![Zabern Militärpatrouille](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Zabern_Milit%C3%A4rpatrouille.PNG)
The Zabern or Saverne Affair was a crisis of domestic policy which occurred in the
German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
at the end of 1913. It was caused by political unrest in Zabern (now
Saverne
Saverne (french: Saverne, ; Alsatian: ; german: Zabern ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is situated on the Rhine-Marne canal at the foot of a pass over the Vosges Mountains, and 45 km (27& ...
) in
Alsace-Lorraine, where two battalions of the
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
n were garrisoned, after a second-lieutenant insulted the Alsatian population. The military reacted to the protests with arbitrary illegal acts. These infringements led to a debate in the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
Reichstag about the militaristic structures of German society, as well as the position of the leadership of the Empire in relationship to
Kaiser
''Kaiser'' is the German word for "emperor" (female Kaiserin). In general, the German title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (''König''). In English, the (untranslated) word ''Kaiser'' is mainly ap ...
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 Empir ...
. The affair not only put a severe strain on the relationship between the imperial state of Alsace-Lorraine and the remainder of the German Empire, but also led to a considerable loss of prestige of the Kaiser.
Causes
Forstner insults the Alsatians
The twenty-year-old Second Lieutenant Günter Freiherr von Forstner (b.15. April 1893; d. 29. August 1915 killed in
Kobryn
Kobryn ( be, Кобрын; russian: Кобрин; pl, Kobryń; lt, Kobrynas; uk, Кобринь, Kobryn'; yi, קאָברין) is a city in the Brest Region of Belarus and the center of the Kobryn District. The city is located in the southwest ...
) spoke disparagingly about the inhabitants of Zabern on October 28 during a troop induction. He said to his soldiers, ''"If you are attacked, then make use of your weapon; if you stab such a ''Wackes'' in the process, then you'll get ten marks from me."'' (Note: ''Wackes'' is a German derogatory term for a native Alsatian and was considered inflammatory enough that German military regulations prohibited its use.)
In addition, he warned his men with seemingly aggressive language against French agents, who wanted to recruit them for the
Foreign Legion.
Public indignation and an unyielding military
On November 6, the two local newspapers, the ''Elsässer'' and the ''Zaberner Anzeiger'', informed the public about these events. The population protested strongly against this treatment by the Prussian military in the next few days. The ''Statthalter'' (governor) of Alsace-Lorraine,
Count Karl von Wedel, urged the commander of the regiment, Adolf von Reuter, as well as the commanding general,
Berthold von Deimling
Berthold Karl Adolf von Deimling (21 March 1853, Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden – 3 February 1944) was a general officer of the German Army during World War I.
Deimling entered the army in 1871, following the Franco-Prussian War, and after ...
to transfer the second lieutenant. From the viewpoint of the military, however, this was not consistent with the honor and the prestige of the German Imperial Army. Lieutenant von Forstner was sentenced to merely six days of house arrest (and the public was not informed of even this token punishment, which gave the impression that Forstner had gone completely unpunished). The official statement of the authorities in
Strasbourg
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 ...
on November 11 played down the incident, and interpreted "Wackes" as a general description for quarrelsome people. Eleven days later, ten members of the Fifth Company of Infantry Regiment 99 were arrested and accused of reporting secrets about the Saverne affair to the press.
![Saverne, Rohan Castle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Saverne%2C_Rohan_Castle.jpg)
Unimpressed by these actions, the Alsatian public continued to protest. As a further provocation, Lieutenant Forstner showed himself to the public again after his house arrest, accompanied by an escort of four armed soldiers, by order of the garrison command. Lieutenant Forstner was repeatedly derided and abused, above all by youthful demonstrators, during his appearances outside the barracks, without the local police authorities being able to prevent it. Colonel von Reuter asked the leader of the local civil administration, Director Mahl, to restore order with the aid of the police, or else he would have to take measures himself. As an Alsatian, Mahl sympathized with the population and denied the request, since the protesters were behaving peacefully and had committed no violations of the law.
The situation escalates
On November 28, a huge crowd of people again assembled before the barracks, which led this time to an inappropriate counter-reaction of the troops. Von Reuter instructed Second Lieutenant Schadt, who had command of the sentries at that time, to disperse the crowd. Schadt called the sentries to arms and ordered the crowd three times to disperse. The soldiers drove the crowd across the courtyard of the barracks into a side street, under threat of force of arms, and arrested a great number of people without any legal basis. Among the prisoners were the president, two judges and a prosecuting attorney of the Saverne court, who had accidentally gotten into the crowd when leaving the court building. Twenty-six of the arrested people were locked up in a coal cellar overnight. The editorial rooms of one of the local newspapers which had publicized Forstner were also illegally searched by soldiers after hints from an informant. A state of siege hung over the city, and
machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...
s were displayed in the streets.
