Wilhelm Marx facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Wilhelm Marx
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Marx in 1923
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| Chancellor of Germany (Weimar Republic) |
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| In office 17 May 1926 – 28 June 1928 |
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| President | Paul von Hindenburg |
| Vice-Chancellor | Oskar Hergt |
| Preceded by | Hans Luther |
| Succeeded by | Hermann Müller |
| In office 30 November 1923 – 15 January 1925 |
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| President | Friedrich Ebert |
| Vice-Chancellor]] | Karl Jarres |
| Preceded by | Gustav Stresemann |
| Succeeded by | Hans Luther |
| Minister of Justice | |
| In office 10 January 1926 – 12 May 1926 |
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| Chancellor | Hans Luther |
| Preceded by | Josef Frenken |
| Succeeded by | Johannes Bell |
| Minister for the Occupied Territories | |
| In office 10 January 1926 – 12 May 1926 |
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| Chancellor | Hans Luther |
| Preceded by | Hans Luther |
| Succeeded by | Johannes Bell |
| Minister President of Prussia | |
| In office 18 February 1925 – 6 April 1925 |
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| Preceded by | Otto Braun |
| Succeeded by | Otto Braun |
| Leader of the Centre Party | |
| In office 17 January 1922 – 8 December 1928 |
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| Preceded by | Karl Trimborn |
| Succeeded by | Ludwig Kaas |
| Member of the Reichstag (Weimar Republic) |
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| In office 24 June 1920 – 10 June 1932 |
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| Constituency |
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| (German Empire) | |
| In office 2 March 1910 – 9 November 1918 |
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| Constituency | Köln 6 |
| Member of the Weimar National Assembly | |
| In office 6 February 1919 – 6 June 1920 |
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| Constituency | Düsseldorf-Ost |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Wilhelm Marx
15 January 1863 Cologne, Prussia |
| Died | 5 August 1946 (aged 83) Bonn, Allied-occupied Germany |
| Political party | Centre |
| Spouse |
Johanna Verkoyen
(m. 1891) |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | University of Bonn |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Wilhelm Marx (born January 15, 1863 – died August 5, 1946) was an important German judge and politician. He was a member of the Catholic Centre Party. During the Weimar Republic, which was Germany's government after World War I, he served as the Chancellor of Germany two times. His first term was from 1923 to 1925, and his second was from 1926 to 1928.
Wilhelm Marx also briefly served as the leader of the state of Prussia in 1925. He was the longest-serving Chancellor during the Weimar Republic, holding the position for a total of 3 years and 73 days. As Chancellor, he helped Germany through a very difficult time in 1923, when the country faced extreme inflation and political unrest. His government also worked to solve issues related to Germany's war payments and helped Germany join the League of Nations in 1927. During his time in office, several new laws were passed, including support for families of state employees and a system for unemployment insurance.
After leaving the German parliament (the Reichstag) in 1932, Marx worked with different community groups. He stayed in Germany during the time of the Nazis and passed away in Bonn in 1946.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Wilhelm Marx was born in 1863 in Cologne, a city in Germany. His father, Johann Marx, was a school principal, and his mother was Gertrude. Wilhelm had a sister named Barbara, who later became the head of a group of nuns called the Ursulines in Cologne.
In 1881, Marx finished high school. He then went on to study law at the University of Bonn from 1881 to 1884. While he was a student, he joined a Catholic student group called Arminia of Bonn.
In 1891, Wilhelm Marx married Johanna Verkoyen. They had three sons and one daughter. Sadly, one of their sons died during World War I.
Becoming a Judge
After finishing his law studies, Wilhelm Marx started working in the Prussian civil service in 1888. He worked as a legal assistant in Cologne and other towns. In 1894, he became a judge in Elberfeld. He continued to advance in his legal career, becoming a state court judge in Cologne in 1904 and a superior state court judge in Düsseldorf in 1907.
Later, in 1921, he became the president of a state court in Limburg an der Lahn. On the same day, he was also chosen to lead the parliamentary group of the Centre Party in the Reichstag, which was the German parliament. Before 1919, when Germany was still an empire ruled by Protestant Prussia, Marx's Catholic faith and his political activities made it harder for him to get promotions as a judge.
Starting in Politics
Wilhelm Marx began his political journey in Elberfeld, where he joined the Centre Party. From 1899 to 1918, he was a member of the Prussian House of Representatives, which was part of the state parliament in Prussia. He also led the Centre Party in Elberfeld and was a deputy leader in the Prussian Rhine Province.
In 1907, he became the chairman of the Centre Party in Düsseldorf. From 1910 to 1918, he was a member of the Reichstag, the national parliament of the German Empire. In 1911, he started the Catholic School Organization to protect religious education in German schools.
Marx supported the "Reichstag Peace Resolution" in 1917, which called for a peaceful end to World War I without Germany gaining new territories. After the war ended and the German Empire collapsed, Marx was elected to the Weimar National Assembly in 1919. This assembly created the Weimar Constitution, Germany's new set of laws. He then served in the Weimar Reichstag from 1920 until 1932.
