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such a manner. Despite this, he considered toleration to be the only viable course of action. As internal dissatisfaction with the policy intensified in late 1931, even
Breitscheid began to look for alternatives: in a November speech, he suggested that cooperation with the KPD may be possible if it committed to shutting down its paramilitary wing. Nonetheless, he continued to endorse toleration publicly. He argued that the SPD could not be held responsible for Brüning's policies, and that they were acting out of obligation to the constitution in a parliament where the two other largest parties, the Nazis and KPD, were anti-constitutional. In his view, if the SPD were to bring down Brüning, they would be responsible for bringing an anti-constitutional government to power. At the same time, he opposed new elections, fearing they would strengthen Nazis and Communists.
33:
337:. This defeat greatly disillusioned Breitscheid and, convinced that liberal parties were doomed either to irrelevance or collaboration with conservatives, he left the DV and joined the SPD. His own convictions aligned closely with the SPD's Erfurt program, which advocated for parliamentary democracy, legal equality, separation of church and state, and various other social reforms. Though still sceptical of Marxist theory, he believed that the economic reality of capitalism suppressed the individual rights of workers, and agreed with many socialist perspectives.
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opposition to a push by liberals and conservatives for the merchant marine to adopt the
Imperial flag over the republican one, he said: "the republic is not our final aim. It is only the vessel whose content is socialism. But we defend this vessel against your attacks. We believe that it is one hundred times more valuable for the interests of the German people than that which the capitalists, militarists ... and German nationalists desire." Breitscheid faced strong opposition from the left-wing of the USPD. During the debate over the party's membership in the
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understood the Nazis not as dedicated ideologues, but power-hungry opportunists, citing their lack of principles as the main factor that allowed them to attain broad support. He believed that periods of crisis were essential to fascism's success, and that they used hollow rhetorical appeals to democracy and fearmongering about
Bolshevism as a wedge to convince people to vote for authoritarianism. Breitscheid also acknowledged that the nationalism,
765:
369:. He helped negotiate the provisional government between the SPD and USPD, and was even recommended as foreign minister, but ultimately became interior minister for the new Prussian government. This posting was short-lived, however, as the government collapsed after just six weeks. Breitscheid returned to journalism as editor of the USPD journal
480:, and violence of Nazism were factors in its appeal. He did not consider the incoherency of the Nazi platform and coalition to be a threat to its stability. Indeed, he feared that they would be nearly impossible to dislodge if they achieved power, and on this basis he staunchly defended the SPD's toleration of the Brüning government.
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moderate positions and supported coalitions with other republican parties. At the Kiel congress of 1927, he spoke of opposition not as a "long-term condition" but a prelude to governing responsibility which would be used to promote workers' interests. Breitscheid reluctantly supported the "grand coalition" government formed after the
403:(KPD) in October, Breitscheid remained with the rump party and worked to convince others of the value of cooperation with the SPD and bourgeois republican parties. In February 1921, he joined a minority of fellow USPD deputies in breaking party discipline to abstain in a motion of no confidence against the liberal cabinet of
456:, believing that the SPD could influence its policy in a progressive direction and continue Stresemann's foreign policy. Though he ultimately found his hopes to be misplaced, he did not support breaking the coalition until March 1930, fearing that such a move would hand control of the government to the right-wing.
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Compared to many other socialists of the time, Breitscheid had a complex understanding of fascism and the Nazi movement. He characterised fascism as a form of anti-democratic organisation distinguished by its exploitation of democratic systems and usage of pseudo-legal means to achieve its goals, and
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Breitscheid supported reunification with the SPD in 1922, believing that only a united socialist party would have the strength to fight off right-wing attacks. Following reunification, he became one of the SPD's most prominent speakers and parliamentarians, owing to his rhetorical and oratory skills
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He argued that the SPD could use its position to push solutions the economic crisis while dedicating energy to educating the masses; a two-pronged strategy to deprive the Nazis of their support base. The party, however, had few economic ideas and lacked the resources to engage the working class in
394:
Throughout the year, Breitscheid came to believe that the new republic, though unsatisfactory, gave the best chance for socialism to develop in
Germany. A rise in right-wing terror and assassinations caused many on the left to rally in defence of the republic against counterrevolution. Speaking in
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His prominence within the SPD also grew during this period. In 1927, he was elected to the SPD Reichstag group's executive committee, and in 1928 became one of its three chairmen. At the 1931 congress, he was elected to the executive committee of the party itself. In party discourse, he advocated
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if the constitution was violated, refused to endorse this course of action as the Nazis took control of the state. He hoped that the SPD would be allowed to exist for a time, and that they might build their strength, though he made no attempt to imagine what that might entail. Re-elected to the
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Breitscheid's ideas were criticised by many and earned him few allies in either the USPD or SPD. Moderates were concerned that he lacked commitment to parliamentary democracy, while radicals were put off by his criticism of
Bolshevik actions in Russia, which became increasingly common from 1918
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as undemocratic, he advocated for a system of shared power. Noting that a majority of workers supported the election of a
National Assembly, he proposed that this be accepted in conjunction with the establishment of a Central Council, invested with veto and legislative powers, to represent the
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in his 1932 re-election bid, believing that he would defend the constitution and continue to deny the Nazis power as he had since 1930. In
January 1933, however, Hindenburg appointed Hitler Chancellor. Breitscheid, who had spoken at times of extraparliamentary action by the
272:
to working-class
