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Assessing a Weimar Chancellor

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Assessing a Weimar Chancellor Peer Oliver Volkmann. Heinrich Brüning (1885-1970): Nationalist ohne Heimat: Eine Teilbiographie. Düsseldorf: Droste, 2007. 883 pp. EUR 58.00, cloth, ISBN 978-3-7700-1903-8. Reviewed by C. Edmund Clingan Published on H-German (May, 2008) The name of Weimar chancellor Heinrich and only 135 pages address his chancellorship. Brüning often disappears from historical accounts Perhaps Volkmann felt that the detailed biogra‐ after his resignation from the position in 1932. phies of Brüning's career to 1933 by William But Brüning lived a long life afterwards. Brüning Patch (1998) and Herbert Hömig (2000) did not fled to the United Kingdom in 1934 and joined the leave enough room for another detailed analysis. faculty of Harvard University in 1937. His postwar Volkmann pays little attention to Brüning's tenure return to Germany was soured by a poor relation‐ as the tax and fnance expert of the Catholic Cen‐ ship with Konrad Adenauer, which stemmed from ter party, when Brüning forged ties to like-minded his criticism of the western orientation of Ade‐ fiscal conservatives from other parties such as nauer's foreign policy, and he returned, disgrun‐ Rudolf Hilferding of the SPD, who supported tled, to the United States, where he died. Peer Brüning during his chancellorship. The book does Oliver Volkmann provides a second funeral for not much discuss the maneuvers of 1929 and 1930 Brüning in this lengthy "partial" biography. Volk‐ that landed Brüning in the top position. In con‐ mann has done a masterful and exhaustive job of trast to earlier works, however, Volkmann uses a detailing the stations of Brüning's life after 1933, minute description of the years from 1933 to 1970 but does not always connect this narrative effec‐ to reflect on Brüning's time in power and demon‐ tively to the earlier portions of the chancellor's strates that Brüning's anti-democratic, anti‐ life. semitic, monarchistic, and nationalistic views A number of studies have been made of the were all present before his 1934 exile from Ger‐ controversial chancellor who governed Germany many. from 1930 to 1932. Volkmann's approach is to In order to make this case, Volkmann has to skirt Brüning's rise to power and his chancellor‐ establish that Brüning had embraced certain atti‐ ship and focus on the period after he left office. In tudes even before his tenure as chancellor. For his 795 pages of text, the frst 226 bring him to 1932, discussion of the earlier period of Brüning's life, H-Net Reviews Volkmann appears to work around the biogra‐ A second major point of studies of Brüning phies by Patch and Hömig, as well as older work has been the matter of Brüning's economic poli‐ by Werner Conze, Josef Becker, and Rudolf cies during the Depression. Here, Volkmann says Morsey. Volkmann's work treats many themes in a little, but does explain the meaning of Brüning's different way. For instance, Volkmann demon‐ claim, "I sharpened the crisis" (p. 762). This claim strates Brüning's nationalism on many occasions, does not mean that Brüning embarked on his ru‐ yet oddly does not discuss the role of Brüning's inous policies to drive Germany into hunger and brother Hermann during the Ruhr occupation. Al‐ unemployment deliberately--a position that would though he makes allusion to written attacks dur‐ attribute to him an inappropriately exaggerated ing World War II against "my beloved brother," mastery of economic policy. According to Volk‐ Volkmann does not mention charges that Her‐ mann, the "crisis" should be taken to mean only mann was an anti-French terrorist. Volkmann the reparations question: "But Brüning took into does try to cut through the murk of Heinrich account the social result of this policy: the mass Brüning's activities in the years before 1924, impoverishment.... The ascetic Brüning expected when he became a Reichstag representative and the German people to make any sacrifice to free cut his ties to the radicals. He was a member of Germany from the 'chains' of the Versailles 'peace the radical right-wing Juniklub but opposed the dictate" (pp. 762-763). violent overthrow of the Republic. For close to But the burden of the study falls on Brüning's four years he worked with the Political College later years, where Volkmann does make some (PK) for Nationalist Political Education and Pro‐ new assertions. John Wheeler-Bennett, for in‐ motion. Volkmann speculates that Brüning left the stance, believed that Brüning became an anti‐ PK because he was uncomfortable with its ties to semite only in the 1950s, but Volkmann demon‐ the Pan-German League and the right wing of the strates a long pattern of bigoted statements on his German National People's Party (DNVP). subject's part. Brüning charged that the German An