Karl Count von Bothmer

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Karl Ludwig Graf von Bothmer - occasional pseudonyms "Martin Salander", "Wilfried von Ivanhoe" and "Paul Garin" - (born March 28, 1881 in Bamberg , † April 15, 1947 in Schleswig ) was a German, folk publicist who himself after the end of the German Empire in Bavaria for the restoration of the monarchy and for separatism politically committed. At the beginning of the Weimar Republic , Bothmer was initially a vehement opponent of the republican idea until he became a member of the Young German Order in the 1920s . After the Second World War , historical interest focused on him, particularly in connection with the history of the NSDAP's origins .

The German Imperium

The family roots of Karl Graf von Bothmer were in a noble family from East Elbe . He was related to Colonel General Felix Graf von Bothmer . Before the First World War , Karl Graf von Bothmer was an editor in Memmingen , got involved with the Liberals , then moved to Munich and worked for the Munich section of the Münchener Zeitung (MZ). During the war, Bothmer was a colleague of Wolfgang Kapp and a leading figure in the newly founded Fatherland Party . At the beginning of 1917 he finished his work as editor in the Munich newspaper . Together with Fritz Gerlich , he founded the nationalist magazine Die Reality with the subtitle “German magazine for order and law”, in which they advocated radical warfare in 1917 and called for an aggressive colonial policy and unrestricted submarine warfare . In August 1917 the magazine was banned by the Bavarian Ministry of War .

Weimar Republic

In January 1919, Georg Heim , founder of the Bavarian People's Party (BVP), went to Bothmer to win him over as a writing supporter for his party. Between January and May 1919 Bothmer worked for Dietrich Eckart's anti-Semitic weekly Auf gut deutsch . In February 1919, Bothmer called for a connection between nationalism and socialism in an article in this magazine , by deliberately opposing internationalism - which he considered to be "anti-social" - calling for a "national solidarity " of the "working and creating circles" of the respective peoples , in order to prevent them from becoming “the pawn of foreign speculators”. In this article Bothmer identified “all classes and occupational classes”, which he pointed out as “dependent on one another”, as part of “a national whole ”. From April 1919, the later Nazi chief ideologist Alfred Rosenberg published in Auf gut deutsch , with whom he worked “hand in hand” until the summer of that year.

Between 1919 and 1920 Bothmer was head of the Bavarian office of the Reichszentrale für Heimatdienst . As a result of the invasion of the newly formed Reichswehr in Bavaria and the violent end of the approximately two months of Munich Soviet rule in May 1919, strove Group Command, were among the also old imperial officers, energetic with a new reactionary orientation of troops through training and education . In Munich - largely unnoticed by the public - people were specially trained for this purpose in propaganda who turned against all perceived democratic and, above all, left-wing influences. In a memorandum dated May 22, 1919, Bothmer dealt in detail with the idea of ​​a collaboration between the Heimatdienst and the Reichswehr for propaganda purposes. The head of the intelligence and reconnaissance department set up in the group command of the Munich Reichswehr was Captain Karl Mayr , who took up his position on May 30, 1919. Mayr had initially tried to get Fritz Gerlich, who also belonged to the "Heimatdienst Bayern" founded in May 1919 and there led a special, small literary fighting group against Bolshevism . The “Heimatdienst”, however, rejected Mayer's requests and referred to Karl Graf von Bothmer, which led to the fact that the position of the “Heimatdienst” was given a considerable share in the design of these courses.

A first "educational course", which was mainly made up of people from the environment of the Süddeutsche monthly magazines directed by Paul Nikolaus Cossmann , took place between June 5 and 12, 1919 at Munich University ; followed by one in the Palais Porcia between June 26th and July 5th, 1919. In addition to Bothmer, who in those days as main organizer and seminar leader gave three presentations (according to the plan “Socialism in theory and practice” on June 7th, “The context Between internal and external politics ”on June 12th and in the second section“ Foreign politics since the end of the war ”), lectures by Karl Alexander von Müller , Joseph Hofmiller , Michael Horlacher , Adolf Dirr , Erich Marcks , government assessors were given in the first two courses Friedrich Merz and Karl Mayr. Gottfried Feder , with whom Bothmer had been in contact almost every day since May 1919, gave a presentation on June 7th and in another course on August 8th, 1919.

