Ernst was born in Rostock in the German Empire,the son of prominent surgeon Friedrich Trendelenburg. The Trendelenburg's had been a notable family as philologists and philosophers prior. He studied law at university,graduating from the University of Greifswald. After graduating he was an unskilled worker,but eventually rose in the ranks when he transferred to the Reich Ministry of Economics in 1917 while being a senior member of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society (KWG). He joined the DDP in 1918,and a year later was appointed Reichskommissar for Import and Export Permits,but he later went back to the Ministry of Economics where he became State Secretary until 1932. That same year he became Under-Secretary General to the League of Nations,where he helped lay the foundations for economics but he resigned after a year following Germany's withdrawal from the league.
In June 1930 he was appointed Reich Minister of Economics by chancellor Heinrich Brüning,due to him being non-partisan and supporting Brüning's policies. His time there saw the start of the European banking crisis of 1931. He supported foreign competition and breaking up cartels,and criticized government regulations on the economy. He left this role in October 1931,but served as acting minister in May 1932. Afer leaving,he served as Chairman of Vereinigte Industrieunternehmungen AG (VIAG) and Reichs-Kredit-Gesellschaft,but did not join the NSDAP although he worked closely with the Nazi regime. He was appointed Head of the Reichsgruppe Industrie for a year starting in 1935,and was later briefly Head of the Reich Iron Association (RVE) in 1942. He committed suicide in 1945 by overdosing on Veronal,a sleeping aid,after the rape of his daughter following the Battle of Berlin by Russian soldiers.
Trendelenburg in 1925 at an interview for the economic relations between France and Germany in the Ministry of Commerce in Paris.
After World War One,he joined the DDP in 1918. A year later,in 1919,he became Reichskommissar for Import and Export Permits,a position he would hold until 1922.[15][16] He also monitored foreign commerce while serving as Reichskommissar because he was convinced that the low value of the Reichsmark would lead to the selling of goods from foreign investors and said that state regulations would ensure that Germany was not at a disadvantage.[17] In September 1922,he was appointed Ministerial Director in charge of Department II,the Industrial Department,of the Reich Ministry of Economics.[18] After this,he was appointed State Secretary in the Reich Ministry of Economics a year later,an important position he would hold until 1932.[19] In this role he was responsible for industrial bonds in response to the passing of the Dawes Plan.[20] He also opposed any raise in premiums at the height of unemployment,contrary to experts who called for a raise of 0.5%.[21]
In 1932 he was appointed Under-Secretary General,representing Germany,to the League of Nations.[22] In this role he laid the foundations for the economics of the League of Nations and helped create the World Economic Conference,but had very little success because of the lasting World War One economies and nationalism.[23] On 21 October 1933 Germany withdrew from the League of Nations,and as a consequence Trendelenburg also announced his resingation.[24] He was also Chairman of the Geneva Economic Committee at the League of Nations during this time.[25]
Reich Minister of Economics
On 27 June 1930 he took over the Reich Ministry of Economics,who was non-partisan and supported then-chancellor Heinrich Brüning,but who would not win over support in the Reichstag.[26] He considered a reduction in the cost of living to be only possible if the food prices were to go down,because there was a lack of confidence in public finances.[27] He instead suggested allowing foreign competition and breaking up cartels and to have wage reductions.[27] He urged the entire cabinet to require the negotiation of labor contracts saying that trade unions shared responsibility for lowering wages that lead to reduced unemployment,a statement that was harshly criticized by workers.[28] He also believed that the government regulations needed to be loosened on the economy.[28] He resigned his first term on 8 October 1931,and was succeeded by Hermann Warmbold.
He again returned as acting minister from 6 May to 30 May 1932 after Warmbold resigned.[29][30]
Later career and Nazi collaboration
In 1934 he became Chairman of the Supervisory Boards Vereinigte Industrieunternehmungen AG (VIAG),a conglomerate for industrial holdings,and the state-owned bank Reichs-Kredit-Gesellschaft.[7] Although not a member of the NSDAP,instead remaining independent,he worked closely with the Nazi Party especially because of its influence on the VIAG.[31]
In 1935 he was appointed Head of the Reichsgruppe Industrie,which represented the interests of the German industry,which he continued until a year later.[32] He was also the first honorary head of the Export Community for War Equipment (AGK) during this time,which was then a department of the Reichsgruppe,which was a collaboration between the Waffenamt and the Reich Economic Office to act as a self-governing body of the armaments industry and promote arms exports.[33] That same year he joined the Reich Chamber of Commerce in Berlin,[5] and served on the Joint Committee established to stabilize the international economic situation.[34]
Over the following years,he would stay as chairman of VIAG. He notably criticized the Anglo-American Treaty of 1938,as he questioned whether they were really serving reconstruction and friendly cooperation,and are instead having a policy of high protectionism which he said caused the Great Depression.[35] In 1942,upon the creation of the Reich Iron Association (RVE),he served briefly as its head.[5]
Personal life
He was married to Cläre,the daughter of physician Gustav Schaede.[5] He had three children:Karin,Peter,and another daughter.[36] After Karin,Ernst,and Cläre committed suicide,the other daughter would follow a year later,and Peter later moved to the United States.[36]
↑ Wirtschaftspolitik in Deutschland 1917–1990. De Gruyter. 2016. ISBN978-3-11-046290-6. Retrieved 3 February 2025. 1919 bis 1920 war Ernst Trendelenburg, später Hirschs Nachfolger als Staatssekretär, Reichskommissar für Aus- und Einfuhrbewilligung. Bis in die letzten Monate der Weimarer Republik bekleidete er verschiedene Ämter. In den Krisenjahre
↑ Müller, Philipp (December 2023). "The Rise and Fall of the 'World Economy' in Weimar Germany". German History. 41 (4): 536–555. doi:10.1093/gerhis/ghad047.
Hans Schäffer's Memories of Ernst Trendelenburg:. Hans Schäffer also rose through the ranks of the Reich Ministry of Economics during Trendelenburg's times and was his aide, but they stopped corresponding due to Ernst's role in Nazi Germany with Schäffer being Jewish.
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