Conrad Platzmann (businessman, 1749)

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Conrad Platzmann

Conrad Platzmann (born May 21, 1749 in Lübeck ; † April 9, 1812 ibid) was a German businessman from Lübeck and a Prussian diplomat .

Life

Platzmann was born the son of the Lübeck merchant and Prussian consul Johann Hinrich Platzmann . After his father's death in 1791, he took over his flourishing trading company as well as the diplomatic post and from then on represented the Kingdom of Prussia in the Hanseatic city. In 1803 he obtained the appointment of his son, the later Lübeck councilor Conrad Platzmann jun. to the Prussian Vice Consul. In 1805, Platzmann received as an award for his achievements - among other things, he had sent reports on the presence of Louis-Alexandre Berthier in Lübeck and the intended sale of the city's fortress guns to Berlin - from King Friedrich Wilhelm III. bestowed the title of Secret Commerce Councilor.

Platzmann initially benefited from the Napoleonic Wars , but came under pressure after the occupation of Lübeck by French troops in November 1806. In April 1807, allegations were made that Platzmann had not looked after the Prussian wounded after the battle of Lübeck , pretended to be absent and claimed that he no longer held the position of consul and was therefore no longer responsible. Because of this, in August 1809 the king withdrew his diplomatic position and the title of privy councilor by cabinet order . Fearing for his reputation, Platzmann objected to the decision and tried to defend himself by arguing that he had secretly helped numerous Prussian soldiers (for which he was unable to provide any evidence) and through particularly vicious harassment from the French in his Action was limited. The latter was clearly inaccurate, as the French occupying power had not only treated Platzmann with special consideration due to his diplomatic status, but had even given him lucrative transport orders against payment (which were imposed on the city of Lübeck). Finally, Platzmann stated that he had successfully hidden from the French the extensive Prussian and Russian magazine stores of grain that were in the city for onward transport in 1806 . His efforts were only partially successful; Platzmann was reassigned the privy council title, but the position of consul was passed on to Carl August Jarck in 1810 .

Saving the grain stores proved a fact; However, in 1810 Platzmann charged the Prussian state storage costs of almost 104,000 Courantmarks , which was twice the value of the goods, since grain prices had fallen sharply in the meantime. In addition, parts of the grain could no longer be used after long storage or due to pests. The Prussian authorities suspected that Platzmann had only brought the magazine supplies to safety in 1806 in order to obtain a bargaining chip for later financial claims against the state and after complicated and no longer completely comprehensible negotiations and disputes at the end refused any payment, whereby the final decision came about only after Platzmann's death.

After Lübeck was incorporated into the French Empire on February 11, 1811, Conrad Platzmann was appointed by the prefect of the department of the Elbe estuary to the provisional Lübeck municipal council , but refused to accept the appointment, as he considered it incompatible with his function as Prussian consul even though he had been deposed for over a year by that time. As a result, there were no coercive measures against him on the part of the occupiers; Platzmann fell seriously ill in the fall of 1811 and died the following April.

He was married to Dina, geb. Pauli (born December 28, 1752; † April 9, 1818), a daughter of the businessman Franz Heinrich Pauli and cousin of the lawyer Carl Wilhelm Pauli . The daughter Charlotte Amalie (1777–1862) married the businessman Eduard Gottlieb Kulenkamp ; the daughter Friederike (* July 1, 1787, † September 28, 1873) married Karl von Schlözer on July 1, 1807 .

literature

personal data
SURNAME Platzmann, Conrad
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German businessman and Prussian diplomat
DATE OF BIRTH May 21, 1749
PLACE OF BIRTH Lübeck , Holy Roman Empire
DATE OF DEATH April 9, 1812
Place of death Lübeck , Département des Bouches de l'Elbe , First Empire