In August 1919, DDP Minister Eduard Hamm expressed concern to General Arnold von Möhl about the leading position of Karl Graf von Bothmer in the political courses, as he feared that he would influence it one-sidedly politically and beyond that in public - especially at the MSPD and USPD - could become known (which should be strictly avoided). Möhl also mentioned Georg Hohmann , deputy chairman of the DDP , who classified the continued involvement of Bothmer in the courses as "dangerous". Möhl rejected the concerns and declined to recall Bothmer. Regardless of this, distrust arose in the Reichswehr to a growing extent: as early as the end of August 1919, the group command waived the cooperation of Karl Graf von Bothmer. Likewise, Gottfried Feder and Dietrich Eckart fell out with him in those days. The concerns arose because of the suspicion that Bothmer “ is unable to properly draw the sharp distinction between federalism loyal to the Reich and French-oriented separatism”. On January 25, 1920, the intelligence service of the “Greater German Heimatbund” stated in relation to his contacts to French authorities: “Count Bothmer has already spoken of Bavaria's detachment from the Reich at various intimate discussions of a political nature. This is further corroborated by expressions of known Gottfried Feder go there, Bothmer told, Bavaria had to be separated from the kingdom, that they may be freed from the war debts. "The magazine published von Bothmer in 1920 Bayern Bayern then followed on the part of National Socialists charged that he glorified the separatist Hans Adam Dorten (1880–1963), herald of the “ Rhenish Republic ” and co-founder of the Rhenish People's Association (1920–1924).

In 1927 Bothmer wrote a memorandum with the title The State and the School of Life . It had the subtitle "A memorandum on the organization of Reich citizenship as a means of power in order to get from party democracy to the people's state ". This writing was mainly characterized by the nobility-typical abuse of the time against the party system, the plutocracy and capitalism , less by its republicanism . In the same year - Bothmer was penniless - he believed he had to fight a fight against the " Ostelbier ", which he called the " Mafia ". As a justification, he cited his wealthy childless uncle, who “never gave a penny to needy family members and heirs”.

In the German Democratic Republic , Bothmer's writings Bayern den Bayern ( Jos. C. Huber , Dießen am Ammersee 1920) and Sonnenwende (Strauch, Leipzig 1926) were placed on the list of literature to be sorted out.

