Aloys zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg

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Aloys Prince of Löwenstein, 1912
Aloys zu Löwenstein at an anti-communist rally in the Berlin Sports Palace (1930)

Aloys Fürst zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (born September 15, 1871 in Kleinheubach ( Lower Franconia ); † January 25, 1952 in Bronnbach ) was a member and from 1908 head of the southern German noble family Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg , center politician and president from 1920 to 1948 of the Central Committee of German Catholics .

ancestry

The noble family of those zu Löwenstein goes back to the Wittelsbacher Friedrich I, the victorious , elector of the Palatinate (1425–1476) and his son Ludwig . Aloys comes from the marriage of Karl zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (1834–1921) and his second wife Sophie von und zu Liechtenstein (1837–1899), a daughter of Alois II von und zu Liechtenstein . He was the older of two brothers.

Life

After completing high school at the Jesuit College in Feldkirch, he completed law studies in Prague (1889) and Freiburg in Switzerland (since 1890, 1895 Dr. iur. Utr. )

Familiar with his father's commitment to the Catholic lay movement from a young age, Prince Aloys, after his studies and a trip to England, initially took on his role as a gentleman who was wealthy in four countries and became a member of the First Chambers in Württemberg (1895), Hesse-Darmstadt (1897 ), Bavaria (1909) and Baden (1910). In 1908, while his father was still alive, Aloys took over the title of prince and all the rights and duties associated with it.

In 1907 he was elected to the Reichstag as a member of the Center for the constituency of Trier I , to which he belonged until the end of the monarchy . As a member of parliament, he primarily dealt with foreign policy issues. However, he did not move closer to a diplomatic career that would have been open to him due to his educational background and membership of the European aristocracy. The parliamentary aspect remained rather alien to him. He viewed his political functions in the Reichstag and his position as Reichsrat of the Crown of Bavaria as a service to the state which he sought to render in harmony with the aims of the Catholic Church and through its defense.

Although he made himself available as a war volunteer in 1914, he tried to moderate the discussion of the war objectives after criticizing German foreign policy as too power-oriented before 1914. Since 1898, when he had turned to the Catholic lay movement as the successor to his father Karl Fürst zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg and served as vice-president of the Katholikentag in Neisse, he was a member of the Central Committee of the German Katholikentage; He led the Strasbourg Day in 1905 for the first time himself, thus promoting the integration of the Catholics of Alsace-Lorraine into the empire.

One focus of his interest lay in the “ Heidenmission ”, which the International Institute for Mission Research in Münster was established in 1911 to revive; Aloys Fürst zu Löwenstein was its president until 1948. For this purpose he promoted the establishment of magazines. After 1918 his endeavor was to collect Catholicism on a religious basis.

Aloys zu Löwenstein had been President of the Central Committee of German Catholics since 1920. He kept the politics of the time largely out of Catholic lay work. His patriarchal understanding of society corresponded to a lay apostolate based on religious conviction among his aristocratic comrades.

The seizure of power of Adolf Hitler in 1933 made the further work of the Central Committee impossible. On the General German Catholic Day planned for Vienna in 1933, participants from Germany could only participate to a limited extent due to disabilities when leaving the country. For the German Catholic Day planned by Gleiwitz in 1934, Hermann Göring, as Prussian Prime Minister, demanded an oath of allegiance to the Third Reich , which Aloys zu Löwenstein refused and also canceled the Catholic Day. It was not until 1948 that another Catholic Day, the last one under Aloys zu Löwenstein's leadership, could take place. He transferred the presidency to his son, Karl Friedrich .

family

Aloys zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg married Josephine Kinsky Countess von Wchinitz and Tettau (1874–1946) on September 27, 1898 . The marriage had nine children:

  • Marie Sophie zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (1900–1982)
  • Marie Agnes zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (1902–1991)
  • Karl zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (1904–1990)
  • Maria Monika zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (1905–1992)
  • Felix zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg SJ (1907–1986)
  • Maria Theresia zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (1909–2000)
  • Franz zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg SJ (1909–1990)
  • Maria Anna zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (1914–2000)
  • Johannes zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (1919–2000)

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Frank Raberg : Biographical handbook of the Württemberg state parliament members 1815-1933 . On behalf of the Commission for Historical Regional Studies in Baden-Württemberg. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-17-016604-2 , p. 524 .
  2. ↑ For example, in his speech of May 15, 1914 on the foreign policy situation on the eve of the First World War .

literature

  • Karl Buchheim: Ultramontanism and Democracy: The Way of the German Catholics in the 19th Century. Munich: Kösel-Verlag 1963.
  • Andreas Dornheim: Volunteer, but opponent of annexation: Alois Fürst zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg and his "war letters". In: Gerhard Hirschfeld (Hrsg.): War experiences: Studies on the social and mental history of the First World War. Essen: Klartext-Verlag 1997, pp. 170–188. ( Digitized version )
  • Hermann Ehmer:  Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, Alois Fürst to. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 15, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1987, ISBN 3-428-00196-6 , p. 100 ( digitized version ).
  • Jochen Lengemann : MdL Hessen. 1808-1996. Biographical index (= political and parliamentary history of the state of Hesse. Vol. 14 = publications of the Historical Commission for Hesse. Vol. 48, 7). Elwert, Marburg 1996, ISBN 3-7708-1071-6 , p. 246.
  • Klaus-Dieter Rack, Bernd Vielsmeier: Hessian MPs 1820–1933. Biographical evidence for the first and second chambers of the state estates of the Grand Duchy of Hesse 1820–1918 and the state parliament of the People's State of Hesse 1919–1933 (= Political and parliamentary history of the State of Hesse. Vol. 19 = Work of the Hessian Historical Commission. NF Vol. 29) . Hessian Historical Commission, Darmstadt 2008, ISBN 978-3-88443-052-1 , No. 546.
  • Marie-Emmanuelle Reytier: The princes Löwenstein at the head of the German Catholic Days: Rise and Fall of a Dynasty (1868–1968). In: Günther Schulz and Markus A. Denzel (eds.): German nobility in the 19th and 20th centuries. Büdinger research on social history 2002 and 2003, ISBN 3-89590-145-8 .
  • Volker Rödel:  Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, Alois Fürst to. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 5, Bautz, Herzberg 1993, ISBN 3-88309-043-3 , Sp. 177-178.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )

Web links

Commons : Aloys zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg  - Collection of images
predecessor Office successor
Karl Heinrich Head of the Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg house from
1908–1952 		Karl Friedrich
personal data
SURNAME Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, Aloys to
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, Aloys Fürst zu (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German politician, MdR, President of the Central Committee of German Catholics
DATE OF BIRTH September 15, 1871
PLACE OF BIRTH Kleinheubach , Lower Franconia
DATE OF DEATH January 25, 1952
Place of death Bronnbach