Franz Josef Heinz, known as Heinz-Orbis, (25 February 1884 - 9 January 1924) was a Palatine 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 (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

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

German People's Party The German People's Party (German: , or DVP) was a liberal party during the Weimar Republic that was the successor to the National Liberal Party of the German Empire. A right-liberal, or conservative-liberal political party, it represented politi ...

(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 (german: Rheinische Republik) 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 ...

in the occupied Rhineland territory had developed, encouraged by the French. In August 1923 a republic was proclaimed under Josef Friedrich Matthes 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 ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...

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

French franc The franc (, ; 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 amount of money. It w ...

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

hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic Hyperinflation affected the German Papiermark, the currency of the Weimar Republic, between 1921 and 1923, primarily in 1923. It caused considerable internal political instability in the country, the occupation of the Ruhr by France and Belgium, ...

. With the approval of the Bavarian government, a detachment of the

Viking League The Viking League (German: ''Bund Wiking'') was a German political and paramilitary organization in existence from 1923 to 1928. It was founded on 2 May 1923 in Munich by members of the banned Organisation Consul as the successor to this group ...

, 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 (; pfl, Bärmesens (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 ''Lan ...

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 who died in the shoot-out after 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 People from the Palatinate (region)