Moritz Karl Georg Wiggers (October 17, 1816 – July 30, 1894), German politician, started out as a lawyer and a notary in his home town of

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...

. The

Revolution of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europe ...

prompted him to enter public life as a representative to the

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...

constitutional convention, of which he was also elected president. Once the constitution was adopted in 1849, he was elected to its legislature, again being named president. A court of arbitration in Freienwalde declared the constitution as invalid, and the legislature was dissolved in 1850. Wiggers regarded this action as illegal and called the legislature to meet again, but this was prevented by force. He was also tried for aiding the flight of

Gottfried Kinkel Johann Gottfried Kinkel (11 August 1815 – 13 November 1882) was a German poet also noted for his revolutionary activities and his escape from a Prussian prison in Spandau with the help of his friend Carl Schurz. Early life He was born at Ober ...

from Spandau prison, but was acquitted. Nevertheless, he was caught up by the "Rostock high-treason proceedings." A police agent had infiltrated Wiggers' democratic club, and in 1853, he was tried for

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...

and imprisoned. On his release in 1857, he remained a private citizen for a decade. In 1867, he was elected as representative from the third

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 ...

precinct (not being permitted to run in Mecklenburg) to the Reichstag of the

North German Confederation The North German Confederation (german: Norddeutscher Bund) was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated st ...

. In 1871, he was elected as representative, from Berlin and Mecklenburg, to the German Reichstag. There he served with the German Progressive Party until 1881. After this time, he devoted himself to the construction of a canal between Rostock and Berlin. He was the author of several historical studies, political pamphlets and reports on the progress of the canal. His outstanding traits were his unyielding commitment to his liberal convictions and his peaceable nature.

Works

* ''Die mecklenburgische Steuerreform'' (Tax Reform in Mecklenburg) (1861) * ''Preußen und der Zollverein'' (Prussia and the Customs Union) (1862) * ''Die Finanzverhältnisse des Großherzogtums Mecklenburg-Schwerins'' (Financial Affairs of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin) (1866)

References

* * Carl Schurz, ''Reminiscences'' (3 volumes), New York: The McClure Company, 1907. Wiggers' role in the escape of Gottfried Kinkel from Spandau prison is mentioned in Chapter XI of Volume One. 1816 births 1894 deaths People from Rostock People from the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin German Lutherans German Progress Party politicians Members of the 1st Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the 2nd Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the 3rd Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the 4th Reichstag of the German Empire German revolutionaries People of the Revolutions of 1848 19th-century Lutherans {{Germany-politician-stub