Julius von Soden
Julius Freiherr von Soden (born February 5, 1846 in Ludwigsburg , † February 2, 1921 in Tübingen ) was a German civil servant and politician , including governor of the colonies of Cameroon and German East Africa , as well as the cabinet chief of the King of Württemberg and his foreign minister .
Life
Youth and education
Julius von Soden was born in the barracks of the 7th Infantry Regiment, where his father was a lieutenant colonel . He belonged to the Evangelical Church . In 1849 the family moved to Stuttgart . His parents died early, mother Marie, née von Neurath, on March 28, 1849, father Julius on April 13, 1854. Julius and his three older sisters then grew up with their grandmother, Charlotte von Neurath. He began his school education at the Korntal Boys' Institute , after four years he continued it at a Stuttgart grammar school. His temporary tutor Julius Klaiber and the high school teacher Holzer inspired him for antiquity , so that the desire to become a classical philologist grew in him . Von Soden was fond of classical texts throughout his life, especially Homer and Dante . During this time, his world of thought was first shaped by David Friedrich Strauss , then increasingly by Immanuel Kant .
After graduating from high school in 1864, Soden began studying law at the University of Tübingen . There he joined the Corps Suevia . In the fourth semester he moved to Göttingen , where he became a member of Bremensia . The German War of 1866 embarrassed the 2nd class reserve reservist because he had a crush on Bismarck , while his family sympathized with Austria . He avoided the problem by staying in Göttingen - due to the impossibility of traveling to southern Germany during the war. Von Soden did not return to Tübingen until his exams in 1869.
In Heilbronn , von Soden then became a legal trainee - although this did not make him more sympathetic to jurisprudence. After his legal clerkship, the Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870 . He signed up enthusiastically as a volunteer and came to the 4th Württemberg cavalry regiment. His war experiences were largely bloodless, but he turned down a further career in the military in the upcoming peacetime, instead turning to his second legal exam, which he passed in the fall of 1871.
Travel and Consulates
In the following years, his wanderlust broke out in Julius von Soden: The rumor that the previous German consuls , who were mostly German merchants abroad, were to be replaced by civil servants, preferably lawyers , came at just the right time - he tried immediately a consular career. Since he didn't care about the place because it drove him far, he was able to find a suitable position in 1871, which brought him to Bucharest as Vice Consul . But his work, with which he was supposed to support the consulate general there , did not last long; After six months, the newcomer, who had received the best recommendations, was entrusted with the newly established consulate in Algiers by Chancellor Otto von Bismarck (1872).
Von Soden was happy about this development, and it was to continue: After his first sea voyage from Marseille to Algiers, he spent a lot of time on long sea voyages in the next few years - in 1876 he was transferred to Canton or Hong Kong , in 1879 to Habana , 1881/82 in Representation of the Minister- Resident in Lima and in 1884 as Consul General in Saint Petersburg . In these offices he came to the conclusion that the promotion of trade contacts had to be done by merchants, not by consuls. From petty bureaucratic negotiations, he was pushed to larger tasks of far-reaching economic and commercial importance. However, this endeavor was hampered by German industries , shipping and foreign trade, which were only just beginning .
Colonial governor
With the tentative beginning of German colonialism , von Soden's career changed from that of diplomat to that of governor. In July 1884 he was first appointed chief commissioner of the German colony of Togo . A year later, in March 1885, he was appointed to Kaiser Wilhelm I , who congratulated him on his new position as the first governor of Cameroon . Reich Chancellor Otto von Bismarck is said to have hardly given any instructions in connection with his negative attitude towards the German colonial efforts of von Soden, but rather asked him for suggestions in this regard. Before starting the four-week voyage, von Soden was advised by the head of the Rheinische Missionsgesellschaft Friedrich Fabri and a syndicate of companies active in West Africa . On June 1, 1885, he set sail on a Woerman steamer .
The infrastructure available for von Soden's task was minimal. For example, there was a lack of a telegraphy system , without which the simultaneous fulfillment of the offices of High Commissioner of Togo and Consul General of the Gulf of Guinea would be very difficult. The intended founding of a colonial empire that exceeded Germany in size was faced with insurmountable obstacles in view of the limited funds made available. In view of these circumstances, von Soden adhered to a strategy of "peaceful" development of the "protected area" in order to maximize the economic benefits of the colony. In this way, the establishment of schools proved to be the method of choice for him, after the first government school with Theodor Christaller as the first teacher was rated as a success.
