Background
Franz Böhm was born on 16 February 1895 in Konstanz. He moved along with his family in 1898 to Karlsruhe as his father was appointed the Minister of Cultural Affairs for the Grand Duke of Baden.
Franz Böhm was born on 16 February 1895 in Konstanz. He moved along with his family in 1898 to Karlsruhe as his father was appointed the Minister of Cultural Affairs for the Grand Duke of Baden.
He spent his school time in Karlsruhe,where his father worked as a lecturer in the Ministry of Culture.
After the war in 1919 , he began studying law and economics at the University of Freiburg. In 1924 he passed 2 law state exams.
In 1932, he rejoined the University of Freiburg and is received PhD in economics from the University with the dissertation on the topic "Competition and monopoly".
After completing his Abitur and military service, Böhm enlisted in the military at the beginning of World War I. He was the first citizen of Karlsruhe to be awarded the Iron Cross. In 1919 Böhn began studying law and political science at the University of Freiburg and completed his Staatsexamen in 1924, receiving shortly there after a job as a public prosecutor.
Böhm published his first essay entitled "Das Problem der privaten Macht, ein Beitrag zur Monopolfrage" (The problem of private power; a contribution to the question of monopolies) in 1928, establishing himself as a prominent economist. In the wake of the publication of this essay, fellow economists Alexander Rüstow and Friedrich Lutz strongly encouraged Böhm to write a disputation of the economic work of Adam Smith. Böhm eagerly took up their suggestion and wrote what would become his principal work: "Wettbewerb und Monopolkampf"(Competition and Monopoly).
After writing these pieces Böhm received a professorship at the University of Freiburg, where he and colleague Walter Eucken established the Freiburg School. During this time Böhm worked closely with Eucken and Hans Grossmann-Doerth in establishing the groundwork for their economic theory, Ordoliberalism.
From 1925 to 1931 Böhm served in the economic ministry of the Weimar Republic.
In the early 1930s already Böhm fought against the discrimination and persecution of citizens that are Jewish.
In 1938, after a denunciation, he and his mother in law were captured and charged. The trial ended with a disciplinary proceedings, which ended in 1940 with the withdrawal of his teaching license. After that therefore he was agains the Nazi Regime. Böhm became active in the Freiburger Konzil, which served as a meeting point for anti-Nazi professors from the university and pastors of the Confessing Church. Böhm became heavily involved throughout the following years in opposition groups such as the Bonhoeffer-Krise and the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Erwin von Beckerath, a council of liberal economists opposed to Nazi economic practices.
After the war Böhm was able to resume teaching in Freiburg and was granted the position of Prorector. In 1946 he accepted a professorship at the University of Freiburg. During his time at the university he worked with Walter Eucken to found the German scholarly journal ORDO in 1948, which remains today a mouthpiece of German institutional economists.
During this time Böhm became active in politics, joining the CDU shortly after the war. He served as the minister of cultural affairs in Hessen under Karl Geiler from 1 November 1945 until February 1946, when he resigned due to differences of opinion with the American occupying forces.
Böhm was a member of the German Bundestag from 1953 until 1965. During this time he was the leader of the German delegation for the reparations negotiations with Israel.
Throughout his time in the Bundestag Böhm remained deeply connected to the University of Freiburg and his students, continuing to provide seminars despite his role in the Bundestag. His political role remained secondary in importance to his career as an instructor. Böhm died on 26 September 1977 in Rockenberg.
The Franz-Böhm Schule, a Berufsschule in Frankfurt am Main, is named in his honor.
Das Problem der Macht privaten [The problem of private power], Vol 3, pp324-345
Macht und Recht [Law and power]
Der Wettbewerb als Instrument Staatlicher Wirtschaftslenkung [competition as an instrument of economic management of the state]
Die Bedeutung der für die Wirtschaftsordnung politische Verfassung [The importance of economic policy in the Constitution]
Wirtschaftsordnung und Staatsverfassung [Economic policy and Constitution of the State]
Kartelle und Koalitionsfreiheit (Cartels and freedom of association)
with Walter Eucken and Hans Grossmann-Doerth , Unsere Aufgabe [Our Job]
Die Ordnung der Wirtschaft und als Geschichtliche Aufgabe rechtsschöpferische Leistung, In: Franz Böhm, Walter Eucken and Hans Grossmann-Doerth , eds. Ordnung der Wirtschaft
Die Aufgaben der freien Marktwirtschaft - Ungelöste Fragen, insbesondere das Monopolproblem [The tasks of the market economy - unresolved issues, particularly the problem of monopoly]
Der Rechtsstaat und der soziale Wohlfahrtsstaat [The rule of law and the social welfare state]