Maximilian, Margrave of Baden (''Maximilian Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm''; 10 July 1867 – 6 November 1929),
Almanach de Gotha
The ''Almanach de Gotha'' (german: Gothaischer Hofkalender) is a directory of Europe's royalty and higher nobility, also including the major governmental, military and diplomatic corps, as well as statistical data by country. First publish ...
. ''Haus Baden (Maison de Bade)''. Justus Perthes
Johann Georg Justus Perthes (11 September 1749, Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt – 2 May 1816, Gotha, Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg) was a German publisher and founder of the publishing house that bears his name. Life
He was born in the Thuringian t ...
, Gotha, 1944, p. 18, (French). also known as Max von Baden, was a
German prince The terms German Prince or German Princess are often used to refer to members of royalty that were from a German state. Today Germany is one nation, but until 1914, Germany and Central Europe were ruled over by a large number of independent states. ...
, general, and politician. He was heir presumptive to the throne of the
Grand Duchy of Baden, and in October and November 1918 briefly served as the last
chancellor of the German Empire
The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,; often shortened to ''Bundeskanzler''/''Bundeskanzlerin'', / is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the G ...
and
minister-president of Prussia
The office of Minister-President (german: Ministerpräsident), or Prime Minister, of Prussia existed from 1848, when it was formed by King Frederick William IV during the 1848–49 Revolution, until the abolition of Prussia in 1947 by the Alli ...
. He sued for peace on Germany's behalf at the end 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 ...
based on U.S. President
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
's
Fourteen Points
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson
The Fourteen Points was a statement of principles for peace that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end World War I. The principles were outlined in a January 8, 1918 speech on war aims and peace terms ...
, which included immediately transforming the government into a parliamentary system, by handing over the office of chancellor to
SPD
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany.
Saskia Esken has been t ...
Chairman
Friedrich Ebert
Friedrich Ebert (; 4 February 187128 February 1925) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the first president of Germany from 1919 until his death in office in 1925.
Ebert was elected leader of the SPD on t ...
and unilaterally proclaiming the abdication of
Emperor Wilhelm II
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empi ...
. Both events took place on 9 November 1918, the beginning of the
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...
.
Early life
![Crown princess Victoria of Baden with Max von Baden and crown prince Gustav in the 1890s](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Crown_princess_Victoria_of_Baden_with_Max_von_Baden_and_crown_prince_Gustav_in_the_1890s.jpg)
Born in
Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the Rhine, the border with Fra ...
on 10 July 1867, Maximilian was a member of the
House of Baden
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
, the son of Prince
Wilhelm Max (1829–1897), third son of Grand Duke
Leopold
Leopold may refer to:
People
* Leopold (given name)
* Leopold (surname)
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
* Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons''
* Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...
(1790–1852) and
Princess Maria Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg
Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning wiktionary:principal, principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. ...
(1841–1914), a granddaughter of
Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg (; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French nobleman, statesman, and military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
Through the second marr ...
. He was named after his maternal grandfather,
Maximilian de Beauharnais, and bore a resemblance to his cousin, Emperor
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
.
Max received a
humanistic education
Humanistic education (also called person-centered education) is an approach to education based on the work of humanistic psychologists, most notably Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. Rogers is regarded as the founder of humanistic psychology and ...
at a ''
Gymnasium'' secondary school and studied
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
and
cameralism
Cameralism ( German: ''Kameralismus'') was a German science of public administration in the 18th and early 19th centuries that aimed at strong management of a centralized economy for the benefit mainly of the state. The discipline in its most n ...
at the
Leipzig University
Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December ...
. Upon the order of
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
, Prince Max was brought to
Darmstadt in the
Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine
The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (german: link=no, Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein) was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Grand Duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 ...
as a suitor for Victoria's granddaughter,
Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt. Alix was the daughter of Victoria's late daughter,
Princess Alice, and
Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse
English: Frederick William Louis Charles
, house = Hesse-Darmstadt
, father = Prince Charles of Hesse and by Rhine
, mother = Princess Elisabeth of Prussia
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Prinz-Carl-Palais, Darmstadt, Gra ...
. Alix quickly rejected Prince Max, as she was in love with
Nicholas II, the future Tsar of Russia.
