Carl Spiecker

German journalist, a parliamentary correspondent from 1912 to 1916, and politician (Centre Party, CDU). In 1930-1931 he was Special Representative of the Reich for the fight against National Socialism (Nazism) under Heinrich Brüning. He tried to persuade the Strasser wing to splinter from the NSDAP (Nazi party), but the project failed. In 1933 Spiecker was dismissed from the civil service because of his "political unreliability" and he emigrated to France, later England, USA and Canada. From abroad, he tried to inform the German population through German-language radio speeches about the Nazis. In 1937 while in exile in Paris Spiecker founded the German Freedom Party, an association of bourgeois-democratic forces in opposition to the Nazi Party abroad. Spiecker returned to Germany in 1945 and participated in the reestablishment of the Centre Party, becoming its second chairman in 1946. On 20 April 1947, he became a member of parliament in North Rhine-Westphalia and a member of the Economic Council of the Bizone and the Advisory Council of the British occupation zone. On 31 January 1949 he was expelled from the party. As a result, he joined the CDU. From 5 April 1948 until his death on 16 November 1953 he was (initially under other official titles) Minister of Federal Affairs of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. Link to Wikipedia biography (German)