Eugen Kogon
Encyclopedia
Eugen Kogon was a historian and a survivor of the Holocaust. A well-known Christian opponent of the Nazi Party, he was arrested more than once and spent six years at Buchenwald concentration camp
. Kogon was known in Germany as a journalist, sociologist, political scientist, author and politician. He was considered one of the "intellectual fathers" of the Federal Republic of Germany
and European integration in Germany.
, the son of a Russian diplomat. He spent the larger portion of his youth in Catholic cloister
s. After studying national economy
and sociology
at university in Munich, Florence
and Vienna
, Kogon received his doctorate in 1927 in Vienna with a dissertation on the "Corporate State of Fascism" (Faschismus und Korporativstaat). That same year, Kogon got a job as editor of a Catholic magazine, Schönere Zukunft ("Brighter Future") and stayed there till 1937. Through his work, he made the acquaintance of sociologist Othmar Spann
, who recommended him for the "Central Committee of Christian Unions" (Zentralkommission der christlichen Gewerkschaften). Kogon was an advisor there several years later. In 1934, after the July Putsch
, Kogon took over the asset management of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
.
in 1936 and again in March 1937, charged with, among other things, "work[ing] for anti-national socialist forces outside the territory of the Reich". In March 1938, he was arrested a third time and in September 1939, he was deported to Buchenwald, where he spent the next six years as "prisoner number 9093".
At Buchenwald, Kogon spent part of his time working as a clerk for camp doctor Erwin Ding-Schuler, who headed up the typhus experimentation ward there. According to Kogon's own statements, he was able to develop a relationship bordering on trust with Ding-Schuler, after becoming his clerk in 1943. In time, they had conversations about family concerns, the political situation and events at the front. According to Kogon, through his influence on Ding-Schuler, he was able to save the lives of many prisoners, including Stéphane Hessel
, Edward Yeo-Thomas
and Harry Peulevé
by exchanging their identities with those of prisoners who had died of typhus. In early April 1945, Kogon and the head prisoner nurse in the typhus experimentation ward, Arthur Dietsch found out from Ding-Schuler that their names were on a list of 46 prisoners who the SS wanted to execute shortly before the expected liberation of the camp. Ding-Schuler saved Kogon's life at the end of the war by hiding him in a crate and smuggling him out of Buchenwald.
Right after being liberated in 1945, Kogon again began working as a journalist. He worked as a volunteer historian for the United States Army
at Camp King
and began writing his book, Der SS-Staat – Das System der deutschen Konzentrationslager ("The SS-State – The System of the German Concentration Camps"), first published in 1946 and is still stands as the basic reference on Nazi crimes. The book was translated into several languages. The German language version alone sold 500,000.
Despite this intensive involvement with the past, Kogon primarily chose to look ahead, toward building a new society - one that would blend with Kogon's convictions of Christianity and socialism. Kogon had already spoken about his ideas in Buchenwald with fellow prisoner Kurt Schumacher
. However, the rapid growth of the Social Democratic Party
hindered the proposed alliance of right-wing social democrats
and the Centre Party
into a "Labour Party" after the British model
.
, later his friend and companion, published the Frankfurter Leitsätze ("Frankfurt Guiding Principles"). In this Program of the Volkspartei ("popular party"), they called for an "economic socialism on a democratic basis", laying out an important basis for the Christian-socialist founding program of the Hessian Christian Democratic Union
(CDU), also for the Constitution of Hesse, which was finalized at the end of 1946 and provided for the nationalization of key industries.
In 1946, Kogon and Dirks founded the Frankfurter Hefte ("Frankfurt Notebooks"), a cultural and political magazine with a left-wing Catholic point-of-view. They quickly reached a circulation of 75,000, which was very high for that time and until 1984, remained one of the most influential socio-political and cultural magazines in the postwar era. In the Gesellschaft Imshausen, Kogon was involved in the search for a "third way" in the renewal of Germany. He quickly turned away from Konrad Adenauer
's CDU, which was not interested in communal ownership and nationalization of key industries. Kogon instead wrote many essays taking a critical look at the Adenauer government. Among other issues, he turned against the Wiederbewaffnung
, atomic weapons and the "madness of excessive armament".
an Republic
. Among others, he was involved in the Union of European Federalists (UEF) and the German section of the UEF, where he served as the first President from 1949 to 1954. From 1951 to 1953, Kogon was also president of the German council of the European Movement
.