[Massie, R, ''Nicholas and Alexandra'', p.49] Max von Baden was homosexual and even listed on an according list of the Berlin criminal police as a young officer, however in 1900 he decided for dynastic reasons to marry
Princess Marie Louise of Hanover and Cumberland. So did the future King
Gustaf V of Sweden
Gustaf V (Oscar Gustaf Adolf; 16 June 1858 – 29 October 1950) was King of Sweden from 8 December 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxem ...
who married Max's cousin
Victoria of Baden
Sophie Marie Victoria of Baden (german: Sophie Marie Viktoria; 7 August 1862 – 4 April 1930) was Queen of Sweden from 8 December 1907 until her death in 1930 as the wife of King Gustaf V. She was politically active in a conservative fashion du ...
.
Early military and political career
![Prince Max of Baden, 1902](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Prince_Max_of_Baden%2C_1902.jpg)
After finishing his studies, he trained as an officer of the
Prussian Army. Following the death of his uncle Grand Duke
Frederick I of Baden
Frederick I (german: Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig; 9 September 1826 – 28 September 1907) was the Grand Duke of Baden from 1858 to 1907.
Life
Frederick was born in Karlsruhe, Baden, on 9 September 1826. He was the third son of Leopold, Gra ...
in 1907, he became heir to the grand-ducal throne of his cousin
Frederick II, whose marriage remained childless.
He also became president of the ''Erste Badische Kammer'' (the upper house of the parliament of Baden).
In 1911, Max applied for a military discharge with the rank of a ''Generalmajor'' (
Major general
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
).
World War I
Upon the outbreak 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 ...
in 1914, he served as a
general staff officer at the
XIV Corps 14 Corps, 14th Corps, Fourteenth Corps, or XIV Corps may refer to:
* XIV Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* XIV Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World ...
of the
German Army as the representative of the Grand Duke (XIV Corps included the troops from Baden).
Shortly afterwards, however, he retired from his position (''General der Kavallerie à la suite'') as he was dissatisfied with his role in the military and was suffering from ill health.
In October 1914, he became honorary president of the Baden section of the
German Red Cross
The German Red Cross (german: Deutsches Rotes Kreuz ; DRK) is the national Red Cross Society in Germany.
With 4 million members, it is the third largest Red Cross society in the world. The German Red Cross offers a wide range of services withi ...
, thus beginning his work for
prisoners-of-war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...
inside and outside Germany in which he made use of his family connections to the Russian and Swedish courts as well as his connections to Switzerland.
In 1916, he became honorary president of the German-American support union for prisoners of war within the
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...
world alliance.
Due to his
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
stance he came into conflict with the policies of the ''
Oberste Heeresleitung
The ''Oberste Heeresleitung'' (, Supreme Army Command or OHL) was the highest echelon of command of the army (''Heer'') of the German Empire. In the latter part of World War I, the Third OHL assumed dictatorial powers and became the ''de facto'' ...
'' (OHL – Supreme Army Command) supreme command under
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (; abbreviated ; 2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German field marshal and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I and later became President of Germany fr ...
and
Erich Ludendorff
Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (9 April 1865 – 20 December 1937) was a German general, politician and military theorist. He achieved fame during World War I for his central role in the German victories at Liège and Tannenberg in 1914 ...
. He openly spoke against the resumption of the unrestricted
submarine warfare in 1917, which provoked the
declaration of war by the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
on 6 April.
His activity in the interests of prisoners of war, as well as his tolerant, easy-going character gave him a reputation as an urbane personality who kept his distance from the extremes of nationalism and official war enthusiasm in evidence elsewhere at the time.
Since he was almost unknown to the public, it was mainly due to
Kurt Hahn
Kurt Matthias Robert Martin Hahn (5 June 1886, Berlin – 14 December 1974, Hermannsberg) was a German educator. He was decisive in founding, among other organizations and initiatives, Stiftung Louisenlund, Schule Schloss Salem, Gordonsto ...
, who served from spring 1917 in the military office of the Foreign Ministry, that he was later considered for the position of chancellor. Hahn maintained close links with Secretary of State
Wilhelm Solf
Wilhelm Heinrich Solf (5 October 1862 – 6 February 1936) was a German scholar, diplomat, jurist and statesman.
Early life
Solf was born into a wealthy and liberal family in Berlin. He attended secondary schools in Anklam, western Pomerania, an ...
and several
Reichstag deputies like
Eduard David
Eduard Heinrich Rudolph David (11 June 1863 – 24 December 1930) was a German politician. He was an important figure in the history of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and of the German political labour movement. After the German Re ...
(
SPD
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany.
Saskia Esken has been t ...
) and (
FVP). David pushed for Max to be appointed Chancellor in July 1917, after the fall of Chancellor
Bethmann-Hollweg
Theobald Theodor Friedrich Alfred von Bethmann Hollweg (29 November 1856 – 1 January 1921) was a German politician who was the chancellor of the German Empire from 1909 to 1917. He oversaw the German entry into World War I. According to bio ...
. Max then put himself forward for the position in early September 1918, pointing out his links to the social democrats, but Emperor
Wilhelm II
, house = Hohenzollern
, father = Frederick III, German Emperor
, mother = Victoria, Princess Royal
, religion = Lutheranism (Prussian United)
, signature = Wilhelm II, German Emperor Signature-.svg
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor ...
turned him down.
Chancellor
Appointment
After the ''Oberste Heeresleitung'' (OHL) told the government in late September 1918 that the German front was about to collapse and asked for immediate negotiation of an armistice, the cabinet of Chancellor
Georg von Hertling
Georg Friedrich Karl Freiherr von Hertling, from 1914 Count von Hertling, (31 August 1843 – 4 January 1919) was a German politician of the Catholic Centre Party. He was foreign minister and minister president of Bavaria, then chancellor of t ...
resigned on 30 September 1918. Hertling, after consulting Vice-Chancellor
Friedrich von Payer (FVP), suggested Prince Max of Baden as his successor to the emperor. However, it took the additional support of Haußmann, the
oberst
''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...
, , and Ludendorff himself, to have Wilhelm II appoint Max as
Chancellor of Germany and
Minister President of Prussia
The office of Minister-President (german: Ministerpräsident), or Prime Minister, of Prussia existed from 1848, when it was formed by King Frederick William IV during the 1848–49 Revolution, until the abolition of Prussia in 1947 by the All ...
.
Max was to head a new government, based on the majority parties of the Reichstag (
SPD
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany.
Saskia Esken has been t ...
,
Centre Party and
FVP). When Max arrived in Berlin on 1 October, he had no idea that he would be asked to approach the
Allies about an armistice. Horrified, Max fought against the plan. Moreover, he also admitted openly that he was no politician, and that he did not think additional steps towards "parliamentarisation" and democratisation feasible, as long as the war continued. Consequently, he did not favour a liberal reform of the constitution.
However, Emperor Wilhelm II convinced him to take the post, and appointed him on 3 October 1918. The message asking for an armistice went out only on 4 October, not as originally planned on 1 October, hopefully to be accepted by US President
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
.
In office
Although Max had serious reservations about the conditions under which the OHL was willing to conduct negotiations and tried to interpret Wilson's
Fourteen Points
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson
The Fourteen Points was a statement of principles for peace that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end World War I. The principles were outlined in a January 8, 1918 speech on war aims and peace terms ...
in a way most favourable to the German position,
he accepted the charge. He appointed a government that for the first time included representatives of the largest party in the Reichstag, the
Social Democratic Party of Germany, as state secretaries:
Philipp Scheidemann
Philipp Heinrich Scheidemann (26 July 1865 – 29 November 1939) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). In the first quarter of the 20th century he played a leading role in both his party and in the young Weimar ...
and
Gustav Bauer
Gustav Adolf Bauer (; 6 January 1870 – 16 September 1944) was a German Social Democratic Party leader and the chancellor of Germany from June 1919 to March 1920. He served as head of government for nine months. Prior to becoming head of gover ...
. This was following up on an idea of Ludendorff's and former Foreign Secretary
Paul von Hintze
Paul von Hintze (13 February 1864, in Schwedt/Oder – 19 August 1941, in Meran) was a German naval officer, diplomat, and politician who served as Foreign Minister of Germany in the last stages of World War I, from July to October 1918.
Upbring ...
's (as the representative of the Hertling cabinet) who had agreed on 29 September that the request for an armistice must not come from the old regime, but from one based on the majority parties.
The official reason for appointing a government based on a parliamentary majority was to make it harder for the American president to refuse a peace offer. The need to convince Wilson was also the driving factor behind the move towards "parliamentarisation" that was to make the Chancellor and his government answerable to the Reichstag, as they had not been under the Empire so far. Ludendorff, however, was more interested in shifting the blame for the lost war to the politicians and to the Reichstag parties.
