Franz Josef Heinz, known as Heinz-Orbis, (25 February 1884 - 9 January 1924) was a

Palatine A palatine or palatinus (Latin; : ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman Empire, Roman times.

separatist who briefly led the government of the "Autonomous Palatinate" during the French occupation of the Rhineland. He was assassinated by German nationalists in 1924. Heinz came from the town of Orbis in Northern Palatinate, later using the town as part of his name. He was a farmer and became a leader of the free peasantry and the founder of the Palatine Corps. In the aftermath of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, France occupied the Rhineland. Along with some other members of the liberal

German People's Party The German People's Party (German: , DVP) was a conservative-liberal political party during the Weimar Republic that was the successor to the National Liberal Party of the German Empire. Along with the left-liberal German Democratic Party (DDP), ...

(DVP), Heinz saw this as an opportunity to reject the Prussian militarist state. In 1920 he became a member of the Palatine district council, arguing for greater autonomy in the area. By 1923 a separatist movement for a

Rhenish Republic The Rhenish Republic () was proclaimed at Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle) in October 1923 during the occupation of the Ruhr by troops from France and Belgium (January 19231925) and subjected itself to French protectorate. It comprised three territorie ...

in the occupied Rhineland territory had developed, encouraged by the French. In August 1923 a republic was proclaimed under

Josef Friedrich Matthes Josef Friedrich Matthes (10 February 1886 – 9 October 1943) was head of the short lived Rhenish Republic. Biography He was born on 10 February 1886 in Würzburg. He moved to Switzerland in 1909 and worked as an editor in Baden. By 1918, he was ...

of the Rhenish Independence League. In November, Heinz proclaimed the "Government of the Autonomous Palatinate in the Association of the Rhenish Republic", based in

Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ; ; ), historically known in English as Spires, is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in the western part of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the r ...

. The aim was to create an independent state, adjoining France. The new government adopted a currency based on the

French franc The franc (; , ; currency sign, sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amoun ...

, which it promised would deal with the problem of the current

hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic Hyperinflation affected the Papiermark, German Papiermark, the currency of the Weimar Republic, between 1921 and 1923, primarily in 1923. The German currency had seen significant inflation during the First World War due to the way in which the G ...

. With the approval of the Bavarian government, a detachment of the Viking League, enemies of the separatists, under the command of Edgar Julius Jung planned to assassinate Heinz. After part of his farm in Orbis was set on fire, Heinz predicted that an attempt would be made to murder him. On 9 January 1924 Jung's troop of around twenty nationalists forced their way into the dining room of the

Wittelsbacher Hof hotel and shot Heinz dead. In the shoot-out, one of his staff and another hotel guest were also killed, along with two assassins. The deaths signalled the end of the independence movement. Clashes between nationalists and separatists followed, leading to a number of other deaths, notably in

Pirmasens Pirmasens (; (also ''Bermesens'' or ''Bärmasens'')) is an independent town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, near the border with France. It was famous for the manufacture of shoes. The surrounding rural district was called ''Landkreis Pirmasens ...

where 12 separatists trapped in a building were burned out and then massacred.Margaret Pawley, ''The Watch on the Rhine: The Military Occupation of the Rhineland'', I.B.Tauris, 2007, p.75. A monument was later put up in the Speyer cemetery to the two murderers, Franz Hellinger and Ferdinand Wiesmann, who died in the shootout with Heinz's supporters after the assassination. Hellinger and Wiesmann were both members of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

. In 1934, Edgar Julius Jung was himself murdered during the

Night of the Long Knives The Night of the Long Knives (, ), also called the Röhm purge or Operation Hummingbird (), was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934. Chancellor Adolf Hitler, urged on by Hermann Göring and Heinrich Himmler, ord ...

. The maintaining of the monument and annual wreath laying at the site continued until 2001, when a book was published about the assassination.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heinz, Franz Joseph 1884 births 1924 deaths People from Donnersbergkreis Heads of state of former countries Heads of state of states with limited recognition Assassinated German politicians Assassinated heads of state in Europe People from the Palatinate (region) 1920s murders in Germany Deaths by firearm in Germany Politicians assassinated in the 1920s People murdered in Germany