Joseph Wirth facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Joseph Wirth
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| Chancellor of Germany (Weimar Republic) |
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| In office 10 May 1921 – 14 November 1922 |
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| President | Friedrich Ebert |
| Deputy | Gustav Bauer |
| Preceded by | Constantin Fehrenbach |
| Succeeded by | Wilhelm Cuno |
| Foreign Minister of Germany | |
| Acting 26 October 1921 – 31 January 1922 |
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| Chancellor | Joseph Wirth |
| Preceded by | Friedrich Rosen |
| Succeeded by | Walther Rathenau |
| Acting 24 June 1922 – 14 November 1922 |
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| President | Friedrich Ebert |
| Chancellor | Joseph Wirth |
| Preceded by | Walther Rathenau |
| Succeeded by | Hans von Rosenberg |
| Reich Minister of Finance | |
| In office 27 March 1920 – 22 October 1921 |
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| Chancellor | Hermann Müller Constantin Fehrenbach Joseph Wirth |
| Preceded by | Matthias Erzberger |
| Succeeded by | Andreas Hermes |
| Reich Minister of the Interior | |
| In office 30 March 1930 – 7 October 1931 |
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| Chancellor | Heinrich Brüning |
| Preceded by | Carl Severing |
| Succeeded by | Wilhelm Groener |
| Reich Minister for the Occupied Territories | |
| In office 13 April 1929 – 27 March 1930 |
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| Chancellor | Hermann Müller |
| Preceded by | Carl Severing |
| Succeeded by | Gottfried Treviranus |
| Member of the Reichstag (Weimar Republic) |
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| In office 1920–1933 |
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| Constituency | National list (1932-1933) Liegnitz (1930-1932) National list (1928-1930) Baden (1920-1928) |
| (German Empire) | |
| In office 1914–1918 |
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| Constituency | Baden 7 |
| Member of the Weimar National Assembly | |
| In office 6 February 1919 – 21 May 1920 |
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| Constituency | Baden |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Karl Joseph Wirth
6 September 1879 Freiburg im Breisgau, Grand Duchy of Baden, German Empire |
| Died | 3 January 1956 (aged 76) Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany |
| Political party | Zentrum Christian Democratic Union of Germany Alliance of Germans |
Joseph Wirth (born September 6, 1879 – died January 3, 1956) was an important German politician. He was a member of the Catholic Centre Party. Wirth served as the Chancellor of Germany for about a year and a half, from 1921 to 1922. He also held several other important government jobs. These included being the finance minister, foreign minister, and minister of the interior. After World War II, he was part of a group called the "Alliance of Germans." This group wanted Germany to be neutral, not taking sides in the Cold War.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Joseph Wirth was born on September 6, 1879, in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. His father was an engineer. Wirth often said that his parents' strong Christian beliefs and their care for others greatly influenced him.
From 1899 to 1906, Wirth went to the University of Freiburg. He studied subjects like math, science, and economics. He even wrote a special paper in math to finish his studies.
After university, Wirth worked as a teacher in Freiburg from 1906 to 1913. He also helped start a charity group in 1909 called the Akademische Vinzenzkonferenz. This group was run by regular people who wanted to help the poor.
Start of His Political Career
In 1911, Wirth began his political journey. He was elected to the Freiburg city council for the Catholic Centre Party. This party was important for Catholic citizens in Germany.
From 1913 to 1921, he was a member of the Badischer Landtag. This was like the state parliament for the region of Baden.
In 1914, Wirth became a member of the Reichstag, which was Germany's parliament. He cared a lot about social issues, like helping people in need. When World War I started, he wanted to join the military. However, he couldn't because of his health. Instead, he worked as a nurse for the Red Cross on the war fronts from 1914 to 1917. He had to stop after getting sick with pneumonia.
In 1917, Wirth supported a "peace resolution" in the Reichstag. This resolution called for an end to the war.
The Weimar Republic Years
After World War I, Germany went through a big change called the German Revolution of 1918-19. In November 1918, Wirth became the Finance Minister for the region of Baden.
In January 1919, he was elected to the Weimar National Assembly. This group created a new democratic government for Germany, known as the Weimar Republic. Wirth strongly believed in this new republic.
In March 1920, there was an attempted takeover called the Kapp Putsch. After this, Wirth became the Minister of Finance for the whole country. He kept this job in the next government too. His main job was to put in place new taxes to help Germany recover.