Alfred Grosser
counted him as one of the three "creators of Europe".
of the newly established chair for political science
at the Technische Universität Darmstadt In 1951, teaching there till his retirement in 1968, whereupon he was made professor emeritus
. University president Johann-Dietrich Wörner later attested to Kogon's importance, saying, "He shaped the moral conscience of the university to the present day." From January 1964 to January 1965, Kogon headed the political magazine, "Panorama", broadcast by the German station, ARD
. He began serving as the program's moderator in March 1964.
Later, Kogon supported the Eastern policy
of the Socialist-Liberal coalition and actively promoted the reconciliation of Poland
with the Soviet Union
. The state of Hesse
honored Kogon in 1982 with the newly created Hessian Culture Prize. His final years were spent in quiet retirement Königstein im Taunus
, where there is now a street named for him. In 2002, the city began awarding an annual "Eugen Kogon Prize for Democracy in Action". The first winner was the former Polish Foreign Minister Wladyslaw Bartoszewski
.
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
. Kogon was known in Germany as a journalist, sociologist, political scientist, author and politician. He was considered one of the "intellectual fathers" of the Federal Republic of Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
and European integration in Germany.
Early years
Kogon was born in MunichMunich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, the son of a Russian diplomat. He spent the larger portion of his youth in Catholic cloister
Cloister
A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...
s. After studying national economy
Economy
An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
and sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
at university in Munich, Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
and Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Kogon received his doctorate in 1927 in Vienna with a dissertation on the "Corporate State of Fascism" (Faschismus und Korporativstaat). That same year, Kogon got a job as editor of a Catholic magazine, Schönere Zukunft ("Brighter Future") and stayed there till 1937. Through his work, he made the acquaintance of sociologist Othmar Spann
Othmar Spann
Othmar Spann was a conservative Austrian philosopher, sociologist and economist whose radical anti-liberal and anti-Socialist views, based on early 19th century Romantic ideas expressed by Adam Müller et al...
, who recommended him for the "Central Committee of Christian Unions" (Zentralkommission der christlichen Gewerkschaften). Kogon was an advisor there several years later. In 1934, after the July Putsch
July Putsch
The July Putsch was a failed coup d'etat attempt against the Austrofascist regime by Austrian Nazis, which took place between 25 – 30 July 1934.- Background :...
, Kogon took over the asset management of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha is a German dynasty, the senior line of the Saxon House of Wettin that ruled the Ernestine duchies, including the duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha....
.
Nazi resistance
An avowed opponent of Nazism, Kogon was arrested by the GestapoGestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
in 1936 and again in March 1937, charged with, among other things, "work[ing] for anti-national socialist forces outside the territory of the Reich". In March 1938, he was arrested a third time and in September 1939, he was deported to Buchenwald, where he spent the next six years as "prisoner number 9093".
At Buchenwald, Kogon spent part of his time working as a clerk for camp doctor Erwin Ding-Schuler, who headed up the typhus experimentation ward there. According to Kogon's own statements, he was able to develop a relationship bordering on trust with Ding-Schuler, after becoming his clerk in 1943. In time, they had conversations about family concerns, the political situation and events at the front. According to Kogon, through his influence on Ding-Schuler, he was able to save the lives of many prisoners, including Stéphane Hessel
Stéphane Hessel
Stéphane Frédéric Hessel is a diplomat, ambassador, writer, concentration camp survivor, former French Resistance fighter and BCRA agent. Born German, he became a naturalised French citizen in 1939...
, Edward Yeo-Thomas
F. F. E. Yeo-Thomas
Wing Commander Forest Frederick Edward "Tommy" Yeo-Thomas, GC, MC & Bar, Croix de guerre , Commandeur of the Légion d'honneur, was the British Special Operations Executive agent codenamed "The White Rabbit" during World War II...
and Harry Peulevé
Harry Peulevé
Henri Leonard Thomas Peulevé DSO, MC was an agent of the Special Operations Executive , who undertook two missions in occupied France and escaped from Buchenwald concentration camp.-Early life:...
by exchanging their identities with those of prisoners who had died of typhus. In early April 1945, Kogon and the head prisoner nurse in the typhus experimentation ward, Arthur Dietsch found out from Ding-Schuler that their names were on a list of 46 prisoners who the SS wanted to execute shortly before the expected liberation of the camp. Ding-Schuler saved Kogon's life at the end of the war by hiding him in a crate and smuggling him out of Buchenwald.
