Franz Lipp

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Franz Lipp (9 February 1855 – 18 March 1937) was the Deputy of Foreign Affairs of the Ernst Toller Government of the Bavarian Socialist Republic. During his brief government post, he was noted for his eccentric behavior, notably because of his diplomatic telegram to Vladimir Lenin and Pope Benedict XV mentioning the disappearance of the ministry's "key to the toilet" and his attempts to declare war on Switzerland.

Life before the German Revolution[]

Franz Lipp was born on February 9, 1855,[1] in Karlsruhe.[2] In the 1880s, Lipp became the son in law of  [de],[3] one of the co-founders of the German People's Party. During his early adult life, he was a journalist for the Stuttgart Observer, the German People's Party's newspaper.[4] In 1888 he became the editor-in-chief of the  [de].[5] Lipp ran for election to the Landtag of the Württemberg in the Grand Bailiwick of Heilbronn as the candidate of the German People's Party[6] and received support of the Social Democratic Party;[7] he was defeated in the second round of voting, obtaining 1,767 votes out of the 3,852 cast.[8]

During his time working with the Heilbronn newspaper, he was prosecuted for the crime of lèse-majesté and forced into exile, first in Switzerland, then later in Italy.[9][10] He moved to Milan where he worked at Corriere della Sera.[11] At 51, Lipp experienced his first mental health incident (state of agitation and delusions of persecution), which led to his hospitalization. He was later hospitalized two years later following a suicide attempt.[12]

Several anti-Communist sources contemporary with the Bavarian Socialist Republic, based on unreliable police information, make Lipp out to be a German intelligence agent at the start of World War 1.[13][14][15] According to French journalist , Lipp engaged in espionage activities while in Italy – on his return to Germany, he publicly prided himself on having had access to military maps while feigning friendship with a geography professor from Pavia. Lipp withdrew to Switzerland upon Italy's entry into the war. It was with the German General Staff that he came into contact with foreign revolutionaries; therefore Lipp would've participated in negotiations with the revolutionary Bolshevik Karl Radek. During his time with the German General Staff, he infiltrated German revolutionary groups and informed the authorities about their activities.[16]

Some contemporary sources assume that Lipp "took part" or "participated" in the Zimmerwald Conference[17][18] in addition to the Kiental Conference. The rumor of the presence of Lipp as a spy during the Zimmerwald Conference persisted during the short period of the Bavarian Socialist Republic.[19] Writing in 1992, the scholar Richard Sheppard considered these rumors to be unreliable, since he could not find any mention of Lipp in the literature devoted to the conference. In any case, if Lipp was present at the conference, he was not a delegate: as he was not listed as one of the ten German delegates.[20]

Back in Germany in 1917, Lipp was noticed by defeatists remarks which led to his internment under 'protective detention' (Schutzhaft) until the end of the war.[21] A source even reports suspicion of espionage for the benefit of an enemy power.[22]

Delegate for Foreign Affairs of the Bavarian Socialist Republic[]

On the night of April 6 to 7, 1919, galvanized by news of the Hungarian Soviet Republic, a revolutionary committee under the leadership of Ernst Toller proclaimed the Bavarian Socialist Republic in Munich and set up a "revolutionary national council" made up of eleven delegates.[23]

Activist of the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany, "little known" outside of this party,[24] Franz Lipp was appointed to exercise the function of delegate for foreign affairs. The precise circumstances of this appointment are the subject of conflicting version between the testimonies of Ernst Toller and Ernst Niekisch:[25] the first says that Lipp was appointed when no one knew of his abilities,[26] the second that he was proposed by Toller, who praised his skills.[27]

In his functions as delegate, Lipp was noted by the writing of rather surprising and strange dispatches. The allusion to the "key to the ministry's toilets" in the third is, for many historians, emblematic of the amateurism of the revolutionary government.[28]

The first of these dispatches is a letter addressed to the apostolic nuncio in Bavaria, Eugenio Pacelli. Its content is as follows:[29]

“I consider it my sacred duty to ensure the safety of your very eminent person and of the entire nunciature in Munich. Please accept the expression of all my devotion. "

A second is addressed to the Bavarian Ambassador in Berlin and states:[30]

"The opus primum non ultimum ne of Mr. Preuss on the constitution of Germany will never be a law requiring Bavaria. I cannot, in fact, sacrifice the special rights of Bavaria, won by the Bavarian blood shed at Wœrth and Sedan. That is why I am ordering you to pay a formal farewell visit to Count Brockdorff-Rantzau immediately."