The Allies were cautious, distrusting Max as a member of a ruling family of Germany. These doubts were intensified by the publication of a personal letter Max had written to Prince Alexander zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst in early 1918, in which he had expressed criticism of "parliamentarisation" and his opposition to the ''Friedensresolution'' of the Reichstag of July 1917, when a majority had demanded a negotiated peace rather than a peace by victory.
President Wilson reacted with reserve to the German initiative and took his time to agree to the request for an armistice, sending three diplomatic notes between 8 October and 23 October 1918. When Ludendorff changed his mind about the armistice and suddenly advocated continued fighting, Max opposed him in a cabinet meeting on 17 October 1918.
On 24 October, Ludendorff issued an army order that called Wilson's third note "unacceptable" and called on the troops to fight on. On 25 October, Hindenburg and Ludendorff then ignored explicit instructions by the Chancellor and travelled to Berlin. Max asked for Ludendorff to be dismissed; Wilhelm II agreed. On 26 October, the emperor told Ludendorff that he had lost his trust. Ludendorff offered his resignation and Wilhelm II accepted.
While trying to move towards an armistice, Max von Baden, advised closely by Hahn (who also wrote his speeches), Haußmann and
Walter Simons, worked with the representatives of the majority parties in his cabinet (Scheidemann and Bauer for the SPD,
Matthias Erzberger
Matthias Erzberger (20 September 1875 – 26 August 1921) was a German writer and politician (Centre Party), the minister of Finance from 1919 to 1920.
Prominent in the Catholic Centre Party, he spoke out against World War I from 1917 and as a ...
, and for the Centre Party, Payer and, after 14 October, Haußmann for the FVP). Although some of the initiatives were a result of the notes sent by Wilson, they were also in line with the parties' manifestos: making the Chancellor, his government and the
Prussian Minister of War
The Prussian War Ministry was gradually established between 1808 and 1809 as part of a series of reforms initiated by the Military Reorganization Commission created after the disastrous Treaties of Tilsit. The War Ministry was to help bring the ...
answerable to parliament (''Reichstag'' and ''Preußischer Landtag''), introducing a more democratic voting system in the place of the ''
Dreiklassenwahlrecht'' (Three-class franchise) in Prussia, the replacement of the Governor of
Alsace-Lorraine with the Mayor of
Straßburg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
, appointing a local deputy from the Centre Party as Secretary of State for Alsace-Lorraine and some other adjustments in government personnel.
Pushed by the social democrats, the government passed a widespread amnesty, under which political prisoners like
Karl Liebknecht
Karl Paul August Friedrich Liebknecht (; 13 August 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a German socialist and anti-militarist. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) beginning in 1900, he was one of its deputies in the Reichstag fro ...
were released. Under Max von Baden, the bureaucracy, military and political leadership of the old Empire began a cooperation with the leaders of the majority parties and with the individual states of the empire. This cooperation was to have a significant impact on later events during the revolution.
In late October, the
Imperial constitution was heavily amended to transform the empire into a British-style constitutional monarchy. However, Wilson's third note seemed to imply that negotiations for an armistice would be dependent on the abdication of Wilhelm II. Max and his government now feared that a military collapse and a socialist revolution at home were becoming likelier with every day that went by. In fact, the government's efforts to secure an armistice were interrupted by the
Kiel mutiny
The Kiel mutiny () was a major revolt by sailors of the German High Seas Fleet on 3 November 1918. The revolt triggered the German revolution which was to sweep aside the monarchy within a few days. It ultimately led to the end of the German E ...
, which began with events at
Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsh ...
on 30 October and the outbreak of
revolution in Germany in early November. On 1 November, Max wrote to all the ruling Princes of Germany, asking them whether they would approve of an abdication by the Emperor.
On 6 November, the Chancellor sent Erzberger to conduct the negotiations with the Allies. Max, seriously ill with
Spanish influenza
The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...
, urged Wilhelm II to abdicate. The Emperor, who had fled from revolutionary Berlin to the
Spa headquarters of the OHL in Belgium, despite similar advice by Hindenburg and Ludendorff's successor
Wilhelm Groener
Karl Eduard Wilhelm Groener (; 22 November 1867 – 3 May 1939) was a German general and politician. His organisational and logistical abilities resulted in a successful military career before and during World War I.