Course of events
The first reactions of the Kaiser
Emperor Wilhelm II was hunting on the estate of
Max Egon Fürst zu Fürstenberg in
Donaueschingen
Donaueschingen (; Low Alemannic: ''Eschinge'') is a German town in the Black Forest in the southwest of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg in the Schwarzwald-Baar '' Kreis''. It stands near the confluence of the two sources of the river Da ...
at the time. Although this trip had been organized long before the events in Saverne, Wilhelm's lack of interest left a bad impression. According to rumors, the Empress,
Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein
, house = Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg
, father = Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
, mother = Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Dolzig Palace ...
, had even ordered a train to take her to her husband so she could persuade him to return to
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 ...
. According to the historian
Wolfgang Mommsen
Wolfgang Justin Mommsen (; 5 November 1930 – 11 August 2004) was a German historian. He was the twin brother of historian Hans Mommsen.
Biography
Wolfgang Mommsen was born in Marburg, the son of the historian Wilhelm Mommsen and great-grands ...
, Wilhelm II underestimated the political dimension of the incident in Alsace at this point in time. The reports which the ''Statthalter'' (governor) of Alsace-Lorraine, Karl von Wedel, sent to Donaueschingen, in which he described the incidents as excessive as well as unlawful, were answered so as to play for time. Wilhelm II wanted to wait for the report from the military headquarters in
Strasbourg
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 ...
first.
On November 30, the Prussian War Minister,
Erich von Falkenhayn
General Erich Georg Sebastian Anton von Falkenhayn (11 September 1861 – 8 April 1922) was the second Chief of the German General Staff of the First World War from September 1914 until 29 August 1916. He was removed on 29 August 1916 after t ...
, General Berthold Deimling and some other high-ranking officers arrived in Donaueschingen and six days of discussions began. The public became even angrier because of that, since the Kaiser apparently only wanted to hear the viewpoint of the military. Chancellor
Theobald von 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 biog ...
, who had been passed over and who came more and more under pressure, joined the conference shortly before it ended. The result was disillusionment from the view of the critical classes of the population; the Kaiser approved of the behavior of the military officers and saw no reason to believe that they had exceeded their authority. Deimling sent a brigade general to Saverne, who restored civilian authority on December 1.
Forstner's second false step
On December 2, a military exercise was held in Saverne. The scene was watched from the street by Karl Blank, a journeyman shoemaker, who burst into laughter at the sight of the young, finely dressed Forstner, and some locals that were standing around joined in. Enraged, Forstner struck down Blank with his saber, causing severe head injuries. This new act of aggression further intensified the affair.
Forstner was sentenced to 43 days of arrest by a military court in the first trial, and in the appellate trial, the verdict was reversed completely. Although he had been accompanied by five armed soldiers and Blank was unarmed, as well as paralyzed on one side, the judge interpreted his actions as self-defense, since the shoemaker had been guilty of insulting the crown. Within military circles, Forstner received encouragement, since he had defended the honor of the army with his act of violence.
Censure vote against Bethmann Hollweg
The events in Saverne also caused heated debate in the
Reichstag. The
Centre Party, the
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Fo ...
(SPD) and
Progressive People's Party directed parliamentary inquiries to the Chancellor. Three representatives, from the Centre Party, from the Progressive People's Party and
Jacques Peirotes from the SPD, opened the discussion on December 3 by explaining their critical views of the Saverne affair as representatives of their respective parties. Bethmann Hollweg played down the behavior of the military in his concluding speech. According to observers of the proceedings, he seemed visibly nervous and shaken. After him, Falkenhayn spoke before the Reichstag for the first time. He defended the officers, who had only done their duty, and sharply attacked the press, who had played up the affair with propagandistic methods to bring their influence to bear on the military.
At this time, it became clear how different the views of the Reichstag and the Chancellor were. The debate was continued on the next day. Bethmann Hollweg commented again on the events. His second speech did make a better impression, but it could no longer turn the mood of the Reichstag around. On December 4, the parliament made use of a censure vote (§ 33a of the standing orders of the Reichstag, a section which had been at its disposal since 1912) for the first time in the history of the Empire. With 293 votes, four abstentions and 54 opposing votes, which came exclusively from the ranks of the conservatives, it disapproved the behavior of the government as being "not the view of the Reichstag".
