Fidel Schlund

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Fidel Schlund in January 1882

Fidel Schlund (born February 19, 1805 in Immenstadt , † April 2, 1882 in Newark (New Jersey) ) was a German-American enlightener at the head of the revolutionary movement 1848/1849 , whose influence prevented a bloody uprising in the Allgäu. As a fighter for freedom and democracy, he was one of the " Forty-Eighters " who emigrated to North America, where they and their families were at the service of a new and progressive state.

Businessman and revolutionary in Germany

Fidel Schlund came to Strasbourg in 1820 at the age of 15 for a two-year commercial apprenticeship. The ideals of " freedom, equality, brotherhood " of the French Revolution of 1789, which were again openly and vehemently discussed there after Napoleon's dictatorial interlude, shaped Schlund. With these experiences he understood the political realities in his homeland in the Allgäu better and saw the causes of the problems and injustices more clearly. As a successful businessman with a feeling for politics and a great gift for speakers, he developed into an effective political educator for his fellow citizens.

In 1826, Schlund married and took over his parents' business (an iron shop with a brandy distillery) on the market square in Immenstadt. Two years later he founded the "Club of Freethinking Men". After his election as municipal representative , he immediately influenced the city's local politics. In 1845 they elected him as a member of the Bavarian Estates Assembly (Second Chamber, later called the Landtag), where he campaigned for citizens' rights to freedom. Schlund was one of the driving forces that forced Ludwig I's royal lover and impostor Lola Montez to flee.

After the March Revolution of 1848/1849 had failed due to the resistance of the ruling aristocratic houses, the royal Bavarian government began reactionary actions in the Allgäu as well. It gave the Bavarian general Georg Friedrich von Flotow a free hand, who at the end of June 1849 occupied Kempten and Immenstadt with 11,000 soldiers and had all supposed political opponents arrested on charges of treason. This is what happened to Fidel Schlund, who spent the time up to his amnesty at the beginning of December 1849 as a remand prisoner in the Stockhaus (prison for serious criminals) in Kempten and later in the Fronfeste in Augsburg.

Political pioneer in America

After his release, the monarchical authorities followed his every activity and demanded explanations. The upright gullet was still very popular with the population, but was unable to advance its liberal goals because of the pressure exerted. In the hopeless situation he decided to emigrate with his large family. He prepared the move by selling his considerable estates and sending two sons ahead to America. In February 1853, he finally began the cruise from Le Havre with his wife and eight children. Fidel Schlund also became politically active in the New World, joined the Republican Party and was elected in 1859 as a delegate of the First District of Chicago member of the District Congress of Republicans.

Here, too, in a different environment (this time successfully) he tried to gain the rights and influence of the disadvantaged. This made him a follower of Abraham Lincoln and led to active participation with several sons in the American Civil War for the liberation of slaves. He also worked tirelessly to improve the starting conditions for German immigrants in the USA.

literature

  • Hansjörg Straßer: Fidel Schlund, Allgäuer between the Worlds , Edition Allgäu published by Hephaistos, Immenstadt-Werdenstein, 2013, ISBN 978-3-931951-87-0

Web links

  • Fidel Schlund Summary of the new publication of the book by Hansjörg Straßer at Heimat Allgäu

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ see literature Hansjörg Straßer: Fidel Schlund, Allgäuer between the worlds
  2. ↑ a b c see web link New publication Hansjörg Straßer: Fidel Schlund bei Heimat Allgäu
  3. ↑ see web link House of Bavarian History: Fidel Schlund - merchant, landowner, lieutenant
  4. ↑ a b see web link Ralf Lienert: First revolutionary, later campaigner for Lincoln
personal data
SURNAME Schlund, Fidel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-American enlightener at the head of the revolutionary movement 1848/1849
DATE OF BIRTH February 19, 1805
PLACE OF BIRTH Immenstadt
DATE OF DEATH April 2, 1882
Place of death Newark