Alois Hundhammer
Encyclopedia
Alois Hundhammer was one of the most prominent politicians in Bavaria
following World War II
and the country lifestyle in which he grew up. He attended the monastic school Scheyern Abbey
and, despite his father's initial protest, the humanistic
Dom-Gymnasium in Freising
.
Hundhammer's studies were interrupted in the summer of 1918 by World War I
, in which he served briefly on the Western Front
before enlisting in the Freikorps
and taking part in the battle for Munich against the Bavarian Soviet Republic
in April 1919. After the conclusion of fighting, he was able to begin studying history
, philosophy
, and economy
at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in the winter semester of 1919/1920. He married Adelheid Hillenbrand in 1923.
Hundhammer received his doctorate in 1923 with a thesis
entitled "Die Geschichte des Bayerischen Bauernbundes" ("The history of the Bavarian farmers association). He completed a second doctorate three years later with a work on "the agricultural trade association of Bavaria." In 1927 he became general secretary
of the Upper Bavaria
n Christian Farmers Union. Hundhammer became the youngest representative in the Bavarian Landtag
after being elected in the state elections of 1932.
As a politician in the Weimar Republic
, Hundhammer became known as a campaigner farmer's associations. One of the results of his campaigning on behalf of the farming class was the published work Staatsbürgerliche Vorträge (Civic Lectures) in which he strongly rejected the tenets of National Socialism
from a thoroughly Catholic
viewpoint, labeling it the "new Germanic Hedonism
."
members were arrested by the Bavaria
n Political Police (later: Gestapo
). After being arrested on 21 June 1933, Hundhammer was placed in the newly-opened Dachau concentration camp on 29 June. He was released on 22 July of the same year.
After his release Hundhammer entered a shattered professional and economical existence. His assets and attempts to find qualified work were both blocked by the Nazis, so he acquired a shoe-repair workshop in the fall of 1933 with the help of Father Rupert Mayer
in order to continue providing for his growing family. This workshop became a point of contact for former members of the BVP as well as current members of the Munich
Catholic
circle before being closed by the Gestapo in November 1937.
Hundhammer avoided confrontation with the Nazis throughout the remainder of the Nazi-Era out of consideration for his family, which consisted of his wife and four sons by 1941. He was drafted into and served in the Wehrmacht
from 1939 until 1944.
, and Fritz Schäffer
to establish the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU)
. As a result of his strong reputation as an opponent of the Nazis, Hundhammer experienced considerable success in building political strength. He played a crucial role in the writing of the Bavarian Constitution and was directly responsible for writing the preamble
.
Hundhammer was elected parliamentary group leader
of the CSU in 1946 and remained in power until 1951. During this time he also served as Staatsminister of Education and Culture. From 1951 until 1954 he was president of the Landtag of Bavaria
.
In the years following the war Hundhammer also remained particularly active in various Catholic associations. He founded the Katholischer Männerverein Tuntenhausen in 1945, remained active in the Catholic student groups he had joined during his time at the university, and became a member of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
in 1957.
Hundhammer died in Munich on 1 August 1974.
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Early life
Alois Hundhammer, the first of thirteen children, was born to Alois and Maria (Grill) Hundhammer on 25 February 1900 on his parent's farm in Moos. His early life was heavily shaped by his parent's CatholicCatholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
and the country lifestyle in which he grew up. He attended the monastic school Scheyern Abbey
Scheyern Abbey
Scheyern Abbey, formerly also Scheyern Priory is a house of the Benedictine Order in Scheyern in Bavaria.-First foundation:...
and, despite his father's initial protest, the humanistic
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
Dom-Gymnasium in Freising
Freising
Freising is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the district Freising. Total population 48,500.The city is located north of Munich at the Isar river, near the Munich International Airport...
.
Hundhammer's studies were interrupted in the summer of 1918 by World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, in which he served briefly on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
before enlisting in the Freikorps
Freikorps
Freikorps are German volunteer military or paramilitary units. The term was originally applied to voluntary armies formed in German lands from the middle of the 18th century onwards. Between World War I and World War II the term was also used for the paramilitary organizations that arose during...
and taking part in the battle for Munich against the Bavarian Soviet Republic
Bavarian Soviet Republic
The Bavarian Soviet Republic, also known as the Munich Soviet Republic was, as part of the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the short-lived attempt to establish a socialist state in form of a council republic in the Free State of Bavaria. It sought independence from the also recently proclaimed...
in April 1919. After the conclusion of fighting, he was able to begin studying history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, and economy
Economy
An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in the winter semester of 1919/1920. He married Adelheid Hillenbrand in 1923.