However, the vote had no effect at all, which is why the Saverne affair serves as an example of the balance of power in the German Empire of the early 20th century. When the SPD demanded that Bethmann Hollweg face the consequences of the disapproval and resign, he refused and indicated that he was only dependent upon the confidence of the Kaiser. That was how it was foreseen in article 15 of the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
. According to that, the Kaiser alone could replace the Chancellor. But he did not want to follow the decision of the Reichstag, since he wanted to resist the "parliamentarizing" of the Empire with all his might. In addition, Bethmann Hollweg denied that the question of the parliament had a binding effect on the government. The Reichstag and the
political parties
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...
were considered to be of merely secondary importance in the Empire.
An attempt by the SPD, on December 9, to
reject the chancellor's proposed budget, thus forcing him out of office, did not find sufficient approval. Only the Polish Party (''Polenpartei'') supported the suggestion of the Social Democrats.
Protests in the entire German Reich
![Simplicissimus Zabern](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Simplicissimus_Zabern.png)
On November 28, the district councillor of Saverne wrote a
telegram
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
to Kaiser Wilhelm II, Bethmann Hollweg and Falkenhayn, in which he protested against the arbitrary arrests of his citizens. Two days later, an assembly of the SPD with 3000 participants took place in
Mülhausen
Mulhouse (; Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning ''mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region, eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. It is the largest city in Haut-Rhin and second largest in Alsace a ...
, which demonstrated against the infringements of the soldiers. In a resolution, the participants described the state as a
military dictatorship
A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer.
The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the m ...
and demanded resistance against the prevailing conditions—if necessary even by means of
strikes.
In Strasbourg, the
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
s of several cities of Alsace-Lorraine appealed to the Kaiser on December 2 to take measures to guarantee the protection of their residents against military
despotism
Despotism ( el, Δεσποτισμός, ''despotismós'') is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. Normally, that entity is an individual, the despot; but (as in an autocracy) societies which limit respect and ...
.
A wave of indignation spread throughout the empire. Many were horrified about the way the military was handling things, not least in the SPD. On December 3, the SPD party chairman called upon all organizations of the party to assemblies of protest.
Four days later, rallies took place in 17 German cities—
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 ...
,
Breslau,
Chemnitz
Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt , ) is the third-largest city in the German state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city of Germany as well as the fourth largest city in the area of former East Germany a ...
,
Duisburg
Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in Nor ...
,
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...
,
Elberfeld
Elberfeld is a municipal subdivision of the German city of Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929.
History
The first official mentioning of the geographic area on the banks of today's Wupper River as "''elverfelde''" was in a docu ...
,
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
,
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
,
Mülheim an der Ruhr
Mülheim, officially Mülheim an der Ruhr () and also described as ''"City on the River"'', is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen. It is home to many compan ...
,
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
,
Solingen
Solingen (; li, Solich) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located some 25 km east of Düsseldorf along the northern edge of the region called Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr area, and, with a 2009 population of 161,366, ...
and
Strasbourg
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 ...
, among others—at which
social democrat
Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
s demonstrated against the despotic rule of the military and demanded the resignations of Bethmann Hollweg and Falkenhayn. A people's movement ignited against
militarism
Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...
and for the defense of the rights of the national minorities in the German Reich.
However, the government of the Kaiser did not relent. To avoid further problems for the time being, the Kaiser ordered a temporary move of the Saverne units from Donaueschingen on December 5. In the next two days, the soldiers moved to the troop training grounds in Oberhofen (near
Haguenau
Haguenau (; Alsatian: or ; and historically in English: ''Hagenaw'') is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department of France, of which it is a sub-prefecture.
It is second in size in the Bas-Rhin only to Strasbourg, some to the south. To the ...
) and
Bitche
Bitche ( , ; German and Lorraine Franconian: ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments of France, department, administrative regions of France, administrative region of Grand Est, northeastern France. It ...
.
Further rebellions were suppressed. On December 11, the military court in Strasbourg sentenced two recruits from Saverne to three and six weeks of military arrest respectively because they had publicly confirmed Forstner's insulting statements.
At the request of the general command of the XV army corps there, the Strasbourg police confiscated a recording made by the
gramophone company Cromer and Schrack on December 17. The recording revealed the events of the Saverne affair through dialogues with a background of drum rolls. In addition, the military instituted legal proceedings because of the insult to German officers. The protests then waned.
