Arthur Zarden
Encyclopedia
Arthur Heinrich Ludwig Zarden (27 April 1885 in Hamburg
– 18 January 1944 in Berlin
) was a leading personality in German
tax
legislation and for a short time State Secretary in the Reich Finance Ministry.
in Hamburg
after his school-leaving examination and took up studies in law
at the University of Lausanne
, followed by semesters in Munich
, Berlin and Kiel
. His first State examination in law in 1908 in Kiel and his graduation to Doctor of Law in 1909 in Rostock
were followed by his second State examination in law in Hamburg late in 1912. After being sworn in as an Assessor a few days later, he began his career, first in the Hamburg Inheritance Taxation Administration, the later Taxation Deputation. In 1914 came his appointment to Administration Assessor, in 1917, another to Government Adviser, and in 1919-20 a transfer to the Reich Finance Ministry. On 24 July 1920 he wed Edithe Orenstein, the industrialist Benno Orenstein's daughter. Further positions held by Zarden were Ministerial Adviser in 1920, Ministerial Manager in 1925, Ministerial Director and finally in 1932, State Secretary.
from the war that Germany had lost, and lastly the struggle against inflation
made the first years very hard. Owing to this, he concentrated himself on the consolidation of Reich finances through reconstruction and creation of capital gains, asset, and income taxes, along with compulsory loans. This was understood to mean a compulsory yielding of up to 10% of assets for each person and business. After economic stabilization, Zarden worked together with others on the Weimar Republic
's second tax reform, which was aimed above all at simplifying and lowering taxes, as well as reorganizing finances between the Reich and the Länder (provinces or states). He authored countless articles in trade journals and union magazines.
's successor after the latter's "provisional retirement" in 1929 due to differences with the government. Instead, the new finance minister – who was at the same time also economy minister – Paul Moldenhauer, despite the Cabinet's intervention, appointed Hans Schäffer from the Reich Economy Ministry. In June 1932, Zarden's appointment as State Secretary finally came under the new minister Johann Ludwig Graf Schwerin von Krosigk
Zarden is reckoned to be the inventor of tax vouchers, which allowed discounts on taxes and through whose sale businesses could quickly obtain new liquidity.
After the Hitler régime came to power
, Zarden, who was an adherent of the Jewish faith
, and married to a Jewish woman, stayed on as State Secretary at first, but through Adolf Hitler
's intervention, he was thrown out of the government, and on 31 March 1933 put into "provisional retirement".
On 25 September, under the terms of the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service
, section 6 (or §6), Zarden's retirement became permanent by year's end.
, led by former German Ambassador
to Tokyo Dr. Wilhelm Heinrich Solf
's widow, Johanna Solf. Into this circle, which saw itself more as a tea party than an actual resistance group, Foreign Ministry officials, intellectuals, writers, and others, along with Frau Solf and her daughter, all came together. Sometime after Zarden's entry into the circle, the Gestapo
managed to slip an informer, Paul Reckzeh, into the group, who in September 1943 reported them for a discussion that the group had had about the hopelessness of Germany's military situation, the subject matter alone being considered treason
ous in Nazi Germany
. This led to Zarden's arrest on 12 January 1944, whereupon he was taken to a Gestapo prison. It was clear to him that he would never leave the prison alive, and that he would be torture
d. On 18 January, Arthur Zarden leapt through a window, falling to his death on the street below.
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
– 18 January 1944 in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
) was a leading personality in German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
legislation and for a short time State Secretary in the Reich Finance Ministry.
Career
Not much is known about Zarden's childhood or youth. In 1904, he left the Wilhelm-GymnasiumGymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
after his school-leaving examination and took up studies in law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
at the University of Lausanne
University of Lausanne
The University of Lausanne in Lausanne, Switzerland was founded in 1537 as a school of theology, before being made a university in 1890. Today about 12,000 students and 2200 researchers study and work at the university...
, followed by semesters in 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...
, Berlin and Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
. His first State examination in law in 1908 in Kiel and his graduation to Doctor of Law in 1909 in Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
were followed by his second State examination in law in Hamburg late in 1912. After being sworn in as an Assessor a few days later, he began his career, first in the Hamburg Inheritance Taxation Administration, the later Taxation Deputation. In 1914 came his appointment to Administration Assessor, in 1917, another to Government Adviser, and in 1919-20 a transfer to the Reich Finance Ministry. On 24 July 1920 he wed Edithe Orenstein, the industrialist Benno Orenstein's daughter. Further positions held by Zarden were Ministerial Adviser in 1920, Ministerial Manager in 1925, Ministerial Director and finally in 1932, State Secretary.
