Junker Parliament

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The general assembly of the conservative association for the protection of the interests of property and for the promotion of the prosperity of all classes (later association for the protection of property ) during the revolution of 1848 in Prussia was already called the Junker parliament .

Structure and goals

The organization was founded on July 24, 1848 to represent the interests of Prussian property. A large part of those involved came from the landed nobility, but more than 26% were bourgeois landowners. Most of the supporters came from the province of Brandenburg, but there were also landowners from other parts of the monarchy. Leading personalities were Ernst von Bülow-Cummerow , Hans Hugo von Kleist-Retzow , Ernst Ludwig von Gerlach , Otto von Bismarck and Alexander von Below .

The association organized its general assembly between August 18 and 20, 1848, chaired by Kleist-Retzow. About 200 to 300 mostly land-owning representatives of the Prussian nobility took part in this event. Smaller owners and farmers were also present. The meeting decided to rename it to "Association for the Protection of Property."

The main aim was to represent the interests of large-scale agriculture. The fight against finance minister David Hansemann's plans to abolish the tax exemption of manors was particularly important to the association . For the purpose of creating a mass base beyond the actual supporting group, the association called for the "unification of the still separated classes," an active economic development policy, the protection of the middle class and the improvement of the situation of the working classes. While certain relationships with Catholic circles were successfully established, rapprochement with the workers was not achieved.

The active core of the General Assembly did not split up, but met permanently. Even then, this assembly was known as the Junker Parliament. Compared with the Association for King and Fatherland , the organization played a weaker role in the conservative political camp of Prussia.

literature

  • Rene Schiller: From a manor to a large estate . Berlin, 2003 [1]
  • Hans-Ulrich Wehler: German history of society. Vol. 2: From the reform era to the industrial and political German double revolution 1815-1845 / 49 . CH Beck, Munich, 1989. ISBN 3-406-32262-X . P. 728f.