Carl Severing
| Carl Severing | |
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Carl Severing in 1919.
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Minister of the Interior Weimar Republic
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In office 28 June 1928 – 27 March 1930 |
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| Chancellor | Hermann Müller |
| Preceded by | Walter von Keudell |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Wirth |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
1 June 1875 Herford |
| Died | 23 July 1952 (aged 77) Bielefeld |
| Nationality | German |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party |
| Occupation | Locksmith |
Carl Wilhelm Severing (1 June 1875, Herford, Westphalia – 23 July 1952, Bielefeld) was a German Social Democrat politician during the Weimar era.
He was seen as a representative of the right wing of the party. Over the years, he took a leading influence in the party district of Ostwestfalen and Lippe. He was a parliamentarian in the German Empire, the Weimar Republic and in Northrhine-Westphalia. He first played more than a regional role when he became Reich and later State Commissar in the Ruhr from 1919 to 1920.
He was Interior Minister of Prussia from 1920 to 1926, Minister of the Interior from 1928 to 1930 and Interior Minister of Prussia again from 1930 to 1932. Along with fellow Social Democrat, Otto Braun, Severing agreed to General Hans von Seeckt's plans for a secret army to protect Germany's eastern border against a sudden attack from Poland. At the Nuremberg Trials on 21 May 1946, Severing defended this strategy by saying:
That the army of 100,000 men granted to Germany was not sufficient even for a defensive war was and is known to-day possibly to everyone in Germany concerned with politics. Germany got into a very bad situation with regard to her eastern neighbours since the establishment of the Corridor. The insular position of East Prussia forced Germany, even at that time (1920–22), to take measures which I reluctantly helped to carry out.
According to Geoffrey Winthrop Young's diary entry for 14 December 1929: "A dramatic incident was the entry of Minister Severing three hours late at the end of a cabinet meeting which had lasted two days, during which time he had saved parliamentary government in Germany, and incidentally avoided being appointed himself dictator by Hindenburg. He was naturally fatigued, but took part in our discussions for the remainder of a long evening".
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