Werner Bockelmann
{{Short description|German lawyer and politician of the SPD (1907–1968)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Werner Bockelmann
| image = Werner Bockelmann, Oberbürgermeister von Frankfurt am Main, 1963.jpg
| caption = Bockelmann in 1963
| party = Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)
| office = Mayor of Frankfurt
| predecessor = Walter Kolb
| successor = Willi Brundert
| termstart = 1957
| termend = 1964
| birth_date = 23 September 1907
| birth_place = Moscow, Russian Empire
| death_date = 7 April 1968 (aged 60)
| death_place = Friolzheim, West Germany
}}
Werner Bockelmann (23 September 1907 – 7 April 1968) was a German lawyer and politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, who served as the Mayor of Frankfurt between 1957 and 1964.
Early life and education
Bockelmann was born in Moscow to a German banker, {{Interlanguage link|Heinrich Bockelmann|de|Heinrich Bockelmann|WD=}}, and fellow German Anna Bockelmann (née Förster). The family was quite rich.{{Cite journal |last=Petrov |first=Jurij A. |date=1994 |title=Deutsche Unternehmer in Rußland vom 19. bis zum Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41049256 |journal=Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas |volume=42 |issue=2 |page=16 |jstor=41049256 }} In 1920, the Bockelmann family moved to Germany. After attending the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums in Hamburg, Bockelmann studied Law at the universities of Dresden, Hamburg, Göttingen and Graz. He became a lawyer in Hamburg in 1935. Bockelmann was the Chief of Staff of the Kriegsmarine between 1941 and 1945.
Political career
Bockelmann's first political experience was in the city of Lüneburg in Lower Saxony. He served as the mayor of Lüneburg between 1945 and 1946, and became a city manager in 1946, staying in that role until 1955.{{Cite news |date=24 December 2014 |title=Kondolenzbuch für Udo Jürgens liegt im Lüneburger Rathaus |work=Hamburger Abendblatt |url=https://www.abendblatt.de/hamburg/harburg/article135710415/Kondolenzbuch-fuer-Udo-Juergens-liegt-im-Lueneburger-Rathaus.html |access-date=2 June 2022}} From 1955 to 1957 Bockelmann was the mayor of Ludwigshafen in Rhineland-Palatinate.{{Cite news |title=Noch nie so einig |work=Der Spiegel |url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/noch-nie-so-einig-a-d030cb23-0002-0001-0000-000046174544?context=issue |access-date=2 June 2022}}
In 1957, Bockelmann was elected as Mayor of Frankfurt am Main. During his tenure, the decision was made to create a city railway, which would become the Frankfurt U-Bahn. Other defining events of Bockelmann's time in office were the re-construction of the University of Frankfurt, the creation of the "Nordweststadt" area of Frankfurt and the building of one of Frankfurt's first skyscrapers, the "Zurich House" (which has since been destroyed). Bockelmann met with US President John F. Kennedy when he visited Frankfurt in 1963, accompanying Kennedy at the signing of the "Golden Book" at the Frankfurt Rathaus.{{Cite news |last=Horstkorte |first=Christine |date=31 July 2021 |title=John F. Kennedy in Frankfurt |work=Bild |url=https://m.bild.de/regional/frankfurt/john-f-kennedy/kennedy-in-frankfurt-25409812.bildMobile.html###wt_ref=https://www.google.com/&wt_t=1654187549208 |access-date=2 June 2022}}
Bockelmann did not enjoy great popularity during his tenure as mayor, perhaps due to him being seen as an outsider, given his north-German origins.
Bockelmann was re-elected as mayor following local elections in 1960, but left office in 1964 on medical grounds. He was succeeded in office by Willi Brundert.
Personal life and death
Bockelmann married and had four sons, Mischa, Andrej, Martin and Thomas. {{Interlanguage link|Andrej Bockelmann|de}} is a sociologist and journalist, and {{Interlanguage link|Thomas Bockelmann|de}} is an actor and director, who has served as the director of several theatres in Germany.
Werner Bockelmann was the uncle of Austrian pop-singer Udo Jürgens.
Bockelmann died in a car accident on 7 April 1968. He was 60 years old at the time of his death. Also fatally injured was Christian Social Union politician Georg Brauchle, who died of his injuries just over two weeks later.{{Cite journal |last=Lamm |first=Hans |date=1969 |title=West Germany |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23603419 |journal=The American Jewish Yearbook |volume=70 |pages=361–378 |jstor=23603419 }}{{Cite news |date=7 April 2008 |title=Werner Bockelmann verunglückt tödlich |work=Frankfurter Rundschau |url=https://www.fr.de/politik/werner-bockelmann-verunglueckt-toedlich-11592205.html |access-date=2 June 2022}}