Weizsäcker
Encyclopedia
The Weizsäcker family was and is influential over the span of several generations, hailing from the former Kingdom of Württemberg
. Their members include a Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Württemberg, a President of Germany
, a leading diplomat, a prominent environmental scientist, and the physicist
after whom the Bethe-Weizsäcker formula was named.
"The Weizsäcker family is a prime example of the continuity of the political elite (sic) across different political systems. Coming from the educated upper middle class, ennobled in 1916, in three successive generations this family has served in the highest state offices of the German Empire, the Weimar Republic, the Nazi dictatorship and the German Federal Republic."
Kingdom of Württemberg
The Kingdom of Württemberg was a state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located in present-day Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which came into existence in 1495...
. Their members include a Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Württemberg, a President of Germany
President of Germany
The President of the Federal Republic of Germany is the country's head of state. His official title in German is Bundespräsident . Germany has a parliamentary system of government and so the position of President is largely ceremonial...
, a leading diplomat, a prominent environmental scientist, and the physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
after whom the Bethe-Weizsäcker formula was named.
- I. Christian Ludwig Weizsäcker (1785–1831), preacher in ÖhringenÖhringenÖhringen is the largest city in Hohenlohe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in southwest Germany, near Heilbronn. Öhringen is on the railways to Schwäbisch Hall and Crailsheim.With a population of 22,745 , the city is diverse...
- A. Hugo Weizsäcker (1820–1834)
- B. Karl Heinrich WeizsäckerKarl Heinrich WeizsäckerKarl Heinrich Weizsäcker was a German Protestant theologian.-Biography:Weizsäcker was born in Öhringen near Heilbronn in Württemberg, and studied at Tübingen and Berlin....
(1822–1899), Protestant theologian and chancellor of University of Tübingen- 1. Karl von WeizsäckerKarl von WeizsäckerKarl Hugo Freiherr von Weizsäcker was a German politician who served as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Württemberg, and a member of the prominent Weizsäcker family....
(1853–1926), 1906–1918 Ministerpräsident for King William II of WürttembergWilliam II of WürttembergWilliam II was the fourth King of Württemberg, from 6 October 1891 until the abolition of the kingdom on 30 November 1918...
- a. Ernst von WeizsäckerErnst von WeizsäckerErnst Freiherr von Weizsäcker was a German diplomat and politician. He served as State Secretary at the Foreign Office from 1938 to 1943, and as German Ambassador to the Holy See from 1943 to 1945...
(1882–1951), a diplomat who served as Secretary of State at the Foreign OfficeForeign Office (Germany)The Foreign Office is the foreign ministry of Germany, a federal agency responsible for both the country's foreign politics and its relationship with the European Union. From 1871 to 1919, it was led by a Foreign Secretary, and since 1919, it has been led by the Foreign Minister of Germany...
and Ambassador to the Holy SeeHoly SeeThe Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
- i. Carl Friedrich von WeizsäckerCarl Friedrich von WeizsäckerCarl Friedrich Freiherr von Weizsäcker was a German physicist and philosopher. He was the longest-living member of the research team which performed nuclear research in Germany during the Second World War, under Werner Heisenberg's leadership...
(1912–2007), physicist and philosopher- (a). Carl Christian von Weizsäcker (* 1938), professor of political economy
- (b). Ernst Ulrich von WeizsäckerErnst Ulrich von WeizsäckerErnst Ulrich von Weizsäcker is a German scientist and politician.He is son of the physicist Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker and nephew of the former German President Richard von Weizsäcker....
(* 1939), scientist and politician
- ii. Heinrich von Weizsäcker (1917–1939), killed in action (World War IIWorld War IIWorld 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...
) - iii. Richard von WeizsäckerRichard von WeizsäckerRichard Karl Freiherr von Weizsäcker , known as Richard von Weizsäcker, is a German politician . He served as Governing Mayor of West Berlin from 1981 to 1984, and as President of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1984 to 1994...
(* 1920), politician (CDU) and President of GermanyPresident of GermanyThe President of the Federal Republic of Germany is the country's head of state. His official title in German is Bundespräsident . Germany has a parliamentary system of government and so the position of President is largely ceremonial...
1984–1994- (a). Robert Karl von Weizsäcker (* 1954), professor of political economy, president of German Chess Federation
- (b). Andreas von Weizsäcker (1956-2008), professor of art
- (c). Beatrice von Weizsäcker (* 1958), graduated jurist and freelance journalist
- (d). Fritz von Weizsäcker (* 1960), professor of medicine
- i. Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker
- b. Viktor von WeizsäckerViktor von WeizsäckerViktor Freiherr von Weizsäcker was a German physician and physiologist. He was the brother of Ernst von Weizsäcker, and uncle to Richard von Weizsäcker and Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker. .He studied at Tübingen, Freiburg, Berlin, and Heidelberg, where he earned his medical degree in 1910...
(1886–1957), neurologistNeurologyNeurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
- a. Ernst von Weizsäcker
- 1. Karl von Weizsäcker
- C. Julius WeizsäckerJulius WeizsäckerJulius Ludwig Friedrich Weizsäcker was a German historian. He was specialized on medieval history and early modern history. A member of the noble Weizsäcker family, his brother was the Protestant theologian Karl Heinrich Weizsäcker....
(1828–1889), historian- 1. Julius Hugo Wilhelm Weizsäcker (1861–1939), lawyer
- 2. Heinrich Weizsäcker (1862–1945), professor of art history
- a. Karl Hermann Wilhelm Weizsäcker (1898–1918)
As part of a political élite
An unsympathetic 2010 article noted that:"The Weizsäcker family is a prime example of the continuity of the political elite (sic) across different political systems. Coming from the educated upper middle class, ennobled in 1916, in three successive generations this family has served in the highest state offices of the German Empire, the Weimar Republic, the Nazi dictatorship and the German Federal Republic."