Wilhelm Leuschner

Who was Wilhelm Leuschner?

Wilhelm Leuschner was a social-democratic politician who opposed the Third Reich.

Wilhelm Leuschner, a stove fitter's son, was born in 1890. His father's name was also Wilhelm Leuschner, and his mother's name was Marie. Leuschner grew up in poverty.

In 1903, he began an apprenticeship as a wood sculptor. After finishing this in 1907, he joined the trade union and, on the occasion of the Jugendstil Exhibition, he moved to Darmstadt, where he worked in a furniture factory.

In 1910, he joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany and became more deeply involved with the union. He also wed Elisabeth Batz in 1911.

After fighting in the First World War on the Eastern Front in 1916, he became a city councillor and Chairman of the Darmstadt Unions in 1919. In 1924, he became a member of the Hesse Legislature for the SPD. In 1928 he became Hesse's interior minister. In the Landtag at that time, Leuschner often found himself at odds with jurist and fellow Landtag member Dr. Werner Best, who represented the NSDAP, and would later go on to become very prominent in the Nazi régime. In January 1933, Leuschner was elected to the board of the Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund.