Josef Müller

Josef Müller
Name	Josef Müller
Birth date	27 March 1898
Birth place	Steinwiesen, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire
Death date	12 September 1979
Death place	Munich, West Germany
Occupation	Lawyer, Politician
Known for	Resistance figure, Co-founder of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria
Party	CSU

Josef Müller. He was a German lawyer, politician, and a significant figure in the German Resistance to Nazism. Known by the codename "Ochsensepp," he played a crucial role in clandestine communications between the resistance and the Allied powers. Following World War II, he was instrumental in founding the Christian Social Union in Bavaria and served as the first Bavarian Minister of Justice in the post-war period.

Early life and education

Josef Müller was born in Steinwiesen in the Upper Franconia region. After serving as a soldier in the Imperial German Army during the First World War, he pursued legal studies. He completed his doctorate in law at the University of Erlangen–Nuremberg and subsequently established a successful practice as a lawyer in Munich. His early professional life brought him into contact with various circles, including those within the Catholic Church and conservative political groups in Bavaria.

Political career

Before the Nazi seizure of power, Müller was active in the Bavarian People's Party, a prominent Catholic political force. Following the Second World War, he became a pivotal founding member of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, a new Christian democratic party. He served as the first Bavarian Minister of Justice from 1945 to 1952 in the cabinets of Minister-Presidents Fritz Schäffer and Hans Ehard. In this role, he was deeply involved in the complex process of denazification and the reconstruction of the legal system in West Germany.

Resistance activities

From the outset of the Nazi regime, Müller was a committed opponent. As a lawyer, he defended individuals persecuted by the Gestapo. His most critical work began with his involvement in the Abwehr-centered resistance circle around Admiral Wilhelm Canaris and Hans Oster. Using his connections to the Vatican, facilitated through his friend Father Josef Wehrle, Müller acted as a secret conduit. He relayed messages between the German resistance and the Papacy, and through it, to the governments of the United Kingdom and the United States, seeking assurances for a post-Hitler Germany.

Arrest and imprisonment

Following the failure of the 20 July plot in 1944, the Gestapo intensified its crackdown on all resistance networks. Müller was arrested in 1944 and endured severe interrogation. He was imprisoned first at the Gestapo prison on Prinz-Albrecht-Straße in Berlin and later in the Flossenbürg concentration camp. In April 1945, he was moved to the Dachau concentration camp and was finally liberated by advancing United States Army forces during the final days of the European theatre of World War II.

Later life and death

After the war, Müller resumed his political and legal career in Bavaria. Beyond his ministerial duties, he remained an influential figure within the Christian Social Union in Bavaria. He later served as a judge on the Bavarian Constitutional Court. Müller retired from active politics but continued to be consulted on matters of law and party history. He died in Munich in 1979 and was buried in the Munich Waldfriedhof.

Legacy

Josef Müller is remembered as a key liaison whose efforts provided a fragile link between the isolated German resistance and the outside world. His post-war work helped lay the democratic foundations of the Federal Republic of Germany. His life is commemorated with a street named in his honor in Munich, and his contributions are documented in archives like the Institute of Contemporary History. His story is a significant chapter in the history of the German Resistance and the political rebirth of Bavaria.

Category:German Resistance members Category:Christian Social Union in Bavaria politicians Category:1898 births Category:1979 deaths