Eduard von Reichenbach

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Eduard Graf von Reichenbach (born November 10, 1812 in Olbersdorf , † December 15, 1869 in Brieg ) was a Prussian nobleman and democratic politician during the revolution of 1848/49 .

Eduard von Reichenbach, around 1850

Origin and family

The von Reichenbach family can be traced back to the 13th century. The father Heinrich Erdmann Graf Reichenbach (1780-1817) was a captain . The mother Caroline Johanna Elenora (1796-1854) came from the Silesian noble family of the Seherr-Thoss . One brother was Oskar von Reichenbach (1815-1893). Reichenbach himself married Bertha (1810-1891) in 1835, a daughter of Count Pfeil auf Wiltschütz . At least nine children were born from this marriage, including the painter Woldemar von Reichenbach (1845–1914).

Training and first arrest

Von Reichenbach attended the Maria-Magdalena-Gymnasium in Breslau . After graduating from high school in 1831, he studied natural sciences with a focus on botany in Breslau and Jena . During his studies in 1832 he became a member of the Germania Jena fraternity and a member of the old Breslau fraternity Arminia . In July 1832 von Reichenbach was de-registered because of membership in the fraternity Germania. After the Frankfurt Wachensturm , Reichenbach was arrested for political reasons in May 1833 and finally expelled from the university in the same year. Because of his leading activity in the Breslau fraternity, von Reichenbach was sentenced on December 17, 1835 by the Higher Regional Court in Berlin to six years' arrest. Before he was sentenced, he bought Gut Waltdorf near Neisse after he was forced to end his studies in 1835 . He and the family tried to obtain a pardon with reference to his responsible position as landowners. This was successful in 1836 in that the sentence was reduced to one year. A fire on his estate in 1837 brought further benefits. Although he had to go to prison several times between 1837 and 1840 for short periods of time, he was even able to take days off to continue running the estate.

Opposition in March

After his final release, von Reichenbach belonged to the Hallgarten circle , in which opposition members from all over the German Confederation took part. Friedrich Daniel Bassermann later reported on his impression of Reichenbachs at the meeting in Hallgarten: “ I noticed Reichenbach because of his seriousness and his warm expression of deep conviction. His appearance betrayed an educated mind, and at that time I would not have considered him capable of the ultra-democratic-socialist tendency to which he has since surrendered. “Reichenbach came into contact with Adam von Itzstein , Robert Blum , Friedrich Hecker , Heinrich Simon and Johann Jacoby through the circle . In addition, the Reichenbachs Castle became a center of the liberal and democratic opposition in Silesia in the 1840s. Numerous politically persecuted people found support there. The guests included Hoffmann von Fallersleben , Johannes Ronge , but also Michail Bakunin .

Von Reichenbach was the initiator of an address in 1844 to support the demands of the Baden MP Karl Mathy for freedom of the press. " Brave ahead, loyal Badeners, you are not alone, more and more will be the disciples of truth, and as long as you make your Mathy proposal yours, we will win. “After Fallersleben, Reichenbach and around forty other people had signed the appeal, many of them merchants or craftsmen, the police confiscated it. The authorities also investigated von Reichenbach for supporting the Polish national movement.

Von Reichenbach wrote in the Sächsische Vaterlands-Blätter by Robert Blum and used his position for oppositional activities. As early as the 1840s, he considered himself a Democrat and a Republican. As a manor owner member of the district council in the Neisse district, he criticized the actions of the government there. Apparently von Reichenbach was not politically isolated. This is supported by his election as state elder and member of the board of directors of the Neisse-Grottkau railway company and, in 1847, director of the Neisse-Grottkau principality landscape , which the government refused to confirm. Many dependent farmers turned to von Reichenbach so that he could give them legal assistance in the process of releasing their duties. The Prussian government valued him as a great demagogue who had an adherent of many thousands. Friedrich Wilhelm IV himself demanded the “ Jacobin Reichenbach (...) to be arrested as soon as possible. “Against this background, Reichenbach's position as a member of the Silesian Provincial Parliament in 1846 was not confirmed. He was also not admitted to the United State Parliament in 1847. David Hansemann , among others , used the government's approach to criticize the arbitrariness of the authorities.

Work during the revolution of 1848/49

Immediately after the beginning of the March Revolution of 1848, von Reichenbach and other speakers gave speeches on March 18 and a few days later in the market square of Breslau. Among other things, the crowd decided to call for the resignation of Chief President von Wedell . Von Reichenbach was one of the delegation that brought the demands to the magistrate. Since some of the officials criticized fled, von Reichenbach cheered. He subsequently became a member of the Wroclaw Security Committee, which was supported by Liberals and Democrats. This succeeded in stabilizing the situation in the city. Despite his politically more radical goals, he worked with liberal politicians to prevent uncontrollable unrest.

