Eugen Oswald Gustav Ernst (20 September 1864 – 31 May 1954) was a German

Social Democrat 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 soc ...

and

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

politician. His appointment as President of the Police of Berlin in January 1919 prompted the

Spartacist uprising The Spartacist uprising (German: ), also known as the January uprising (), was a general strike and the accompanying armed struggles that took place in Berlin from 5 to 12 January 1919. It occurred in connection with the November Revolutio ...

in Berlin.

Biography

Eugen Ernst was born in Murowana-Goslin, Province of Posen,

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

(now Murowana Goślina, Poland). His father was a carpenter, he attended school in

Werder (Havel) Werder (Havel) (official name derived from ''Werder an der Havel'' ("Werder upon Havel"), colloquially just ''Werder'') is a town in the state of Brandenburg, Germany, located on the Havel river in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, west of the sta ...

, was trained as a typesetter and worked for a book printer until 1892. Ernst joined the bookprinters union in 1884 and became a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) in 1884 or 1886. He soon held several positions as a party official and was the chairman of the intraparty oppositional "Youth" from 1891 to 1893. He served as the SPD's steward for the constituency of Berlin 6 from 1897 to 1900 and again from 1902 to 1905. In 1902/1903 he was the business executive of the socialdemocrat

Vorwärts ''Vorwärts'' (, "Forward") is a newspaper published by the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Founded in 1876, it was the central organ of the SPD for many decades. Following the party's Halle Congress (1891), it was published daily as ...

printing house and its custodian from 1903 to 1918. From 1900 to 1901 and 1917 to 1919, Ernst was a member of the SPDs' party board. Ernst was chairman of the Prussian SPD commission from 1907 to 1918 and headed the SPD electoral committee for Greater Berlin from 1915 to 1917. Berlin-Mitte Postkarte 012

In November 1918, Ernst became a member of the Soldiers and workers' council of Greater Berlin. He is either described as Minister of the Interior or Minister without portfolio in the Prussian Council of the People's Deputies under Paul Hirsch. On 4 January 1919, after the Independent Social Democratic (USPD) members of the Prussian Council of the People's deputies had left the people's council, Ernst was appointed President of the Police of Berlin by the Prussian government. His predecessor,

Emil Eichhorn Robert Emil Eichhorn (9 October 1863 – 26 July 1925) was a German politician, journalist and Chief of the Berlin Police during the German Revolution of 1918–19, 1918–1919 German Revolution. Eichhorn was born in Röhrsdorf near Chemnitz in O ...

, was the last member of the USPD holding an influential position in Berlin. Eichhorn, who worked for the

Russian Telegraph Agency Russian Telegraph Agency (russian: Российское телеграфное агентство, ''Rossiyskoye telegrafnoye agentstvo''), abbr. ROSTA, was the state news agency in Soviet Russia (1918-35). After the creation of Telegraph Agency ...

in Berlin, had supported the

Volksmarinedivision The Volksmarinedivision (People's Navy Division) was an armed unit formed on 11 November 1918 during the November Revolution that broke out in Germany following its defeat in World War I. At its peak late that month, the People's Navy Division ...

in the

Skirmish of the Berlin Schloss The Skirmish of the Berlin Schloss (German: ''Weihnachtskämpfe'' or ''Weihnachtsaufstand'' i.e. Christmas eve struggle or rebellion ) was a small skirmish between the socialist revolutionary ''Volksmarinedivision'' and regular German army u ...

in December 1918 and was dismissed from his post with the approval of the Central Workers and Soldiers council. Eichhorn however refused to accept his dismissal and kept his office at Berlin's police headquarters. He was supported by armed groups of revolutionaries when Ernst appeared at the Police headquarter at Alexanderplatz. The following day a large protest demonstration against the dismissal of Eichhorn was organized by several left-wing groups, which led to the

. In the

1919 German federal election Federal elections were held in Germany on 19 January 1919,Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p762 although members of the standing army in the east did not vote until 2 February. The elections were t ...

Ernst was elected as a member of the

Weimar National Assembly The Weimar National Assembly (German: ), officially the German National Constitutional Assembly (), was the popularly elected constitutional convention and de facto parliament of Germany from 6 February 1919 to 21 May 1920. As part of its ...

representing the Berlin 3 constituency. Ernst was criticized for his inactivity as the head of Berlin's Police forces during the

Kapp Putsch The Kapp Putsch (), also known as the Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch (), was an attempted coup against the German national government in Berlin on 13 March 1920. Named after its leaders Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz, its goal was to undo th ...

of March 1920 and lost his position as Berlin's President of the Police in April 1920. In May 1920 Ernst became President of the Police of Breslau, but was dismissed in September 1920 after local protesters had attacked the French and the Polish consulate in Breslau on 26 August 1920. From 1926 to 1933, he was town councilor in Werder (Havel). After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Ernst rejoined the Social Democratic Party, which was merged with the Communist Party in 1946. He participated in the unification conference of April 1946 but did not play any political role at that time. Ernst died in 1954 in Werder.

Publications

* ''Polizeispitzeleien und Ausnahmegesetze, 1878–1910'', Berlin, 1911 * ''Ein Leben für die Arbeiterbewegung'', 1946

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ernst, Eugen 1864 births 1954 deaths People from Poznań County People from the Province of Posen Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians Members of the Weimar National Assembly People of the German Revolution of 1918–1919 Government ministers of Prussia

Biography

Publications

See also

References

External links