Paul Freiherr von Eltz-Rübenach

Paul Freiherr von Eltz-Rübenach
Eltz-Rübenach at a news conference, c. 1935
Reich Minister for Postal Affairs  Weimar Republic  Nazi Germany
In office 1 June 1932 – 2 February 1937
President	Paul von Hindenburg (1932–1934) Adolf Hitler Führer (1934–1937)
Chancellor	Franz von Papen (1932) Kurt von Schleicher (1932–1933) Adolf Hitler (1933–1937)
Preceded by	Georg Schätzel
Succeeded by	Wilhelm Ohnesorge
Reich Minister for Transport
In office 1 June 1932 – 2 February 1937
Preceded by	Gottfried Treviranus
Succeeded by	Julius Dorpmüller
Personal details
Born	(1875-02-09)9 February 1875 Wahn (Cologne), Rhine Province, German Empire
Died	25 August 1943(1943-08-25) (aged 68) Linz am Rhein, Nazi Germany
Nationality	German
Political party	Nonpartisan
Alma mater	Aachen University Technical College Charlottenburg
Occupation	Government architect

Peter Paul Freiherr von Eltz-Rübenach (9 February 1875 – 25 August 1943) was Minister of Mail (Reichspostminister) and Minister of Transport (Reichsminister für Verkehr) of Germany between 1932 and 1937.

Eltz-Rübenach was born in Wahn (today part of Cologne), a scion of the Rhenish noble house of Eltz. As a nonpartisan he had been appointed Reich Minister for both Transport and Postal Affairs in Chancellor Franz von Papen's "cabinet of barons" on 1 June 1932. He retained the posts under Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher and after the Nazi Machtergreifung under Adolf Hitler.

In the course of the rising conflict between the Nazi government and the Catholic Church, Eltz-Rübenach, a devout Catholic, in a cabinet meeting on 30 January 1937 rejected the Golden Party Badge personally offered by Hitler and resigned. Afterwards he became a "suspect person" monitored by the Gestapo, while his pension claims were temporarily revoked.

Eltz-Rübenach died in Linz am Rhein, aged 68.

Notes

Regarding personal names: Freiherr is a former title (translated as Baron). In Germany since 1919, it forms part of family names. The feminine forms are Freifrau and Freiin.