Wilhelm Kutscher
Wilhelm Kutscher | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Wobesde, Province of Pomerania, German Empire |
| Died | June 13, 1962 (aged 85) Göttingen, West Germany |
| Occupation(s) | Jurist, civil servant, politician |
| Known for | Oberpräsident of the Province of East Prussia (1932–1933) |
Wilhelm Hermann Kutscher (26 December 1876 – 13 June 1962) was a German jurist and political figure who held various positions within the Prussian civil administration throughout the periods of the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. He served as the Oberpräsident of the Province of East Prussia between 1932 and 1933, until his removal following the ascent of the Nazi Party.
Early life and education
Born to a landowning family in Wobesde (present-day Objazda) located in the Prussian Province of Pomerania, Kutscher completed his Abitur in Stolp (Słupsk) in 1894. He pursued legal studies at Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, where he became a member of the student corps Suevia Tübingen. His academic journey also included time at Humboldt University of Berlin and University of Greifswald. After successfully passing the Referendar examination in 1897, he earned a Doctorate in Law. Between 1898 and 1899, Kutscher fulfilled his military obligation as a one-year volunteer with the 5th (Pomeranian) Hussars Regiment "Prince Blücher of Wahlstatt" stationed in Stolp. Entering into Prussian governmental service, he began as a legal trainee in Trier district in 1901. Following completion of the Assessor examination, he served as a government administrative lawyer from 1903 to 1907, working across Perleberg, Schlawe (Sławno), Köslin (Koszalin), and Neustettin (Szczecinek).
Political career
Between 1907 and 1914, Kutscher held the office of Landrat (District Administrator) for the Lauenburg im Pommern district, now part of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. Concurrently, from 1912 until 1915, he was a representative in the Landtag of the Province of Pomerania. From 1914 through 1919, he occupied the role of Geheime Regierungsrat (Privy Government Councilor) within the Prussian Ministry of the Interior. During World War I, he worked alongside East Prussia’s Oberpräsident Adolf Tortilowicz von Batocki-Friebe on efforts to rebuild communities devastated by the Russian invasion in 1914. With the advent of the Weimar Republic, Kutscher aligned with the German National People's Party. In April 1919, he was elevated to Regierungspräsident (District President) of Regierungsbezirk Hildesheim, a position he maintained until July 1922. From 1923 until 1932, he served on the executive board of the German Agricultural Council under Ernst Brandes and simultaneously participated as a member of the Provisional Reich Economic Council.
Following the July 1932 intervention by the central Reich government into Prussian state affairs, Kutscher was appointed as East Prussia's Oberpräsident on 4 October 1932, succeeding Ernst Siehr. After the Nazis seized control, Kutscher was reluctant to implement Nazi Gleichschaltung measures swiftly and showed hesitation in replacing competent officials with party loyalists. Despite backing from East Prussian agrarian elites, Prussian Minister President Hermann Göring dismissed him on 2 June 1933 and installed Nazi Party Gauleiter Erich Koch in his place.
On 11 July 1933, Göring named Kutscher to the newly reformed Prussian State Council, where he acted as an advisor until May 1945. He briefly participated on the Pomeranian Provincial Council before retiring in 1934. Afterwards, Kutscher joined supervisory boards including those of Deutsche Rentenbank-Kreditanstalt and Zentrallandschaftsbank, while also chairing the supervisory board at Deutschen Bodenkultur AG. Details regarding his life after World War II remain scarce; he passed away in Göttingen on 13 June 1962.
Sources
- Suevia-Tübingen 1831–1931, Volume 2: Members, Tübingen 1931, p. 173 (No. 511)
- Volz, Robert: Reichshandbuch der deutschen Gesellschaft. Das Handbuch der Persönlichkeiten in Wort und Bild. Volume 1: A–K. Deutscher Wirtschaftsverlag, Berlin 1930, pp. 1050–1051.
- Entry on Wilhelm Kutscher within the Reich Chancellery Records (Weimar Republic)
External links
- 1876 births
- 1962 deaths
- 20th-century German lawyers
- Corps students
- German bankers
- German corporate chairpersons
- German National People's Party politicians
- Humboldt University of Berlin alumni
- Members of the Provincial Parliament of Pomerania
- Members of the Prussian State Council (Nazi Germany)
- People from the Province of Pomerania
- Prussian Army personnel
- University of Greifswald alumni
- University of Tübingen alumni