The last is a telegram addressed to Vladimir Lenin, and also Pope Benedict XV according to some sources. The telegram goes as follows:[31]

"Upper Bavarian proletariat are united in joy. Social Democrats, Independent Socialists, and Communists are united like a hammer, the League of Peasants with them. Liberal bourgeoisie, servants of Prussia have been completely disarmed. Hoffmann is on the run to Bamberg, where he took the key to my ministry toilet. Prussian policy, of which Hoffmann is the lackey, tries to cut us off from the region of Berlin-Leipzig-Nuremberg, Frankfurt, and the coal of Essen. At the same time, they try to discredit us with the Entente like the bloodthirsty dogs and looters they are. Meanwhile, Noske's furry gorilla hands are dripping with blood. We receive coal, and we receive a great deal of food from Switzerland and Italy. We want perpetual peace. Immanuel Kant, Towards Perpetual Peace, 1795, theses 2–5. Prussia envisages the armistice only with a view to revenge war."

Finally, Franz Lipp address his colleague in charge of transport,  [fr], the following letter:[32]

"Dear Colleague! I have just declared war on Württemberg and Switzerland, because these dogs refused to lend me sixty locomotives. I am sure we will win. Furthermore, in view of our victory, I will ask the Pope for his blessing – I am on good terms with him."

In addition, the American journalist Ben Hecht – whose testimony is not known for its reliability [33] – recounts having seen Lipp persist in trying to get Clemenceau on the phone in order to offer him a separate peace with Bavaria[34] During his tenure as Delegate of Foreign Affairs, according to historian Helmut Neubauer, Lipp was responsible for the release of a group of Russian prisoners of war.[35]

A few days after his appointment and under the insistent pressure of Ernst Toler or Erich Mühsam (each of them takes credit for it in their respective memoirs [36][37]), Franz Lipp was asked to resign and left the government.[38] On Palm Sunday, troops loyal to the republican government of Joseph Hoffmann arrested Franz Lipp during their failed attempt to retake Munich, in addition to other delegates such as Erich Mühsam and Delegate of the Interior Fritz Soldmann at the Munich Residence. This is known as the Palm Sunday Putsch ( [de]).

End of life[]

After the Palm Sunday Putsch, Lipp's career in politics also ended and he disappeared from public life. After being arrested he was transferred from Ebrach prison to a psychiatric clinic.[39] From this point little is known of his life until 1937. The last mentions of Franz Lipp were found in the archives of the city of Gengenbach. Where the record shows Lipp as a refugee in Florence, almost blind and taken care of by his children, forced to prove his non-Jewishness to prevent his house from being confiscated by the Gestapo. He died in Italy in 1937.[40]

Literary works[]

Franz Lipp is one of the five main characters in Tankred Dorst's play  [de].[41] Taking some historical liberties, the play shows Lipp debate on the Jewish Question in a Chinese restaurant, attributed to Eugen Leviné whistleblowing Toller's telegram to the Pope, and includes a monologue Lipp relegated to a psychiatric hospital[42]

References[]

