Hartmann von Richthofen

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hartmann von Richthofen (1919)

Hartmann Oswald Heinrich Ferdinand Freiherr von Richthofen (born July 20, 1878 in Berlin ; † March 27, 1953 ibid) was a German diplomat, banker and liberal politician.

Life

Von Richthofen was the son of Oswald von Richthofen , State Secretary in the Foreign Office . As his father's heir, von Richthofen became the owner of the Gothard estate near Rotenburg in the province of Hanover .

After graduating from high school in 1896, von Richthofen studied law in Freiburg im Breisgau , Leipzig and Strasbourg . After passing the first state examination in law, von Richthofen was a trainee lawyer in Potsdam , Rüdesheim am Rhein and Frankfurt am Main . In 1902 he entered the foreign service.

First he was attaché to the Prussian embassy to the Holy See . In 1903 he was appointed chamberlain . From 1903/04 he was the German chargé d'affaires in Cairo , later in Copenhagen , St. Petersburg , Tehran , Washington and Mexico City . In 1911 von Richthofen resigned from the foreign service with the rank of legation councilor.

Hartmann von Richthofen (second from left) in the presidium of the Hansa-Bund at a meeting in November 1912 in Berlin. Also from left: Franz Heinrich Witthoefft , Jakob Riesser , Kurt von Kleefeld , Albert Hirth

From 1912 to 1914 von Richthofen was managing director of the Hansabund for trade, commerce and industry. Between 1912 and 1918 he was also a member of the Reichstag for the national liberal party and from 1915 to 1918 a member of the Prussian House of Representatives .

During the First World War he was director of the XVI. Army Corps . From 1917 von Richthofen was head of department in the arms and ammunition procurement office in the war ministry.

After the November Revolution von Richthofen was one of the co-founders of the German Democratic Party . He was one of those who urged the National Liberal Party to unite with the left-wing liberals. Along with Max Weber , Friedrich Naumann and Ernst Remmers , he was one of the signatories of the party’s appeal in December 1918. For this he was a member of the Weimar National Assembly between 1919 and 1920 . He was also a member of the Prussian state constitutional assembly from 1919 to 1921 and of the state constitutional assembly of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1919 to 1920 . He was also a member of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic in the second and third electoral terms.

In addition to his political activities, von Richthofen also worked as a banker from 1921: He joined the newly founded Hamburger Handels-Bank KGaA as a personally liable partner. From 1938 he temporarily took over the management of the Reitzes bank in Vienna, which was threatened by Aryanization , because von Richthofen was known to the owner as an opponent of the National Socialists and he hoped that the famous family name would protect him. However, von Richthofen also worked for Friedrich Flick during the time of National Socialism because of his social relationships . From around 1943 he was chairman of the supervisory board of Hermann C. Starck AG in Berlin.

In addition to politics and business, von Richthofen also worked as an author and journalist. He wrote biographical plays about Karl August von Hardenberg and Mirabeau . There was also a drama entitled “Rhodesia. Dramatic episodes in five pictures. ”Between 1919 and 1931 von Richthofen was also editor of the“ Yearbook for Foreign Policy, International Economy and Culture. ”

After the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany the rumor, denied by the federal government, emerged that von Richthofen was a secret liaison between Theodor Heuss and the deputy prime minister of the GDR Otto Nuschke .

literature

  • Martin Schumacher (Hrsg.): MdR The Reichstag members of the Weimar Republic in the time of National Socialism. Political persecution, emigration and expatriation, 1933–1945. A biographical documentation . 3rd, considerably expanded and revised edition. Droste, Düsseldorf 1994, ISBN 3-7700-5183-1 .
  • Fritz Berber & HvR, Ed .: Yearbook for Foreign Policy. Brückenverlag (later: August Gross), Berlin 1929–1943. Subt .: International economy and culture, world traffic and international law
  • Beatrix Herlemann , Helga Schatz: Biographical Lexicon of Lower Saxony Parliamentarians 1919–1945 (= publications of the Historical Commission for Lower Saxony and Bremen. Volume 222). Hahnsche Buchhandlung, Hannover 2004, ISBN 3-7752-6022-6 , p. 296.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Mann, Bernhard (edit.): Biographical manual for the Prussian House of Representatives. 1867-1918. Collaboration with Martin Doerry , Cornelia Rauh and Thomas Kühne . Düsseldorf: Droste Verlag, 1988, p. 321 (handbooks on the history of parliamentarism and political parties: vol. 3); for the election results see Thomas Kühne: Handbook of elections to the Prussian House of Representatives 1867–1918. Election results, election alliances and election candidates (= handbooks on the history of parliamentarism and political parties. Volume 6). Droste, Düsseldorf 1994, ISBN 3-7700-5182-3 , pp. 391-395.
  2. ↑ Parties in transition
  3. ↑ Neue Hamburger Zeitung, 26th vol., No. 25 (Sunday, January 16, 1921 morning edition), p. 3.
  4. ↑ Reorganization of the banking system
  5. ↑ The Flicks
  6. ↑ Documents on Germany policy
personal data
SURNAME Richthofen, Hartmann from
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Richthofen, Hartmann Oswald Heinrich Ferdinand Freiherr von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German diplomat, journalist, politician (DDP), MdR, banker
DATE OF BIRTH July 20, 1878
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH March 27, 1953
Place of death Berlin