Oskar Hergt
1869-1967
- Co-founder of the DNVP (German National People’s Party)
- DNVP Chairman
- Member of the Reichstag
- Vice Chancellor and Minister of Justice from 1927 to 1928
Oskar Hergt, while not affiliated with any party during the Kaiserreich, helped found the DNVP in November 1918. In December, he was elected the party’s first chairman. Hergt was considered a monarchist and opponent of the republic. At the same time, as a moderate conservative, he was critical of attempts to overthrow it. He allowed DNVP Reichstag members to vote on the Dawes Plan as they wished and a large part of the party voted for the plan. He then had to step down under pressure from the party’s right wing. He served as Justice Minister and Vice Chancellor in Marx’s cabinet from 1927 to 1928. Hergt stayed in the party even after he lost to Hugenberg in the fight to chair it in 1928. He withdrew from the political arena in 1933.