  1. ^ Seligmann, Michael (1989). Aufstand der Räte : die erste bayerische Räterepublik vom 7. April 1919 (1. Aufl ed.). Grafenau: Trotzdem. pp. 399–403. ISBN 3-922209-77-7.
  2. ^ Ruch, Martin (2008). 700 Jahre Geschichte der Juden in Gengenbach, 1308-2008. Norderstedt: Books on Demand. p. 171. ISBN 978-3-8370-6692-0.
  3. ^ Nanninga, Folkert (2004). Wählen in der Reichsgründungsepoche : die Landtagswahlen vom 8. Juli 1868 und 5. Dezember 1870 im Königreich Württemberg. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. p. 446. ISBN 978-3-17-018495-4.
  4. ^ Preuß, Hugo (2007). Politik und Gesellschaft im Kaiserreich. Tübingen. p. 811. ISBN 978-3-16-149016-3.
  5. ^ Angerbauer, Wolfram (1974). Stadt und Landkreis Heilbronn. Theiss-Verlag. p. 174.
  6. ^ Schmid, Michael (2003). Der "Eiserne Kanzler" und die Generäle : deutsche Rüstungspolitik in der Ära Bismarck (1871–1890). Paderborn: Schöningh. p. 234. ISBN 978-3-506-79224-2.
  7. ^ Nanninga, Folkert (2004). Wählen in der Reichsgründungsepoche : die Landtagswahlen vom 8. Juli 1868 und 5. Dezember 1870 im Königreich Württemberg. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. p. 450. ISBN 978-3-17-018495-4.
  8. ^ Kohlhammer, W. (1890). Württembergische Jahrbücher für Statistik und Landeskunde. Württemberg. p. 173.
  9. ^ Renwick, George (1919-04-14). "Munich's Red Rule Is A Grim Farce". The New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  10. ^ Got, Ambroise. La terreur en Bavière. Perrin Paris. p. 125.
  11. ^ Escherich, Georg (1921). Der Kommunismus in München, vol. 4: Die Schein-Räterepublik. pp. 9–10.
  12. ^ Kahn, Eugen (1919). Psychopathen als revolutionäre Führer. pp. 90–106.
  13. ^ Renwick, George. "Munich's Red Rule Is A Grim Farce". New York Times. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  14. ^ Got, Ambroise (1922). La terreur en Bavière. Perrin Paris. pp. 125–129.
  15. ^ Noske, Gustav (1920). Von Kiel bis Kapp; zur Geschichte der deutschen revolution. Verlag fur Politik und Wirtschaft. p. 136.
  16. ^ Got, Ambroise (1922). La terreur en Bavière. Perrin Paris. pp. 125–129.
  17. ^ Escherich, Georg (1921). Der Kommunismus in München, vol. 4: Die Schein-Räterepublik. pp. 9–10.
  18. ^ Got, Ambroise (1922). La terreur en Bavière. Perrin Paris. pp. 125–129.
  19. ^ Sheppard, Richard (2008). Zwei Sitzungprotokolle the RZR in München, Literaturwissenschaftliches Jahrbuch. p. 219. ISBN 9783428474509.
  20. ^ Wheeler, Robert F. The Independent Social Democratic Party and the Internationals: an examination of socialist internationalism in Germany 1915 to 1923. University of Pittsburgh. p. 17.
  21. ^ Got, Ambroise (1922). La terreur en Bavière. Perrin Paris. pp. 125–129.
  22. ^ Kahn, Eugen (1919). Psychopathen als revolutionäre Führer. pp. 90–106.
  23. ^ Winkler, Heinrich August (1998). Weimar, 1918–1933 : die Geschichte der ersten deutschen Demokratie (Durchgesehene Aufl ed.). München: Beck. pp. 78–79. ISBN 978-3-406-43884-4.
  24. ^ Kuhn, Gabriel (2012). All Power to the Councils! : A Documentary History of the German Revolution of 1918–1919. Oakland, Calif.: PM Press. pp. 205–264. ISBN 978-1-60486-111-2.
  25. ^ Pittock, Malcolm (1979). Ernst Toller. Boston: Twayne Publishers. pp. 177–178. ISBN 978-0-8057-6350-8.
  26. ^ Toller, Ernst (2012). Eine Jugend in Deutschland. Antigonos. p. 93. ISBN 978-3-95472-176-4.
  27. ^ Niekisch, Ernst (1958). Gewagtes Leben. Kiepenhauer & Witsch. p. 68.
  28. ^ Two examples among many: (en) Bernard Wasserstein (en) , Barbarism and Civilization: A History of Europe in Our Time , Oxford, Oxford University Press,2007, 901 p. ( ISBN 978-0-19-873074-3 , read online [ archive ] ) , p. 100or (en) Richard J. Evans , The Coming of the Third Reich , Penguin,2004, 622 p. ( ISBN 978-1-59420-004-5 , read online [ archive ] ) , p. 158.
  29. ^ Grunberger, Richard (1973). Red Rising in Bavaria. London: Barker. p. 110. ISBN 978-0213164201.
  30. ^ Toller, Ernst (1933). Eine Jugend in Deutschland. Antigonos. p. 93. ISBN 978-3-95472-176-4.
  31. ^ Craig, Gordon Alexander (1999). Deutsche Geschichte 1866–1945 : vom Norddeutschen Bund bis zum Ende des Dritten Reiches (1. Aufl ed.). München: C.H. Beck. ISBN 978-3-406-42106-8.
  32. ^ Noske, Gustav (1920). Von Kiel bis Kapp; zur Geschichte der deutschen revolution. Verlag fur Politik und Wirtschaft. p. 136.
  33. ^ Fishman, Sterling (1972). Prophets, Poets, and Priests: A Study of the Men and the Ideas that Made the Munich Revolution of 1918/1919. p. 249.
  34. ^ Hecht, Ben (1954). A Child of the Century. Simon and Schuster. p. 305.
  35. ^ Neubauer, Helmut (1958). München und Moskau 1918/1919: zur Geschichte der Rätebewegung in Bayern. Munich: Isar Verlag. p. 55.
  36. ^ Toller, Ernst (1933). Eine Jugend in Deutschland. Books on Demand. p. 96. ISBN 9783954721764.
  37. ^ Kuhn, Gabriel (2012). All power to the councils! : a documentary history of the German Revolution of 1918-1919. Oakland, Calif.: PM Press. pp. 205–264. ISBN 978-1-60486-111-2.
  38. ^ The resignation, as well as its real motive (Lipp's "mental disturbance") is confirmed by the minutes of the Central Revolutionary Council, published and commented on by Sheppard 1992 , p. 231.
  39. ^ Schattenhofer, Michael (1968). Revolution und Räteherrschaft in München. Neue Schriftenreihe of Stadtarchivs München. p. 129.
  40. ^ Ruch, Martin (2008). 700 Jahre Geschichte der Juden in Gengenbach, 1308–2008. Norderstedt: Books on Demand. pp. 69–70. ISBN 978-3-8370-6692-0.
  41. ^ Dorst, Tankred (1975). Toller. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-7190-0602-9.
  42. ^ Weisse, Peter (1991). Tropes of Revolution : Writers' reaction to real and imagined revolutions 1789–1989. Amsterdam: Rodopi. p. 401. ISBN 978-90-5183-292-1.
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