Bernhard Schottländer (1895–1920) was a German socialist politician and journalist.

Biography

Schottländer grew up in one of the richest

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish families in Breslau (present-day

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

in Poland). His family shielded him during his childhood, as he was sickly and had trouble walking. He was constantly accompanied by a private tutor. In secondary school Schottländer was a schoolmate of

Norbert Elias Norbert Elias (; 22 June 1897 – 1 August 1990) was a German-Jewish sociologist who later became a British citizen. He is especially famous for his theory of civilizing/decivilizing processes. Life and career Elias was born on 22 June 1 ...

. Schottländer was drafted to military service in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in spite of his weak physical state. He stayed at the same barrack as

Ernst Toller Ernst Toller (1 December 1893 – 22 May 1939) was a German author, playwright, left-wing politician and revolutionary, known for his Expressionist plays. He served in 1919 for six days as President of the short-lived Bavarian Soviet Republic, ...

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

for a period. Schottländer became a leading organizer of the

Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (, USPD) was a short-lived political party in Germany during the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. The organization was established in 1917 as the result of a split of anti-war members of t ...

(USPD) in Breslau. In April 1919 he founded the newspaper ''

Schlesische Arbeiter-Zeitung ''Schlesische Arbeiter-Zeitung'' ('Silesian Workers Newspaper') was a left-wing German language newspaper published from Breslau, Province of Lower Silesia, Weimar Germany (present-day Wrocław in Poland) between 1919 and 1933.Bibliothek der Frie ...

'', and became its editor.Göttinger Arbeitskreis.
Jahrbuch der Schlesischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Breslau
', Vol. 5–6. Würzburg/Main: Holzner-Verlag, 1960. p. 243 Inside the USPD Schottländer argued for union with the

Communist International The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internationa ...

. In the midst of the

Kapp Putsch The Kapp Putsch (), also known as the Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch (), was an abortive coup d'état against the German national government in Berlin on 13 March 1920. Named after its leaders Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz, its goal was to ...

, Schottländer was kidnapped on 14 March 1920. He was one of over 30 people captured by

Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European paramilitary volunteer units that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenaries or private military companies, rega ...

troops under the leadership of Andreas von Aulock.Radbruch, Gustav, Volkmar Schöneburg, and Gustav Radbruch.
Gesamtausgabe, 19
'. Heidelberg: Müller, Jurist. Verl, 1998. pp. 170–171 Before being executed, Schottländer was subjected to torture. His mutilated body was found at Oswitz (some five kilometers away from Breslau) on 23 June 1920. His family had tried to keep the date and location of his funeral secret, but still around 2,000 workers paraded past his family residence (in the wealthiest part of the city) to show their respect. Writing about the murder of Schottländer, stated that he was 'martyred because of his religion'.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schottlander, Bernhard 1895 births 1920 deaths Journalists from Wrocław German male journalists Politicians from Wrocław German Army personnel of World War I Silesian Jews German newspaper editors Independent Social Democratic Party politicians Jewish socialists Jewish German politicians German torture victims People murdered in Germany Assassinated German journalists German male non-fiction writers 20th-century Polish journalists