Page 109 - The Making of the German Post-war Economy

82 THE MAKING OF THE GERMAN POST-WAR ECONOMY

Sozialismus aus christlicher Verantwortung (Socialism in Christian
responsibility), a Sozialismus der Freiheit (Liberal Socialism), or a
Wirtschaftlicher Sozialismus (Economic Socialism). According to Kogon,
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such a liberal or economic socialism was best achieved by a mixed
economy labelled Sozialisierte Wirtschaft (Socialist Economy) combining
governmental macroeconomic planning and limited nationalisation with
private ownership and economic competition. On 15 September, these
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economic and socio-political ideas expanded into the so-called ‘Frankfurter
Leitsätze’ (Frankfurt Principles) which served as party platform for the
newly founded Hessian Christlich-Demokratische Partei (CDP), later to be
renamed the Christlich-Demokratische Union (CDU) in November 1945.
Moreover, these principles were supposed to be a programmatic directive
for a projected national Volkspartei. Thus, in their effort to establish a
supra-zonal Partei der Arbeit (workers’ party), the Christian Democrats in
Berlin were supported by the Frankfurt Circles and by founding members
of the Hessian CDU; to these groups belonged the left-wing Catholics
Walter Dirks and Eugen Kogon, the former chairman of the Deutsche
Zentrumspartei (Z) (Centre Party) in Frankfurt and henceforth chairman of
the CDP, Jakob Husch, the Deputy Prime Minister of Hesse, Werner
Hilpert, the politician Bruno Dörpinghaus, the economist Karl-Heinrich
Knappstein, later editor in chief of the Frankfurter Neue Presse, Marcel
Schulte, the journalist and co-founder of the later Frankfurter Allgemeine
Zeitung, Erich Dombrowski, the writer August Kober, the medic Hermann
Frühauf, the Catholic priests Alois Eckert and Jakob Herr, the jurists
Wilhelm Fay and Hans Wilhelmi, the fabricant Ludwig Jost, and, finally,
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the Christian trade unionists Josef Arndgen and Adolf Leweke.
The aim to form a national Christian Democratic political party guided
by a personal-liberal Christian Socialism was also shared by the influential
former Lord Mayor of Cologne, Konrad Adenauer, who defined his
position at a meeting of the recently founded Rhenish-Westphalian CDP
on 4 October 1945. Arguing for a Christian and social orientation
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without socialisation, he objected to both the socio-ethical anti-liberal
agenda of the Kölner Kreis and the socialisation attempts by the trade
unionist and former deputy chairman of the Centre Party in Düsseldorf,
Karl Arnold. According to Adenauer‘s pragmatic argumentation,
socialisation and central governmental planning spawned an extensive
bureaucracy and jeopardised badly needed foreign direct investments.
Only private initiatives and entrepreneurship enabled the economic
reconstruction of post-war West Germany. Finally, he managed to
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convince Arnold and other charter members of the CDP to abstain from a
general nationalisation and extensive governmental interference in the
economy. While Adenauer’s exertion of influence and contribution to
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