Konrad Adenauer's Speech
Konrad Adenauer was born in
Germany
in 1876. He studied at Freiburg University before becoming a lawyer in
Cologne. In 1917 Adenauer became Mayor of Cologne.
Adenauer, a member of the
Catholic Centre Party,
was elected to the Provincial Diet and in 1920 became President of the
Prussian State Council. A strong opponent of
Adolf
Hitler and the
Nazi Party, Adenauer was imprisoned in 1934. He also went to prison
during the
Second World War.
After the war Adenauer was briefly Mayor of Cologne but was removed by the
British authorities for alleged inefficiency. In 1945 he helped establish
the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and in 1949 became the first Chancellor
of the Federal Republic of Germany. He held power for the next fourteen
years and during that time played an important role in restoring good
relations with
France and the
United States.
Konrad Adenauer, who retired from office in October 1963, died in 1967.
John
Simkin