After a confrontation wi ...
of the OHL, was willing to consider abdication only as German Emperor, not as King of Prussia.
This was not possible under the imperial constitution as it stood. Article 11 defined the empire as a confederation of states under the permanent presidency of the king of Prussia, meaning that the imperial crown was tied to the Prussian crown.
Revolution and resignation
On 7 November, Max met with
Friedrich Ebert
Friedrich Ebert (; 4 February 187128 February 1925) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the first president of Germany from 1919 until his death in office in 1925.
Ebert was elected leader of the SPD on t ...
, leader of the SPD, and discussed his plan to go to Spa and convince Wilhelm II to abdicate. He considered installing
Prince Eitel Friedrich, Wilhelm's second son, as regent;
however, the outbreak of
the revolution in Berlin prevented Max from implementing his plan. Ebert decided that to keep control of the socialist uprising the Emperor must abdicate quickly and a new government was required.
As the masses gathered in Berlin, at noon on 9 November 1918, Maximilian went ahead and unilaterally announced Wilhelm's abdication of both the imperial and Prussian crowns, as well as the renunciation of
Crown Prince Wilhelm
Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, Crown Prince of Prussia (Friedrich Wilhelm Victor August Ernst; 6 May 1882 – 20 July 1951) was the eldest child of the last ''Kaiser'', the German Emperor, Wilhelm II, and his consort Augusta Victoria of Schles ...
.
Shortly thereafter, Ebert appeared in the
Reichskanzlei
The Reich Chancellery (german: Reichskanzlei) was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany (then called ''Reichskanzler'') in the period of the German Reich from 1878 to 1945. The Chancellery's seat, selected and prepared s ...
and demanded that the government be handed over to him and the SPD, as that was the only way to keep up law and order. In an unconstitutional move, Max resigned and appointed Ebert as his successor.
On the same day, Philipp Scheidemann spontaneously
proclaimed Germany a republic in order to placate the masses and prevent a socialist revolution. When Maximilian later visited Ebert to say goodbye before leaving Berlin, Ebert – who urgently wanted to keep up the old order, improving it through parliamentary rule, and head a legitimate, not a revolutionary government – asked him to stay on as regent (''
Reichsverweser
A ''Reichsverweser'' (German pronunciation: ) or imperial regent represented a monarch when there was a vacancy in the throne, such as during a prolonged absence or in the period between the monarch's death and the accession of a successor. The t ...
''). Maximilian refused and, turning his back on politics for good, departed for Baden.
Although events had overtaken him during his tenure at the Reichskanzlei and he was not considered a strong Chancellor, Max is seen today as having played a vital role in enabling the transition from the old regime to a democratic government based on the majority parties and the Reichstag. This made the government of Ebert that emerged from the November revolution acceptable to some conservative forces in the bureaucracy and military, which was one of Ebert's strongest aims. They were thus willing to ally themselves with him against the more radical demands by the revolutionaries on the far-left.
Later life and death
Maximilian spent the rest of his life in retirement. He rejected a mandate to the 1919
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 ...
, offered to him by the
German Democratic politician
Max Weber. In 1920, together with Kurt Hahn, he established the
Schule Schloss Salem
Schule Schloss Salem (Anglicisation: ''School of Salem Castle'', ''Salem Castle School'') is a boarding school with campuses in Salem and Überlingen in Baden-Württemberg, Southern Germany.
It offers the German Abitur, as well as the Inter ...
boarding school, which was intended to help educate a new German intellectual elite.
Max also published a number of books, assisted by Hahn: ''Völkerbund und Rechtsfriede'' (1919), ''Die moralische Offensive'' (1921) and ''Erinnerungen und Dokumente'' (1927).
In 1928, following the death of
Grand Duke Frederick II, who had been deposed in November 1918 when the German monarchies were abolished, Maximilian became head of the
House of Zähringen, assuming the dynasty's historical title of ''Margrave of Baden''. He died at
Salem on 6 November the following year.
Children
Maximilian was married to
Princess Marie Louise of Hanover and Cumberland, eldest daughter of
Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover
en, Ernest Augustus William Adolphus George Frederick
, house = Hanover
, father = George V of Hanover
, mother = Marie of Saxe-Altenburg
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Hanover, Kingdom of Hanover
, death_date =
, death_place = Gmunde ...
