Chancellor Heinrich Brüning 1949

German Chancellor Heinrich Brüning 1949

What if the last democratic Reich-Chancellor of Weimar Germany (he lived to 1970 OTL) comes back from the Vermont (OTL he never came back permantly ) exile in 1945 and goes into German politics ance again and is elected chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany instead of Adenauer in 1949. Would he have the trust of the Allies, would they bet on him if he tries to run ? Adenauer, had his fallouts with the Allies (they even arrested him once before he took office). What would the poeple say regarding his Economic Deflation Politics in the 1930es, would he be highly unpopular among the German population, or could he be a democratic continuum from a time before the Nazis ? For what party would he run, the Christian Democratic Oarty ? Originally a National-Conservative Catholic , he had lived and taught in Vermont for years, so his viewpoints might have shifted as well.
 
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Wikipedia says he returned to Germany in 1951 and taught at the University of Cologne until 1953. I can't confirm that myself.

I don't see him with a political future in West Germany. His economic policies were seen as making the Depression worse, and his strategy of presidential rule eroded his democratic reputation. That's not a complete delabreaker, but he has other liabilities as well. Also, he's been absent from Germany for over a decade. I don't see him outmaneuvering Adenauer in the formation of the CDU, he hasn't been in contact with his countrymen during this time and Adenauer does. His exile would likely create some amount of alienation since he would have had no experience of life under the Nazis or during the war that all his countrymen would have. I don't think he has the credibility to become Chancellor.

He might possibly have a political career as a backbencher (would he want that?) or even cabinet member (would Adenauer want that?), but given the long duration of Adenauer's rule and the likely replacement by Ludwig Erhard as the founder of the economic miracle, I don't see him becoming Chancellor even later on.
 
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