literature

  • Ludwig Franz Gengler : The German monarchists 1918 to 1925. Kulmbach 1932. (Philos. Diss., Erlangen 1932.)
  • Kurt Sendtner: Rupprecht von Wittelsbach. Munich 1954.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Othmar Plöckinger: Adolf Hitler as a listener at the University of Munich in 1919. On the relationship between the Reichswehr and the university. In: Elisabeth Kraus (Ed.): The University of Munich in the Third Reich. Essays. Part 2. Munich 2008, p. 24 f., ISBN 978-3-8316-0726-6 . Google Books (Bothmer published under the pseudonym "Martin Salander" in the journal Der bayerische Königsbote ; cited source: StA Munich, Pol. Dir. Munich, 10045, letter from Gottfried Feder dated December 20, 1920.)
  2. ↑ a b c Stephan Malinowski : From the king to the leader. Social decline and political radicalization in the German nobility between the German Empire and the Nazi state. 3rd, through Ed., Berlin 2003, p. 470, ISBN 3-05-004070-X .
  3. ↑ Michael Peschke (Ed.): International encyclopedia of pseudonyms (= International Encyclopedia of Pseudonyms). 1: Pt. 1, Real names., A - Bradds. Munich 2006, p. 354, ISBN 3-598-24961-6 .
  4. ^ A b Paul Hoser: The political, economic and social background of the Munich daily press between 1914 and 1934. Methods of influencing the press. Frankfurt a. M. / Bern / New York / Paris 1990, p. 40 (note 38), ISBN 3-631-42631-3 .
  5. ↑ Dieter J. Weiß: Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria 1869-1955. A political biography. Regensburg 2007, p. 171, ISBN 3-7917-2047-3 .
  6. ↑ In 1919, however, a dispute arose between Bothmer and Fritz Gerlich, which led to legal proceedings, cf. Elisabeth Kraus (Ed.): The University of Munich in the Third Reich. Essays. Part 2. Munich 2008, p. 24. (Sources: StdA München , NL Dirr, 303, brief of October 24, 1919; Münchener Post of March 26, 1918.)
  7. ^ Hans Fenske: Conservatism and right-wing radicalism in Bavaria after 1918. Bad Homburg vdH / Berlin / Zurich 1969, p. 117.
  8. ↑ Margarete Plewnia: On the way to Hitler. The nationalist journalist Dietrich Eckart. Bremen 1970, p. 36, ISBN 3-7961-3012-7 .
  9. ↑ Othmar Plöckinger: Adolf Hitler as a listener at the University of Munich in 1919. In: Elisabeth Kraus (Hrsg.): The University of Munich in the Third Reich. Essays. Part 2. Munich 2008, p. 25. (Source: Auf gut deutsch , 1 year, 6 H, 7 February 1919.); Kai-Uwe Merz: The terrible picture. Germany and Bolshevism 1917 to 1921. Berlin / Frankfurt a. M. 1995, p. 433, ISBN 3-549-05449-1 .
  10. ↑ a b c Hitler's entry into politics and the Reichswehr. Documentation. In: Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte . 7th year (1959), issue 2, p. 191 f. ( PDF )
  11. ↑ Othmar Plöckinger: Adolf Hitler as a listener at the University of Munich in 1919. On the relationship between the Reichswehr and the university. In: Elisabeth Kraus (Ed.): The University of Munich in the Third Reich. Essays. Part 2. Munich 2008, p. 17 ff.
  12. ↑ Othmar Plöckinger: Adolf Hitler as a listener at the University of Munich in 1919. On the relationship between the Reichswehr and the university. In: Elisabeth Kraus (Ed.): The University of Munich in the Third Reich. Essays. Part 2. Munich 2008, p. 21 f. and 25.
  13. ↑ Othmar Plöckinger: Adolf Hitler as a listener at the University of Munich in 1919. On the relationship between the Reichswehr and the university. In: Elisabeth Kraus (Ed.): The University of Munich in the Third Reich. Essays. Part 2. Munich 2008, p. 25. (In some cases, the Munich city archivist Pius Dirr is incorrectly stated as a speaker in the literature.)
  14. ↑ Othmar Plöckinger: Adolf Hitler as a listener at the University of Munich in 1919. On the relationship between the Reichswehr and the university. In: Elisabeth Kraus (Ed.): The University of Munich in the Third Reich. Essays. Part 2. Munich 2008, p. 28.
  15. ↑ On June 7, 1919, Feder held a parallel course to Karl Alexander von Müller at the Munich University, cf. Elisabeth Kraus (Ed.): The University of Munich in the Third Reich. Essays. Part 2. Munich 2008, p. 35; Hermann Esser's reference to a course on “Friday” (August 8, 1919), cf. Hitler entered politics and the Reichswehr. Documentation. In: Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte . 7th year (1959), No. 2, p. 196. (Source: Report from Hermann Esser to Captain Mayr. Kempten, August 11, 1919.); Between August 19 and 25, 1919, Feder was also employed as a propaganda speaker in the Lechfeld transit camp.
  16. ↑ Othmar Plöckinger: Adolf Hitler as a listener at the University of Munich in 1919. On the relationship between the Reichswehr and the university. In: Elisabeth Kraus (Ed.): The University of Munich in the Third Reich. Essays. Part 2. Munich 2008, pp. 22 and 38 f. (Sources: BayHStA, MA99962, letter from Möhls to Hamm dated July 19, 1919; BayHStA, MA99962, letter from Hamm dated August 1, 1919.)
  17. ↑ Othmar Plöckinger: Adolf Hitler as a listener at the University of Munich in 1919. On the relationship between the Reichswehr and the university. In: Elisabeth Kraus (Ed.): The University of Munich in the Third Reich. Essays. Part 2. Munich 2008, p. 44. (Source: BayHStA, OP 7534, Möhl's letter of April 20, 1920.)
  18. ↑ Oberbayrische Landeszeitung of February 25, 1920, quoted in: Elisabeth Kraus (Ed.): The University of Munich in the Third Reich. Essays. Part 2. Munich 2008, p. 44.
  19. ↑ Quoted in: Elisabeth Kraus (Ed.): The University of Munich in the Third Reich. Essays. Part 2. Munich 2008, p. 44. (Source: BayHStA, RWGrKdo 4, 191.)
  20. ↑ Martin Schlemmer: “Los von Berlin”. The efforts towards the state of the Rhine after the First World War. Cologne / Weimar / Vienna / Böhlau 2007, p. 590, ISBN 3-412-11106-6 .
  21. ↑ Stephan Malinowski: From the king to the leader. Social decline and political radicalization in the German nobility between the German Empire and the Nazi state. 3rd, through Ed., Berlin 2003, p. 470. (Source: Karl Graf von Bothmer to Arthur Becker, September 13, 1927 and July 10, 1928, LAG, Rep. 42 Becker, no. 57, fols. 69 and 84.)
  22. ↑ http://www.polunbi.de/bibliothek/1953-nslit-b.html
personal data
SURNAME Bothmer, Karl Graf von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bothmer, Karl Ludwig Graf von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German publicist
DATE OF BIRTH March 28, 1881
PLACE OF BIRTH Bamberg
DATE OF DEATH April 15, 1947
Place of death Schleswig