Hundhammer received his doctorate in 1923 with a thesis
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
entitled "Die Geschichte des Bayerischen Bauernbundes" ("The history of the Bavarian farmers association). He completed a second doctorate three years later with a work on "the agricultural trade association of Bavaria." In 1927 he became general secretary
General secretary
-International intergovernmental organizations:-International nongovernmental organizations:-Sports governing bodies:...
of the Upper Bavaria
Upper Bavaria
Upper Bavaria is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany.- Geography :Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered around the city of Munich. It is subdivided into four regions : Ingolstadt, Munich, Bayerisches Oberland , and Südostoberbayern...
n Christian Farmers Union. Hundhammer became the youngest representative in the Bavarian Landtag
Landtag
A Landtag is a representative assembly or parliament in German-speaking countries with some legislative authority.- Name :...
after being elected in the state elections of 1932.
As a politician in the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
, Hundhammer became known as a campaigner farmer's associations. One of the results of his campaigning on behalf of the farming class was the published work Staatsbürgerliche Vorträge (Civic Lectures) in which he strongly rejected the tenets of National Socialism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
from a thoroughly Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
viewpoint, labeling it the "new Germanic Hedonism
Hedonism
Hedonism is a school of thought which argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good. In very simple terms, a hedonist strives to maximize net pleasure .-Etymology:The name derives from the Greek word for "delight" ....
."
Nazi-era
Staatsbürgerliche Vorträge was banned by the Nazis in 1933, the same year in which Hundhammer along with fellow Bavarian People's Party (BVP)Bavarian People's Party
The Bavarian People's Party was the Bavarian branch of the Centre Party, which broke off from the rest of the party in 1919 to pursue a more conservative, more Catholic, more Bavarian particularist course...
members were arrested by the Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n Political Police (later: Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
). After being arrested on 21 June 1933, Hundhammer was placed in the newly-opened Dachau concentration camp on 29 June. He was released on 22 July of the same year.
After his release Hundhammer entered a shattered professional and economical existence. His assets and attempts to find qualified work were both blocked by the Nazis, so he acquired a shoe-repair workshop in the fall of 1933 with the help of Father Rupert Mayer
Rupert Mayer
Rupert Mayer was a Jesuit priest and a leading figure of the Catholic Widerstand in the Third Reich in Munich. In 1987 he was beatified by Pope John Paul II.-Life:...
in order to continue providing for his growing family. This workshop became a point of contact for former members of the BVP as well as current members of the Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
circle before being closed by the Gestapo in November 1937.
Hundhammer avoided confrontation with the Nazis throughout the remainder of the Nazi-Era out of consideration for his family, which consisted of his wife and four sons by 1941. He was drafted into and served in the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
from 1939 until 1944.
Post-war political career
Hundhammer met and developed relationships with numerous politically-interested prisoners while in American captivity at the end of the war. After being released in 1945 he worked with Karl Scharnagl, Josef MüllerJosef Müller
Josef Müller , also known as "Ochsensepp", was a German politician. He was a member of the resistance during World War II and afterwards one of the founders of the Christian Social Union...
, and Fritz Schäffer
Fritz Schäffer
Fritz Schäffer was a German politician for the Bavarian People's Party and the Christian Social Union . In 1945 he became the first Bavarian Minister-President after World War II...
to establish the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU)
Christian Social Union of Bavaria
The Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It operates only in the state of Bavaria, while its sister party, the Christian Democratic Union , operates in the other 15 states of Germany...
. As a result of his strong reputation as an opponent of the Nazis, Hundhammer experienced considerable success in building political strength. He played a crucial role in the writing of the Bavarian Constitution and was directly responsible for writing the preamble
Preamble
A preamble is an introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document's purpose and underlying philosophy. When applied to the opening paragraphs of a statute, it may recite historical facts pertinent to the subject of the statute...
.
-
-
- Preamble to the Constitution of the Free State of Bavaria:
-
Hundhammer was elected parliamentary group leader
Parliamentary group leader
The leader or chairman of a parliamentary group holds an influential political post in a parliamentary system with strong party discipline...
of the CSU in 1946 and remained in power until 1951. During this time he also served as Staatsminister of Education and Culture. From 1951 until 1954 he was president of the Landtag of Bavaria
Landtag of Bavaria
The Landtag of Bavaria is the unicameral legislature of the state of Bavaria in Germany. Between 1946 and 1999 there was an upper house, the Senate of Bavaria. The parliament meets in the Maximilianeum....
.
In the years following the war Hundhammer also remained particularly active in various Catholic associations. He founded the Katholischer Männerverein Tuntenhausen in 1945, remained active in the Catholic student groups he had joined during his time at the university, and became a member of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
Order of the Holy Sepulchre
The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem is a Roman Catholic order of knighthood under the protection of the pope. It traces its roots to Duke Godfrey of Bouillon, principal leader of the First Crusade...
in 1957.
Hundhammer died in Munich on 1 August 1974.
Further reading
- Braun, Oliver (2004). "Alois Hundhammer." Christliche Demokraten gegen Hitler: Aus Verfolgung und Widerstand zur Union. Ed. Buchstab, Günter; Kaff, Brigitte; Kleinmann, Hans-Otto. Freiburg, Germany: Herder, 2004. p. 304-312. Print. ISBN 978-3451208058