Jakob Stefan Graf (Count) von Ritterburg, (October 12, 1878 – February 15, 1957), was the first Chancellor of the Republic of Prussia.
Early Life
Von Ritterburg was born on the family estate of Ulmensee outside Osterode in the German province of East Prussia. He graduated from Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in 1898 and entered the Prussian Army as a cavalry officer the next year. While on leave from his posting in the prestigious Guards Cavalry Division in 1901, von Ritterburg met Sophie Zeilburg, the daughter of a Berlin financier. The two were soon engaged and married in the Berliner Dom in the spring of 1903.
Many promotions followed, and by 1910, von Ritterburg was a general in command of the 2nd Division near the Russian border. During the last years of peace, he made many acquaintances that would prove useful in his later political career; chief among them was Wolfgang Kapp.
When the Great War broke out, the 2nd Division was part of the 8th Army deployed north of the Masurian Lakes to counter the expected Russian advance. The 2nd Division was one of the few that withdrew in good order after the crushing German defeat, but it was soon outflanked by General Melua's left wing and forced to retreat towards the Königsberg Line. Von Ritterburg and most of his men were encircled and captured after beating back three Russian attacks at the Battle of Heilsberg, and the general would spend the rest of the war in a prison camp outside Minsk.
The Founding of the PKP and Chancellorship
When released after the armistice, von Ritterburg was among the many German generals forced to resign under the terms of the Treaty. Unlike most of them, he did not take part in the attempted Danzig Putsch and was labeled Reliable by the Allied Occupation Authority. This, his Junker background and his war record made him a favorite among many German right-wingers, and he was invited to join the newly-formed Prussian Conservative Party (Preußisch Konservative Partei or PKP), the Prussian Republic's successor of the German Conservative Party. Von Ritterburg was elected to the Landtag in the fall election of 1918 and also appointed Vice-President of the PKP.
When the Russian Army of Occupation left Prussia in 1920, the PKP enjoyed several advantages over its many rivals. It was well-financed thanks to the Junker connections, had the backing of several Prussian newspapers, and had been the leader of the 'soft opposition' to the Allied occupiers, unlike the SPD, which was widely seen as more cooperative. The October elections saw it gain an absolute majority in the Landtag and majorities in three of the four provincial diets (East Prussia, Pomerania and Silesia). After a brief power struggle between von Ritterburg and his bitter rival Erich Ludendorff, von Ritterburg was named Chancellor.
During his first term of office, von Ritterburg steered a careful path between the demands of his nationalist base and the watchful eyes of the Russians. While he was not a committed separatist like Konrad Adenauer and Eberhard Haaß in the Rhine Republic or the Sendling Circle in Bavaria, von Ritterburg did recognize the Allies would quickly quash any attempts at German reunification. He played up the "immediate threat" of Red revolution as a tactic to divert public attention and anger from the reunification issue (a tactic that may have lead to both the Breslau Massacre and the Seydlitz Naval Uprising of 1922). This skillful diversion, and the improving economic situation, was enough to ensure von Ritterburg was re-elected with sweeping majorities in 1923 and 1927.
The Vistula War
By the early 1930s, though, the Red Threat was becoming less and less useful as a diversion. On the left, the Spartakists had been thoroughly crushed and even the SPD was considering adopting irredentist policies, while on the right Alfred von Tirpitz's increasingly influential nationalist Fatherland Party (DVP) was stealing many right-wing votes from the PKP. To keep together his great Black-Brown-White Coalition, von Ritterburg stepped up pressure on Russia and made the Eastern Question the centerpiece of his 1932 campaign.
At any other time, von Ritterburg's gambit would likely have failed, but the circumstances in 1932 favored war with Russia. The French were pre-occupied helping Rhenish troops defeat pan-German uprisings, the British were focused on countering Japanese expansion in China, the Russian military was suffering from Prime Minister Alexsiev's austerity budget and from ongoing Polish and Caucasian revolts and, most importantly of all, the Triple Entente was moribund by this point, making it unlikely a general war would break out. If there was an ideal time to strike, 1932 was it. Von Ritterburg instigated the crisis by secretly arming Polish rebels and then openly supporting the Warsaw Manifesto. The shockingly blunt Russian ultimatum played into his hands, and on June 11, 1932, Prussia and Russia went to war.
The Vistula campaign was an overwhelming Prussian success and by the end of August, Prussian troops had seized Warsaw and Krakow, were threatening L'vov, and had defeated a Russian counter-offensive in East Prussia. Von Ritterburg and his Foreign Minister Kurt von Schleicher managed to present the campaign as one of Polish and German liberation, at least enough to give the French and British an excuse not to get involved, and Czar Alexei soon instructed his own foreign minister to seek out Prussian terms for a cease fire.