“[The governor] came up with the plan to cover the country with a network of schools, in other words to send the school teacher ahead as a shop steward, and then to let the merchant and planter as well as the officials follow. He hoped that Christian missionary work and the related industrial and commercial undertakings would provide a significant relief. "
Despite this seemingly successful development, von Soden had to learn on a recovery trip home (May 13, 1887 to January 17, 1888), during which he had been invited by Bismarck to Friedrichsruh for a long time , that his enthusiasm for German colonial policy was by no means had risen. The fall of the “Iron Chancellor” in 1890 made Sodens' working conditions even more difficult and made him wish “not to continue his wandering life for too long”. But the prospect of retreating to their own soil, which had arisen through the donation of the Vorra estate in Middle Franconia , was shattered by another order in the now enforced colonial administration . At the request of the new Chancellor Leo von Caprivi , von Soden set out in 1890 to work out a report in German East Africa that was to investigate the situation of the new acquisition that had been transferred to the German Empire by the German East African Society (DOAG) . Despite the sobering report, he was appointed governor of the colony on January 1, 1891.
In German East Africa, it wasn't just the infrastructural problems that von Soden was confronted with. In addition, there were numerous surprising rulings and orders from the Foreign Office that hindered his work: for example, without consultation, three commissioners were appointed for his government - Eduard Schnitzer, known as Emin Pascha, and Carl Peters and Hermann von Wissmann , the two direct predecessors of Sodens in the colonial administration. Their competencies remained completely in the dark. In the main task of the new governor, the reorganization of the local "protection force" , von Soden hindered his status as civil governor, whose authority was not easily recognized by the military. The principles of colonial policy that he had formed during his many years of activity increasingly came into conflict with the course that was being pursued at the relevant places in the homeland, which clearly referred to the so-called " world politics " of Kaiser Wilhelm II from 1896 . headed for . So it was not surprising when von Soden asked for his retirement in 1893 - despite the support of Chancellor Caprivi.
Von Soden lived on his Vorra estate for the next six years, where he performed the duties of a baron for the first time . The former globetrotter was now diversified by trips through the Reich, during which he came into closer contact with the governments of the federal states . He also continued to take part in the colonial system - primarily as an advisor.
Württemberg Minister and starting a family
In 1899 von Soden was surprised by the offer to become head of cabinet at the court of King Wilhelm II of Württemberg. He accepted and successfully filled his new, so completely different, office:
“His clear, factual judgment, his kind, always helpful nature and his sunny disposition proved itself on all sides in this position too; No wonder that he became the man of trust among the prince and people, whom everyone genuinely valued who was allowed to approach him. "
Von Soden's marriage also fell during this time as head of cabinet: on September 1, 1900, he married Helene von Sick (born February 5, 1856), daughter of Major General Hermann von Sick from the Ludwigsburg home of Sodens. At this point in time, at 54, Julius was exactly ten years older than his bride Helene to the day. The advanced age of the spouses was probably the cause of the childlessness of their marriage.
In November 1900 he left the king's cabinet and became foreign minister in the Württemberg state government . In this position, von Soden primarily promoted the transport system, for example by promoting the standardization of the railways and also expanding Württemberg branch lines. After resigning from this post in 1906, he resumed his previous office as royal head of cabinet. He stayed in this position until the end of 1916 and after the beginning of the First World War had to watch the rapid end of the effectiveness of his earlier activities due to the British conquests in the German African colonies.
During this time, Julius von Soden became increasingly involved in honorary posts, so around 1906 he resumed the chairmanship of the Swabian Schiller Club (until 1917), which he had held from 1900 to 1902. He was also a member of the board of the “Association of Württemberg Art Friends” and an honorary member of the “Württemberg Warrior Association”.
Withdrawal and death
After the end of the war and the November Revolution, von Soden fulfilled his wish to retire to study: At the age of 74, he returned to Tübingen in September 1920, the city of his first years of study. There he heard lectures, not of a legal but rather of a spiritual nature: philosophy , philology and aesthetics . His old age was short: just a few months after the start of the semester, he suffered a physical breakdown in January 1921, which was followed by a 14-day illness. Julius von Soden died on February 2, 1921, three days before his 75th birthday.
Services
Julius von Soden's work clearly shaped the development of German colonial endeavors in their early days. Especially against the background of a lack of resources for forced colonial expansion under the aegis of the colonial skeptic Bismarck, the model advocated by Soden was sustainable and geared towards the economic benefits of the colonies for the mother country. In contrast, cultural imperialism, which became apparent, among other things, in von Soden's policy of establishing schools, was subordinated as an alleged means to an end to economic benefit and was thus supposedly rationally legitimized. The basic features of the model corresponded to the category of trading colony.
