Theodor Heuss was born in Brackenheim in 1884 and was raised in Heilbronn. At the early age of 21 he completed his doctorate on “Viticulture and the Vintners’ Profession in Heilbronn on the Neckar”.
Having worked in Berlin for a few years, Heuss and his young family returned in 1912 when he became editor-in-chief of the liberal “Neckar-Zeitung” newspaper. Five years later he moved back to Berlin where he worked as a journalist, publisher and lecturer and became a member of the Reichstag in 1924, representing the German Democratic Party (DDP).
During the Nazi era Theodor Heuss had to restrict his activities. His rapid political ascent began after World War II, when he soon became Germany’s first Federal President (1949-1959). In 1953 the City of Heilbronn named him an honorary citizen.