Fritz Erler (politician)

Fritz Erler (14 July 1913 – 22 February 1967) was a German politician representing the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). From 1953 to 1957, he was Deputy Chairman of the Defense Committee of the Bundestag, the West German parliament. In this role, Erler played an important role in drafting the legislation that ensured democratic control of the Bundeswehr, West Germany's new armed forces.[1] [2]

Fritz Erler
Robert McNamara, U.S. Secretary of Defense (right) with Fritz Erler (left) and Willy Brandt (SPD), visiting the Pentagon on 13 April 1965
Member of the Bundestag
In office
7 September 1949 – 22 February 1967
Personal details
Born(1913-07-14)14 July 1913
Berlin
Died22 February 1967(1967-02-22) (aged 53)
NationalityGerman
Political partySPD

Erler became a member of the Socialist Worker Youth in 1928, and in 1931 he joined the SPD. Erler served as a municipal official until the Nazis arrested him in 1938, and imprisoned him on treason charges. After the end of the Second World War, Erler became involved in politics on the state level before being elected to the Bundstag at 1949, when he was 36 years old.[3] Erler thereafter became an expert on defense policy within the SPD.[3][4] He was deputy chair of the defense committee in the Bundstag from 1953 to 1957.[5]

Erler was elected, without opposition, as one of two deputy chairman of the SPD in 1964 at the special party congress in Bad Godesberg. At the same Congress, Herbert Wehner was elected deputy chairman, and Willy Brandt was elected party chairman.[6] Erler served as deputy chairman until his death.[5]

Erler died at his home in Pforzheim in southern Germany on 22 February 1967, at age 53.[7]

References
  1. Torsen Oppelland, "Domestic Political Developments I: 1949-69" in The Federal Republic of Germany since 1949: Politics, Society and Economy Before and After Unification (Routledge, 1996: eds. Klaus Larres & Panikos Panayi), p. 90.
  2. "Die Mitglieder des Deutschen Bundestages - 1.-13. Wahlperiode: Alphabetisches Gesamtverzeichnis; Stand: 28. Februar 1998" [The members of the German Bundestag - 1st - 13th term of office: Alphabetical complete index] (PDF). webarchiv.bundestag.de (in German). Deutscher Bundestag, Wissenschaftliche Dienste des Bundestages (WD 3/ZI 5). 1998-02-28. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  3. Harold Kent Schellenger, The SPD in the Bonn Republic: A Socialist Party Modernizes (Martinus Nijoff, 1968), p. 138.
  4. Karrin Hanshew, Terror and Democracy in West Germany (Cambridge University Press, 2012), p. 80.
  5. Kristina Spohr, The Global Chancellor: Helmut Schmidt and the Reshaping of the International Order (Oxford University Press, 2016), p. 151.
  6. Arthur J. Olsen, Brandt Named Socialist Leader and Erhard's Foe for '65 Drive, New York Times (February 17, 1964).
  7. Fritz Erler Dies; German Socialist; Anti-Nazi Leader Became Deputy Head of Bonn Party, New York Times (February 23, 1967).
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