Gustav Böß
On 20th January 1921, Gustav Böß was elected mayor of Berlin. In a time plagued with inflation, a global economic crisis and the instability of the Weimar Republic, he was faced with a major challenge. However, his achievements were eventually overshadowed by a scandal that abruptly ended his era.
Gustav Böß was born on 11th April 1873 in Gießen and was the son of an authorised officer. After secondary school, he studied law and economics at the Ludwigs-Universität in Gießen and obtained a doctorate. After graduation, he worked at the Hessian financial administration before moving to the administration of the Prussian-Hessian Railway Company.
The Böß era
Böß, who was a member of the German Democratic Party, was elected mayor with the votes he received from the Social Democratic Party in April 1921. As the successor to Dr. Adolf Wermuth, a pioneer of the “Zweckverband Groß-Berlin” [Greater Berlin administration union] and the first mayor of the newly created metropolis, it was Böß who set the course for the city’s development.Until 1929, he led the city through troubled years. He organised the administrative structures for the newly created districts in order to create a standardised Greater Berlin administration and a common infrastructure for the gas, water and electricity supplies.
The municipalization of the city’s infrastructure created some of the city’s largest employers. In addition, through his economic policy, he aimed to strengthen tourism and Berlin’s role as a trade fair city. The expansion of the transport network and turning Tempelhof airport into a European air traffic hub were also vital in transforming Berlin into a metropolis of international stature.
Initiatives supporting the foundation of municipal public housing associations also resulted in the construction of exemplary housing estates that are now UNESCO World Heritage sites. These include the Hufeisensiedlung housing estate, which began being built in 1925 during the Böß era in the Britz district, having been a part of Neukölln since 1920. Böß was also an advocate of public welfare, art, culture and sport. This led to the creation of combined football and athletics stadiums, sports facilities in newly created parks and outdoor pools, all of which were largely financed by the “Park, Spiel, Sport” [park, play, sport] foundation set up by Böß.
A trip to America and a scandal
At the invitation of the Mayor of New York, Böß set off on a tour of America in early September 1929. In addition to the hope of establishing Berlin as an international trading centre and tourist destination overseas, Böß wanted to improve Berlin’s finances by securing American external loans. After becoming an honorary citizenship of the city of New York on September 23rd, Böß received word of a corruption scandal involving himself in Berlin. Two textile traders, the Sklarek brothers, had been arrested for having secured a monopoly for supplying public institutions through bribery and for having obtained credit by false pretences. Gustav Böß was suspected of being involved in the scandal, because his wife had bought a discounted fur jacket.
The lengthy investigation ended with his acquittal, but after having been the victim of more massive hostilities, Böß finally decided to resign on November 7th 1929.
Nazi aftermath
Once the Nazis had seized power, new criminal proceedings against Gustav Böß were initiated. The charges against him were brought by the Nazi faction leader in the Berlin city council assembly Julius Lippert.
Böß was charged with misappropriation of state funds and the receipt of significant sums during his tenure.
He was arrested on 28th April 1933 due to “danger of collusion”, before being eventually released from prison in Moabit nine months later, because the allegations proved to be unfounded.
Böß left Berlin and moved to Bernried am Starnberger See, where he lived until his death on 6th February 1946. Today there is a street in the immediate vicinity of the Rotes Rathaus, sports facilities, as well as an open-air theatre in Jungfernheide Park named after him, all commemorating one of the the city’s most important mayors.