Konrad Adenauer
First Chancellor of West Germany and CDU leader from 1946 to 1966.
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was the first chancellor of West Germany, serving from 1949 to 1963. He also led the newly formed Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1946 to 1966, turning it into the country's dominant political force. He is regarded as a founding father of the European Union.
Adenauer was a devout Catholic and a prominent figure in the Catholic Centre Party during the Weimar Republic. He served as Mayor of Cologne from 1917 to 1933 and as president of the Prussian State Council. After World War II, he shifted West Germany's focus from denazification to economic recovery, building close ties with France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Under his leadership, West Germany rebuilt its economy, established a market-based system, liberal democracy, stability, and international respect, and achieved widespread prosperity.
Despite his age, Adenauer was known for his intense work ethic and sharp political instincts. A staunch anti-communist, he pursued an Atlanticist foreign policy and worked to restore West Germany's global standing. He drove the reestablishment of West German military forces in 1955 and the intelligence service (the Bundesnachrichtendienst) in 1956. He refused to diplomatically recognize East Germany or accept the Oder–Neisse line as Poland's postwar border. Under his watch, West Germany joined NATO. A strong advocate of European unity, he signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957.
Adenauer was born in Cologne on 5 January 1876, the third of five children. His parents were Johann Konrad Adenauer and Helene Scharfenberg. The *Kulturkampf*—the Prussian state's conflict with the Catholic Church—deeply influenced him, fostering a lifelong dislike of "Prussianism" and resentment over the Rhineland's inclusion in Prussia. As a child, he experimented with plants in the garden, despite his father's disapproval. In 1904, he invented a reaction steam engine meant to filter car dust, but his costly inventing hobby eventually faded.
After finishing school in 1894, Adenauer studied law and politics at the universities of Freiburg, Munich, and Bonn, showing competent but not exceptional ability. He failed the Prussian army physical exam due to chronic respiratory problems. He graduated in 1900 and worked as a lawyer in Cologne for four years.
Adenauer joined the Centre Party in 1906 and was elected to Cologne's city government that year. He became Vice-Mayor in 1909 and was unanimously elected Mayor of Cologne in 1917, serving a 12-year term and being re-elected in 1929. From 1931 to 1933, he also served as acting Vice President of the German Colonial Society, arguing that Germany needed colonies due to insufficient room for its population. As mayor, he rebuilt the University of Cologne, oversaw construction of a bridge across the Rhine and an electrical plant, and helped plan a stadium and city park. During World War I, he collaborated with the army to support the Western Front and focused on civilian food supplies, helping the city avoid the worst shortages of 1918–1919. In 1918, he invented a soy-based sausage to feed the city. In late 1918, he maintained order in Cologne by working closely with the Social Democrats. On 1 February 1919, he called for the dissolution of the old regime.
- born
- 5 January 1876
- died
- 19 April 1967
- field
- Politics
- nationality
- German
- known_for
- First Chancellor of West Germany, leader of the CDU, founding father of the European Union
Lore & Background
As a devout Catholic, Adenauer was a leading politician of the Catholic Centre Party in the Weimar Republic, serving as Mayor of Cologne (1917–1933) and as president of the Prussian State Council. In the early years of the Federal Republic, he switched focus from denazification to recovery, and led his country to close relations with France, the United Kingdom and the United States. During his years in power, he worked to restore the West German economy from the destruction of World War II to a central position in Europe with a market-based economy, liberal democracy, stability, international respect, and economic prosperity. Adenauer belied his age by his intense work habits and his uncanny political instinct. A strong anti-communist, he was deeply committed to an Atlanticist foreign policy and restoring the position of West Germany on the world stage. Adenauer was a driving force in reestablishing national military forces (the Bundeswehr) and intelligence services (the Bundesnachrichtendienst) in West Germany in 1955 and 1956. He refused the diplomatic recognition of East Germany and the Oder–Neisse line as a postwar frontier to Poland. Under Adenauer, West Germany joined NATO. A proponent of European unity, he signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957.
Reader's Guide
Konrad Adenauer was born on 5 January 1876 in Cologne, Rhenish Prussia, as the third of five children of Johann Konrad Adenauer and his wife Helene. One of the formative influences of his youth was the Kulturkampf, the struggle of the Prussian state with the Catholic church, which left him with a lifelong dislike for 'Prussianism' and led him to resent the Rhineland's inclusion in Prussia. Having a passion for inventing, he started experimenting with plants in the back garden as a child. After final school examination in 1894, Adenauer studied law and politics at the University of Freiburg, the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, and the University of Bonn. In 1896, he was mustered for the Prussian army but did not pass the physical exam due to chronic respiratory problems. He graduated in 1900 and worked as a lawyer at the court in Cologne for four years. He joined the Centre Party in 1906 and was elected to Cologne's city government. In 1909, he became Vice-Mayor of Cologne. He did not fight in the First World War as he was in poor health, and was severely injured in a car crash in the summer of 1917. In 1917, he was unanimously elected as Mayor of Cologne for a 12-year period, and re-elected in 1929. By 1931 and whilst Mayor of Cologne, he was also acting Vice President of the German Colonial Society from 1931 to 1933. As Mayor, he rebuilt the University of Cologne, masterminded the construction of a bridge across the Rhine and an electrical plant, and played a major role in planning a stadium and a city park. During World War I, he worked closely with the army to maximize the city's role as a rear base of supply and transportation for the Western Front. In 1918, he invented a soy-based sausage called the Cologne sausage to help feed the city. 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. He established a good working relationship with the postwar British military authorities. During the Weimar Republic, he was president of the Prussian State Council from 1921 to 1933. Adenauer was one of the leading advocates of 'leaving the tower' (allowing Protestants to join the Centre Party). In mid-October 1923, he opened talks with the French High Commissioner Paul Tirard for a Rhenish republic in a sort of economic union with France. In 1921, he was suggested as a
Did You Know?
- Adenauer was the first leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1946 to 1966.
- He was severely injured in a car crash in the summer of 1917.
- In 1918, he invented a soy-based sausage called the Cologne sausage to help feed the city.
- He had a passion for inventing and started experimenting with plants in the back garden as a child.
Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)
"We will never forget. If it takes us five or ten or twenty years, we will never rest until we get our revenge." — Konrad Adenauer "I wish that an English statesman might once have spoken of us as Western Europeans." — Konrad Adenauer "The Soviet Government and the Soviet people should not lend themselves to co-operating in the conversion into a concentration camp of part of a large neighbouring country against the will of its inhabitants." — Konrad Adenauer "I see the significance of the Marshall Plan in the fact that probably for the first time in history a victorious country held out its hand so that the vanquished might rise again." — Konrad Adenauer
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