In the aftermath of the war, Prussia swiftly abandoned its Polish allies. Having secured West Prussia and western Posen from the Russians, von Ritterburg ordered the Army to withdraw from its positions beyond the new borders; this retreat left the Polish revolutionaries exposed to Russian reprisals and earned von Ritterburg and his cabinet the undying hatred of Polish nationalists. Plebiscites were heldin West Prussia and western Posen and unsurprisingly resulted in overwhelming majorities approving Anschluss with Prussia.
Fall
Flush with victory, von Ritterburg then committed what is generally agreed to be the greatest mistake of his political life. Badly misjudged the political situation and attempted to arrange a Hohenzollern restoration. The complicated project was a complete fiasco. Few Prussians had any real monarchist sentiment at that point, but von Ritterburg mistook their apathy for quiet support for his policies. When the Russians and British threatened to intervene, massive protests sprang up in every major city in Prussia. Crown Prince Wilhelm withdrew from the affair and returned to his estate in Swabia, and von Ritterburg was faced with a revolt within the PKP ranks. Rather then be voted out in favor of his hated enemy Ludendorff, von Ritterburg resigned. In the following general election, the PKP was trounced, losing more than half its seat in the Landtag as well as control of the East Prussian diet. Von Ritterburg was widely blamed for its poor showing, especially by his successor Ludendorff.
Later Life and Legacy
After his political downfall, von Ritterburg returned to Ulmensee. Aside from the publication of his memoirs in 1942 and the short-lived Chancellorship of his middle son Gustaf in 1947, von Ritterburg largely faded from the public eye. He spent the remainder of his life in Ulmensee with Sophie; they died three months apart in 1957 and are buried together in the family crypt. Today, von Ritterburg has largely been rehabilitated in the eyes of Prussian conservatives and he is recognized both as the leader of the last generation of Junkers and as the man who kept Prussia from falling under foreign influence unlike many of the Little Germanies in the years after the Great War. A 10 meter tall bronze statue of von Ritterburg stands at the southern end of Potsdamer Platz in Berlin
Sources
See Also
****
The POD here is actually that Alexei is born without hemophilia. This has the ripple of effect of strengthening the Romanovs and aborting Rasputin's role in history, which leads ::handwave time:: to a more effective Russian Army in 1914. The war is over by Christmas - of 1915 - and ends with Germany being occupied and partitioned into a half-dozen or so Little Germanies.
Whaddaya think sirs?
Early Life
Von Ritterburg was born on the family estate of Ulmensee outside Osterode in the German province of East Prussia. He graduated from Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in 1898 and entered the Prussian Army as a cavalry officer the next year. While on leave from his posting in the prestigious Guards Cavalry Division in 1901, von Ritterburg met Sophie Zeilburg, the daughter of a Berlin financier. The two were soon engaged and married in the Berliner Dom in the spring of 1903.
Many promotions followed, and by 1910, von Ritterburg was a general in command of the 2nd Division near the Russian border. During the last years of peace, he made many acquaintances that would prove useful in his later political career; chief among them was Wolfgang Kapp.
When the Great War broke out, the 2nd Division was part of the 8th Army deployed north of the Masurian Lakes to counter the expected Russian advance. The 2nd Division was one of the few that withdrew in good order after the crushing German defeat, but it was soon outflanked by General Melua's left wing and forced to retreat towards the Königsberg Line. Von Ritterburg and most of his men were encircled and captured after beating back three Russian attacks at the Battle of Heilsberg, and the general would spend the rest of the war in a prison camp outside Minsk.
The Founding of the PKP and Chancellorship
When released after the armistice, von Ritterburg was among the many German generals forced to resign under the terms of the Treaty. Unlike most of them, he did not take part in the attempted Danzig Putsch and was labeled Reliable by the Allied Occupation Authority. This, his Junker background and his war record made him a favorite among many German right-wingers, and he was invited to join the newly-formed Prussian Conservative Party (Preußisch Konservative Partei or PKP), the Prussian Republic's successor of the German Conservative Party. Von Ritterburg was elected to the Landtag in the fall election of 1918 and also appointed Vice-President of the PKP.
When the Russian Army of Occupation left Prussia in 1920, the PKP enjoyed several advantages over its many rivals. It was well-financed thanks to the Junker connections, had the backing of several Prussian newspapers, and had been the leader of the 'soft opposition' to the Allied occupiers, unlike the SPD, which was widely seen as more cooperative. The October elections saw it gain an absolute majority in the Landtag and majorities in three of the four provincial diets (East Prussia, Pomerania and Silesia). After a brief power struggle between von Ritterburg and his bitter rival Erich Ludendorff, von Ritterburg was named Chancellor.
During his first term of office, von Ritterburg steered a careful path between the demands of his nationalist base and the watchful eyes of the Russians. While he was not a committed separatist like Konrad Adenauer and Eberhard Haaß in the Rhine Republic or the Sendling Circle in Bavaria, von Ritterburg did recognize the Allies would quickly quash any attempts at German reunification. He played up the "immediate threat" of Red revolution as a tactic to divert public attention and anger from the reunification issue (a tactic that may have lead to both the Breslau Massacre and the Seydlitz Naval Uprising of 1922). This skillful diversion, and the improving economic situation, was enough to ensure von Ritterburg was re-elected with sweeping majorities in 1923 and 1927.
