Scheidemann, Philipp (1865-1939)

Scheidemann, Philipp

POLITICIAN (GERMANY)

BORN 26 Jul 1865, Kassel, Hessen - DIED 29 Nov 1939, Kopenhagen
GRAVE LOCATION Kassel, Hessen: Hauptfriedhof, Tannenheckerweg 6 (Abt. 11a, Nr. 337 (ashes))

Philipp Scheidemann was the son of the upholsterer Friedrich Scheidemann (1842-1879). After his father's dead the family was poor an he became an apprentice to a printer. In 1883 he joined the Social Democratic Party that was still illegal at the time. In 1899 he married Johanna Dibbern (1864-1926). They had three daughters.

From 1895 to 1903 he was the editor of several social democratic newspapers. In 1903 he was elected into the Reichstag and he held his seat there until 1918. After the election of 1912 he became First Vice-President of the Reichstag. He supported the war loans in 1914 but was in favour of a peace without annexations. In 1918 he joined the government of Prince Maximilian of Baden as a Staatssekretär, a minister without a portfolio.

When Friedrich Ebert took he remained in office and he ended a speech with "long live the German republic", much to the annoyment of Ebert, because at the time a decision about the future hadn't been taken. In 1919 he was elected into the National Assembly in Weimar and president Ebert asked him to form a governnment. After a few months as Reichsministerpräsident he resigned over the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles.

In 1920 he re-entered the Reichstag and from 1920 to 1925 he was mayor of Kassel. When te nazis came to power in 1933 he left Germany and after travelling to several countries he settled in Denmark. There he wrote for Danish newspapers. He died in Kopenhagen in 1939. His ashes were transferred to Kassel in 1953.

Related persons
• cooperated with Ebert, Friedrich

Images

The grave of Philipp Scheidemann at the Hauptfriedhof, Kassel.
Picture by Androom (26 Aug 2017)