# Wilhelm Helms

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German politician (1923–2019)

Wilhelm Helms Wilhelm Helms campaign poster Member of the Bundestag In office 1969–1972 Member of the European Parliament In office 17 July 1979 – 23 July 1984 Personal details Born (1923-12-19)19 December 1923 Twistringen, Lower Saxony, Germany Died 8 December 2019(2019-12-08) (aged 95) Vechta, Lower Saxony, Germany Party German Party The Free Democratic Party (from 1963) Occupation Politician / Farmer

**Wilhelm Helms** (19 December 1923 – 8 December 2019) was a German politician. He served as a member of the [Bundestag](/source/Bundestag) from 1969 to 1972. Helms was notable for his 1972 party switch that threatened to collapse the government of [Chancellor](/source/Chancellor) [Willy Brandt](/source/Willy_Brandt).

## Early life and career

Wilhelm Helms was born on 19 December 1923 in the Bissenhausen district of [Twistringen](/source/Twistringen), Germany. His father, Heinrich Helms died in 1941 while his brother, Heinrich, was killed in [World War II](/source/World_War_II).[1]

After high school, he was drafted into the [Wehrmacht](/source/Wehrmacht). He served in a tank crew on the Russian front and left the army in 1945. He worked his family's farm after the war.[1]

## Political career

In 1956, he became involved in politics as a local councilor in his hometown, becoming the mayor in 1961. In 1963, he switched parties to join the [Free Democratic Party](/source/Free_Democratic_Party_(Germany)) and become a regional administrator. The party selected him to its list for the [1969 West German federal election](/source/1969_West_German_federal_election) and he entered the [Bundestag](/source/Bundestag). His Free Democrats entered into a coalition with the [Social Democratic Party](/source/Social_Democratic_Party_of_Germany) of [Willy Brandt](/source/Willy_Brandt), giving the ruling coalition 251 votes, a majority of three votes.

## 1972 party switch

Shortly after the [1972 Baden‐Württemberg state election](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1972_Baden%E2%80%90W%C3%BCrttemberg_state_election&action=edit&redlink=1) in which the [CDU/CSU](/source/CDU%2FCSU) won overwhelmingly, Helms announced that he would leave the Free Democrats and apply for membership in the [Christian Democratic Union](/source/Christian_Democratic_Union_of_Germany). With the coalition down to 249 members, Helms’ party switch would shift the balance of power in the Bundestag. The opposition proposed a vote of no-confidence in the government to replace Brandt with [Rainer Barzel](/source/Rainer_Barzel). Helms suggested that he had disagreements over domestic policy and expressed reservations with the governments policy in Eastern Europe. Brandt's government negotiated treaties with the [Soviet Union](/source/Soviet_Union) and [Poland](/source/Poland) that would coming for a vote.[2]

At the no-confidence vote, two CDU politicians voted to support Brandt while Helms would not reveal how he had voted. However, he later stated that he would support the vote for the treaties. Helms sat with the CDU for the remainder of his term. In the [1972 West German federal election](/source/1972_West_German_federal_election), he was not re-elected to the Bundestag.[1]

## Later career

In [1979](/source/1979_European_Parliament_election), Helms won a seat in the [European Parliament](/source/European_Parliament) from the CDU. He served on the Delegation for relations with Canada, the [Committee on Agriculture](/source/European_Parliament_Committee_on_Agriculture_and_Rural_Development) and the [Committee on Transport](/source/European_Parliament_Committee_on_Transport_and_Tourism). He left the European Parliament in 1984.[3]

## Personal life

In 1944, he met his wife, Lya Schilmbller, who had been sent to work on the farm. The couple become engaged in 1946 and married in 1948.[1]

In 1990, Helms took issue with Brandt's memoir, which suggested that Helms had a financial motive for switching parties. His suit was unsuccessful.[4]

Helms died on 8 December 2019 in [Vechta](/source/Vechta), Germany at the age of 95.[5]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ManInTheNews_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ManInTheNews_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-ManInTheNews_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-ManInTheNews_1-3) ["Man in the News"](https://www.nytimes.com/1972/04/29/archives/a-farmer-basks-in-bonns-spotlight-wilhelm-helms.html). *New York Times*. 1972-04-29.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Imperil_2-0)** ["West German State Vote Imperils Bonn Coalition"](https://www.nytimes.com/1972/04/24/archives/west-german-state-vote-imperils-bonn-coalition-a-state-election.html). *New York Times*. 1972-04-24.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Euro_3-0)** ["Wilhelm Helms-Official European Parliament profile"](http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/826/WILHELM_HELMS/history/1). European Parliament. 19 December 1923. Retrieved 2019-12-19.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Hannoverische_4-0)** ["Der Mann, der Willy Brandt stürzen wollte"](https://web.archive.org/web/20210928084129/https://www.haz.de/Nachrichten/Politik/Deutschland-Welt/Der-Mann-der-Willy-Brandt-stuerzen-wollte). *Hannoverische Allgemeine* (in German). 2018-12-13. Archived from [the original](https://www.haz.de/Nachrichten/Politik/Deutschland-Welt/Der-Mann-der-Willy-Brandt-stuerzen-wollte) on 2021-09-28. Retrieved 2019-12-20.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Kreiszeitung_5-0)** ["Ehemaliger Landrat und Bundestagsabgeordneter Wilhelm Helms"](https://www.kreiszeitung.de/lokales/diepholz/twistringen-ort47316/wechselvolle-politische-ausnahme-karriere-13287524.html). *Kreiszeitung* (in German). 2019-12-11.

v t e German members of the European Parliament (1979–1984) Social Democratic Party Rudi Arndt Willy Brandt Ludwig Fellermaier Katharina Focke Bruno Friedrich Volkmar Gabert Klaus Hänsch Karl Hauenschild Luise Herklotz Magdalene Hoff Jan Klinkenborg Heinz Kühn Erwin Lange Erdmann Linde Rolf Linkohr Eugen Loderer Heinke Salisch Rudolf Schieler Dieter Schinzel Gerhard Schmid Heinz Schmitt Karl Schön Olaf Schwencke Horst Seefeld Hans-Joachim Seeler Lieselotte Seibel-Emmerling Hellmut Sieglerschmidt Heinz Oskar Vetter Thomas von der Vring Manfred Wagner Gerd Walter Beate Weber Klaus Wettig Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul Christian Democratic Union Jochen van Aerssen Siegbert Alber Philipp von Bismarck Erik Blumenfeld Isidor Früh Wilhelm Hahn Kai-Uwe von Hassel Wilhelm Helms Karl-Heinz Hoffmann Hans Katzer Egon Klepsch Herbert Köhler Horst Langes Gerd Lemmer Marlene Lenz Rudolf Luster Ernst Majonica Kurt Malangré Meinholf Mertens Ernst Müller-Hermann Franz-Josef Nordlohne Gero Pfennig Hans-Gert Pöttering Albert Pürtsen Renate-Charlotte Rabbethge Günter Rinsche Bernhard Sälzer Casimir Johannes, Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Wolfgang Schall Paul Schnitker Konrad Schön Hanna Walz Kurt Wawrzik Karl von Wogau Joachim Wuermeling Christian Social Union in Bavaria Heinrich Aigner Reinhold Bocklet Ingo Friedrich Karl Fuchs Alfons Goppel Otto von Habsburg Hans August Lücker Ursula Schleicher Free Democratic Party Mechthild von Alemann Martin Bangemann Ulrich Irmer Heinrich Jürgens

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Wilhelm Helms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Helms) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Helms?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.