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Konrad Adenauer

German politician, Chancellor of West Germany (1949-1963), Zentrum and CDU · Germany · Politicians · Lived 1876 to 1967 · aged 91

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He took the shattered western half of a divided Germany in 1949 and turned it into an economic powerhouse anchored to the West, betting everything on Europe, NATO, and forgetting the Nazi past fast enough to build a future.

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A life in dates

1988Historian Prize of the city of MünsterAward1967Died19 April 19671965“In view of the fact that God limited the intelligence of man, it seems unfair that he did not also limit his stupidity.”In their wordsAs quoted in A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House (1965) by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., p. 291 books.google

1964Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Holy SepulchreAward1963Grand Cross of the Military Order of the Tower and SwordAward1962Grand Cross of the Legion of HonourAward1961“A reformation of relations between the Soviet people and the German people is not possible along the lines pursued by the authorities of the Soviet zone of Germany.”In their words18 August 1961Statement to the Bundestag on the building of the Berlin Wall (18 August 1961)

“The Federal Government and with it all Germans in the Federal Republic of Germany feel in these days particularly close to the Germans in the Soviet-occupied zone.”In their words18 August 1961Statement to the Bundestag on the building of the Berlin Wall (18 August 1961)

1960Order of the Star of AfricaAward1959Orden wider den tierischen ErnstAward1957Grand Cross of the Order of the Oak CrownAward1956“Unless we act, events that we Europeans will be unable to influence will overtake us. I believe we Europeans feel far too safe.”In their words25 September 1956Address on continuing European integration at the Grandes Conférences Catholiques (25 September 1956)

Grand Cross of the Military Order of ChristAward1955Grand Cross of the Order of the Condor of the AndesAwardOrder of José Matías DelgadoAwardOrder of the Golden SpurAward1954Grand Cross special issue of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, special issueAwardOrder of the Holy TrinityAward1953Grand Cross of the Order of the Southern CrossAward1951Federal Minister for Foreign AffairsOffice1951-19561950Leader of the Christian Democratic UnionOffice1950-19661949Federal Chancellor of GermanyOffice1949-1963Member of the German BundestagOffice1949-19671946Member of the Landtag of North Rhine-WestphaliaOffice1946-19501945“I wish that an English statesman might once have spoken of us as Western Europeans.”In their words5 October 1945Adenauer's remarks on an Associated Press interview (5 October 1945)

“I am a German, but I am also, and always have been, a European and have always felt like a European.”In their wordsKonrad Adenauer: Memoirs 1945-1953 (1966)

Lord mayor of CologneOffice1918Member of the Prussian House of LordsOffice1917Lord mayor of CologneOffice1917-19331876Born5 January 1876

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F078072-0004, Konrad AdenauerBundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F078072-0004, Konrad Adenauer1932 Konrad Adenauer Portrait1932 Konrad Adenauer Portrait2 Euro Münze Konrad Adenauer2 Euro Münze Konrad Adenauer2008-05-09 Adenauers Bocciakugeln Stiftung Bundeskanzler-Adenauer-Haus Rhoendorf2008-05-09 Adenauers Bocciakugeln Stiftung Bundeskanzler-Adenauer-Haus Rhoendorf2008-05-09 Nagelkreuz Coventry Stiftung Bundeskanzler-Adenauer-Haus Rhoendorf2008-05-09 Nagelkreuz Coventry Stiftung Bundeskanzler-Adenauer-Haus Rhoendorf2025 Fastnacht in Franken - by 2eight - 9SC42162025 Fastnacht in Franken - by 2eight - 9SC421650 Pfennig Köln 1921 front50 Pfennig Köln 1921 frontAdenauer en Ollenhauer, Bestanddeelnr 908-9448Adenauer en Ollenhauer, Bestanddeelnr 908-9448

In their own words 10

,
Konrad Adenauer
,
10 statements, newest first

  1. In view of the fact that God limited the intelligence of man, it seems unfair that he did not also limit his stupidity.

    1965, As quoted in A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House (1965) by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., p. 291 books.google, Own words

  2. I see the significance of the Marshall Plan in the fact that probably for the first time in history a victorious country held out its hand so that the vanquished might rise again.

    Jun 10, 1964, Oral History Interview with Konrad Adenauer (10 June 1964), Harry S. Truman Library, Own words

  3. A reformation of relations between the Soviet people and the German people is not possible along the lines pursued by the authorities of the Soviet zone of Germany.

    Aug 18, 1961, Statement to the Bundestag on the building of the Berlin Wall (18 August 1961), Own words

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Awards

Historian Prize of the city of Münster1988
Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic1967
Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Holy Sepulchre1964
Order of Valour1964
Grand Cross of the Military Order of the Tower and Sword1963
Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers, 1st class1963
Order of the Supreme Sun1963
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour1962
Grand Cross of the Order of the Liberator General San Martin1962
National Order of Madagascar1962
Grand Cross of the National Order of the Lion1961
Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Netherlands Lion1960
Order of the Rising Sun, 1st class1960
Order of the White Elephant1960
Order of the Star of Africa1960
Orden wider den tierischen Ernst1959
Orden de la Independencia Cultural Rubén Darío1959
Bavarian Order of Merit1958
Charlemagne Prize1957
Grand Cross of the Order of the Oak Crown1957
Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold1956
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George1956
Grand Cross of the Military Order of Christ1956
Grand Cross of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria1956
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon1955
Grand Cross of the Order of the Aztec Eagle1955
Order of the Golden Spur1955
Grand Cross of the Order of the Condor of the Andes1955
National Order of Merit1955
Order of José Matías Delgado1955
Order of the Crown1955
Order of the Crown of Thailand1955
Grand Cross of the National Order of Honor and Merit1955
Grand Cross special issue of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, special issue1954
Order of Merit1954
Order of the Holy Trinity1954
Juan Pablo Duarte Order of Merit1954
Grand Cross of the Order of George I1954
Grand Cross of the Order of the Southern Cross1953
Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun of Peru1953

Family

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About this person

Konrad Adenauer was born in 1876, a devout Catholic who rose through Weimar politics to serve as Mayor of Cologne from 1917 to 1933 and president of the Prussian State Council before the Nazis removed him. After the war, at 73, he founded and led the Christian Democratic Union and became West Germany's first chancellor in 1949, holding the office until 1963. He pivoted from denazification to reconstruction, locking his country into close ties with France, the U.K., and the U.S., and refused to recognize East Germany or its borders. Adenauer rebuilt the Bundeswehr and intelligence services, brought West Germany into NATO, and signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957. His relentless work pace and cold anti-communist instinct gave a destroyed nation stability, respect, and a seat at the table - he died in 1967, two decades after most men his age would have retired.

Country
Germany
Category
Politicians
Type
Politician
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1876 to 1967 · aged 91

Politicians from Germany 6

Friedrich Merz82.3Olaf Scholz79.4Sahra Wagenknecht83.3Tino Chrupalla79.1Ulrich Siegmund84.5Alice Weidel78.4

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