Master whitewasher, local politician
Born: January 30, 1885 in Biebrich
Died: November 20, 1963 in Wiesbaden

August Laut was born in Biebrich (opens in a new tab), which was incorporated into Wiesbaden in 1926. He attended elementary school in Biebrich and then trained as a painter and whitewasher in his father's business. In 1911, he passed his master craftsman's examination. Laut married Elisabeth Coridas on March 30, 1912. During the First World War, Laut was drafted into the foot artillery regiment no. 27 (Wiesbadener Hausregiment). After the end of the war, he returned to Biebrich and set up his own business as a painter and whitewasher in 1920.

August Laut had been a member of the Biebrich Craftsmen's and Tradesmen's Association since 1908. In order to mitigate the consequences of the global economic crisis for the building trade in Biebrich, August Laut and other Biebrich tradesmen founded the Bauhandwerkergenossenschaft in 1930.

In 1924, August Laut joined the Reichspartei des Deutschen Mittelstandes, which reached its heyday in the Reichstag elections of 1928 and 1930 with around four percent of the votes cast. In 1931, Laut was elected as an honorary member of the board of Biebricher Bank, which became Biebricher Volksbank in 1941. Laut's party dissolved in 1933 in favor of the NSDAP or DNVP. In 1933, he was forced to resign from his position on the board and all other honorary posts. August Laut was not involved in politics or voluntary work during the Nazi era until 1945.

As a factory manager, August Laut was a member of the German Labor Front between 1934 and 1945. He did not join any other Nazi organizations.

On March 31, 1945, August Laut became a member of the Wiesbaden Citizens' Council. In the fall of the same year, he co-founded the Biebrich branch of the Wiesbaden CDU. In May 1946, Laut was elected to the city council for the CDU. In December 1956, he took over the chairmanship of the building committee of the city council. He remained a city councillor until his death in 1963.

After the end of the Second World War, August Laut was also re-elected to the supervisory board of Biebricher Volksbank, where he helped to rebuild the bank.

A street in the Biebrich district was named after August Laut by resolution of the town council on May 25, 1972.