HomeNationsGermanyGerm 1918 19cCohen-Reuß, Emmanuel ("Max")
Cohen-Reuß, Emmanuel (

Emmanuel Cohen-Reuß

b. 30 Jan 1876, Oberbonsfeld/Langenberg (now merged into Velbert), Rheinland, German Reich
d. 9 Mar 1963, Paris, France

Title: Vorsitzender des Zentralrats der deutschen sozialistischen Republik (Chairman of the Central Council of the German Socialist Republic)
Term: 20 Dec 1918 - May 1920
Chronology: 19 Dec 1918, elected Zentralrat member by the First Reich Congress of Councils
  20 Dec 1918, elected Zentralrat chairman at the meeting of the Zentralrat [1]
  21 Dec 1918, joint resolution of Zentralrat and Vollzugsrat der Arbeiter- und Soldatenrate Groß-Berlins on transferring the high state authority to the Zentralrat [1]
  14 Apr 1919, re-elected Zentralrat member by the Second Reich Congress of Councils
  May 1920, the Central Council ceased to exist
Names/titles: Birth certificate record: Emmanuel Cohen; nickname: Max Cohen (origin unclear); surname extended to Cohen-Reuß to distingish from possible namesakes as Reichstag deputy
Biography:

Born in a Jewish family, Emmanuel "Max" Cohen worked as trade agent. In 1902 he joined the Social Democratic Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, SPD). In 1908-1914, Cohen was a member of the municipal council in Frankfurt am Main. In 1912-1918 he was a deputy of the Reichstag from Reuß. Elected to the Vollzugsrat der Arbeiter- und Soldatenräte Groß-Berlins (Executive Council of the Workers' and Soldiers' Councils of Greater Berlin) at the meeting in the Busch Circus on 10 Nov 1918, Cohen-Reuß served as one of its members from 11 Nov 1918 to 23 Dec 1918. Cohen-Reuß participated in the 1st Reich Congress of Councils (16 Dec 1918 - 21 Dec 1918) and appealed for setting up a republican form of government as opposed to the demands of councilar republic. He was elected (19 Dec 1918) by the Reich Congress to the Zentralrat der deutschen sozialistischen Republik (Central Council of the German Socialist Republic) and approved (20 Dec 1918) as one of its chairmen. Re-elected as a member of the Central Council at the 2nd Reich Congress of Councils (14 Apr 1919), he presided over that body until it ceased to exist in May 1920. In 1920-1933, Cohen-Reuß worked in the Reich Council for Economy and briefly chaired its financial committee. In 1934 Cohen-Reuß emigrated to France, where he became a journalist. After 1945 he was a Parisian correspondent of several German newspapers. Biography source: [3][4]


[1] "Der Zentralrat der Deutschen Sozialistischen Republik 19.12.1918 - 8.4.1919" from the series: "Quellen zur Geschichte der Rätebewegung in Deutschland 1918/19" (Leiden: Verlag E. J. Brill, 1968).
[2] "Groß-Berliner Arbeiter- und Soldatenräte in der Revolution 1918/19. Dokumente der Vollversammlungen und des Vollzugsrates. Vom Ausbruch der Revolution bis zum 1. Reichsrätekongress", ed. by Gerhard Engel, Bärbel Holz and Ingo Materna (Berlin: Akademie, 1993).
[3] "MdR: biographisches Handbuch der Reichstage" by Max Schwarz (Hannover, Verl. für Literatur und Zeitgeschehen, 1965).
[4] "Biographisches Handbuch der deutschsprachigen Emigration nach 1933 / International biographical dictionary of central European emigrés 1933-1945" ed. by Werner Röder (München, Saur, 1999).
  Image: photograph, 1920 (courtesy of Jürgen Thorwart, grandson of Emmanuel Cohen).