Theodor Tantzen

Every study needs a curb, some sort of Other to help define the realm of the possible. For my work this turns out to be Theodor Tantzen. A successful farmer from the Butjadingen peninsula of Oldenburg, Tantzen was one of the most radical, opinionated exponents of the Weimar Republic. A long-serving member of the leadership of the German Democratic Party and spokesperson for north German peasant farmers, he was both the first and last Minister-Präsident of the Free State of Oldenburg.

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In the subtitle of her 1998 biography, Martina Neumann refers to Tantzen as “ein widerspenstiger Liberaler” - an unruly liberal. The “Lion of Heering” (named after his estate), was a difficult politician and temperamental personality.​​ Seeking a break from the “bad guys” who I have spent my whole career studying, I wanted to explore a principled liberal who posited an alternative path for rural politics. The results has been a series of papers and paper proposals with Tantzen as their central organizing feature,

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European Social Science History Association conference, March 2025.

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- Paper abstract.

- Conference paper: ​The persistence of progressive rural politics. How traditionally liberal communities and elites in Oldenburg responded to political challenges.The persistence of progressive rural politics. How traditionally liberal communities and elites in Oldenburg responded to political challenges.

- Remarks made by Niels Grüne about the papers in the session and my response.

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