Taxation Administration
Zarden came to the Reich Finance Ministry at a time of upheaval. The building of a centralistic finance administration, the burden of reparationsWorld War I reparations
World War I reparations refers to the payments and transfers of property and equipment that Germany was forced to make under the Treaty of Versailles following its defeat during World War I...
from the war that Germany had lost, and lastly the struggle against inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
made the first years very hard. Owing to this, he concentrated himself on the consolidation of Reich finances through reconstruction and creation of capital gains, asset, and income taxes, along with compulsory loans. This was understood to mean a compulsory yielding of up to 10% of assets for each person and business. After economic stabilization, Zarden worked together with others on 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...
's second tax reform, which was aimed above all at simplifying and lowering taxes, as well as reorganizing finances between the Reich and the Länder (provinces or states). He authored countless articles in trade journals and union magazines.
State Secretary
As leader of the taxation department in the Reich Finance Ministry, Zarden foresaw that he would become the old State Secretary Johannes PopitzJohannes Popitz
Johannes Popitz was a Prussian finance minister and a member of the German Resistance against Nazi Germany.- Life :...
's successor after the latter's "provisional retirement" in 1929 due to differences with the government. Instead, the new finance minister – who was at the same time also economy minister – Paul Moldenhauer, despite the Cabinet's intervention, appointed Hans Schäffer from the Reich Economy Ministry. In June 1932, Zarden's appointment as State Secretary finally came under the new minister Johann Ludwig Graf Schwerin von Krosigk
Zarden is reckoned to be the inventor of tax vouchers, which allowed discounts on taxes and through whose sale businesses could quickly obtain new liquidity.
After the Hitler régime came to power
Machtergreifung
Machtergreifung is a German word meaning "seizure of power". It is normally used specifically to refer to the Nazi takeover of power in the democratic Weimar Republic on 30 January 1933, the day Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany, turning it into the Nazi German dictatorship.-Term:The...
, Zarden, who was an adherent of the Jewish faith
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, and married to a Jewish woman, stayed on as State Secretary at first, but through Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's intervention, he was thrown out of the government, and on 31 March 1933 put into "provisional retirement".
On 25 September, under the terms of the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service
Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service
The Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service , also known as Civil Service Law, Civil Service Restoration Act, and Law to Re-establish the Civil Service, was a law passed by the National Socialist regime on April 7, 1933, two months after Adolf...
, section 6 (or §6), Zarden's retirement became permanent by year's end.
Circumstances surrounding Zarden's death
Arthur Zarden got himself involved in the Solf CircleFrau Solf Tea Party
The Solf Circle was an informal gathering of German intellectuals involved in the resistance against Nazi Germany. Most members were arrested and executed after attending a tea party held near Heidelberg on September 10, 1943, at the residence of Elisabeth von Thadden...
, led by former German Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to Tokyo Dr. Wilhelm Heinrich Solf
Wilhelm Solf
Wilhelm Heinrich Solf was a German scholar, diplomat, jurist and statesman.-Early life:Wilhelm Solf was born into a wealthy and liberal family in Berlin. He attended secondary schools in Anklam in western Pomerania and in Mannheim...
's widow, Johanna Solf. Into this circle, which saw itself more as a tea party than an actual resistance group, Foreign Ministry officials, intellectuals, writers, and others, along with Frau Solf and her daughter, all came together. Sometime after Zarden's entry into the circle, the 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...
managed to slip an informer, Paul Reckzeh, into the group, who in September 1943 reported them for a discussion that the group had had about the hopelessness of Germany's military situation, the subject matter alone being considered treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
ous in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. This led to Zarden's arrest on 12 January 1944, whereupon he was taken to a Gestapo prison. It was clear to him that he would never leave the prison alive, and that he would be torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
d. On 18 January, Arthur Zarden leapt through a window, falling to his death on the street below.
Literature
- Ausstellungskatalog Bundesfinanzakademie/Bundesministerium der Finanzen, 1985