Elard Kurt Maria Fürchtegott von Oldenburg-Januschau (20 March 1855 - 16 August 1937) was a German

Junker Junker ( da, Junker, german: Junker, nl, Jonkheer, en, Yunker, no, Junker, sv, Junker ka, იუნკერი (Iunkeri)) is a noble honorific, derived from Middle High German ''Juncherre'', meaning "young nobleman"Duden; Meaning of Junke ...

and conservative politician. He embodied the prototype of the arch-conservative, militaristic and anti-democratic East Elbian Junkers both in the German Empire and in the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...

Biography

Oldenburg was born at his family's manor of Beisleiden, Kreis Pr. Eylau, East Prussia (today Bezledy,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

), to Botho von Oldenburg and Maria née von Arnim. He served in the 2. Garde-Ulanen-Regiment of the Prussian Army in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

and

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream o ...

for eight years and came into contact with Kaiser William I, Otto von Bismarck, Helmuth von Moltke and

Albrecht von Roon Albrecht Theodor Emil Graf von Roon (; 30 April 180323 February 1879) was a Prussian soldier and statesman. As Minister of War from 1859 to 1873, Roon, along with Otto von Bismarck and Helmuth von Moltke, was a dominating figure in Prussia's ...

. After the death of his brother Botho in 1882 he returned to his manor at Januschau and after his father died in 1885 Oldenburg also took over the ownership of Beisleiden. In 1884 Oldenburg married Agnes Gräfin von Kanitz, they had three daughters. In 1901 Oldenburg became a member of the

Prussian Landtag The Landtag of Prussia (german: Preußischer Landtag) was the representative assembly of the Kingdom of Prussia implemented in 1849, a bicameral legislature consisting of the upper House of Lords (''Herrenhaus'') and the lower House of Represent ...

(until 1910) and in 1902 of the Reichstag (until 1912) for

German Conservative Party The German Conservative Party (german: Deutschkonservative Partei, DkP) was a right-wing political party of the German Empire founded in 1876. It largely represented the wealthy landowning elite Prussian Junkers. The party was a response to Ge ...

. He was an exponent of the antidemocratic conservatives and became well known for his dictum: "The King of Prussia and German Emperor must always be able say to a lieutenant: take ten men and lock up the Reichstag". Oldenburg was the only member of the Reichstag to defend Kaiser William II throughout the Daily Telegraph Affair and called the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

, who disturbed his speech, a "mob of pigs" (Schweinebande). Oldenburg was again elected as a member of the Reichstag for the conservative

DNVP The German National People's Party (german: Deutschnationale Volkspartei, DNVP) was a national-conservative party in Germany during the Weimar Republic. Before the rise of the Nazi Party, it was the major conservative and nationalist party in Wei ...

in 1930 until 1932. In January 1933, Oldenburg-Januschau played an important role in bringing

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

to power by advising his friend President

Paul von Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (; abbreviated ; 2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German field marshal and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I and later became President of Germany fr ...

that he should appoint Hitler Chancellor.Turner, Henry Ashby ''Hitler's Thirty Days to Power'', New York: Addison-Wesley, 1996 page 143 Oldenburg died on 16 August 1937 in

Marienwerder Kwidzyn (pronounced ; german: Marienwerder; Latin: ''Quedin''; Old Prussian: ''Kwēdina'') is a town in northern Poland on the Liwa River, with 38,553 inhabitants (2018). It is the capital of Kwidzyn County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. Geog ...

(today Kwidzyn).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oldenburg-Januschau, Elard von 1855 births 1937 deaths People from Bartoszyce County People from the Province of Prussia People from Kwidzyn German Protestants German Conservative Party politicians German National People's Party politicians Members of the 10th Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the 11th Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the 12th Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic Members of the Prussian House of Representatives