Herman von Natzmer (1806–1858) was an officer in the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

and commander of an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

located in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. On June 14, 1848, the arsenal under his command was stormed by the citizens of Berlin who were protesting the dissolution of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

and the revocation of the German Constitution by King Frederick Wilhelm IV. Natzmer refused to order his troops to fire on the citizens. For his disobedience, he was tried, convicted, and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He became a hero to insurrectionists across Europe. In 1849, Natzmer escaped from prison and fled to the Palatinate where he took part in the Baden-Palatinate uprising. Following the suppression of the uprising, Natzmer escaped to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and later to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In 1852, he emigrated to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Natzmer died in 1858.Biographical note contained in the ''Collected Works of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels: Volume 10'', p. 729.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Natzmer, Herman von 1806 births 1858 deaths Prussian Army personnel