Swinemünde dispatch

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Swinemünde dispatch of August 10, 1902 was a telegram from Kaiser Wilhelm II to the Bavarian Prince Regent Luitpold , with which the Kaiser intervened in a political conflict within Bavaria . The dispatch caused considerable public criticism of Wilhelm II and indirectly led to the resignation of the chairman of the Council of Ministers, Friedrich Krafft von Crailsheim .

background

Wilhelm II's dispatch of August 10, 1902 must be understood in view of the specific domestic political situation in Bavaria since 1869, which was characterized by "that an ideologically liberal, politically state-conservative, imperial-friendly and state-church-oriented state ministry continued against a conservative, emphatically Bavarian - a majority of the Chamber of Deputies ruled by a national and Catholic majority ”. After the confrontational phase of the Bavarian Kulturkampf until 1890, Friedrich Krafft von Crailsheim (1890–1903), Chairman of the Council of Ministers, saw a certain relaxation because he tried to work with the moderate forces in the Bavarian center and with the liberals.

Among the ministers of the Crailsheim era, the moderately conservative minister of education, Robert von Landmann , who had been in office since 1895, assumed a special role, insofar as he was more prepared to accommodate the center than his colleagues. A conflict between the ministers arose when Landmann presented a new school supplies law, which Interior Minister Max von Feilitzsch and Crailsheim in particular found too center-friendly themselves. Since they could do little in the matter against the responsible minister Landmann, they took advantage of a dispute among Würzburg professors, in which Landmann had to decide and in turn came into conflict with the university senate. The Senate publicly attacked Landmann, who demanded that the Senate be disciplined by the Prince Regent, which the head of the secret chancellery, Peter von Wiedenmann, rejected after consulting with Landmann's colleagues. The disavowed farmer then submitted his request for dismissal, which was accepted (initially declared as sick leave on July 11, 1902).

Thereupon the center faction in the Chamber of Deputies decided to delete three items in the ongoing negotiations on the cultural budget, including 100,000 marks for the purchase of new works of art for the state collections. The overall resolution of the state parliament containing these politically motivated budget cuts was passed on August 8, 1902.

Wilhelm II's dispatch and Luitpold's answer

Wilhelm II reacted to the decision of the Bavarian State Parliament with the dispatch to Prince Regent Luitpold, issued on August 10, 1902 in Swinoujscie :

“Having just returned from my trip, I read with the deepest indignation about the rejection of the sum you asked for for art purposes. I hasten to give expression to my indignation at the vile ingratitude that is characterized by this act, both against the House of Wittelsbach in general, and against your noble person, who always shone as a model of elevation and support of art. At the same time I ask you to be able to make the sum that you need available to you so that you will be able to carry out the tasks in the field of art that you have set yourself to the fullest. "

Already before August 6, 1902, before the decision of the state parliament, the Reichsrat Ernst von Moy Luitpold had made the offer to donate the sum of 100,000 marks from private funds. Luitpold accepted this offer on August 9th. In his answer of August 11, 1902, referring to this donation, he was able to thankfully decline the imperial offer:

“It urges me to express my heartfelt thanks to you for your warm interest in mine and my house's bests in the field of art and for your generous offer. At the same time I am pleased to be able to inform you that through the nobility of one of my imperial councilors, who made the rejected sum available, my government is able, true to the traditions of my house and my people, to cultivate art as one of my noblest To be able to continuously promote tasks. "

This exchange of dispatch received its explosive power because it was launched in the emperor's vicinity and published in the press.