Consequences
The trial against von Reuter and Schadt
The trial before the military court in Strasbourg from January 5 through January 10 acquitted both of the men chiefly responsible, Colonel von Reuter and Second Lieutenant Schadt, from charges of unlawfully appropriating authority from the civilian police. The court admittedly apologized for the infringements of the soldiers, but lay the blame on the civil authorities whose task it should have been to maintain order. It referred to an order of the Prussian cabinet from 1820. According to the order, the highest-ranking military official of a city must seize legal authority if the civil authority neglects to maintain order. Because the defendants had acted on the strength of these regulations, they could not be convicted.
While many liberal citizens who had followed the trial with interest were now bitterly disappointed, great jubilation about the decision spread among the military personnel present. They congratulated the defendants, while still in the court room. Wilhelm II also was visibly pleased and even conferred a medal on von Reuter by return mail. The military left the stage as a strong and self-confident victor, and even had its inviolability in the Empire confirmed.
Legal regulation of military deployment within Germany
On January 14, the Reichstag decided to form a committee to legally regulate the rights of the military with regard to the civilian authority. Two motions of the
National Liberal Party chairman
Ernst Bassermann
Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include:
Surname
* Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst"
* Anton Ernst (1975-) ...
and the Centre politician
Martin Spahn Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austral ...
, which demanded clarification from the imperial government regarding the civilian law authority of military instances, were approved by the Reichstag ten days later.
The result, the "Regulation about use of weapons by the military and its participation in suppression of domestic unrest", was issued by the Kaiser on March 19. It forbade the Prussian army from intervening without authorization in areas of civilian responsibility. Instead, the civilian authorities had to request deployment of troops ahead of time. The law remained in existence up until January 17, 1936, when the
National Socialists
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
abolished it with the "Ordinance about the use of weapons by the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
".
Revival of the Reichstag debate
The criminal justice theoretician,
Franz von Liszt
Franz Eduard Ritter von Liszt (2 March 1851 – 21 June 1919) was a German jurist, criminologist and international law reformer. As a legal scholar, he was a proponent of the modern sociological and historical school of law. From 1898 until 1917, ...
, kindled a new debate in the Reichstag when he disputed the validity of the cabinet order from 1820. On January 23, Bethmann Hollweg confirmed the validity of the order, however, and legitimized the military actions in Saverne by doing so.
Consequences for Alsace-Lorraine
The relationship between Alsace-Lorraine and the rest of the German Empire was noticeably affected for the worse. The Alsatians and Lorrainers felt themselves more helplessly at the mercy of the arbitrariness of the German military than ever. The second chamber of the Alsace-Lorraine parliament commented on the incidents on January 14 in a resolution. While they defended the conduct of the civilian authorities, they condemned the action of the military, as well as the acquittal of Commander von Reuter.
Landtag
A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non- ...
representatives of various parties founded the ''League for the Defense of Alsace-Lorraine'' in Strasbourg on February 26. In addition, the parliament issued a decree on June 16, according to which all persons conscripted in the future could only perform their service outside of the German state (that is, Alsace-Lorraine).
Through the Saverne affair, there were also changes in personnel, as a result of which the two most important positions in Alsace-Lorraine were newly filled. On January 31, the State Secretary in the Ministry for Alsace-Lorraine,
Hugo Zorn von Bulach, was replaced by the
Potsdam
Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
Upper Presidial Councillor,
Siegfried von Roedern
Siegfried Friedrich Wilhelm Erdmann Graf von Roedern (born 27 July 1870 in Marburg, died 14 April 1954 in Bergen, Upper Bavaria), was a German politician. He served as Secretary in the Ministry for Alsace-Lorraine from 1914 to 1916, and as Federa ...
. The ''Reichsstatthalter'', Karl von Wedel, resigned on April 18, whereupon the Kaiser put the Prussian Minister of the Interior,
Johann von Dallwitz Nikolaus Michael Louis Johann (Hans) von Dallwitz (29 September 1855 in Breslau, Lower Silesia – 2 August 1919 in Bosse) was a politician, who served in Anhalt and Prussia.
Biography
Having frequented the Gymnasium of Dresden, he studied law ...
in this office, to the disappointment of the Alsatians. Dallwitz was a determined advocate of the authoritarian state and also rejected the constitution which had been granted to Alsace-Lorraine in 1911.