, and
Thyra of Denmark
Princess Thyra of Denmark, , (Thyra Amalie Caroline Charlotte Anna; 29 September 1853 – 26 February 1933) was the youngest daughter and fifth child of Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel. In 1878, she married Ernest Augustus, ...
, on 10 July 1900 in Gmunden, Austria-Hungary. The couple had two children:
*
Princess Marie Alexandra of Baden (1 August 1902 – 29 January 1944); married
Prince Wolfgang of Hesse
Prince Wolfgang of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) (''Wolfgang Moritz''; 6 November 1896 – 12 July 1989) was the designated Hereditary Prince of the monarchy of Finland (with the irredentist pretension to Estonia), and as such, already called th ...
,
Landgrave
Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' (" margrave"), ...
of
Hesse-Kassel
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Kassel), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, was a state in the Holy Roman Empire that was directly subject to the Emperor. The state was created in 1567 when the Lan ...
, son of
Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse-Kassel, designated
King of Finland
This is a list of monarchs and heads of state of Finland; that is, the kings of Sweden with regents and viceroys of the Kalmar Union, the grand dukes of Finland, a title used by most Swedish monarchs, up to the two-year regency following the inde ...
, and
Princess Margaret of Prussia English: Margaret Beatrice Feodora
, house = Hohenzollern
, father = Frederick III, German Emperor
, mother = Victoria, Princess Royal
, birth_date =
, birth_place = New Palace, Potsdam, Prussia, German Empire
, d ...
; no issue. Marie Alexandra was killed in a bombing of
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
by the
Allies of World War II
The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during the Second World War (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy ...
.
*
Prince Berthold of Baden (24 February 1906 – 27 October 1963); later Margrave of Baden; married
Princess Theodora, daughter of
Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark
Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark ( el, Ανδρέας; da, Andreas; – 3 December 1944) of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, was the seventh child and fourth son of King George I of Greece and Olga Constantino ...
and
Princess Alice of Battenberg
Princess Alice of Battenberg (Victoria Alice Elizabeth Julia Marie; 25 February 1885 – 5 December 1969) was the mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, mother-in-law of Queen Elizabeth II, and the paternal grandmother of King Charles III ...
. Theodora was the sister of
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...
.
Titles, styles and honours
Titles and styles
* 10 July 1867 – 8 August 1928: ''His Grand Ducal Highness'' Prince Maximilian of Baden
* 9 August 1928 – 6 November 1929: ''His Royal Highness'' The Margrave of Baden
Honours
;Domestic
[''Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee und des XIII. (Königlich Württembergischen) Armeekorps für 1914.'' Hrsg.: Kriegsministerium. Ernst Siegfried Mittler & Sohn. Berlin 1914. S. 355.][Lothar Machtan: ''Prinz Max von Baden: Der letzte Kanzler des Kaisers.'' Suhrkamp Verlag. Berlin 2013. . p. 246.]
;Foreign
* :
Grand Cross of St. Stephen, ''1900''
* : Grand Cordon of the
Order of Leopold (military), ''2 October 1906''
* :
Grand Cross of St. Alexander
* :
Knight of the Elephant
The Order of the Elephant ( da, Elefantordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional ...
, ''10 July 1900''
* : Grand Cross of the
Order of Prince Danilo I
The Order of Prince Danilo I ( cnr, Орден Књаза Данила I, translit=Orden Knjaza Danila I) was an order of the Principality and later Kingdom, of Montenegro. It is currently a dynastic order granted by the head of the House of Pet ...
* :
Knight of St. Andrew
*
Sweden-Norway
Sweden and Norway or Sweden–Norway ( sv, Svensk-norska unionen; no, Den svensk-norske union(en)), officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, and known as the United Kingdoms, was a personal union of the separate kingdoms of Sweden ...
:
**
Grand Cross of St. Olav, ''30 August 1887''
**
Knight of the Seraphim, ''24 April 1902''
Ancestry
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maximilian Of Baden, Prince
1867 births
1929 deaths
19th-century LGBT people
20th-century Chancellors of Germany
Chancellors of Germany
Foreign ministers of Prussia
Generals of Cavalry (Prussia)
German Empire politicians
German monarchists
German people of World War I
Heidelberg University alumni
House of Zähringen
People from Baden-Baden
People from the Grand Duchy of Baden
Princes of Baden
Prussian politicians
LGBT royalty
20th-century LGBT people
Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary
Recipients of the Iron Cross, 2nd class