Provisional Government (Schleswig-Holstein)
The Provisional Government of Schleswig-Holstein was the executive in Schleswig-Holstein from March 24, 1848 to October 22, 1848 during the Schleswig-Holstein uprising .
Formation of government
The formation of a government was preceded by a political struggle for the future of the absolutist , multi-ethnic Danish state . While the Danish King Christian VIII was still trying to maintain the state as a whole, liberal movements were already developing in many places, demanding a free constitution. There were also inheritance claims on the part of the German-minded Augustenburg line . Soon the further developments were mainly determined by the German-Danish opposition to the Duchy of Schleswig , which had been a fiefdom of Denmark, but was inconsistent in terms of language and national creed.
The draft of a moderate-liberal constitution for the entire state suggested by Christian VIII was published on January 28, 1848 by his successor Frederick VII . Demands on the part of the Danish National Liberals, who advocated a Eider- Danish policy, for a national constitution only for Denmark and Schleswig were not met. Nevertheless, German national liberals in the duchies feared a corresponding step.
On March 18, 1848, at a joint meeting with a people's assembly in Rendsburg , the German delegates of the Schleswig and Holstein assemblies of estates demanded, among other things, Schleswig's admission to the German Confederation , freedom of the press and assembly and armament of the people. The demands met with criticism on the Danish side. The Danish-minded member of the Schleswig assembly of estates, Hans Andersen Krüger , who attended the assembly, warned that over half of the inhabitants of Schleswig are Danish and hardly want to join the German Confederation. On March 20th, the demands also reached the capital Copenhagen, where on March 20th a people's assembly initiated by the Danish National Liberals took place in the Copenhagen casino. Under pressure from the public, the king dismissed the previous government on March 21 and on the following day appointed a government made up of Danish conservatives (general supporters of the state) and Danish national liberals (representatives of the Eider Police), the so-called March Ministry headed by Adam Wilhelm Moltke . The demands made by the German MPs in Rendsburg were rejected by Friedrich VII on March 23, 1848, which in turn led to the uprising of the German-minded population in Kiel . After intensive discussions among the leading German politicians in the duchies, an agreement was reached late on the night of March 23rd to 24th, 1848, on the formation of a Provisional Government .
In the government's proclamation, the government acknowledged the principle of legitimacy, but declared that “the will of the sovereign is no longer free and the country is without a government”. The provisional government will assume responsibility until the king's freedom of choice is restored. The formulation of the unfree king (duke) should legitimize the procedure of the Provisional Government and went back to Friedrich von Reventlou . After the capture of the Rendsburg Fortress, the Provisional Government had its own Schleswig-Holstein army built up, carried out a series of domestic reforms, began to work out a liberal constitution for Schleswig-Holstein and in the summer of 1848 had elections for a Schleswig-Holstein regional assembly held under census suffrage. Politically, the Provisional Government in Kiel was shaped by a dualism of (national) liberal and conservative representatives.
With the law of October 16, 1848 on the establishment of ministries , five departments of the government were established.
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The end of the government
The conflict led to the Schleswig-Holstein War . This was ended with the Treaty of Malmö of August 26, 1848. This provided for the dissolution of the provisional government. After the treaty had been ratified by the Frankfurt National Assembly on September 16, 1848 , Wilhelm Beseler announced on October 19 at the Schleswig-Holstein State Assembly that the government would resign on October 22, 1848. The affairs of government were taken over by the joint government appointed by Prussia and Denmark .
Government members
Government members were:
| minister | Department | Political Direction | annotation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilhelm Beseler | president | National Liberal | |
| Jürgen Bremer | Minister of Justice | National Liberal | |
| Friedrich von Reventlou | Foreign minister | Conservative | |
| Theodor Olshausen | Radical liberalism | Only entered government on March 28th after returning from Copenhagen. Resigned from government on August 16. | |
| Martin Thorsen Schmidt | Minister of Commerce, Customs and Postal Services | Radical liberalism | |
| Friedrich Emil August of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg | Minister of War | Conservative |
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Grænseforeningen: Krüger, Hans Andersen
- ↑ Claus Bjørn (Ed.): 1848 - det mærkelige år , Copenhagen 1998, page 90
- ↑ Martin Rackwitz writes about the picture : “The picture was created as a draft for a mural in the conference room of the new Kiel town hall. Because of the First World War and Hans Olde's death in 1917, the design was no longer implemented. - In the center of the picture, Wilhelm Hartwig Beseler proclaims the Provisional Government on March 24, 1848 at 1 a.m. in front of the Kiel Town Hall on the Alter Markt. In his left hand he is holding the call “fellow citizens!”, In his right his top hat. The members of the Provisional Government as well as Kiel and Schleswig-Holstein state politicians are gathered around him. In the crowd on the right-hand side of the picture stand a fraternity student with a red cap [Corps Holsatia], who is pulling his saber, and a gymnast in his gray gym smock and hat with a turned-up brim. The people on the left and right sides of the picture wave blue-white-red flags for Schleswig-Holstein and a black-gold-red flag for the German democracy and national movement. A flag similar to the black double-headed eagle on a gold background later hung in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt. The National Assembly had not yet been constituted when the Provisional Government was proclaimed in Kiel. The coats of arms of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein as well as those of the cities, Harden and landscapes are depicted on the left and right edges of the picture. "