1908: Bürgel is incorporated - a solid marriage of convenience
Every Bürgeler is an Offenbacher, but no Offenbacher is a Bürgeler anymore. On April 1, 1908, the incorporation treaty came into force, uniting Bürgel with Offenbach. It was probably not a marriage of love, but a solid marriage of convenience made in friendship, from which both partners could expect to benefit.
The treaty signed in October 1906 not only brought the city of Offenbach almost 6,000 new citizens. Above all, it freed Offenbach from the tightly laced corset of district boundaries that hindered any development. Until then, the Offenbach district had ended at the road that is still called "Grenzstraße". Bürgel extended south along this road as far as the highway.
The contract specified the date of incorporation as April 1 after "the opening of the electric railroad from Offenbach to Bürgel". The streetcar went into operation on October 20, 1907. There is nothing to suggest that the renunciation of independence was experienced as a painful loss. Bürgel celebrated its incorporation as a festival, with a parade that confidently showed that its own proud history began earlier than that of its partner Offenbach. The regimental band of the Offenbach garrison led the procession. On its way through the town, it stopped at Mayor Lammert's house to pay homage.
<The people of Bürgel had demanded a streetcar, a pharmacy and the right to their own registry office and local court for ten years. The Bürgel night watchmen were also allowed to continue guarding the town. Mayor Kaspar Lammert, in office since 1890 and a supporter of the incorporation, was appointed by Offenbach as head of the village.
This smooth takeover was preceded by a political act. Bürgel was able to send six representatives to the Offenbach city council. In their election on March 24, the Social Democratic candidates were opposed by a unified list of the bourgeois parties. Because the bourgeoisie had won the majority in the Offenbach city parliament the previous November, the Bürgel election became a particularly heated battle. Observers from Offenbach, Bieber and even Frankfurt are said to have attended the election rally of the middle-class parties, which took place in the gymnasium on March 22.
On the evening of election day, the Commons triumphed. They got all their candidates through and had apparently made a dent in the Bürgel working class, of which the SPD was so sure. "We'll see each other again in Bürgel!" the SPD leader Carl Ulrich had braved after the November defeat.
The people of Bürgel elected the factory owner Ernst Becker, the bank clerk Peter Gramlich, the farmer Augustin Ohlig, the master tinsmith Georg Reuter, the fine bag maker Konrad Röder and the locksmith Johann Jakob Wenzel as their representatives in the town parliament. The newspaper spread the news with extra sheets.
The victory was celebrated in the crowded rooms of the "Zur Stadt Hanau" inn. Offenbach city councillor Theodor Boehm gave a speech. For the time being, he said, the Social Democrats in Offenbach were no longer effective. Cheers, cheers and hurrahs echoed across the street.
Bürgel and Offenbach shook with excitement. When the Offenbach politicians returned home on election night, there were incidents. Theodor Boehm, the spokesman for the bourgeois party, and his companions were attacked on the streets of Bürgel. It continued at the corner of Karlstrasse and Bieberer Strasse, where they changed streetcars, and escalated at the corner of Kaiserstrasse and Frankfurter Strasse.
Disappointed supporters of the left threatened Boehm with abuse and insulted him with foul language. The bourgeois press reported on this with relish. There was talk of an incited mob.
On March 30, Mayor Lammert chaired the last meeting of the Bürgel municipal council. On April 6, the Offenbach councillors met with their colleagues from Bürgel for the first time. Lord Mayor Dr. Andreas Dullo assured them: "There are no more differences now!"
Dullo enthused: "The two towns have existed side by side for more than a thousand years, separated for a long time by the differences in sovereignty, denomination and the occupation of the inhabitants. The two places finally found each other and united to form a single community. Bürgel used to be the more important of the two towns".
Finally, the Lord Mayor ventured a bold look into the future: "Soon we will have a Greater Offenbach, because the incorporation will give Offenbach almost 70,000 inhabitants, and if our town continues like this, we can expect to have 100,000 inhabitants in 10 to 15 years and join the ranks of the major German cities".
Now what belongs together could grow together. Offenbach
