Editing Helmut Schmidt (section)

== Senator ==
The government of the city-state of Hamburg is known as the [[Senate of Hamburg]], and from 1961 to 1965, Schmidt was the {{lang|de|Innensenator}}: the senator of the interior.<ref name="Lebendiges Museum Online"/> He gained a reputation as a {{lang|de|Macher}}{{efn|Literally, a maker or doer; in the sense of "a man of action"}} – someone who gets things done regardless of obstacles – by his effective management during the emergency caused by the [[North Sea flood of 1962|1962 flood]], during which 300 people drowned. Schmidt used all means at his disposal to alleviate the situation, even when that meant overstepping his legal authority, including employing the [[German Federal Police|federal police]] and army units (ignoring the [[Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany|German constitution]]'s prohibition on using the army for "internal affairs"; a clause excluding disasters was not added until 1968). Describing his actions, Schmidt said, "I wasn't put in charge of these units – I took charge of them!"<ref>{{cite news|title=Herr der Flut|url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-32655070.html|access-date=2015-11-10|work=Der Spiegel|issue=10/1962|date=7 March 1982|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Bahnsen|first1=Uwe|title=Als der 'Herr der Flut' 40.000 Retter kommandierte|url=https://www.welt.de/regionales/hamburg/article13825421/Als-der-Herr-der-Flut-40-000-Retter-kommandierte.html|work=Die Welt|access-date=2015-11-10|language=de |date=2012-01-22}}</ref> He saved a further 1,000 lives and swiftly managed the re-housing of thousands of the homeless.{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}}