Willi Eichler
Encyclopedia
Willi Eichler was a German journalist and politician with the Social Democratic Party of Germany
(SPD).
, the son of a postal worker. He attended Volksschule
and then became a clerk. Between 1915 and 1918, he served as a soldier in the First World War.
In 1922, he went to work as the secretary of the socialist philosopher, Leonard Nelson
, who founded the Internationaler Sozialistischer Kampfbund
(ISK). He became a close confidant of Nelson. In 1923, he joined the SPD, but remained a follower of Nelson and became a member of the ISK. After Nelson's death in 1927, Eichler became chairman of the ISK.
From 1932 to 1933, he was the editor-in-chief of the ISK's anti-Nazi newspaper, Der Funke, which published an "Urgent Call for Unity
" in June 1932 calling for support of the SPD and the KPD
in the German federal election, July 1932. It was signed by 33 well-known scientists, authors and artists, including Albert Einstein
, Emil Julius Gumbel
, Kurt Hiller
, Erich Kästner
, Käthe Kollwitz
/ Arthur Kronfeld
, Heinrich Mann
, Pietro Nenni
, Paul Oestreich
, Franz Oppenheimer
, Theodor Plivier, Minna Specht
, Helene Stöcker
, Ernst Toller
, Erich Zeigner
and Arnold Zweig
.
Eichler emigrated to France
in 1933 after the National Socialists seized power
. In Paris
, he got involved with the Lutetia
Circle, the 1935-1936 attempt of exiles to establish and support a Volksfront
against the Third Reich. He also became publisher of the Reinhart Briefe, which were secretly disseminated in Germany, and the Socialistische Warte, which published articles by Hilde Meisel
.
Eichler's political activities caused him to be expelled from France in 1938. Shortly before the outbreak of war, Eichler found asylum in England
, where he returned to the SPD. In London, Eichler worked at the BBC
making broadcasts aimed at German workers and published Europe Speaks. In 1941, he was a founding member and board member of the Union deutscher sozialistischer Organisationen in Großbritannien, which, after the war, merged with the SPD. Toward the end of his exile in London
, he worked closely with historian Susanne Miller, a German Jewish refugee, who later became his wife.
Eichler was a member of the SPD executive committee from 1946–1968, chairman of the Middle Rhine
district of the SPD from 1947–1953,a member of the North Rhine-Westphalia
n Landtag
from 1947–1948 and a member of the Bundestag
from 1949 to 1953. He also served as a member of the Zonenbeirat, the advisory committee to the British occupied zone.
In 1948 and 1949, Eichler was a member of the Wirtschaftsrat des Vereinigten Wirtschaftsgebietes, an economic advisory council of the Bizone
. While serving in the Bundestag in the early 1950s, Eichler was the vice chairman of the Committee on the Press, Radio and Film. During the period after the war, Eichler was one of the leading theoreticians in his party and was the chairman of the decision-making commission to prepare for the Godesberg Program
.
Later, Eichler served as a member of the executive board of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation
. Eichler died in Bonn
in 1971.
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
(SPD).
Before 1945
Eichler was born in BerlinBerlin
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...
, the son of a postal worker. He attended Volksschule
Volksschule
A Volksschule was an 18th century system of state-supported primary schools established in the Habsburg Austrian Empire and Prussia . Attendance was supposedly compulsory, but a 1781 census reveals that only one fourth of school-age children attended. At the time, this was one of the few examples...
and then became a clerk. Between 1915 and 1918, he served as a soldier in the First World War.
In 1922, he went to work as the secretary of the socialist philosopher, Leonard Nelson
Leonard Nelson
Leonard Nelson was a German mathematician and philosopher. He was part of the Neo-Friesian School and a friend of the mathematician David Hilbert, and devised the Grelling–Nelson paradox with Kurt Grelling...
, who founded the Internationaler Sozialistischer Kampfbund
Internationaler Sozialistischer Kampfbund
The Internationaler Sozialistischer Kampfbund was a socialist split-off from the SPD during the Weimar Republic and was active in the German Resistance against Nazism.- History :...
(ISK). He became a close confidant of Nelson. In 1923, he joined the SPD, but remained a follower of Nelson and became a member of the ISK. After Nelson's death in 1927, Eichler became chairman of the ISK.
From 1932 to 1933, he was the editor-in-chief of the ISK's anti-Nazi newspaper, Der Funke, which published an "Urgent Call for Unity
Urgent Call for Unity
The "Urgent Call for Unity" was an appeal by the Internationaler Sozialistischer Kampfbund to defeat the Nazis...
" in June 1932 calling for support of the SPD and the KPD
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
in the German federal election, July 1932. It was signed by 33 well-known scientists, authors and artists, including Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
, Emil Julius Gumbel
Emil Julius Gumbel
Emil Julius Gumbel was a Jewish mathematician and political writer.Born in Munich, he graduated from the University of Munich shortly before the outbreak of the First World War...
, Kurt Hiller
Kurt Hiller
Kurt Hiller also known as Keith Lurr and Klirr was a German essayist of high stylistic originality and a political journalist from a Jewish family. A socialist, he was deeply influenced by Immanuel Kant and Arthur Schopenhauer, despising the philosophy of G. W. F...
, Erich Kästner
Erich Kästner
Emil Erich Kästner was a German author, poet, screenwriter and satirist, known for his humorous, socially astute poetry and children's literature.-Dresden 1899–1919:...
, Käthe Kollwitz
Käthe Kollwitz
Käthe Kollwitz was a German painter, printmaker, and sculptor whose work offered an eloquent and often searing account of the human condition in the first half of the 20th century...