Right after being liberated in 1945, Kogon again began working as a journalist. He worked as a volunteer historian for the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
at Camp King
Camp King
Camp King is a site on the outskirts of Oberursel, Taunus , with a long history. It began as a school for agriculture under the auspices of the University of Frankfurt. During World War II, the lower fields became an interrogation center for the German Air Force. After World War II, the United...
and began writing his book, Der SS-Staat – Das System der deutschen Konzentrationslager ("The SS-State – The System of the German Concentration Camps"), first published in 1946 and is still stands as the basic reference on Nazi crimes. The book was translated into several languages. The German language version alone sold 500,000.
Despite this intensive involvement with the past, Kogon primarily chose to look ahead, toward building a new society - one that would blend with Kogon's convictions of Christianity and socialism. Kogon had already spoken about his ideas in Buchenwald with fellow prisoner Kurt Schumacher
Kurt Schumacher
Dr. Kurt Schumacher , was chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany from 1946 and first Leader of the Opposition in the West German Bundestag parliament from 1949 until his death...
. However, the rapid growth of the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
hindered the proposed alliance of right-wing social democrats
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
and the Centre Party
Centre Party (Germany)
The German Centre Party was a Catholic political party in Germany during the Kaiserreich and the Weimar Republic. Formed in 1870, it battled the Kulturkampf which the Prussian government launched to reduce the power of the Catholic Church...
into a "Labour Party" after the British model
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
.
Journalism
In September 1945, Kogon and other journalists, among them, Walter DirksWalter Dirks
Walter Dirks was a political commentator, theologian, journalist, and noted member of the "Catholic Left." He was a founder of the Bensberger Kreis and was co-editor of the Frankfurter Hefte. He leaned toward Christian socialism and opposed nuclear weapons. He also did much work with Eugen Kogon...
, later his friend and companion, published the Frankfurter Leitsätze ("Frankfurt Guiding Principles"). In this Program of the Volkspartei ("popular party"), they called for an "economic socialism on a democratic basis", laying out an important basis for the Christian-socialist founding program of the Hessian Christian Democratic Union
Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...
(CDU), also for the Constitution of Hesse, which was finalized at the end of 1946 and provided for the nationalization of key industries.
In 1946, Kogon and Dirks founded the Frankfurter Hefte ("Frankfurt Notebooks"), a cultural and political magazine with a left-wing Catholic point-of-view. They quickly reached a circulation of 75,000, which was very high for that time and until 1984, remained one of the most influential socio-political and cultural magazines in the postwar era. In the Gesellschaft Imshausen, Kogon was involved in the search for a "third way" in the renewal of Germany. He quickly turned away from Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman. He was the chancellor of the West Germany from 1949 to 1963. He is widely recognised as a person who led his country from the ruins of World War II to a powerful and prosperous nation that had forged close relations with old enemies France,...
's CDU, which was not interested in communal ownership and nationalization of key industries. Kogon instead wrote many essays taking a critical look at the Adenauer government. Among other issues, he turned against the Wiederbewaffnung
Wiederbewaffnung
Wiederbewaffnung refers to the United States of America plan to help build up West Germany after World War II. They could not function outside an alliance framework . These events lead to the establishment of the Bundeswehr, the West German army, in 1955.Heinz Guderian stated that the fight was...
, atomic weapons and the "madness of excessive armament".
European politician
As a lesson from Nazism, Kogon early called for departure from a traditional nation-state and fought for the establishment of a EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an Republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
. Among others, he was involved in the Union of European Federalists (UEF) and the German section of the UEF, where he served as the first President from 1949 to 1954. From 1951 to 1953, Kogon was also president of the German council of the European Movement
European Movement
The European Movement International is a lobbying association that coordinates the efforts of associations and national councils with the goal of promoting European integration, and disseminating information about it.-History:...
.
Alfred Grosser
Alfred Grosser
Alfred Grosser is a German-French writer, sociologist and political scientist. He is known for his contribution to the Franco-German cooperation after World War II and for criticising Israel.- Early life:...
counted him as one of the three "creators of Europe".
