Moritz Baerwald (3 December 1860 – 26 December 1919) was a German lawyer and politician of the German Democratic Party, a member of the

Prussian House of Representatives The Prussian House of Representatives (german: Preußisches Abgeordnetenhaus) was the lower chamber of the Landtag of Prussia (german: Preußischer Landtag), the parliament of Prussia from 1850 to 1918. Together with the upper house, the House of ...

and the Weimar National Assembly. Baerwald was born in

Thorn Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Com ...

, West Prussia (Toruń, Poland), where he grew up and passed his

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

. He studied law at the Universities of Heidelberg, Leipzig and Berlin and started to practise as a lawyer in

Bromberg Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

(Bydgoszcz, Poland) in 1887 (notary since 1908). Baerwald became an active member of the Jewish community of Bromberg and, in 1902, a member of the executive board of the Chamber of Advocates of Posen (Poznań, Poland). In 1903 Baerwald was elected a member of the town council of Bromberg and represented the constituency of Bromberg 5 (Mogilno – Wongrowitz – Znin) in the Prussian House of Representatives from 1912 to 1918. Following World War I he became a member of the Weimar National Assembly, where he vehemently opposed the incorporation of the

Province of Posen The Province of Posen (german: Provinz Posen, pl, Prowincja Poznańska) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1848 to 1920. Posen was established in 1848 following the Greater Poland Uprising as a successor to the Grand Duchy of Posen, w ...

into the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

. Baerwald died in December 1919, within the legislative session, in Berlin and was buried at the Weißensee cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baerwald, Moritz 1860 births 1919 deaths People from Toruń People from West Prussia Heidelberg University alumni Leipzig University alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Jewish German politicians German Democratic Party politicians Members of the Prussian House of Representatives Members of the Weimar National Assembly