Senate of the Free City of Danzig
The Senate of the Free City of Danzig was the government of the Free City of Danzig from 1920 to 1939, after the Allied administration of Reginald Tower and the Danzig Staatsrat.
Constitutional Regulations
The separation of Danzig from the German Reich as a "Free City" without a vote led to the need to draft a constitution. In the Constitution of the Free City of Danzig, articles 25 to 42 detailed and regulated the role of the Senate. The Senate consisted of 7 full-time senators (including the President of the Senate, who was the Chairman, and the Deputy President, the Vice Chairman) and 13 honorary senators. The full-time senators were elected from the Volkstag, and served 4-year terms. The honorary senators could serve indefinite terms. Only by a vote of no confidence from the Volkstag could honorary senators be recalled. Even with a dissolution of the Volkstag, the Senate could remain in power.
The Senate was the highest state authority. In particular, it had the tasks:
- to announce the laws within a month of their constitutional formation and to issue the ordinances necessary for their execution;
- to run the state administration independently within the framework of the constitution, the laws and the state budget, and to exercise = supervision over all state authorities;
- to draw up the budget draft;
- to manage the property and revenues of the state, to remit revenues and expenditures and to defend the rights of the state;
- to appoint officials, unless stated otherwise by constitution or law;
- to operate within the framework of the constitution and the laws for the safety and public welfare of the State and of all nationals, and to adopt its necessary regulations.
In articles 43 to 49, which detailed legislative procedures, laws had to be approved by both the Volkstag and the Senate. In the event that the Senate failed to approve bills on the day it was proposed, a referendum would be held. Constitutional amendments required a two-thirds majority.[1]
With the constitutional amendment of July 4, 1930, the number of senators was reduced to 12 (with the members of the Volkstag decreased from 120 to 72).[2]
Individual Senates
First Sahm Senate
After the establishment of the Free City of Danzig on November 15, 1920, the Constituent Assembly elected the members of the first senate on December 6. It was a bourgeois coalition between the DNVP, the DPP and the liberal Free Economic Association. The Social Democrats were the main opposition. The head of the government was Heinrich Sahm, the former mayor, who did not belong to any party. There were 4 DNVP, 4 DDP and 5 liberals in the Senate. At the second Volkstag election on November 18, 1923, the coalition continued. The First Sahm Senate continued until December 10, until it was replaced by the Second Sahm Senate. The honorary members of the First Sahm Senate, including the Deputy President, resigned in January 15, 1924.
| Status | Office | Name | Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time | President of the Senate | Heinrich Sahm | Partyless |
| Full-time | Innterior Minister | Wilhelm Schümmer | Zentrum |
| Full-time | Municipal Affairs | Dr. Hubertus Schwartz | |
| Full-time | Culture | Dr. Hermann Strunk | DDP, from 1921 DPFW |
| Full-time | Finance | Ernst Volkmann (from February 8th, 1921) | Partyless |
| Full-time | Public Works | Dr. Otto Leske | |
| Full-time | State-owned Enterprise | Prof. Ludwig Noé (until April 26th, 1921) | DDP, from 1921 DPFW |
| Wolf Runge (from April 27th, 1921) | |||
| Full-time | Justice and Social Affairs | Dr. Albert Frank | DNVP |
| Honorary | Deputy to the President | Dr. Ernst Ziehm (elected on January 16th, 1924) | DNVP |
| Honorary | Agriculture and Forestry | Franz Ziehm (elected on January 16th, 1924) | DNVP |
| Honorary | Business | Gustav Karow (elected on January 16th, 1924) | DNVP |
| Honorary | Otto Pertuss (from January 23rd, 1924) | DNVP | |
| Honorary | Georg Bennecke (until April 30th, 1921) | DNVP | |
| Honorary | Richard Senftleben (elected on January 16th, 1924) | DNVP | |
| Honorary | Otto Schulze (from January 16th, 1924) | DNVP | |
| Honorary | Kette (re-elected on January 16th, 1924) | DNVP | |
| Honorary | Schiffsreeder Bosselmann (from January 16th, 1924) | DNVP | |
| Honorary | Ingenieur Jansson (from May 27th, 1921 to January 15th, 1924) | DNVP | |
| Honorary | Anton Sawatzki (elected on January 16th, 1924) | Zentrum | |
| Honorary | Karl Fuchs (elected on January 16th, 1924) | Zentrum | |
| Honorary | Union Secretary Krause (elected on January 16th, 1924) | Zentrum | |
| Honorary | City Council Dr. Wiercinski (from January 16th, 1924) | Zentrum | |
| Honorary | Economy | Julius Jewelowski (until January 18th, 1924) | DDP, from 1921 DPFW |
| Honorary | Nutrition | Dr. Paul Eschert (until January 15th, 1924) | FWV, from 1921 DPFW |
| Honorary | Factory Director Dr. Unger (from January 16th to October 15th, 1924) | DPFW | |
| Honorary | Factory Director Briechle (from January 16th to October 15th, 1924) | DPFW | |
| Honorary | Savings | Gustav Fuchs (until January 15th, 1924) | Liberal |
| Honorary | Post Office[3] | Emil Förster (until January 15th, 1924) | FWV, from 1921 DPFW |
Second Sahm Senate
The rejection of the state budget of 1925 by Deputy President Ernst Ziehm led to a crisis in the government. A new senate was formed on August 19, 1925. This senate was a minority senate, made from a coalition of the SPD, Zentrum, and the German Liberal Party (formed from a 1925 merge of the Free Association of Civil servants, Employees and Workers and the German Party for Progress and Economy (the name of the Free Economic Association since 1920)).[5] This government was tolerated by the Poles and socialist politician Wilhelm Rahn.