However, the
First World War
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 ...
prevented further serious conflicts between the German Empire and Alsace-Lorraine. Lt Forstner would be killed in combat in 1915 at
Kobryn
Kobryn ( be, Кобрын; russian: Кобрин; pl, Kobryń; lt, Kobrynas; uk, Кобринь, Kobryn'; yi, קאָברין) is a city in the Brest Region of Belarus and the center of the Kobryn District. The city is located in the southwest ...
on the
Eastern Front.
Assimilation into literature and language
The author
Heinrich Mann
Luiz Heinrich Mann (; 27 March 1871 – 11 March 1950), best known as simply Heinrich Mann, was a German author known for his Social criticism, socio-political novels. From 1930 until 1933, he was president of the fine poetry division of the ...
assimilated the Saverne affair in his novel, ''
Der Untertan
''Der Untertan'' (; literally "the underling", translated into English under the titles ''Man of Straw'', ''The Patrioteer'', and ''The Loyal Subject'') is one of the best known novels of German author Heinrich Mann. The title character, Diederic ...
'', which has been translated into English under the titles "Man of Straw," "The Patrioteer," and "The Loyal Subject".
The author
Ulrich Rauscher mocked the "well-behaved citizen":
[Ulrich Rauscher: ''Den braven Bürgern''. '']Die Schaubühne
Die, as a verb, refers to death, the cessation of life.
Die may also refer to:
Games
* Die, singular of dice, small throwable objects used for producing random numbers
Manufacturing
* Die (integrated circuit), a rectangular piece of a semicond ...
'', January 15, 1914, p. 70.
A very rough translation:
Even though heaps of your kind,
away from bayonets and sabre strokes –
March, march! Hupp, hupp! – run the gauntlet:
You are all fond of the lieutenant!
:Only under the blows of a club
:do you really feel at home in the fatherland.
:Damned, those who expose themselves like that,
:after they have unmanned themselves!
:Further, you will mercifully be hit
:by the sabre on the brain!
:You are the eunuchs of the German Empire!
:Hurrah, you iron bride!
Kurt Tucholsky
Kurt Tucholsky (; 9 January 1890 – 21 December 1935) was a German journalist, satirist, and writer. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Kaspar Hauser (after the historical figure), Peter Panter, Theobald Tiger and Ignaz Wrobel.
Tucholsky was on ...
made fun of the "courage" of Second Lieutenant Forstner in a poem for ''
Vorwärts
''Vorwärts'' (, "Forward") is a newspaper published by the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Founded in 1876, it was the central organ of the SPD for many decades. Following the party's Halle Congress (1891), it was published daily as ...
'':
:''Der Held von Zabern''
A very rough translation:
:''The Hero of Saverne''
A "man" with a long knife,
and 20 years old -
A hero and a chocolate-eater,
and still not a single hair in his mustache.
He stalks in Saverne's long alleys
and crows in soprano -
How long will the child be left alone without supervision? -
The matter has become of utmost urgency! -
That is the kind that we need so many of! -
He leads the corps!
And deeply moved, his people are seen to dive
for enemies, deep in every privy.
Since in the end, prey is made that way -
nothing ventured, nothing gained!
Today, it is a lame cobbler,
and tomorrow, it's an orphan child.
In short: he has courage, the swiftness of a cow, or better:
a whole man! -
Since if someone puts up a fight, he immediately stabs him with the knife,
because the other cannot protect himself.
Following the conduct of the military, the term ''zabernism'' found its way into the
English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
of the time as a description for the abuse of military authority or for tyrannical, aggressive conduct in general.
H.G. Wells referred to the incident in his novel ''Mr. Britling Sees It Through,'' published in 1916. In a letter from the main character, Mr Britling, to an elderly couple in Germany, he states: "At last there was no choice before any European nation but submission to the German will, or war. And it was no will to which righteous men could possibly submit. It came as an illiberal and ungracious will. It was the will of Zabern. It is not as if you had set yourselves to be an imperial people and embrace and unify the world."
Contemporary quotations
* "''Have at them!''" (German: ''"Immer feste darauf!"'') (
Wilhelm von Hohenzollern, the son of the Kaiser, in a telegram at the end of the year)
* "''Do we live in a South American republic, where any colonel can dictate the law to the court authorities, and do life and freedom of the citizen depend upon the decisions of an officer's canteen society for us?''" (
Theodor Wolff
Theodor Wolff (2 August 1868 – 23 September 1943) was a German writer who was influential as a journalist, critic and newspaper editor. He was born and died in Berlin. Between 1906 and 1933 he was the chief editor of the politically liberal new ...
