Karl Ludwig schoolmaster
Karl Ludwig Schulmeister , in France Charles Louis Schulmeister (born August 5, 1770 in Neufreistett (today Freistett ), † May 8, 1853 in Strasbourg -Meinau), was an important spy in the pay of Napoléon Bonapartes .
The son of a pastor was active as an actuary in Kork and in 1792 married a French woman, daughter of the mine director of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines . In the 1790s he devoted himself to smuggling between France and Germany on a large scale, occasionally doing espionage for France. In 1804 he was introduced by his compatriot Jean Rapp Napoléon and began to work full-time as a spy. The schoolmaster, completely devoted to Bonaparte, became one of the Corsican's most valuable agents.
In the coalition war of 1805, Schulmeister, who posed as a Hungarian nobleman, managed to persuade the Austrian general Karl Mack von Leiberich to stay in Ulm by means of a forged Paris newspaper , which became a trap for Mack's troops. After the fall of Vienna, Napoleon appointed Schulmeister general commissioner of the local police. As such, schoolmaster guaranteed the undisturbed occupation of Vienna. After the Peace of Pressburg in 1806, Schulmeister acquired an estate in Meinau near Strasbourg, where he temporarily retired.
In Napoléon's war with Prussia, Schulmeister succeeded in seizing the cities of Wismar and Rostock with minimal forces. Later in the war, Schulmeister was entrusted with police duties in Königsberg.
On May 18, 1809, Schulmeister was given the management of the police in Vienna for a second time. After the Peace of Vienna he withdrew again to his estate. In 1809 he was accepted into the Strasbourg Masonic Lodge La vraie Fraternité . During the rule of the Hundred Days from March 20, 1815, Schulmeister was again active in missions in the service of Napoléon. Blücher had him locked up for a few months on July 27, 1815.
As a result, Schulmeister lived as a wealthy citizen in Boissy-Saint-Léger and in Meinau, a district of Strasbourg . He is buried in the St. Urbans cemetery in Strasbourg. Schulmeister's life inspired the French television series: “Schulmeister, espion de l'empereur”, broadcast in France between 1971 and 1974.
According to Albrecht Daniel Thaer of July 29, 1815, “ the sheep farm of the infamous spy schoolmaster outside London was the best. For he had also been used to spy on in Spain what was to be found in excellent sheep and, of course, had appropriated the best for himself. "
literature
- Bernhard von Poten : schoolmaster, Karl . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 32, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1891, p. 688 f.
- Ferdinand Strobl von Ravelsberg: Metternich and his time 1773-1859. CW Stern Verlag, 1907, especially p. 97, excerpt
- Terry Crowdy: The Enemy within: a History of Espionage. Oxford 2006, especially p. 147, excerpt
- Alexander Elmer: Napoleon's personal spy, Karl Ludwig Schulmeister. Verlag für Kulturpolitik, 1931
- Abel Douay, Gérard Hertault: Schoolmaster. Dans les coulisses de la Grande Armée , Éditions de la Fondation Napoléon - Nouveau Monde Éditions, série Biographies, 2002
Individual evidence
- ↑ This episode was the subject of the documentation Napoleon and the Germans , broadcast on arte in July 2008 - here is an excerpt on Youtube: [1]
- ↑ The intro to the series on Dailymotion
- ↑ GStA PK I. HA Rep. 87 B No. 22330, fol. 12 r / v
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Schoolmaster, Karl Ludwig |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Schoolmaster, Charles Louis |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Spy in the pay of Napoléon Bonapartes |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 5, 1770 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Neufreistett , Baden |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 8, 1853 |
| Place of death | Strasbourg - Meinau |