Franz Böhm
Encyclopedia
Franz Böhm was a German politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

, lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

, and economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...

.

Early Life

Franz Böhm was born on 16 February 1895 in Konstanz
Konstanz
Konstanz is a university city with approximately 80,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south-west corner of Germany, bordering Switzerland. The city houses the University of Konstanz.-Location:...

. He moved along with his family in 1898 to Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...

 as his father was appointed the Minister of Cultural Affairs for the Grand Duke of Baden.

Early Academic Career

After completing his Abitur
Abitur
Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...

 and military service, Böhm enlisted in the military at the beginning of 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...

. He was the first citizen of Karlsruhe to be awarded the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....

. In 1919 Böhn began studying law and political science at the University of Freiburg
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...

 and completed his Staatsexamen
Staatsexamen
The ' is a German government licensing examination that future doctors, teachers, pharmacists, food chemists and jurists have to pass to be allowed to work in their profession. The examination is generally organized by government examination agencies which are under the authority of the...

 in 1924, receiving shortly thereafter a job as a public prosecutor
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...

.

Böhm published his first essay entitled "Das Problem der privaten Macht, ein Beitrag zur Monopolfrage" (The problem of private power; a contribution to the question of monopolies) in 1928, establishing himself as a prominent economist. In the wake of the publication of this essay, fellow economists Alexander Rüstow
Alexander Rüstow
Alexander Rüstow was a German sociologist and economist. He originated the term neoliberalism meant as a synonym for Ordoliberalism but the term has undergone a change of meaning. He was one of the fathers of the "Social Market Economy" that shaped the economy of West-Germany after World War II...

 and Friedrich Lutz strongly encouraged Böhm to write a disputation of the economic work of Adam Smith
Adam Smith
Adam Smith was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations...

. Böhm eagerly took up their suggestion and wrote what would become his principal work: "Wettbewerb und Monopolkampf."

After writing these pieces Böhm received a professorship at the University of Freiburg
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...

, where he and colleague Walter Eucken
Walter Eucken
Walter Eucken was a German economist and father of ordoliberalism. His name is closely linked with the development of the "social market economy".-Life:...

 established the Freiburger Schule
Freiburg School
The Freiburg School is a school of economic thought founded in the 1930s at the University of Freiburg.It builds somewhat on the earlier Historical school of economics but stresses that only some forms of competition are good, while others may require oversight. This is considered a lawful and...

. During this time Böhm worked closely with Eucken and Hans Grossmann-Doerth in establishing the groundwork for their economic theory, Ordoliberalism
Ordoliberalism
Ordoliberalism is a school of liberalism that emphasised the need for the state to ensure that the free market produces results close to its theoretical potential . The theory was developed by German economists and legal scholars such as Walter Eucken, Franz Böhm, Hans Grossmann-Doerth and Leonhard...

.

Nazi Era

The liberal economic beliefs of the Freiburger Schule directly contrasted the economic beliefs of the Nazi Regime
Economy of Nazi Germany
World War I and the subsequent Treaty of Versailles with its severe reparations imposed on Germany led to a decade of economic woes, including hyperinflation in the mid 1920s...

. Every assembly of the Freiburger Schule was therefore a direct afront to the regime. Public discussions became evermore dangerous, so the school was quickly forced to begin meeting secretly. During this time the assembly began calling itself the "Diehl-Seminar" in recognition of its meeting place, the home of Karl Diehl
Karl Ludwig Diehl
Karl Ludwig Diehl was a German film actor. He appeared in 66 films between 1924 and 1957.-Selected filmography:* The Squeaker * Rasputin, Dämon der Frauen * On Secret Service...

.

Böhm had his ability to teach revoked from him by the Nazis in 1938 due to his public outspokenness against the anti-Jewish policies
Racial policy of Nazi Germany
The racial policy of Nazi Germany was a set of policies and laws implemented by Nazi Germany, asserting the superiority of the "Aryan race", and based on a specific racist doctrine which claimed scientific legitimacy...

 of the regime. During the same year, Böhm became active in the Freiburger Konzil, which served as a meeting point for anti-Nazi professors from the university
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...

 and pastors of the Confessing Church
Confessing Church
The Confessing Church was a Protestant schismatic church in Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to nazify the German Protestant church.-Demographics:...

. Böhm became heavily involved throughout the following years in opposition groups such as the Bonhoeffer-Krise
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and martyr. He was a participant in the German resistance movement against Nazism and a founding member of the Confessing Church. He was involved in plans by members of the Abwehr to assassinate Adolf Hitler...

 and the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Erwin von Beckerath, a council of liberal economists opposed to Nazi economic practices.

Only through name confusion resulting from a mistake by the Nazis was Böhm able to avoid arrest after the failed July 20 plot.

Post-War and Political Career

After the war Böhm was able to resume teaching in Freiburg and was granted the position of Prorector
Prorector
In many countries in Europe , a prorector is deputy to rector and a member of the management body of a university. In cases with more than one prorector each prorector manages a particular area of university life...

. In 1946 he accepted a professorship at the University of Freiburg
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...

. During his time at the university he worked with Walter Eucken
Walter Eucken
Walter Eucken was a German economist and father of ordoliberalism. His name is closely linked with the development of the "social market economy".-Life:...

 to found the German scholarly journal ORDO
Ordo
Ordo may refer to:* A musical phrase constructed from one or more statements of a rhythmic mode pattern and ending in a rest* Ordo , is a nomadic palace for the Mongol aristocrats and the Turkic rulers...

 in 1948, which remains today a mouthpiece of German institutional economists.

During this time Böhm became active in politics, joining the CDU
Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...

 shortly after the war. He served as the minister of cultural affairs in Hessen under Karl Geiler
Karl Geiler
Karl Hermann Friedrich Geiler was a German lawyer and politician. He was born in Schönau and died in Heidelberg....

 from 1 November 1945 until February 1946, when he resigned due to differences of opinion with the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 occupying forces.

Böhm was a member of the German Bundestag
Bundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...

 from 1953 until 1965. During this time he was the leader of the German delegation for the reparations negotiations with Israel
Reparations Agreement between Israel and West Germany
The Reparations Agreement between Israel and West Germany was signed on September 10, 1952, and entered in force on March 27, 1953...

.

Throughout his time in the Bundestag Böhm remained deeply connected to the University of Freiburg
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...

 and his students, continuing to provide seminars despite his role in the Bundestag. His political role remained secondary in importance to his career as an instructor. Böhm died on 26 September 1977 in Rockenberg
Rockenberg
Rockenberg is a municipality in the Wetteraukreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located approx. 36 kilometers north of Frankfurt am Main....

.

The Franz-Böhm Schule, a Berufsschule in Frankfurt am Main, is named in his honor.

Franz Andreas Xaver Böhm, a descendent of Böhm, developed the so called "plus-minus-strategy" to calculate legal time limits.

Further Reading

  • Blumenberg-Lampe, Christine (2004). "Franz Böhm." Christliche Demokraten gegen Hitler: Aus Verfolgung und Widerstand zur Union. Ed. Buchstab, Günter; Kaff, Brigitte; Kleinmann, Hans-Otto. Freiburg, Germany: Herder, 2004. 108-114. Print.

Weblinks

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