Kurt Eisner (; 14 May 1867 21 February 1919)
["Kurt Eisner – Encyclopædia Britannica" (biography), ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2006, Britannica.com webpage]
Britannica-KurtEisner
. was a German politician, revolutionary, journalist, and theatre critic. As a socialist journalist, he organized the socialist revolution that overthrew the
Wittelsbach
The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...
monarchy in
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
in November 1918, which led to him being described as "the symbol of the Bavarian revolution".
[ He is used as an example of '']charismatic authority
In the field of sociology, charismatic authority is a concept of organizational leadership wherein the authority of the leader derives from the personal charisma of the leader. In the tripartite classification of authority, the sociologist Max We ...
'' by Max Weber
Maximilian Carl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German Sociology, sociologist, historian, jurist, and political economy, political economist who was one of the central figures in the development of sociology and the social sc ...
. Eisner subsequently proclaimed the People's State of Bavaria
The People's State of Bavaria () was a socialist republic in Bavaria which existed from November 1918 to April 1919. It was established during the German revolution of 1918–1919, German revolution as an attempt at a socialist state to replace ...
but was assassinated by far-right German nationalist Anton Graf von Arco auf Valley
Anton von Padua Alfred Emil Hubert Georg Graf von Arco auf Valley (5 February 1897 – 29 June 1945), commonly known as Anton Arco-Valley, was a German far-right activist, Bavarian nationalist and nobleman. He assassinated socialist Bavari ...
in Munich on 21 February 1919.
Life and career
Kurt Eisner was born in Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
on 14 May 1867, to Emanuel Eisner and Hedwig Levenstein, both Jewish. Newspaper reports of his death identify him as being born in the Kingdom of Galicia. From 1892 to 1917 he was married to painter Elisabeth Hendrich with whom he had five children. After they divorced Eisner married Elise Belli, an editor. With her, he had two daughters.
Eisner studied philosophy, but then became a journalist in Marburg
Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...
. From 1890 to 1895, he was contributing editor of the '' Frankfurter Zeitung'', during which time he wrote an article attacking Kaiser Wilhelm II
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...
, and for which he spent nine months in prison. Eisner was always an open republican as well as a Social-Democrat, joining the SPD in 1898, although for tactical reasons, German Social-Democracy, particularly in its later stages, rather cold-shouldered anything in the shape of republican propaganda as unnecessary and included in general Social-Democratic aims. Consequently, he fought actively for political democracy as well as Social-Democracy. He became editor of '' Vorwärts'' after the death of Wilhelm Liebknecht in 1900, but in 1905 was called upon to resign by a majority of the editorial board, which favored more orthodox Marxists. After that, his activities were confined in the main to Bavaria, though he toured other parts of Germany. He was chief editor of the ''Fränkische Tagespost'' in Nuremberg
Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...
from 1907 to 1910, and afterward became a freelance
''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...
journalist in Munich.
Eisner joined the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (, USPD) was a short-lived political party in Germany during the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. The organization was established in 1917 as the result of a split of anti-war members of t ...
in 1917, at the height 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 ...
, and was convicted of treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...
in 1918 for his role in inciting a strike
Strike may refer to:
People
*Strike (surname)
* Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books
Physical confrontation or removal
*Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm
* Airstrike, ...
of munitions workers. He spent nine months in Cell 70 of Stadelheim Prison, but was released during the General Amnesty in October of that year.[ Richard J. Evans ''The Coming of the Third Reich'', 2003.]
After his release from prison, Eisner organized the revolution that overthrew the monarchy in Bavaria (''see German Revolution
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
''). He declared Bavaria to be a free state and republic, the People's State of Bavaria
The People's State of Bavaria () was a socialist republic in Bavaria which existed from November 1918 to April 1919. It was established during the German revolution of 1918–1919, German revolution as an attempt at a socialist state to replace ...
, on 8 November 1918, becoming the first republican premier of Bavaria. On 23 November 1918, he leaked documents from the Bavarian plenipotentiary
A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of a sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word can als ...
in Berlin during July and August 1914 that he thought proved that the war was caused by "a small horde of mad Prussian military" men as well as "allied" industrialists, capitalists, politicians, and princes. At the Berne Conference of Socialists held in Bern
Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
, Switzerland, he attacked moderate German socialists for their refusal to acknowledge Germany's part in bringing about 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 ...
. For that speech, and for his uncompromising hostility to Prussia, he became bitterly hated by large sections of the German people.