, publicist and author)
*"''As no one has reportedly—to speak with Bismarck—imitated the Prussian lieutenant, in fact, still no one has been able to entirely imitate the Prussian-German militarism, that has not only become a state within a state, but virtually a state over the state (...)''" (
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 from ...
, already seven years before the Saverne Affair)
* "''And is not murder and mutilation in war the actual profession and the true nature of those 'military offices', whose wounded authority showed their teeth in Saverne?''" (
Rosa Luxemburg
Rosa Luxemburg (; ; pl, Róża Luksemburg or ; 5 March 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a Polish and naturalised-German revolutionary socialist, Marxist philosopher and anti-war activist. Successively, she was a member of the Proletariat party, ...
)
[Rosa Luxemburg: ''Sozialdemokratische Korrespondenz'' (Social Democratic Correspondence). Berlin, No. 3, January 6, 1914.]
References
(Many references are in German)
Notes
Bibliography
*
James W. Gerard
James Watson Gerard III (August 25, 1867 – September 6, 1951) was a United States lawyer, diplomat, and justice of the New York Supreme Court.
Early life
Gerard was born in Geneseo, New York. His father, James Watson Gerard Jr., was a lawy ...
:
My four years in Germany', Grosset & Dunlap, New York, 1917.
* William Stearns Davis, William Anderson, Mason Whiting Tyler:
The roots of the war; a non-technical history of Europe, 1870-1914', New York, The Century Co., 1918
*Barry Cerf,
Alsace-Lorraine since 1870', New York, The Macmillan, 1919
* Erwin Schenk: ''Der Fall Zabern'',
Kohlhammer Verlag
W. Kohlhammer Verlag GmbH, or Kohlhammer Verlag, is a German publishing house headquartered in Stuttgart.
History
Kohlhammer Verlag was founded in Stuttgart on 30 April 1866 by . Kohlhammer had taken over the businesses of his late father-in-law ...
, Stuttgart 1927.
* Hans-Günter Zmarzlik: ''Bethmann Hollweg als Reichskanzler 1909–1914. Studien zu Möglichkeiten und Grenzen seiner innenpolitischen Machtstellung'' (Beiträge zur Geschichte des Parlamentarismus und der politischen Parteien, Vol. 11), Droste-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1957, esp. pp. 114–130.
*
Hans-Ulrich Wehler
Hans-Ulrich Wehler (September 11, 1931 – July 5, 2014) was a German left-liberal historian known for his role in promoting social history through the " Bielefeld School", and for his critical studies of 19th-century Germany.
Life
Wehler was bo ...
: ''Der Fall Zabern. Rückblick auf eine Verfassungskrise des wilhelminischen Kaiserreichs'', in: ''Die Welt als Geschichte'' 23, 1963, pp. 27–46; again as: ''Symbol des halbabsolutistischen Herrschaftssystems - Der Fall Zabern von 1913/14'', in: Hans-Ulrich Wehler: ''Krisenherde des Kaiserreichs 1871–1918. Studien zur deutschen Sozial- und Verfassungsgeschichte'', Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1970, pp. 65–83; once again as: ''Der Fall Zabern von 1913/14 als Verfassungskrise des Wilhelminischen Kaiserreichs'', in: Hans-Ulrich Wehler: ''Krisenherde des Kaiserreichs 1871–1918'', Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1979 (2nd edition), pp. 70–88 und 449–458.
*
David Schoenbaum
David Schoenbaum (born 1935) is an American historian writing on a wide range of subjects, including German political history (in the periods of World War I, Nazism, the 1960s, and contemporary politics), European and global cultural history, an ...
: ''Zabern 1913. Consensus Politics in Imperial Germany'', George Allen & Unwin, London 1982 (197 pages); .
* Rainer Nitsche (publ.): ''Durchfall in Zabern. Eine Militärdemontage'', Transit Buchverlag, Berlin 1982; .
* Richard W. Mackey: ''The Zabern Affair, 1913–1914'', University Press of America, Lanham 1991; .
*
Wolfgang J. Mommsen
Wolfgang Justin Mommsen (; 5 November 1930 – 11 August 2004) was a German historian. He was the twin brother of historian Hans Mommsen.
Biography
Wolfgang Mommsen was born in Marburg, the son of the historian Wilhelm Mommsen and great-grands ...
: ''War der Kaiser an allem schuld?'', Propyläen Verlag, Ullstein Heyne List, Berlin 2005, p. 203–209; .
External links
Short, illustrated summary of the AffairSummary of the affair with plenty of illustrations
{{Authority control
1913 in Germany
History of Alsace
Politics of the German Empire