important question in previous research revolution of 1918 was carried out by men with has been the extent of Brüning's fascism. Here, "stuttering strong eastern accents" (p. 43). In his Volkmann compares Brüning's views with those memoirs, Brüning complained that war profiteers of Mussolini and fnds some similarities. Both and international speculators flled Berlin in 1919, were revisionists in foreign policy. Volkmann fol‐ which Volkmann takes to mean Jews. By the lows Klaus-Ulrich Benedikt's argument that Brün‐ 1940s, Brüning was claiming that Hitler was a for‐ ing was a main force behind the "Essen Program" eign agent backed by French and British industri‐ speech (1920) delivered by Adam Stegerwald. This alists and certain Jewish bankers such as Oskar speech contained fascist elements. It identified the Wassermann. At this point, I wish Volkmann had Marxist parties as the main enemy. Brüning was discussed Brüning's behavior during the German clearly anti-liberal. He constantly referred to the bank crisis of 1931. Wassermann led the Deutsche constitution of the Kaiserreich as the ideal for Bank and the Disconto-Gesellschaft (or "Ded‐ Germany. However, Brüning never cultivated the ibank"). The Dedibank was the second major bank taste for violence and blood that fascist leaders to fall into trouble after the Danat. Did Brüning's need. He also lacked magnetism. One of my old animus play any role in making this worse? Why professors, Andrew Whiteside, took a course from did he single out Wassermann? Brüning also Brüning at Harvard and found him "as interesting claimed that a "Zionist clique" sank his budget as a lukewarm mug of coffee." proposals in 1930 (p. 99). He blamed Jewish Reich‐ 2 H-Net Reviews stag representatives for the passage of the En‐ patriotism" led Brüning to blame the victims (p. abling Acts in 1933. 539). Aside from his politics, though, Brüning is Although present earlier, as Volkmann shows, also shown as personally obnoxious. He drove Brüning's antisemitism intensified after the war. away Americans who befriended him, such as In a May 1945 interview, Brüning denied reports Hamilton Fish Armstrong and George Shuster, of the Holocaust; privately, he called them "vi‐ with pro-German statements during World War II. cious propaganda" (pp. 532-533). He warned that Orienting his account on the former chancel‐ the Jews planned the biological eradication of lor's later years allows Volkmann to explore Brün‐ Germans as revenge. He claimed that Catholics ing's character in detail. Brüning was a shy and and Protestants had been persecuted more se‐ reticent man. Volkmann shows this at times with‐ verely in the 1933-37 period than the Jews. Ac‐ out quite driving home the point. When I read cording to him, antisemitism was inspired by Brüning's cabinet records, I was amazed how pas‐ "eastern Jews who returned with German troops sive he seemed to be toward his own cabinet and from Russia and made speculations in the infla‐ how little he spoke during meetings. This behav‐ tion" (p. 547). By the 1950s, he was saying that a ior was in marked contrast to that of nearly every "Jewish camarilla" around Prussian minister pres‐ other Weimar-era chancellor. He might have pre‐ ident Otto Braun had gained control of the police ferred more quiet one-on-one meetings, although in the 1920s and plotted indirect control of the Re‐ he does not seem to have been more persuasive in ichswehr (p. 536). Brüning also turned against such settings. His longtime assistant, Claire Nix, Hans Schäffer, the former state secretary of the provided Volkmann a glimpse into Brüning's pri‐ Finance Ministry. In his memoirs, written in the vate life in exile. The only things that gave him 1930s and up to 1947, Brüning had been favorable pleasure were walks and listening to records of to Schäffer, and Schäffer in turn had defended classical music. He did not go to the theater or Brüning's policies. This constellation was appar‐ movies or concerts. No indication survives that he ently disrupted after Adenauer consulted Schäffer shared intimacy with anyone or even had a pet. on the Schumann Plan. By 1956, Brüning was call‐ Volkmann, like most other biographers before ing Schäffer a traitor in private letters and claim‐ him, omits a discussion of Brüning's spiritual be‐ ing that Schäffer sabotaged negotiations. This in‐ liefs. He obviously was a strong Catholic, raised formation also gives us an excellent insight into with the traditional leanings and grudges of the right-wing opposition to Adenauer's foreign poli‐ Catholic Center party in Münster. Brüning loathed cy. Brüning was not quite a neutralist, but he op‐ Eugenio Pacelli, the later Pope Pius XII, and clear‐ posed the European Defense Community and had ly had issues with other parts of the Catholic hier‐ deep misgivings about the Coal and Steel Commu‐ archy.
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