Marx did not like the German Revolution that ended the old monarchy, but he supported the new Weimar Republic. The new constitution gave Catholics full civil rights, which was a big change. Marx also opposed the idea of the Rhineland region breaking away from Germany. In 1919, he was one of the few Centre Party members who believed Germany should accept the Treaty of Versailles, fearing that not doing so would lead to France taking over the occupied Rhineland.
After a politician named Matthias Erzberger was killed in 1921, Marx became the leader of the Centre Party's group in the Reichstag. In 1922, he became the party's chairman. He supported Chancellor Joseph Wirth's policy of trying to meet the demands of the Treaty of Versailles, especially the reparation payments. This was to show that the demands were impossible to fulfill. Marx also helped Chancellor Wilhelm Cuno organize protests against France and Belgium's Occupation of the Ruhr. Later, Marx helped replace Cuno's government with a new one led by Gustav Stresemann. When Stresemann's government fell in November 1923, President Friedrich Ebert asked Wilhelm Marx to form a new government.
Serving as Chancellor
First Term: 1923–1925
On November 30, 1923, Wilhelm Marx formed his first government. It was a minority government, meaning it did not have a majority of seats in parliament. It included the Centre Party, the German People's Party (DVP), the Bavarian People's Party (BVP), and the German Democratic Party (DDP).
At this time, Germany was in a very difficult situation. The country was experiencing extreme hyperinflation, and the central government faced challenges from different state governments. Marx's government passed an "Enabling Act" in December 1923. This law gave his government special powers to take actions needed to help the country.
His government achieved several important things:
- They stabilized the currency by introducing the Rentenmark.
- They improved the country's finances.
- They resolved conflicts between the central government and the right-wing government in Bavaria.
- They reduced tensions in the occupied Rhineland.
- In January 1924, a new law changed the jury system in Germany.
- His government also introduced family allowances for people who worked for the state.
After the May 1924 election, Marx formed his second government on June 3. This was also a minority government. It focused on improving relations with the Allied countries and regaining control of the occupied territories in western Germany. In August, his government signed the Dawes Plan, which helped resolve the diplomatic crisis over Germany's war reparations. After the December 1924 elections, Marx could not form another government, so he resigned on December 15. He stayed in office as a caretaker until January 15, 1925, when Hans Luther became Chancellor.
Between Chancellorships: 1925–1926
In February 1925, Marx became the Minister President of Prussia, which was a very important position in the largest German state. On March 18, his party nominated him to run for president in the 1925 German presidential election, after President Friedrich Ebert passed away.
In the first round of voting, Marx was the candidate for the Centre Party. In the second round, he was supported by a larger group of parties. However, he lost the election to Paul von Hindenburg. This was partly because another candidate, Ernst Thälmann, split the votes of those who did not support Hindenburg. Also, the Bavarian People's Party asked its supporters to vote for Hindenburg.
Marx resigned as Prussian Minister President in April, as he could not form a stable government. Otto Braun then took over the role.
Second Term: 1926–1928
Wilhelm Marx thought about leaving politics, but on January 26, 1926, he accepted a new role. He became the Minister of Justice and Minister for the Occupied Territories in Hans Luther's second government. After Luther's government fell, Gustav Stresemann suggested Marx as Chancellor again, and President Hindenburg appointed him on May 17, 1926. His new government included the Centre Party, DVP, DDP, and BVP.
Even though the previous government had fallen over a dispute about flying the old imperial flag, Marx did not change the rule. In June 1926, a public vote to take away the property of Germany's former royal families without payment failed. Marx's government survived this failure and soon after successfully helped Germany join the League of Nations, an international organization for peace. He resigned as Chancellor on December 17, 1926, after losing a vote of no confidence. This vote was about secret military connections between the German army and the Soviet Union.
In January 1927, Marx formed a new government. This time, it included the same parties as before, plus the right-wing German National People's Party (DNVP). This fourth and final government led by Marx extended a law that protected the Republic, though only for two years to get the DNVP's support. It also passed important laws about working hours and established a complete system for unemployment insurance on July 16, 1927. The government also worked to make poor relief payments more consistent and Germany became the first major industrial country to sign an agreement for longer maternity leave.
The government eventually broke up over a disagreement about a school law. Although the DVP was blamed, internal disagreements within the Centre Party also contributed to the government's fall. Marx resigned on June 12. After putting an emergency plan into action, he was officially dismissed as Chancellor by Hindenburg on June 29, 1928. His four terms as Chancellor made him the longest-serving Chancellor of the Weimar Republic.
Later Life
After the Centre Party did not perform well in the 1928 German federal election in May 1928, Wilhelm Marx resigned as the party chairman on December 8, 1928. He then focused on working with many different groups and community organizations. In 1932, he left his seat in the Reichstag and retired from politics.
In 1933, during the time of Nazi Germany, Marx was accused in a trial related to a Catholic organization he had led. However, the charges against him were dropped in 1935. After World War II ended, he continued to live in Bonn, where he passed away in 1946. Wilhelm Marx is buried in the Melaten cemetery in Cologne.
See also
In Spanish: Wilhelm Marx para niños
