Heinrich Brauns
| Heinrich Brauns | |
|---|---|
| Reichsarbeitsminister (Labour), Weimar Republic | |
|
In office 25 June 1920 – 12 June 1928 |
|
| President | Friedrich Ebert, Paul von Hindenburg |
| Chancellor | Konstantin Fehrenbach, Joseph Wirth, Wilhelm Cuno, Gustav Stresemann, Wilhelm Marx, Hans Luther |
| Preceded by | Alexander Schlicke |
| Succeeded by | Rudolf Wissell |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
3 January 1868 Cologne, North German Confederation |
| Died | 19 October 1939 (aged 71) Lindenberg im Allgäu, Nazi Germany |
| Political party | German Center Party (Zentrum) |
| Profession | Theologian, priest, politician |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Heinrich Brauns (3 January 1868 – 19 October 1939) was a German politician and Roman Catholic theologian. For the German Center Party he was a long-serving Minister of Labour of the German Reich from 1920 to 1928. Serving in a total of 13 cabinets, Brauns was a major influence on social policy in the Weimar Republic.
Heinrich Brauns was born on 3 January 1868 at Cologne in what was then the Kingdom of Prussia. He was the only child of Johann Brauns (1838-1919), a tailor and his wife Anna Catharina (1838-1901), née Creveld. He attended the Apostelgymnasium at Cologne where he made his Abitur in 1886.
He studied theology and philosophy at the University of Bonn and then attended a seminary at Cologne. In 1890, he was ordained as a priest and became a chaplain at Krefeld. In 1895, he became a vicar in Borbeck near Essen.
He worked in pastoral care until in 1900 he became head of the organisation department and economics teaching at the Zentralstelle des Volksvereins für das katholische Deutschland (a Roman Catholic organisation) at Mönchengladbach. At the same time he studied economics and public policy. In 1905 he was awarded a doctorate in Staatswissenschaften.
A member of the Catholic party known as Zentrum, after World War I Brauns worked towards the establishment of an interdenominational Christian political party which did not materialise. In January 1919, Brauns was elected to the National Assembly and in February worked with other delegates to prevent the Betriebsrätegesetz from reflecting radical Räte ideology. Brauns was returned to the Reichstag in June 1920. He joined the cabinet of Chancellor Konstantin Fehrenbach that same month as Minister of Labour, a position he held for the next eight years under changing heads of government.
During this time he worked towards alleviating the differences between the social classes and for a cooperation between the associations of the workers and employers on a footing of equality. This was supposed to be achieved by collective bargaining and work in the Zentralarbeitsgemeinschaft, a joint institution of labour unions and employers' association. Since 1920, Brauns was a member of the leadership of the Zentrum where he was part of the party's right wing. This brought him into conflict with the left, since he opposed some of their policies, arguing that getting too close to Social Democratic or Communist positions would remove the reason for existence of the Christian unions and the Zentrum.
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