Chancellor of Germany
In May 1921, the Allied countries, who had won World War I, demanded that Germany pay a huge amount of money for war damages. This was called the "London ultimatum." The government at the time refused, so it resigned. Joseph Wirth was then asked to become the new Chancellor of Germany.
Wirth formed a new government and accepted the Allies' demands. Germany had to pay a lot of money and a part of its export earnings. Wirth's government tried to show that it was impossible for Germany to pay such a large amount. This policy was called Erfüllungspolitik, meaning "fulfillment policy."
Some extreme right-wing groups were very angry about Wirth's policy. They even called for him to be killed.
Challenges and Changes
In August 1921, a politician named Matthias Erzberger was murdered. This caused a lot of tension between the central government in Berlin and the state government in Bavaria. Wirth stood firm, and the Bavarian leader had to resign.
Later, in October 1921, the League of Nations decided to divide the industrial region of Upper Silesia between Germany and Poland. This made many Germans very upset. Wirth himself believed this would make it harder for Germany to pay its war debts.
Wirth resigned as Chancellor on October 22, 1921, to protest this decision. However, just a few days later, President Friedrich Ebert asked him to form a new government, which he did.
Foreign Policy and Rathenau's Murder
On April 16, 1922, Wirth and his Foreign Minister, Walther Rathenau, signed the Treaty of Rapallo. This important agreement helped Germany improve its relationships with other countries and end its isolation.
Sadly, Rathenau was murdered by right-wing extremists on June 24, 1922. The next day, Wirth gave a powerful speech in the Reichstag. He warned that Germany was becoming a place of "murder, of rancor, of poison." He famously declared, "the enemy is on the right!"
To protect the young republic, Wirth's government passed a law in July 1922. It was called the Gesetz zum Schutz der Republik, meaning "Law for the Protection of the Republic."
By November 1922, Wirth felt that his policy of trying to meet the Allies' demands had failed. He resigned again after he couldn't get all the democratic parties to work together.
Later Roles in the Weimar Republic
In 1924, Wirth joined the Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold. This was a group that worked to protect the democratic republic. He disagreed with his own party, the Centre Party, when they worked with a nationalist party in 1925. He even left his party's group in the Reichstag.
From 1929 to 1930, Wirth served as the minister for the occupied territories. Then, from 1930 to 1931, he became the Minister of the Interior. He was well-liked by the Social Democrats and helped them work with the new government. However, he was later removed from this job by President Paul von Hindenburg, who thought Wirth was too left-leaning.
During the Nazi Era
In March 1933, after Adolf Hitler became Chancellor, Wirth spoke out strongly against the Enabling Act. This law gave Hitler dictatorial powers. Even though he spoke against it, Wirth voted for the Act along with his party.
After the Enabling Act passed, Wirth left Germany and moved to Switzerland. He bought a house there. He talked with leaders in Britain and France about the dangers of the Nazi regime. He also traveled to the United States, where he gave talks at universities about the Nazis.
From 1935 to 1939, Wirth lived in Paris before returning to Switzerland. During World War II, he secretly stayed in touch with anti-Nazi groups in Germany, like the Solf Circle and the Kreisau Circle. He also tried to tell the Vatican about the Nazis' terrible policies against Jewish people.
Later Life and Return to Germany
In 1949, after World War II, Wirth was finally able to return to Germany. He did not agree with the new West German leader, Konrad Adenauer, who wanted to integrate West Germany with Western countries. Wirth worried this would make the division of Germany permanent.
In 1953, Wirth helped start a new group called the "Alliance of Germans." This group wanted Germany to be neutral and not take sides in the Cold War between the West and the Soviet Union. Wirth even visited Moscow for political talks in 1951.
Some documents from the CIA (a US intelligence agency) suggested that Wirth might have been working for the Soviet Union. East Germany, which was controlled by the Soviet Union, gave Wirth some financial help. In 1954, he received the "Peace Medal" from East Germany, and in 1955, he was given the Stalin Peace Prize.
Joseph Wirth died in his hometown of Freiburg in 1956, at the age of 76. He was buried in the city's main cemetery.
Images for kids
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Wirth's grave in Freiburg
See also
In Spanish: Joseph Wirth para niños