Sing-Akademie zu Berlin (painting from 1843) - venue of the National Assembly in 1848

Von Reichenbach was a member of the preliminary parliament in Frankfurt . There he belonged to the left and spoke out for the permanence of the assembly until the meeting of the Frankfurt National Assembly. However, he turned against further demands from Friedrich Hecker and Gustav Struve . After his return from Frankfurt Reichenbach became a leading member of the democratic association in Breslau, which campaigned for voters in the run-up to the elections for the Prussian and Frankfurt National Assemblies. Reichenbach himself tried above all to reach farm workers and small owners.

Reichenbach was elected in two constituencies in the elections for the Prussian National Assembly. He was the only landowner in the province of Silesia to be elected to the Berlin parliament. He also joined the left in Berlin . There he was a member of the mandate review commission, in terms of content he was mainly concerned with agricultural matters. He was one of those who proposed that the landlords' hunting privilege be revoked without compensation and that forced labor be abolished. Von Reichenbach also took an active part in other debates. However, he was not one of the real leaders of the left. The counter-revolutionary forces, which became increasingly stronger towards the end of the summer of 1848, gave rise to the thought of a second revolution among the left and von Reichenbach. He advertised this in an open letter to his voters and tried to advertise it personally in Silesia.

In addition, von Reichenbach was involved in coordinating the actions of the democrats in the Berlin and Frankfurt National Assemblies. However, the spontaneous riots of September 1848 showed that the left was by no means able to control events. The MPs then stepped up attempts to cooperate. Reichenbach took part in the so-called counter-parliament and at the end of October in the second Democrats' Congress in Berlin. There he was elected to the central committee of democratic associations alongside Carl d'Ester . But only a short time later the counter-revolution began with the establishment of the Brandenburg government and the relocation of the National Assembly. While the majority of the left also rejected violent resistance, von Reichenbach was one of those who supported such a step. He tried in the province not only for the parliament's tax refusal campaign, but ultimately in vain to promote further measures. In the following time von Reichenbach tried to advertise his cause through articles. During the Reich constitution campaign , the Central Committee and von Reichenbach no longer played a role.

After the revolution

After the end of the revolution, von Reichenbach was not arrested, but lived politically isolated on his estate. Its economic situation was difficult because its tenants only paid their rent irregularly. He also tried to maintain contact with other Democrats during the reaction era. As the reaction subsided, he began to speak out for his cause again. In 1863 he finally moved into the Prussian House of Representatives as a member of the Progressive Party .

Works

  • Proclamation . signed "The People's Deputation Eduard Graf Reichenbach, A. Semrau, M. May, Pelz, Arbeiter". In: Karl Obermann : Leaflets of the Revolution. A collection of leaflets on the history of the revolution of 1848/49 in Germany. Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften, Berlin 1970, pp. 106-107.
  • Appeal . signed "Eduard Graf Reichenbach, zu Waltdorf bei Neisse". In: Karl Obermann: Leaflets of the Revolution. A collection of leaflets on the history of the revolution of 1848/49 in Germany . Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften, Berlin 1970, pp. 214-215.
  • The enforced constitution . In: Frankensteiner Wochenblatt of January 24, 1849.
  • Workers . In: Frankensteiner Wochenblatt of February 28, 1849.
  • On the question of real estate tax regulation . Schletter, Breslau 1859. Berlin State Library
  • Reflections by a Protestant Christian on the intrusion of the Freemasons into the high council of the churches in Prussia ' Text in italics . Poritt, Hamburg 1860.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ From: Portrait gallery of famous princes, statesmen, generals, scholars, poets, industrialists, artists, speakers in parliament, folk men and agitators . CB Griesbach's Verlag, Gera 1850
  2. ^ Helge Dvorak: Biographical Lexicon of the German Burschenschaft. Volume I: Politicians. Sub-Volume 5: R – S. Winter, Heidelberg 2002, ISBN 3-8253-1256-9 , pp. 30-32.
  3. ^ Friedrich Daniel Bassermann: Memories . Edited by Ernst von Bassermann-Jordan and Friedrich von Bassermann-Jordan. Frankfurter Verlags-Anstalt, Frankfurt 1926, p. 5.
  4. ↑ cit. after Bleiber: Count Eduard von Reichenbach, p. 191.
  5. ↑ cit. after Bleiber: Count Eduard von Reichenbach, p. 193.
personal data
SURNAME Reichenbach, Eduard von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Reichenbach, Eduard Graf von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German landowner and politician, MdR
DATE OF BIRTH November 10, 1812
PLACE OF BIRTH Olbersdorf
DATE OF DEATH December 15, 1869
Place of death Brieg