The Vistula War
By the early 1930s, though, the Red Threat was becoming less and less useful as a diversion. On the left, the Spartakists had been thoroughly crushed and even the SPD was considering adopting irredentist policies, while on the right Alfred von Tirpitz's increasingly influential nationalist Fatherland Party (DVP) was stealing many right-wing votes from the PKP. To keep together his great Black-Brown-White Coalition, von Ritterburg stepped up pressure on Russia and made the Eastern Question the centerpiece of his 1932 campaign.
At any other time, von Ritterburg's gambit would likely have failed, but the circumstances in 1932 favored war with Russia. The French were pre-occupied helping Rhenish troops defeat pan-German uprisings, the British were focused on countering Japanese expansion in China, the Russian military was suffering from Prime Minister Alexsiev's austerity budget and from ongoing Polish and Caucasian revolts and, most importantly of all, the Triple Entente was moribund by this point, making it unlikely a general war would break out. If there was an ideal time to strike, 1932 was it. Von Ritterburg instigated the crisis by secretly arming Polish rebels and then openly supporting the Warsaw Manifesto. The shockingly blunt Russian ultimatum played into his hands, and on June 11, 1932, Prussia and Russia went to war.
The Vistula campaign was an overwhelming Prussian success and by the end of August, Prussian troops had seized Warsaw and Krakow, were threatening L'vov, and had defeated a Russian counter-offensive in East Prussia. Von Ritterburg and his Foreign Minister Kurt von Schleicher managed to present the campaign as one of Polish and German liberation, at least enough to give the French and British an excuse not to get involved, and Czar Alexei soon instructed his own foreign minister to seek out Prussian terms for a cease fire.
In the aftermath of the war, Prussia swiftly abandoned its Polish allies. Having secured West Prussia and western Posen from the Russians, von Ritterburg ordered the Army to withdraw from its positions beyond the new borders; this retreat left the Polish revolutionaries exposed to Russian reprisals and earned von Ritterburg and his cabinet the undying hatred of Polish nationalists. Plebiscites were heldin West Prussia and western Posen and unsurprisingly resulted in overwhelming majorities approving Anschluss with Prussia.
Fall
Flush with victory, von Ritterburg then committed what is generally agreed to be the greatest mistake of his political life. Badly misjudged the political situation and attempted to arrange a Hohenzollern restoration. The complicated project was a complete fiasco. Few Prussians had any real monarchist sentiment at that point, but von Ritterburg mistook their apathy for quiet support for his policies. When the Russians and British threatened to intervene, massive protests sprang up in every major city in Prussia. Crown Prince Wilhelm withdrew from the affair and returned to his estate in Swabia, and von Ritterburg was faced with a revolt within the PKP ranks. Rather then be voted out in favor of his hated enemy Ludendorff, von Ritterburg resigned. In the following general election, the PKP was trounced, losing more than half its seat in the Landtag as well as control of the East Prussian diet. Von Ritterburg was widely blamed for its poor showing, especially by his successor Ludendorff.
Later Life and Legacy
After his political downfall, von Ritterburg returned to Ulmensee. Aside from the publication of his memoirs in 1942 and the short-lived Chancellorship of his middle son Gustaf in 1947, von Ritterburg largely faded from the public eye. He spent the remainder of his life in Ulmensee with Sophie; they died three months apart in 1957 and are buried together in the family crypt. Today, von Ritterburg has largely been rehabilitated in the eyes of Prussian conservatives and he is recognized both as the leader of the last generation of Junkers and as the man who kept Prussia from falling under foreign influence unlike many of the Little Germanies in the years after the Great War. A 10 meter tall bronze statue of von Ritterburg stands at the southern end of Potsdamer Platz in Berlin
Sources
- Collins, Matthew. Continuity, Change and Crisis: The First Ten Years of the Republic of Prussia. (New Haven, 2004)
- Delacroix, Gisèle. Les Junkers: des Origines à la Chute. (Aix-la-Chapelle, 1995)
- Stosch, Konstantin. Der Weichselkrieg. (Hannover, 1985)
- von Ritterburg, Jakob. Berliner Tagebuch. (Königsberg, 1942)
See Also
- Current Prussian Navy ships
- List of Chancellors of the Republic of Prussia
- Prussian general election 1923
- Prussian general election 1927
- Prussian general election 1932
- Tiergarten
****
The POD here is actually that Alexei is born without hemophilia. This has the ripple of effect of strengthening the Romanovs and aborting Rasputin's role in history, which leads ::handwave time:: to a more effective Russian Army in 1914. The war is over by Christmas - of 1915 - and ends with Germany being occupied and partitioned into a half-dozen or so Little Germanies.
Whaddaya think sirs?