Leipzig high treason trial

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Wilhelm Liebknecht (standing in the middle on the witness stand), August Bebel (1st from right) and Adolf Hepner (2nd from right) as defendants in the Leipzig high treason trial

As Leipzig treason trial is the trial of the formative leadership figures of the early German social democracy , founding initiators and members of the then aligned to Marxism Social Democratic Labor Party (SDAP), August Bebel and Wilhelm Liebknecht and the party newspaper -Redakteur Adolf Hepner , before the Leipziger Circuit Court in March 1872 called .

prehistory

In the vote to approve war credits in the Reichstag of the North German Confederation for the Franco-Prussian War on July 19, 1870, August Bebel and Wilhelm Liebknecht abstained . In a renewed debate on November 26th of the same year about the approval of further war funds, the two brought in a peace proposal " while renouncing any annexation of French territory ". The discussion on this proposal resulted in the charge of treason against the two MPs. After later tumults and physical attacks, especially against Liebknecht, the two were arrested together with Adolf Hepner, the second editor of the central organ of the SDAP , Der Volksstaat , on December 17, 1870 (the reason was the publication of Bebel's letters to the party leadership). Once in the wake of the founding of the German nation-state as the monarchical principle oriented Empire on March 3, 1871, the German Reichstag was elected, and August Bebel a mandate had received it, the government growing pressure bent, and dismissed the three most 28 March 1871 initially out of custody.

The process

Since the war with France was over, no more treason trial could take place. However, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck continued to press for a conviction, and so the charge of treason became a charge of high treason , which took some time. On March 11, 1872 the trial against Bebel, Liebknecht and Hepner began before the Leipzig jury court chaired by the Bautzner district court director von Mücke. One of the two lawyers was the Leipzig lawyer and later member of the state parliament Otto Freytag . The other was his brother Bernhard Freytag from Plauen .

Wilhelm Liebknecht on a postage stamp of the GDR from the sentence "Leader of the German Labor Movement" from 1955 ; Portrait against the background of a scene based on the Leipzig high treason trial

A specific cause for the charge could not be found (mainly all publications of the three defendants were used), and so it was emphasized that "one or the other article [...] does not substantiate the charge, but that the cooperation [...] all articles in connection with other facts the indictment emerged ”. After a trial that was mainly political on both sides, the public prosecutor Hoffmann found all three defendants guilty, but left the jury to convict Hepner . The jury's verdict was issued on March 26, 1872. Hepner was acquitted; Liebknecht and Bebel were guilty of the verdict (however, only the minimum number of eight jurors required). The court thereupon imposed two years of imprisonment against Bebel and Liebknecht, two months of pre- trial detention were credited. August Bebel was stripped of his seat in the Reichstag. The appeal for nullity was rejected as unfounded by the Dresden Higher Regional Court.

Aftermath

Memorial plaque for August Bebel and Wilhelm Liebknecht at Hubertusburg Palace

The Communist Manifesto was out of print at the time and largely unknown to the public. But now it had been put on record by the prosecutor during the trial. This enabled the Social Democrats to publish it legally and in large numbers.

On July 8, 1872, August Bebel began his imprisonment in the Hubertusburg in Wermsdorf , where Liebknecht was already incarcerated at that time. He used this time for study purposes. On January 20, 1873 there was a by-election, which became necessary due to the withdrawal of Bebel's mandate and in which August Bebel was confirmed as a member of parliament with over 4,000 votes more than in the first round of elections.

Notes / individual evidence

  1. ^ Institute for Marxism-Leninism at the Central Committee of the SED : History of the German Workers' Movement . Volume 1: From the beginnings of the German labor movement to the end of the 19th century . Author collective: Walter Ulbricht u. A. Dietz Verlag, Berlin 1966, part of the picture after p. 352
  2. ↑ August Bebel: From my life, Vol. 2, Berlin 1946, p. 204.
  3. ^ Hugo Friedländer: The high treason trial against Liebknecht, Bebel and Hepner, from March 11th to 26th, 1872 before the Leipzig district jury court. In: Interesting criminal trials of cultural and historical importance . 1911-1921, Volume 3, pp. 132-159, zeno.org
  4. ↑ Introduction by Eric Hobsbawm to The Communist Manifesto argument.de ( Memento of the original from December 10, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.argument.de

literature

  • Leipzig treason trial. Detailed report on the negotiations of the jury court in Leipzig in the trial against Liebknecht, Bebel and Hepner, due to preparation for high treason from March 11th to 26th, 1872; with the indignant final defense speeches of the defendants and a final characteristic of the whole process. Edited by the defendants . Publishing house of the Expedition of the People's State, Leipzig 1872.
  • Leipzig treason trial. Detailed report on the negotiations of the jury court in Leipzig in the trial against Liebknecht, Bebel and Hepner because of preparation for high treason from 11th to 26th March 1872 edited by Wilhelm Liebknecht . Leipzig Cooperative Book Printing Company, Leipzig 1874.
  • The high treason trial against Liebknecht, Bebel, Hepner before the jury court in Leipzig from March 11th to 26th, 1872 with an introduction by W. Liebknecht . Verlag der Expedition des 'Vorwärts' Berliner Volksblatt, Berlin 1894 (2nd edition Singer, Berlin 1911) Digitized in the Russian State Library
  • Lothar Berthold (ed.): To the German nation. The Leipzig High Treason Trial. August Bebel and Wilhelm Liebknecht . Construction Publishing House, Berlin 1956.
  • Karl-Heinz Leidigkeit (Ed.): The Leipzig High Treason Trial from 1872 . Rütten & Loening, Berlin 1960.
  • Wilhelm Liebknecht: Leipzig High Treason Trial. Bibliophile miniature edition on the occasion of Wilhelm Liebknecht's 150th birthday on March 29, 1976 . Offizin Andersen Nexö, Leipzig 1976.
  • Hugo Friedländer : The high treason trial against Liebknecht, Bebel and Hepner, from March 11th to 26th, 1872 before the Leipzig district jury court. In: Interesting criminal trials of cultural and historical importance . 1911-1921, Volume 3, pp. 132-159, zeno.org
  • Hugo Friedländer: murderer - traitor - assassin. Court reports from the German Empire . vbb Verlag für Berlin-Brandenburg, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-86650-195-9 , pp. 23-48.