3 - Jung's Pursuit of Leadership of the Conservative Revolution (1925–32)

Summary

Jung as Political Theorist and Writer in Munich

WITH THE PFALZ YEARS BEHIND HIM, Jung struggled to establish his new law practice at Karlsplatz 23/II in Munich in partnership with his school friend, Otto Leibrecht. He received authorization on April 5, 1924, to work in the District Courts I and II of Munich, and on May 29, 1926, permission to work in the Superior Court. Although Bavarian Minister of Justice Franz Gürtner stated in 1925 that the extent of Jung's law practice appeared to be very limited and that he was seldom seen in court, this related to the early years of Jung's new law practice in Munich. Jung must have increased his standing as a lawyer in subsequent years as he was involved in two high profile cases in 1930 and 1932: namely, the Tscherwonzenprozess of 1930 in Berlin and the libel action against Wilhelm Stapel brought by two Jewish lawyers in 1932. After his expulsion from the Pfalz, Jung's political activities had caused him to spend some time in Munich and establish several contacts there. As the capital city of Jung's home state of Bavaria, and southern Germany's largest city, it was perhaps the natural choice for Jung to make his new home there. He managed to find accommodation for himself and his family in the same building as his chambers in Karlsplatz 23/II. He was now a family man, with a wife and son to support. As one of the few individuals not allowed to return to the Pfalz by the French, even after the London Conference of 1924, he wrote to the Ministry for the Occupied Territories to ask for a substantial sum of fifty thousand Marks in compensation for the loss of his law practice in Zweibrücken. Although his request was granted, the original claim for fifty thousand Marks was reduced to twenty thousand Marks. In 1930, when news of the sum he received in compensation was leaked to the press, it occasioned a court case that attracted much public attention. It is discussed later in this chapter.

Jung was a man with a taste for an extravagant lifestyle. His letters show a constant concern with finances and the need to earn more money. He was also someone who felt he was intellectually superior to those around him, perhaps with good reason.