This colonial model had previously been practiced successfully for centuries, measured against the exploitative interests of the colonial powers, but on the one hand the global political situation changed - the increasing imperialism of the European (and growing non-European) great powers led to greater control of the mother countries over their colonies. The "Scramble for Africa" ( scramble for Africa ), embodied in the Conference Africa Berlin , had already begun and the signs of the time were aimed at a more aggressive colonial expansion policy.
But also domestically, Soden's colonial dream was already out of date. The " social-imperialism " of the German Reich demanded that sales markets, raw material sources, jobs in the domestic economy and settlement opportunities for the population surplus should be created through colonies. As early as 1884, Wilhelm Liebknecht feared in the Reichstag that the new colonial policy would lead to the "export of the social question to the colonies". Even these requirements could hardly be met by a colony after von Soden's careful cutting.
All these tendencies, which had to make von Soden's own colonial ideals appear increasingly anachronistic , were intensified during his activities in Cameroon and German East Africa: The beginning of the hot phase of the “Scramble for Africa” with the Berlin Africa Conference in 1884/85, the "New course" from Kaiser Wilhelm II. From 1888, the dismissal of the always revered Bismarck in 1890, finally the beginning of "world politics" under Wilhelm II. After his saying "From today on the German Reich is a world empire!" January 1896 - all these developments had to make the logical step for von Soden to withdraw from colonial politics. Ultimately, the German colonial war goals in World War I, which in the September program were referred to as “Central Africa”, and the course of the war and the consequences of the war, which with the Treaty of Versailles towards the end of Julius von Soden's life, Germany's renunciation of all colonies , are in stark contradiction to one another meant.
Honors
- In honor of Soden, the custom paddle steamer Soden was named, which was built at Meyer Werft in 1889 and used in Cameroon from 1890.
literature
- J. Reuss: Baron v. Soden, Julius, Governor of Cameroon and German East Africa, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Head of Cabinet . In: Württembergischer Nekrolog for the year 1921 , pp. 314-325.
- Edwin Henning: Wuerttemberg explorers of the last century and a half . 1953, p. 412f.
- Obituary for Julius von Soden . In: Schwäbischer Merkur , No. 54, February 4, 1921, chronicle
- Erich Gröner : The German warships 1815-1945 , Volume 7: Landungsverbände (II), landing vehicles i (m). e (actual). Sense). (Part 2), landing ferries, landing support vehicles, transporters; Ships and boats of the army, ships and boats of the Seeflieger / Luftwaffe, colonial vehicles, Koblenz 1990, p. 216ff. ISBN 3-7637-4807-5
Web links
- Brief biographical entry in "Information about Northern Tanzania".
- Soden, Julius Freiherr v. In: Deutsches Koloniallexikon , 1920, Vol. III, p. 369.
References and comments
- ↑ Charlotte von Neurath was the widowed wife of the Württemberg Justice Minister Constantin Franz Fürchtegott von Neurath and mother of the Württemberg Foreign Minister Constantin Franz von Neurath
- ^ Edwin Henning: Wuerttemberg explorers of the last century and a half . 1953, p. 412.
- ^ Soden, Julius Freiherr v. In: Deutsches Koloniallexikon , 1920, Vol. III, p. 369.
- ↑ J. Reuss: Freiherr v. Soden, Julius… In: Württembergischer Nekrolog for the year 1921 , p. 319.
- ^ Obituary for Julius von Soden . In: Schwäbischer Merkur , No. 54, February 4, 1921, chronicle.
- ↑ Cf. on the larger context of the entire chapter: Imanuel Geiss : History at hand . 6 vol., Gütersloh / Munich 2002, the quotations from vol. 4, p. 803f. and 831.
Hermann von Wissmann (Reich Commissioner) | Julius von Soden | Friedrich von Schele | Hermann von Wissmann | Eduard von Liebert | Gustav Adolf von Götzen | Albrecht von Rechenberg | Heinrich Snow
.svg){kind=small}
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Hermann of midnight | Württemberg Foreign Minister 1900–1906 |
Karl von Weizsäcker |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Soden, Julius of |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Soden, Julius Freiherr von |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German civil servant and politician, consul and colonial governor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 5, 1846 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ludwigsburg |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 2, 1921 |
| Place of death | Tübingen |