Rudolf Schwander

He entered the city service in 1900 and took over the management of the Poor Officers and hospital administration; two years later he also became a deputy of Strasbourg.

Influenced by Friedrich Naumann, he subsequently carried out groundbreaking social reforms and established the Strasbourg system in 1905.

By abolishing the Elberfield System, Schwander took the first step towards professional social assistance.

As such, in April 1908 he oversaw the marriage of Elly Knapp, who was born in Strasbourg and whom he had supported earlier, with Naumann's close associate Theodor Heuss.

[1]  A brief interlude as acting state secretary in the Reich Economics Office in 1917 was followed in June 1918 by his return to Strasbourg City Hall.