Autor/Autorin
Threat from the right and the fight for Europe: what do these two things have to do with Otto Klepper, the last finance minister of Prussia, which was then dissolved by a coup d’état by Reich Chancellor Franz v. Papen on 20 July 1932?
As far as the threat from the right is concerned, you only need to read the speech by the conservative MP Hans von Rohr, with which he justified the motion of censure against the Prussian Finance Minister Otto Klepper for the German National People’s Party (DNVP) in the Prussian Parliament on 16 December 1931, to understand where the parallels are with today’s contributions from the extreme right:
„Two worldviews are virtually colliding here; the real Prussia and the New Prussian system, which already bears signs of moral decay on its forehead after twelve years of existence. […] But we, Minister Klepper, are thinking at this time of the words once spoken by Heinrich von Treitschke [1 ], that a just destiny always forces a rotten state authority to reveal all of its infirmities once again before the whole world at the edge of its grave. If you confirm Mr Klepper the day after tomorrow, it will show us with all clarity that your system stands under the word of Treitschke. Keep it up! Keep your Klepper. We will let you keep your system and will push it so that it sinks into the already open grave.“
A quote from an article on terrorist and racist attacks in the Tagesspiegel of 30 December 2015: „The common enemy of all extremists is the Federal Republic’s democracy, derogatorily referred to as the ’system'“ and on 9 April of the same year, the Zeit magazine wrote: „Ms Oertel (from Pegida) harbours diffuse prejudices against migrants, politics and the press – ‚lying press‘ is a term from the Nazi era – she still says the system is broken and a revolution is necessary.“ And Pegida activist Tatjana Festerling even speaks of „system mongers“ in this context, as the Tagesspiegel reported in August. That was in 2015, three years have passed since then. Are we at that point again? No, of course not, but resist the beginnings! The right-wing populist AfD sits in the Bundestag and in all state parliaments, has a long list of entries on Wikipedia and countless appearances on the internet, the language has become sharper and the number of supporters is growing.
But while in 1932 Mr von Rohr’s prophecy came true just six months later and Prussia was dissolved, and six months later the Weimar Republic was laid to rest on 30 January 1933, today – 70 years after the founding of the Federal Republic – democracy has been consolidated. The defences against the right are much stronger.
Nevertheless, increased vigilance is required, especially as the internet, which did not exist in the 1930s, plays a huge role, not least as an amplifier and a seducer!
Since Otto Klepper was part of the „system“ in the difficult final phase of the Weimar Republic as President of the Prussian Central Cooperative Fund, the so-called Preußenkasse and today’s DZ Bank, and then as Prussian Finance Minister, his fate is exemplary, both for the futile struggle to defend democracy before 1933 and for the reconstruction of democracy after the war. In this respect, this is not just about a specific person, but about a person whose commitment to a democratic Germany after both the First and the Second World War is exemplary. It is about politics and civil courage at the end of the Weimar Republic, in exile and in the early post-war period, and it is about recognising structures and behaviour that endanger democracy; it is also about the civil courage of each individual.
As far as the second point – the fight for Europe – is concerned, Klepper can also serve as a role model here, as he published an essay entitled „European Freedom“ in the New Diary in Paris as early as December 1936, thereby also setting out his programme : without a free Germany, no free Europe. Together with Willi Münzenberg and others, he founded the exile magazine Die Zukunft – with the subtitle: „A new Germany: A new Europe!“ It was supported by influential Frenchmen.
The following excerpt from one of his many articles shows how clear-sighted Klepper was in explaining the need for a united Europe shortly before the war: On an international level, there was a need to overcome the idea of self-sufficiency and a greater understanding of the fact that the world had become smaller due to modern technology and that we were heading towards a „progressive refinement of the international division of labour“. If we did not gain these insights, i.e. if we did not dismantle customs and trade barriers and create a „unified European economic area“, then we would not only „degenerate into distressed, pocket-sized world economies“, but would also endanger peace, especially in the countries with the fewest raw materials and the largest populations, because „ultimately, helplessness would give rise to the urge to expand that requires ‚leaders‘ to organise the plundering of foreign lands for the purpose of exploitation“. The precondition for Europe was „the reconciliation of France and Germany“, which would „mean the redemption of Europe“.
The logical consequence was the founding of the Franco-German Union a few weeks before the outbreak of war, in the spring of 1939. The founders, headed by Klepper alongside Hermann Rauschning, Willi Münzenberg and Werner Thormann, were aware of the audacity of their actions, „to think of the possibilities of a future [and] to lay the foundations of the organisation of Europe, a Europe of freedom, peace and democracy“ through Franco-German cooperation at a time of great danger of war. For them, it was the only hope, as expressed by the French representatives of the Union on 19 May 1939 on the first Franco-German page of the future : „Even if war is inevitable, the Franco-German Union will continue to direct all its efforts towards the creation of a politically united and federally structured Europe and towards the organisation of a real supranational power charged with the defence of democracy.“
Unfortunately, it is telling that in all the celebrations of the Elysée Treaty of 1963 and the reissue of the treaty in Aachen, no one mentions, let alone knows anything about, the foundation of reconciliation that was laid in Paris 80 years ago. What courage it took to think about Europe three months before the war, knowing full well that it was coming, and to found a Franco-German union as the basis for a future Europe.