Dengel, Eugen

Trade unionist, politician

Born: 07.11.1881 in Neubrunn/Franconia

died: 07.02.1950 in Wiesbaden

Dengel, a trained baker, came to Wiesbaden at the beginning of the 20th century. He joined the SPD in 1906 and became involved in trade union activities. After the First World War, in which he took part from 1915-18, he became a member of the city council in Wiesbaden. In 1928, he was elected head of the city council.

He led this difficult office with great negotiating skills and ensured that the meetings ran smoothly, while the KPD and NSDAP fought fiercely. After the trade unions were broken up in 1933, he was taken into "protective custody" for a while, but was released again. On August 22, 1944, he was arrested again and sent to Dachau concentration camp, where he was liberated by the Americans on May 2, 1945.

He returned to Wiesbaden in June 1945 and was immediately appointed to the municipal administration by the US military government. Lord Mayor Georg Krücke assigned him the housing and food offices as well as responsibility for the abattoir. He was a member of the first freely elected municipal council as a department head until he reached the age limit.