Protestant parents. His father Wilhelm worked in a bookshop, and died when Rudolf was nine years old. His mother Wilhelmine was the daughter of a tailor. He began studying law at Cologne's Friedrich-Wilhelm Gymnasium in 1894, but moved within the year to
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the next year, Stresemann appointed him to the government's delegation. These actions cultivated
Breitscheid's reputation as a dedicated republican and won broad respect across party lines; he was considered for the position of foreign minister in the
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in
September 1943. Breitscheid died there on 24 August 1944, listed as being killed in an Allied air raid on the camp. However, Varian Fry believed that Breitscheid was executed by the Gestapo and his cause of death falsified. Communist leader
340:
Breitscheid quickly gained prominence among the SPD press, but his record as a bourgeois liberal made him unpopular with many of the party's leaders. After he made inaccurate claims to a British newspaper about the party's stance on the
314:. Advancing quickly in the political arena, he became chairman of the FVP's Berlin association and served a lobbyist for free trade issues. He opposed the entrenched power of the nobility, and campaigned for the abolition of the
541:, they were unsuccessful in seeking visas to enter the United States. They were arrested by French police in September and placed under house arrest in Arles before Breitscheid and Hilferding were handed to the
387:
onwards. He became increasingly disillusioned with radical rhetoric of the USPD, which he viewed as empty and reflecting a lack of commitment to real action. Nonetheless, he was elected to the Reichstag in the
377:
left-wing and moderate reformists close to the SPD, he attempted to chart a middle course for the party. Asserting that a simple parliamentary system would be dominated by bourgeois interests and rejecting a
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intensified his fears, and he became dedicated to keeping the Nazis from power. In his view, the SPD had no choice but to support Brüning's cabinet in order to prevent Hitler from entering government.
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also hampered his journalistic career. In January 1916, he was drafted and sent to the western front, but remained engaged with politics. Disillusioned by the SPD's support for the war, he joined the
357:(USPD) at the end of 1917. The new party nominated him to contest a by-election in Berlin in January 1918, for which he was mostly unable to campaign, and he lost to his SPD opponent.
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Breitscheid moved to Paris with his wife Tony in May 1933, where they spent the next seven years. He remained politically active, but was not part of the
349:, who described him as "the last person who should play the role of party schoolmaster abroad". Breitscheid's anti-war activism and support for pacifist
735:
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Breitscheid spent much of the Weimar period focusing on foreign policy, promoting positive relations with Germany's neighbours. Though he opposed the
505:. He returned to Munich, where the SPD executive had been stationed since being pushed out of Berlin, and fled the country with his wife on 1 April.
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After the appointment of the Brüning cabinet, Breitscheid became preoccupied with the prospect of the republic's demise. The rise of the
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333:(DV). Breitscheid became its first chairman. The party failed to attract broad support, however, and won less than 30,000 votes in the
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After graduating, he worked as a journalist for various liberal newspapers in the north of Germany. At this time, his views were
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workers. In his view, this would allow socialism to grow via democratic means without being obstructed by bourgeois influence.
558:, who was also held in Buchenwald and secretly executed, was subject to a similar coverup. Breitscheid is commemorated at the
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with the KPD alienated him from fellow SPD comrades. During the invasion of France in May 1940, Breitscheid fled to
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to study politics. In 1898 he completed his PhD with a dissertation on "land policy in the Australian colonies".
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in nature, and he supported free trade and German colonialism in Africa. He joined the left-liberal
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in February 1941. Breitscheid was imprisoned for ten months in Berlin, then transferred to the
310:(FVP). He moved to Berlin and in 1904 was elected to the city council and the assembly of the
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Memorial plaque to Breitscheid in Berlin stating that he died in an air raid on Buchenwald.
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220:(2 November 1874 – 28 August 1944) was a German politician and leading member of the
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Confronting Hitler: German Social Democrats in Defense of the Weimar Republic, 1929-1933
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despite harsh repression, Breitscheid attended the session which saw the passage of the
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738:(in German). Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung und Umwelt. 17 August 2023.
373:. The following years represented his most radical phase. Opposed to both the
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in 1928, but Stresemann ultimately retained the position.
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Breitscheid supported the SPD's endorsement of President
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German people who died in Buchenwald concentration camp
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Breitscheid sought election to the Reichstag in the
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Members of the Provincial Parliament of Brandenburg
365:Breitscheid returned to Berlin in the midst of the
244:, and was a member of the German delegation to the
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232:, he joined the SPD in 1912. He defected to the
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855:Independent Social Democratic Party politicians
850:Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians
355:Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany
234:Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany
712:Kl: a history of the Nazi concentration camps
594:is named after Breitscheid, while streets in
820:Burials at Stahnsdorf South-Western Cemetery
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236:(USPD) in 1917 due to his opposition to the
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198:University of Marburg
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608:Leverkusen
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549:, then to
539:Varian Fry
494:Iron Front
466:Nazi Party
429:Dawes Plan
375:Spartacist
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264:Early life
204:Occupation
193:Alma mater
39:Otto Braun
575:) in the
565:‹See Tfd›
531:Marseille
260:in 1944.
80:In office
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710:(2015).
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