Hans Lothar von Schweinitz

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Hans Lothar von Schweinitz

Hans Lothar von Schweinitz (born December 30, 1822 at Gut Klein Krichen, Lüben district ; † June 23, 1901 in Kassel ) was a Prussian infantry general as well as adjutant general and imperial German ambassador in Vienna and Saint Petersburg .

Life

origin

Hans Lothar came from the old Silesian noble family von Schweinitz and was the son of the landowner and director of studies at the Knight Academy Liegnitz Heinrich von Schweinitz (born February 25, 1796 in Alt-Raudten ; † March 4, 1872 in Liegnitz ) and his wife Emilie, born von Heugel (* June 20, 1799; † May 21, 1870 in Berlin ). He was taught by a tutor at his father's castle. From the age of 14 he came to Breslau , where he attended Maria-Magdalenen-Gymnasium up to the Abitur .

Military career

Schweinitz joined the 1st Guard Regiment on foot in Potsdam on November 28, 1840, and in 1854 came as a Prime Lieutenant as a result of his writings The Armies of Western Europe and The History of the Order of the Golden Fleece as an adjutant to the High Command of the German Federal Forces in Frankfurt on Main .

In 1857 Schweinitz became the personal adjutant to Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia . In 1860, when he was promoted to major, he was transferred to the general staff and commanded as a military attaché to the Prussian embassy in Vienna. In 1863 he returned to the royal court and took part in the German-Danish War in 1864.

In 1865 Schweinitz became the king's wing adjutant and, while remaining in this position, military officer in Saint Petersburg . In the 1866 campaign against Austria , he took part in the main headquarters and fought in the battle of Königgrätz . After the war he returned to his post in St. Petersburg and was promoted to colonel on December 31, 1866 . On October 15, 1869 Schweinitz received the character as a major general with the simultaneous appointment as general à la suite of the king. Shortly afterwards, he was released from his post in the Russian capital and sent to Vienna on December 9, 1869 as envoy for Prussia and the North German Confederation . Here in 1870 he had the task of preventing Austria from rapprochement with France during the Franco-German War . After the establishment of the German Empire, Schweinitz was appointed ambassador in Vienna. In this function he was given the character of Lieutenant General on December 16, 1871, and Emperor Franz Joseph I awarded him the Grand Cross of the Order of St. Stephen on September 6, 1872 . Schweinitz played a key role in bringing about the three emperors meeting in 1872.

Leaving his position as ambassador, Wilhelm I. appointed Schweinitz adjutant general. At the beginning of January 1876 he was recalled from his post in Vienna and then sent to Saint Petersburg in the same capacity. There he received the patent for his rank on March 22, 1877 and was finally promoted to General of the Infantry on September 20, 1884. In support of Chancellor Leo von Caprivi , Schweinitz advocated the non-renewal of the German-Russian reinsurance treaty in 1890 . On December 12th, 1892, at his request, he was dismissed from his position as ambassador and retired from the Grand Commander of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern . However, he continued to remain adjutant general as well as à la suite of the 1st Guard Regiment on foot.

On the occasion of his 60th anniversary in service, Schweinitz received the diamonds for the Order of the Black Eagle on November 28, 1900 .

Hans Lothar von Schweinitz died on June 24, 1901 in Kassel.

family

He married on October 18, 1872 in London Anna Jay (born August 12, 1849 in New York City , † June 19, 1925 in Kassel), the daughter of John Jay , envoy of the USA in Vienna, and great-granddaughter of the founding father of the same name , and the Eleanor Kingsland Field. The couple had six sons and two daughters.

His daughter Eleonore von Schweinitz (1875–1948) married the Prussian Minister of State August von Trott zu Solz (1855–1938) in 1901 . His eldest son Wilhelm von Schweinitz (1873–1932) was a soldier until 1918, during the First World War a military attaché in Rome and The Hague. He was married to Victoria (1882–1966), daughter of the Prussian House Minister August zu Eulenburg .

literature

  • Jörg Kastl: On the tight rein. Bismarck's ambassador to Russia. 1871-1892. Munich 1994.
  • Martin Kröger:  Schweinitz, Hans Lothar von. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 24, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-428-11205-0 , pp. 53-55 ( digitized version ).
  • Kurt von Priesdorff : Soldier leadership . Volume 9, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, undated [Hamburg], undated [1941], DNB 986919780 , pp. 88-94, no. 2762.
  • Hans Lothar von Schweinitz: Memories of the Ambassador General v. Schweinitz. Published by his son Wilhelm v. Schweinitz. 2 volumes. Berlin 1927.
  • Johanna Seligmann: Hans Lothar von Schweinitz. The importance of his political activity. Bern 1936.
  • Otto Weber-Krohse: Hans Lothar von Schweinitz, the ambassador of Wilhelm the First as a character and statesman. Koenigsberg 1937.

swell

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ekkehard Klausa: An old Prussian conservative as a comic author . In: Research on Brandenburg and Prussian history . 20th volume, 2010, pp. 93-121 .
predecessor Office successor
Heinrich Alexander von Redern royal Prussian envoy to Saint Petersburg
1865–1869 		-
- emperor. German ambassador in Vienna
1869–1876 		Otto zu Stolberg-Wernigerode
Heinrich VII. Reuss zu Köstritz emperor. German ambassador in Saint Petersburg
1876-1892 		Bernhard von Werder
personal data
SURNAME Schweinitz, Hans Lothar von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian general of the infantry and ambassador
DATE OF BIRTH December 30, 1822
PLACE OF BIRTH District of Lüben
DATE OF DEATH June 23, 1901
Place of death kassel