consequences

The Bavarian Center Party used the Swinemünder Depesche to profile itself as a bulwark of federalism and Bavarian independence. Because the state parliament session ended in mid-August 1902 and the chamber was not due to meet again until September 1903, the party acted through its press and at major events such as the General Assembly of Catholics of Germany in Mannheim (August 24-28, 1902) and the Assembly of the Tuntenhausen Farmers' Association (September 21, 1902). In this campaign, Franz Xaver Schädler, a member of the Landtag and Reichstag, came out with sharp attacks against the Kaiser and the Bavarian government. It was also Schädler who addressed the Swinemünde dispatch on January 19, 1903 in the Reichstag and thus provoked a reaction from Reich Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow , who downplayed the unsigned telegram from the Kaiser as a private matter, but defended it as a whole. Crailsheim further intensified the domestic political confrontation in Bavaria by thanking Bülow on behalf of the Prince Regent for his speech in the Reichstag and having this thanks published in the press on January 28, 1903. On February 5, he added a press article in which he massively attacked the center. This approach led his ministerial colleagues, under the leadership of the Minister of Education, Clemens von Podewils-Dürniz , Landmann's successor, and with the support of Peter von Wiedenmann, to distance themselves from him by accusing him of acting on his own initiative. Crailsheim responded with a tactically intended resignation, which the Prince Regent, contrary to Crailsheim's expectations, accepted on February 18, 1903. Clemens von Podewils followed him.

literature

  • Hans-Michael Körner : Parliamentarization and Statehood. Was there a turning point in Bavarian politics around 1900? In: Winfried Becker , Werner Chrobak (ed.): State, culture, politics. Contributions to the history of Bavaria and Catholicism. Festschrift for Dieter Albrecht's 65th birthday. Laßleben, Kallmünz / Opf. 1992, pp. 281-299.
  • Bernhard Löffler : The Bavarian Chamber of Reichsräte 1848 to 1918. Basics, composition, politics (= series of publications on Bavarian national history. Vol. 108). CH Beck, Munich 1996 (pp. 216-222).
  • Karl Möckl : The time of the Prince Regent. Society and politics during the era of Prince Regent Luitpold in Bavaria. Oldenbourg, Munich / Vienna 1972 (pp. 520-530).
  • Uwe Schaper : Krafft Graf von Crailsheim. The life and work of the Bavarian Prime Minister (= series of the Nuremberg City Archives Volume 47). Nuremberg City Archives 1991 (pp. 264–285).

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Dieter Albrecht: From the foundation of the empire to the end of the First World War. In: Alois Schmid (Hrsg.): Handbuch der Bayerischen Geschichte Volume IV, 1, Munich 2003, pp. 319–438, here: p. 377.
  2. ^ Karl Möckl: The time of the Prince Regent. Society and politics during the era of Prince Regent Luitpold in Bavaria. Munich / Vienna 1972, pp. 522-525.
  3. ↑ The Chamber of Deputies decided to reduce the budget on July 27, 1902, the Chamber of Reichsräte had initially reinstated the posts, the Chamber of Deputies retained their vote, which the Chamber of Reichsräte finally accepted; this resulted in the overall resolution of the state parliament; in addition: Bernhard Löffler: The Bavarian Chamber of Reichsräte 1848 to 1918. Basics, composition, politics. Munich 1996, pp. 216-219.
  4. ↑ Schultheß European History Calendar 1902 , Munich 1903, p. 136.
  5. ^ Bernhard Löffler: The Bavarian Chamber of Reichsräte 1848 to 1918. Fundamentals, composition, politics. Munich 1996, p. 220 f.
  6. ↑ Schultheß European History Calendar 1902 , Munich 1903, p. 136.
  7. ^ Uwe Schaper: Krafft Graf von Crailsheim. The life and work of the Bavarian Prime Minister. Nuremberg 1991, p. 277.
  8. ^ Speech by Franz Xaver Schädler in the German Reichstag on January 19, 1903.
  9. ↑ Bernhard von Bülow's speech in the German Reichstag on January 19, 1903.
  10. ^ Karl Möckl: The time of the Prince Regent. Society and politics during the era of Prince Regent Luitpold in Bavaria. Munich / Vienna 1972, p. 526.
  11. ^ Uwe Schaper: Krafft Graf von Crailsheim. The life and work of the Bavarian Prime Minister. Nuremberg 1991, pp. 282-285.