, from 14 March 1957 DP/FVP)
Manteuffel(from 23 February 1956 Non-attached, from 15 March 1956 Demokratische Arbeitsgemeinschaft (DA), from 26 June 1956 FVP, from 14 March 1957 DP/FVP)
Neumayer(from 23 February 1956 Non-attached, from 15 March 1956 Demokratische Arbeitsgemeinschaft (DA), from 26 June 1956 FVP, from 14 March 1957 DP/FVP)
Preiß(from 23 February 1956 Non-attached, from 15 March 1956 Demokratische Arbeitsgemeinschaft (DA), from 26 June 1956 FVP, from 14 March 1957 DP/FVP)
Preusker(from 23 February 1956 Non-attached, from 15 March 1956 Demokratische Arbeitsgemeinschaft (DA), from 26 June 1956 FVP, from 14 March 1957 DP/FVP)
Schäfer(from 23 February 1956 Non-attached, from 15 March 1956 Demokratische Arbeitsgemeinschaft (DA), from 26 June 1956 FVP, from 14 March 1957 DP/FVP)
Schneider(from 23 February 1956 Non-attached, from 15 March 1956 Demokratische Arbeitsgemeinschaft (DA), from 26 June 1956 FVP, from 14 March 1957 DP/FVP)
Bender(from 12 July 1955 Non-attached, from 14 July 1955 Group Kraft/Oberländer, from 15 July 1955 Guest of CDU/CSU-Fraktion, from 20 March 1956 CDU/CSU)
Eckhardt(from 12 July 1955 Non-attached, from 14 July 1955 Group Kraft/Oberländer, from 15 July 1955 Guest of CDU/CSU-Fraktion, from 20 March 1956 CDU/CSU)
Finck(from 12 July 1955 Non-attached, from 14 July 1955 Group Kraft/Oberländer, from 15 July 1955 Guest of CDU/CSU-Fraktion, from 20 March 1956 CDU/CSU)
Haasler(from 12 July 1955 Non-attached, from 14 July 1955 Group Kraft/Oberländer, from 15 July 1955 Guest of CDU/CSU-Fraktion, from 20 March 1956 CDU/CSU)
Körner(from 12 July 1955 Non-attached, from 14 July 1955 FDP, from 23 February 1956 Non-attached, from 15 March 1956 Demokratische Arbeitsgemeinschaft (DA), from 26 June 1956 FVP, from 14 March 1957 DP/FVP)
Kraft(from 12 July 1955 Non-attached, from 14 July 1955 Group Kraft/Oberländer, from 15 July 1955 Guest of CDU/CSU-Fraktion, from 20 March 1956 CDU/CSU)
Oberländer(from 12 July 1955 Non-attached, from 14 July 1955 Group Kraft/Oberländer, from 15 July 1955 Guest of CDU/CSU-Fraktion, from 20 March 1956 CDU/CSU)
Samwer(from 15 October 1953, from 12 July 1955 Non-attached, from 14 July 1955 Group Kraft/Oberländer, from 15 July 1955 Guest of CDU/CSU-Fraktion, from 20 March 1956 CDU/CSU)
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