Konrad Adenauer

Nationality

Germany

Date of Birth

1876

Date of Death

1967

Political
Preference

Christian Democrat

Konrad Adenauer was born in a small, Roman Catholic family in Cologne. He grew up to be one of Germany’s most influential statesmen during Europe’s post-war era.
He started his political career as Mayor of Cologne and served as the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. He was a prominent figure in the Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands (CDU), which became under his leadership one of the most influential parties in the country.

Like many of his Roman Catholic and Christian Democratic contemporaries, Adenauer was a passionate anti-communist and strong advocate of European integration. Already in 1919 Adenauer was emphasizing the cultural unity between European countries.
He objected against a politics of neutrality and envisioned the restoration of West Germany’s stance in the world as part of a West European unity (Westbindung).

Central to his conception of Europe was the Christian Abendland. Not referring to a particular Roman Catholic, but a more encompassing Christian Abendland, Adenauer used this term to connect with other West European statesmen, such as De Gasperi, Schuman and de Gaulle. In Winston Churchill and John Foster Dulles Adeauer recognized a similar commitment to the protection of this Abendland against communism.

Adenauer’s strong support for West Germany’s remilitarisation from 1949 onward to counter the perceived Soviet threat led to a fall-out with his Cabinet Minister Gustav Heinemann, who vehemently opposed rearmament. Their conflicting views are paradigmatic for the two main positions in Germany at the time: either a strong emphasis to integrate Western Europe through Atlantic military cooperation (Adenauer), or making Europe’s integration dependent on Germany’s reunification (Heinemann).