| Status | Office | Name | Party | Annotations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time | President of the Senate | Heinrich Sahm | Partyless | |
| Full-time | Interior | Willibald Wiercinski-Keiser | Zentrum | |
| Full-time | Social Welfare | Hubertus Schwartz | ||
| Full-time | Culture | Hermann Strunk | DDP | |
| Full-time | Finance | Ernst Volkmann | Partyless | |
| Full-time | Public Works | Dr. Otto Leske | ||
| Full-time | State-owned Enterprise | Wolf Runge | ||
| Full-time | Justice | Albert Frank | DNVP | |
| Honorary | Deputy to the President | Ernst Ziehm | DNVP | until 1925 |
| Honorary | Deputy to the President | Wilhelm Riepe | DNVP | from 1926 |
| Honorary | Anton Sawatzki | Zentrum | ||
| Honorary | Hugo Neumann | Liberal | ||
| Honorary | Max Behrendt | SPD | 1925–1926 | |
| Honorary | Vice President | Julius Gehl | SPD | 1925–1926 |
| Honorary | Friedrich Grünhagen | SPD | 1925–1926 | |
| Honorary | Bernhard Kamnitzer | SPD | 1925–1926 | |
| Honorary | Ernst Loops | SPD | 1925–1926 | |
| Honorary | Walter Reek | SPD | 1925–1926 | |
Third Sahm Senate
In the third Volkstag election on November 13, 1927, there was a further political shift towards the SPD. The parties of the previous minority government now had a majority. Without prejudice for some changes in senators, the SPD, Zentrum, and the Liberals continued to dominate the senate.
The coalition collapsed in 1930, divided over the question of housing management and financing laws. On March 29, the Liberals left the coalition, with the SPD following suit on April 2. In May 1930, Heinrich Sahm's attempt to form a bourgeois senate failed. Sahm suffered another setback in a vote to amend the constitution, in which the DNVP succeeded in reducing the number of seats in the Volkstag from 120 to 72. This Senate remained in office until January 9, 1931.
| Status | Office | Name | Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time | Präsident of the Senate | Heinrich Sahm | Partyless |
| Full-time | Interior | Friedrich Grünhagen | SPD |
| Full-time | Social Welfare | Willibald Wiercinski-Keiser | Zentrum |
| Full-time | Culture | Hermann Strunk | DDP |
| Full-time | Finance | Bernhard Kamnitzer | SPD |
| Full-time | Public Works | Franz Arczynski | SPD |
| Full-time | Construction | Hugo Althoff | Zentrum |
| Full-time | Justice and Post Office | Albert Evert | DDP |
| Honorary | Anton Sawatzki | Zentrum | |
| Honorary | Gustav Fuchs | Zentrum | |
| Honorary | Bruno Kurowski | Zentrum | |
| Honorary | Julius Jewelowski | DDP | |
| Honorary | Hans Zint | SPD | |
| Honorary | Julius Gehl | SPD | |
| Honorary | Willy Moritz | SPD |
Ziehm Senate
In the fourth Volkstag election on November 16, 1930, neither the left or the bourgeois parties had received majorities. The NSDAP, which had received 12 seats, tipped the scales. On January 10, 1931, a new senate was formed under Ernst Ziem, with its members being parts of the DNVP, Zentrum, and the Liberals. The Nazis tolerated this senate, even though they were prone to extreme political conflict with them.. However, in the autumn of 1931, the NSDAP discussed the possible fall and forceful removal of the Ziehm Senate, decided against by Adolf Hitler. Towards the end of 1932, Hitler changed his mind and started planning to remove the Ziehm Senate. With his appointment as Chancellor in January 1933, it was time for the NSDAP to come into power in Danzig. They deprived the Senate of confidence in Ziehm and offered to enter into a joint senate with the bourgeois parties if Hermann Rauschning became Senate President and the NSDAP appointed the Interior Senator. The bourgeois parties rejected this proposition and the Senate resigned, remaining in office until June 20, 1933.[6]
This Senate was known for increasing authoritarianism in Danzig, even banning the social democratic newspaper Volkstimme for a short time in 1932.[7] By 1932, the Nazis had tapped into the electoral power of the rural population of Danzig, and had become the second most popular party.