/ Arthur Kronfeld
Arthur Kronfeld
Arthur Kronfeld was a German Psychiatrist.-1933 - 1941: Suppression and exile :...
, Heinrich Mann
Heinrich Mann
Luiz Heinrich Mann was a German novelist who wrote works with strong social themes. His attacks on the authoritarian and increasingly militaristic nature of pre-World War II German society led to his exile in 1933.-Life and work:Born in Lübeck as the oldest child of Thomas Johann Heinrich Mann...
, Pietro Nenni
Pietro Nenni
Pietro Sandro Nenni was an Italian socialist politician, the national secretary of the Italian Socialist Party and lifetime Senator since 1970. He was a recipient of the Stalin Peace Prize in 1951...
, Paul Oestreich
Paul Oestreich
Paul Hermann August Oestreich was a German educator.Oestreich was born in Kolberg, within the German Empire's Prussian Province of Pomerania. He studied mathematics, philosophy, pedagogy, and new languages at the universities of Berlin and Greifswald from 1896-1900...
, Franz Oppenheimer
Franz Oppenheimer
Franz Oppenheimer was a German-Jewish sociologist and political economist, who published also in the area of the fundamental sociology of the state.-Personal life:...
, Theodor Plivier, Minna Specht
Minna Specht
Minna Specht was a German educator, socialist and member of the German Resistance. She was one of the founders of the Internationaler Sozialistischer Kampfbund.- Early years :...
, Helene Stöcker
Helene Stöcker
Helene Stöcker was a German feminist, pacifist and sexual reformer. Stöcker was raised in a Calvinist household and attended a school for girls which emphasized rationality and morality...
, Ernst Toller
Ernst Toller
Ernst Toller was a left-wing German playwright, best known for his Expressionist plays and serving as President of the short-lived Bavarian Soviet Republic, for six days.- Biography :...
, Erich Zeigner
Erich Zeigner
Erich Zeigner was Prime Minister of the German state of Saxony during the attempted communist uprising of 1923...
and Arnold Zweig
Arnold Zweig
Arnold Zweig was a German writer and anti-war activist.He is best known for his World War I tetralogy.-Life and work:Zweig was born in Glogau, Silesia son of a Jewish saddler...
.
Eichler emigrated to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1933 after the National Socialists seized 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...
. In Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, he got involved with the Lutetia
Hôtel Lutetia
The Hôtel Lutetia, located at 45 Boulevard Raspail, in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area of the 6th Arrondissement of Paris, is one of the best-known hotels on the Left Bank...
Circle, the 1935-1936 attempt of exiles to establish and support a Volksfront
Volksfront
Volksfront describes itself as an international fraternal organization for persons of European descent. It has been called "neo-Nazi" and a "racist-skinhead group" in press reports...
against the Third Reich. He also became publisher of the Reinhart Briefe, which were secretly disseminated in Germany, and the Socialistische Warte, which published articles by Hilde Meisel
Hilde Meisel
Hilde Meisel was a German socialist and journalist who published articles against the Nazi regime in Germany. While in exile in England, she wrote under the pseudonym Hilda Monte, calling for German resistance to Nazism in magazines, books and in radio broadcasts...
.
Eichler's political activities caused him to be expelled from France in 1938. Shortly before the outbreak of war, Eichler found asylum in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where he returned to the SPD. In London, Eichler worked at the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
making broadcasts aimed at German workers and published Europe Speaks. In 1941, he was a founding member and board member of the Union deutscher sozialistischer Organisationen in Großbritannien, which, after the war, merged with the SPD. Toward the end of his exile in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, he worked closely with historian Susanne Miller, a German Jewish refugee, who later became his wife.
Postwar
Eichler returned to Germany in 1946 and got involved rebuilding the SPD. He founded the magazine Geist und Tat, which he edited till his death in 1971. Until 1951, he also worked as editor-in-chief of the SPD newspaper, the Rheinische Zeitung.Eichler was a member of the SPD executive committee from 1946–1968, chairman of the Middle Rhine
Middle Rhine
Between Bingen and Bonn, Germany, the Rhine River flows as the Middle Rhine through the Rhine Gorge, a formation created by erosion, which happened at about the same rate as an uplift in the region, leaving the river at about its original level, and the surrounding lands raised...
district of the SPD from 1947–1953,a member of the North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
n Landtag
Landtag
A Landtag is a representative assembly or parliament in German-speaking countries with some legislative authority.- Name :...
from 1947–1948 and a member of the 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 1949 to 1953. He also served as a member of the Zonenbeirat, the advisory committee to the British occupied zone.
In 1948 and 1949, Eichler was a member of the Wirtschaftsrat des Vereinigten Wirtschaftsgebietes, an economic advisory council of the Bizone
Bizone
The Bizone, or Bizonia was the combination of the American and the British occupation zones in 1947 during the occupation of Germany after World War II. With the addition of the French occupation zone in March 1948, the entity became the Trizone...
. While serving in the Bundestag in the early 1950s, Eichler was the vice chairman of the Committee on the Press, Radio and Film. During the period after the war, Eichler was one of the leading theoreticians in his party and was the chairman of the decision-making commission to prepare for the Godesberg Program
Godesberg Program
The Godesberg Program was the party program outline of the political course of Germany's social-democratic party, the SPD. It was ratified on November 15, 1959, at an SPD party convention in the town of Bad Godesberg, which is today part of Bonn....
.
Later, Eichler served as a member of the executive board of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation
Friedrich Ebert Foundation
The Friedrich Ebert Foundation is a German political foundation associated with the Social Democratic Party of Germany , yet independent of it...
. Eichler died in Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
in 1971.