Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf:founding father with a downside

Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf was a co-founder of the state of Lower Saxony and its first prime minister. But his behavior during the Nazi era casts a dark shadow over his democratic achievements.

by Janine Kuehl

At a young age, Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf led an eventful life with a wide variety of stations. He was born on May 6, 1893 in Neuenkirchen near Cuxhaven. At the age of 16 he dropped out of school and immigrated to New Jersey in the USA. After only nine months, Kopf returned to Germany and went back to school. After graduating from high school and completing an apprenticeship on a farm, Kopf finally studied law and political science in Marburg and Göttingen.

Head joins the SPD in 1919

Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf had to interrupt his studies twice - due to deployments in the First World War in 1914/15 and from 1917. Directly after the war, the 26-year-old joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) in 1919. Kopf held his first political office as personal advisor to the Reich Minister of the Interior, Eduard David. From 1923, the Social Democrats moved into new territory:Kopf worked in banking and insurance for five years before turning back to politics as a district administrator in his home district of Hadeln.

Nazis fire head from service

When the National Socialists came to power in 1933, Kopf lost his position in the public service in the Silesian administrative district of Oppeln, which he had only started in 1932. During the years that followed, the social democrat was forced to stay away from politics and earned his living as a merchant and farmer.

Enrichment of Jewish property

From 1939 there was a cooperation with the Nazi regime, which, however, was only processed long after Kopf's death. On behalf of the Nazi government, Kopf took on a job as an asset manager in occupied Poland. Initially, he conducted business with his private company. From 1940 to 1943 he was "trustee of confiscated Polish and Jewish goods" and so-called expropriation commissioner for the main trusteeship office in the east. In 2013, the Historical Commission for Lower Saxony and Bremen determined that Kopf had enriched himself from the property of Jewish and Polish fellow citizens as a property manager during their expropriation. At this time he married his wife Josefine, a former secretary of Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, who left him again in 1947.

Formation process instead of extradition

After the Second World War, in 1945, the British military government appointed Head President of the Province of Hanover. He participated in the founding process of the new federal state of Lower Saxony, of which he became Prime Minister on November 1, 1946. Together with Adolf Grimme and Fritz Sänger, he was instrumental in drafting the state constitution, which was passed in 1951. Head had been on the war criminals list of the Allied War Crimes Commission since the end of 1947. But his case was not investigated in detail, on the contrary:he was removed from the list again. As a result, in 1948 Poland asked the British Control Commission for Kopf's extradition, which the military court refused.

Head becomes Lower Saxony's first prime minister

After that, there was nothing standing in the way of Kopf's political career in the Federal Republic. For two terms in office, the SPD politician, who was considered down-to-earth and down-to-earth, led the newly founded state of Lower Saxony out of the post-war chaos and into a stable future. As so often in his life, at some point it was time for a change in Kopf's life. For two years he turned his back on politics and served as a member of the supervisory board at Hüttenwerk Peine. In 1957, as Minister of the Interior of Lower Saxony, he reappeared on the political stage, which he never left until his death. From 1959, Kopf again took over the office of Prime Minister. He died in Göttingen on December 21, 1961.

Dissertation by Teresa Nentwig corrects the image of the head

Until well into the 2000s, Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf was considered a democratic role model. In 1953, while he was still alive, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Federal Republic of Germany. Squares, streets and schools in Lower Saxony were named in his honor. But the doctoral thesis by historian Teresa Nentwig presented in 2013 casts a different light on Kopf’s actions during the National Socialist era. In her dissertation, Nentwig comes to the conclusion that Kopf was not a member of the NSDAP. According to the historian, however, he was "one of the many small cogs in the mechanism of the Nazi extermination machinery." As an employee of a National Socialist authority in Poland, Kopf was involved in the sale of the assets of persecuted and murdered Jews.

Teresa Nentwig's dissertation on Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf

Teresa Nentwig:
"Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf (1893-1961). A conservative social democrat", 2013
941 pages
Verlag Hahnsche Buchhandlung
ISBN 978-3-7752-6072-5
48 euros
(The dissertation is currently not commercially available.)

Because:Kopf lied to the state parliament

Kopf himself had always denied allegations that he was involved in Nazi crimes, including in the Lower Saxony state parliament. That is why Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) found in 2013 that Kopf had "lied to the state parliament". The Historical Commission for Lower Saxony and Bremen dealt with the Causa head. She finally came to the conclusion:"Head's undisputed life's work as two-time prime minister, multiple state minister and cross-party recognized state and federal politician stands in stark contrast to his equally undisputed political and moral misconduct during the National Socialist era."

Hinrich-Wilhelm-Head-Platz becomes Hannah-Arendt-Platz

As a result, Hinrich-Wilhelm-Head-Platz in front of the state parliament in Hanover in 2015 became Hannah-Arendt-Platz in memory of the Jewish political scientist. Schools also dropped the name in the years that followed, and streets were renamed. Historians and politicians recommend dealing with the memory of Kopf in a differentiated manner. For example, in the case of street names - whether the name is retained or changed - an additional sign can refer to Kopf's past. His grave in the Stöcken city cemetery in Hanover will be preserved, but will no longer be decorated by the city - as is usual for a grave of honor.

Hinrich Wilhlem Kopf's services to the development of democracy in Lower Saxony are undeniable - as is his misconduct during the National Socialist era. A dark shadow hangs over his historic achievement. Thus, Kopf is not alone among the post-war politicians, many of whom were involved in the actions of the Nazi regime, for example as members of the NSDAP or other Nazi organizations.