Peco Bauwens

Dr. Peter Joseph “Peco” Bauwens (* 24. December 1886 in Cologne; † 24. November 1963 in Cologne) was a German football - national player, international football arbitrator and from 1950 to 1962 first president of the German football federation (DFB) after the Second World War (altogether the fifth), thereafter honorary president of the DFB.

youth

Bauwens came of to a civil, musisch coined/shaped family. During its study it became member of the Corps Saxonia Bonn, a striking, color-basic student connection in the Kösener senior convention federation (KSCV). Being inclined by the social surrounding field rather to the tennis, parents of an urgent medical recommendation followed to let the son football play. Because after a heavy accident even the Amputation of a leg had been considered. By the unloved „Proletensport “however soon progress showed up football. That could be done so far that it became to appoint even in the year 1910 for an international match into the national team. Here however it only helped out, since a substitute was looked for and it was straight to the place. In the initial days one could bring it still on this kind to an employment in the national team.

international arbitrator

after the First World War it decided for the career of the arbitrator. It led thereby alone 82 international matches, in addition, many German meetings up to championship final games. As special honour was regarded at that time that it also on British soil, which was allowed to whistle homeland of the football.

Privately Bauwens was financially independent and dedicated itself to the football honorary. It was business in the construction industry active and in its hometown Cologne president of the GermanBelgian-of Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce. Its company was represented in an official list of 2500 “slave holding in the LV regime” of the allied ones. It operated a forced laborer camp with 100 passengers.

the NSDAP joined

politics and family Bauwens , however one year later again was probably already excluded in the year 1933, since it was married with a Jewish woman. Despite its lifted out position the family had to let many Repressalien over itself be issued. Elizabeth Bauwens finally took itself due to the increasing chicaneries of the Nazis to 16. April 1940 the life.

functionary for DFB and FIFA

since 1925 engaged themselves Bauwens on behalf the DFB also in committees of the world football federation FIFA. It particularly occurred for the fact that the German federation (with approximately 8.3 million members at that time nevertheless the largest sport organization of the world) should play a more important role in the world union than the federations from smaller or dwarf states, which had all the same right to vote. (A problem, also still in 21. Century with the organization of the European Union condition is discussed.)

in the year 1950 Peco Bauwens to the first president of the DFB after the Second World War was selected.

There was a special eclat, when he gave a speech after the German victory in the soccer world championship in Switzerland 1954 in the lion brewing cellar in Munich in honours of the “heroes of Berne”.

“The German people in its whole width, from the smallest one to the largest one,something now felt, which enthusiasm is called for a noble thing,the noble thing of the sport. “

“The youth always needs enthusiasm. And if one does not bring it on a field,which so beautifully, so nobly in every respect is, where body and spirit bring to unite to one, then however is a danger there, which we so often had in the last years. And therefore it is direct an obligation for the stateand for everything that is connected to help this youth as it showed up so clearly today. And not only the youth. The oldest terms stoodon the field with the Dreschflegel and signed. And humans in the monasteryand the priest main header its hat off… “

“it was really somewhat like that hinreissendes, which really shows that it onePeople movement become steered and promoted, the something guided andwill must of our state. “

Frightened the fallow radio editors of the Bavarian broadcast the live-transmission off. Expressions of this kind were outrageous for the time at that time. Critics interpreted these remarks as “high life letting of the leader principle “.

Peco Bauwens exercised the office of the DFB president up to the year 1962 and became thereafter honorary president, deceased however already in the year after.

evaluation

in the post-war period became Bauwens the target of critics, who accused a uncritical proximity to it to the national socialism. One of the reproaches was, by the suppression of the voices of other federations wanted to anticipate it the world conquest politics of Hitler in the football.

It referred in each case with such attacks to the fate of its Jewish wife.

With Bonn the resident politics scientist Arthur Heinrich has in the expenditure of the weekly paper the time of 16. March 2006 sharp criticism at the person Bauwens, as well as at the past processing of the DFB experienced. After the words Heinrichs were neither the academic became the lawyer Bauwens, still its vorgebliche refusal of the Nazi regime, still the death circumstances of its wife of the truth indicated by it accordingly. Rather Bauwens 1933 placed a member request against the NSDAP, which was however rejected for reasons of its marriage with the Elise Gidion, a Jewess from a Cologne buyer family. The author puts near the fact that Peco Bauwens at the death of its wife, if also did not intervene actively so nevertheless possibly placed the means to the self selbsttötung to the order.

On the international parquet one remembered after the world war its work in the FIFA committees and its attempts to cut the dominance of the französischsprachigen world in the football in favor of the large federations from Germany and Italy - the European Axis powers.

Straight one in recent time is in Germany repeats criticism at the coming to terms with the past of the DFB arisen, because a halfway detailed representation of its history does not exist during the rule of the national socialism yet. Such was expressly demanded even by Federal President Johannes Rau in the year 2000 at the DFB establishment place Leipzig. Peco Bauwens plays a central role during the evaluation of the question, how unpolitical football can be.

The Mainzer historian of Nile Havemann regenerated the old sources meanwhile on behalf the DFB. The result appeared in the year 2005 in book form.

Bauwens is considered also as one of the early mediators of a new self-confident unity of the West German ones after the Second World War. Released by the again permitted participation of German crews at international matches and the victory in the soccer world championship 1954 a new consciousness developed “we is again who!”. Bauwens formulated too open with its lack of diplomatic fate probably too early and:

“If however different on the playing field do gymnastics with their flags before the play, then it does not concern that one forbids to our people leading our proud German flag. That we cannot be pleased. Our crew has themtoday the receipt given. “

literature

• of Nile Havemann, football unterm swastika - the DFB between sport, politics and commerce, Campus publishing house, Frankfurt/Main 2005, ISBN 3593379066
• Arthur Heinrich, a clean history. In: The TIME, No. 12 of 16. March 2006, S. 90