| Status | Office | Name | Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time | President of the Senate Agriculture |
Ernst Ziehm[8][9] | DNVP |
| Full-time | Deputy President Social Welfare |
Willibald Wiercinski-Keiser | Zentrum |
| Honorary | Interior | Georg Hinz | DNVP |
| Full-time | Culture | Alfred Winderlich | DNVP |
| Full-time | Culture | Julius Hoppenrath | NatBl (National Bloc) |
| Full-time | Public Works and Trade | Hugo Althoff | Zentrum |
| Full-time | Businesses, Transport and Work | Kurt Blavier | NatBl |
| Honorary | Justice | Fritz Dumont | NatBl |
| Honorary | Heinrich Schwegmann | DNVP | |
| Honorary | Kaufmann Senftleben | DNVP | |
| Honorary | Anton Sawatzki | Zentrum | |
| Honorary | Bruno Kurowski | Zentrum | |
Rauschning Senate
In the fifth Volkstag election on May 28, 1933, the NSDAP gained an absolute majority. On June 20, 1933, a senate under prominent Danzig Nazi Hermann Rauschning was elected, with only Nazis aside from two Zentrum senators. The Volkstag voted to adopt the Enabling Act, allowing the Senate to use emergency decrees without the approval of the Volkstag.
| Office | Name | Party |
|---|---|---|
| President of the Senate | Hermann Rauschning | NSDAP |
| Deputy President Interior |
Arthur Greiser | NSDAP |
| Social Welfare | Hans Albert Hohnfeldt | NSDAP |
| Culture | Adalbert Boeck | NSDAP |
| Finance | Julius Hoppenrath | NSDAP |
| Business | Wilhelm Huth | NSDAP |
| Construction | Karl August Hoepfner | NSDAP |
| Justice | Willibald Wiercinski-Keiser | Zentrum [10] |
| Public Health | Helmut Adalbert Kluck | NSDAP |
| Public Enlightenment and Propaganda | Paul Batzer | NSDAP[11] |
| Senators for Special Use | Wilhelm von Wnuck Max Bertling Anton Sawatzki[12] | NSDAP NSDAP Zentrum |
References
- Text of the Constitution
- GBl. S. 179
- Förster war im Hauptberuf Direktor des Zopotter Postamts
- Sprenger beschreibt, es wären 6 ehrenamtliche Senatoren der DNVP gewählt worden. Ziehm nennt jedoch 7, wobei er jedoch sich selbst als Stellvertreter des Präsidenten mitzählt. Laut den Sitzungsprotokollen des Volkstags wurden 1920 folgende nebenamtliche Senatoren gewählt: Bennecke, Karow, Kette, Pertus, Senftleben, Ziehm, Carl Fuchs, Krause, Sawatzki, Dr. Eschert, Gust. Fuchs, Foerster, Jewelowski.
- Heinrich Sprenger : Heinrich Sahm : Kommunalpolitiker und Staatsmann,1969, Diss., S. 118–119, 135–136, 155–156
- Dieter Schenk: Danzig 1930–1945. Das Ende einer Freien Stadt. Ch. Links, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-86153-737-3, S. 28 (eingeschränkte Vorschau in der Google-Buchsuche).
- Peter Oliver Loew, "Danzig: Biographie einer Stadt", 197.
- Ernst Ziehm: Aus meiner politischen Arbeit in Danzig 1914–1939 (Autobiografie), S. 147–156
- Die Freie Stadt Danzig Die Senate 1920–1939, http://www.gonschior.de/weimar/Danzig/Ueberblick_Reg.html
- ab 22. September 1933 NSDAP
- ab 22. September 1933 für Sawatzki
- bis 22. September 1933