Death and legacy
Eisner was assassinated in Munich when German nationalist Anton Graf von Arco auf Valley
Anton von Padua Alfred Emil Hubert Georg Graf von Arco auf Valley (5 February 1897 – 29 June 1945), commonly known as Anton Arco-Valley, was a German far-right activist, Bavarian nationalist and nobleman. He assassinated socialist Bavari ...
shot him in the back on 21 February 1919. At the time, Eisner had been on his way to present his resignation to the Bavarian parliament. His assassination resulted in the elected government of the People's State of Bavaria fleeing Munich and the establishment of the short-lived Bavarian Soviet Republic
The Bavarian Soviet Republic (or Bavarian Council Republic), also known as the Munich Soviet Republic (), was a short-lived unrecognised socialist state in Bavaria during the German revolution of 1918–1919.
A group of communists and anarchist ...
and parliament.
Arco-Valley was tried for murder in January 1920. He was found guilty and sentenced to death, but his sentence was reduced to life imprisonment. The State Prosecutor said of him, "If the whole German youth were imbued with such a glowing enthusiasm we could face the future with confidence." He served his sentence of fortress confinement at Landsberg Prison in cell 70, and in 1924 he was evicted from his cell to make way for Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
. He was released in 1925, and was on probation until 1927, when he was pardoned. In June 1945, Arco-Valley was killed in a traffic accident in Salzburg
Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...
, after the horse-drawn carriage which he was riding in collided with a U.S. Army vehicle.
Eisner had a very large funeral with thousands of attendants coming to mourn his death. One guest who was there was Adolf Hitler. In surviving footage of Eisner's funeral, Hitler can be seen wearing a black armband to symbolize the mourning of Eisner, as well as a red armband which represented support for the socialist revolution in Munich.
When the Passau
Passau (; ) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the ("City of Three Rivers"), as the river Danube is joined by the Inn (river), Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north.
Passau's population is about 50,000, of whom ...
labor union tried to stage a play about Eisner at the bishopric theater in 1920, Reichswehr
''Reichswehr'' (; ) was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first two years of Nazi Germany. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...
soldiers and high school students sabotaged it, using weapons from the military arsenal. Among other things, 11 machine guns were used. The incident, dubbed the ''Passau Theater Scandal'', triggered media headlines and a variety of judicial procedures.
Eisner was buried in the Munich ''Ostfriedhof''. On 1 May 1922 the Free Trades Unions of Munich (''Münchner Freien Gewerkschaften'') commissioned a monument dedicated to "the Dead of the Revolution". The urn containing Eisner's ashes was walled into its pedestal. Shortly after the National Socialists took power the Monument to the Revolution was destroyed: it was demolished on 22 June 1933, and the urn with Eisner's ashes was moved to the New Jewish Cemetery, where it is still buried. The monument in the Ostfriedhof was re-created after World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
by the artist Konstantin Frick as a faithful copy of the original.
In 1989, a monument was installed in the pavement at the site of Eisner's assassination. It reads, ''Kurt Eisner, der am 9. November 1918 die Bayerische Republik ausrief, nachmaliger Ministerpräsident des Volksstaates Bayern, wurde an dieser Stelle am 21. Februar 1919 ermordet'' ("Kurt Eisner, who proclaimed the Bavarian republic on 8 November 1918 – later Prime Minister of the Republic of Bavaria – was murdered here on 21 February 1919").
Works
Eisner was the author of various books and pamphlets, including:
* ''Psychopathia Spiritualis'' (1892, "Spiritual Psychopathy")
* ''Eine Junkerrevolte'' (1899, "A Junker
Junker (, , , , , , ka, იუნკერი, ) is a noble honorific, derived from Middle High German , meaning 'young nobleman'Duden; Meaning of Junker, in German/ref> or otherwise 'young lord' (derivation of and ). The term is traditionally ...
revolt")
* '' Wilhelm Liebknecht'' (1900)
* ''Feste der Festlosen'' (1903, "Fortress of those without feasts")
* ''Die Neue Zeit'' (1919, "The New Age")
References
Further reading
Universitätsbibliothek Regensburg – Bosls bayrische Biographie – Kurt Eisner
(in German), author: Karl Bosl, publisher: Pustet, page 172
(in German)
External links
''Justice'', 27th February 1919.
Picture of Kurt Eisner, taken in early 1918
Historisches Lexikon Bayerns
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Eisner, Kurt
1867 births
1919 deaths
Politicians from Berlin
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19th-century German Jews
Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians
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