Later years
Kogon was appointed professorProfessor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of the newly established chair for political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
at the Technische Universität Darmstadt In 1951, teaching there till his retirement in 1968, whereupon he was made professor emeritus
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
. University president Johann-Dietrich Wörner later attested to Kogon's importance, saying, "He shaped the moral conscience of the university to the present day." From January 1964 to January 1965, Kogon headed the political magazine, "Panorama", broadcast by the German station, ARD
ARD (broadcaster)
ARD is a joint organization of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters...
. He began serving as the program's moderator in March 1964.
Later, Kogon supported the Eastern policy
Ostpolitik
Neue Ostpolitik , or Ostpolitik for short, refers to the normalization of relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and Eastern Europe, particularly the German Democratic Republic beginning in 1969...
of the Socialist-Liberal coalition and actively promoted the reconciliation of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. The state of Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
honored Kogon in 1982 with the newly created Hessian Culture Prize. His final years were spent in quiet retirement Königstein im Taunus
Königstein im Taunus
Königstein im Taunus is a climatic spa and lies on the thickly wooded slopes of the Taunus in Hesse, Germany. Owing to its advantageous location for both scenery and transport on the edge of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region, Königstein is a favourite residential town...
, where there is now a street named for him. In 2002, the city began awarding an annual "Eugen Kogon Prize for Democracy in Action". The first winner was the former Polish Foreign Minister Wladyslaw Bartoszewski
Wladyslaw Bartoszewski
Władysław Bartoszewski is a Polish politician, social activist, journalist, writer, historian, former Auschwitz concentration camp prisoner, World War II Resistance fighter, Polish underground activist, participant of the Warsaw Uprising, twice the Minister of Foreign Affairs, chevalier of the...
.
Works by Kogon
- Der SS-Staat. Das System der deutschen Konzentrationslager, Alber, Munich (1946) Numerous subsequent editions, most recently by Heyne, Munich (1995) ISBN 3-453-02978-X
- Gesammelte Schriften in 8 Bänden. Beltz, Weinheim 1995–1999
- 1. Ideologie und Praxis der Unmenschlichkeit (1995) ISBN 3-88679-261-7
- 2. Europäische Visionen (1995) ISBN 3-88679-262-5
- 3. Die restaurative Republik (1996) ISBN 3-88679-263-3
- 4. Liebe und tu was du willst (1996) ISBN 3-88679-264-1
- 5. Die reformierte Gesellschaft (1997) ISBN 3-88679-265-X
- 6. Dieses merkwürdige wichtige Leben (1997, ISBN 3-88679-266-8
- 7. Bedingungen der Humanität (1998) ISBN 3-88679-267-6
- 8. Die Idee des christlichen Ständestaats (1999) ISBN 3-88679-268-4
Works as co-editor
- Kurt Fassmann with contributions by Max BillMax BillMax Bill was a Swiss architect, artist, painter, typeface designer, industrial designer and graphic designer.Bill was born in Winterthur...
, Hoimar von DitfurthHoimar von DitfurthHoimar von Ditfurth was a German physician and scientific journalist.He was the father of Christian v...
and others (Editors), Die Großen - Leben und Leistung der sechshundert bedeutendsten Persönlichkeiten unserer Welt. Kindler Verlag, Zurich (1977) - Eugen Kogon, Hermann LangbeinHermann LangbeinHermann Langbein was an Austrian who fought in the Spanish Civil War with the International Brigades for the Spanish Republicans against the Nationalists under Francisco Franco...
, Adalbert Rückerl and others (Editors), Nationalsozialistische Massentötungen durch Giftgas. Fischer-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main (1986) ISBN 3-596-24353-X
Sources
- Hubert Habicht (Editor), Eugen Kogon - ein politischer Publizist in Hessen. Essays, Aufsätze und Reden zwischen 1946 und 1982. Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main (1982) ISBN 3-458-14046-8
- Karl Prümm, Walter DirksWalter DirksWalter Dirks was a political commentator, theologian, journalist, and noted member of the "Catholic Left." He was a founder of the Bensberger Kreis and was co-editor of the Frankfurter Hefte. He leaned toward Christian socialism and opposed nuclear weapons. He also did much work with Eugen Kogon...
und Eugen Kogon als katholische Publizisten der Weimarer Republik. Catholic Press, Heidelberg (1984) ISBN 3-533-03549-2 - Jürgen Mittag, Vom Honoratiorenkreis zum Europanetzwerk: Sechs Jahrzehnte Europäische Bewegung Deutschland in 60 Jahre Europäische Bewegung Deutschland. Berlin (2009) pp. 12–28