Georg von Hertling facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Count Georg von Hertling
Chancellor of Germany (Imperial Germany)
In office 1 November 1917 – 30 September 1918
Monarch	Wilhelm II
Deputy	Karl Helfferich Friedrich von Payer
Preceded by	Georg Michaelis
Succeeded by	Max von Baden
Minister President of Prussia
In office 1 November 1917 – 30 September 1918
Monarch	Wilhelm II
Preceded by	Georg Michaelis
Succeeded by	Max von Baden
Minister President of Bavaria
In office 9 February 1912 – 10 November 1917
Monarch	Otto Ludwig III
Preceded by	Clemens von Podewils-Dürniz
Succeeded by	Otto von Dandl
Member of the Reichstag
In office 1896–1912
Constituency	Münster 2 (1903-1912) Schwaben 4 (1898-1903) Köln 4 (1896-1898)
In office 1875–1890
Constituency	Koblenz 3
Personal details
Born	Georg Friedrich Freiherr von Hertling (1843-08-31)31 August 1843 Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse, German Confederation
Died	4 January 1919(1919-01-04) (aged 75) Ruhpolding, People's State of Bavaria, Weimar Republic
Political party	Centre
Spouse	Anna Freiin von Biegeleben ​ (m. 1845)​
Children	3

Georg Friedrich Karl Freiherr von Hertling (later Count von Hertling) was an important German politician. He was born on August 31, 1843, and passed away on January 4, 1919. He belonged to the Catholic Centre Party.

Hertling held several high-ranking positions. He was the foreign minister and minister president of Bavaria. Later, he became the Chancellor of the German Reich and Minister President of Prussia. He held these top jobs from November 1, 1917, to September 30, 1918. He was special because he was the first politician from a specific party to hold both these roles. Before him, these positions were usually held by people who didn't belong to a political party.

His Catholic faith was very important in his life and work. He was part of the more traditional side of the Centre Party. He didn't want the government to be controlled by the parliament. Instead, he believed the emperor should have the main power. This view caused problems for his government during the last months of World War I.

Early Life and Studies

Georg von Hertling came from a Catholic family in the Grand Duchy of Hesse. He was born in Darmstadt. His father was Jakob Freiherr von Hertling, a court official. His mother was Antonie von Guaita.

Because of his mother's religious teachings, he thought about becoming a priest. He went to Ludwig-Georgs-Gymnasium, a school that focused on classic subjects. He then studied philosophy in Munich, Münster, and Berlin. He earned his doctorate degree in 1864.

Academic Career and Catholic Involvement

In 1867, Hertling became qualified to teach at a university in Bonn. However, he had to wait until 1880 to become a professor. This delay happened because of the Kulturkampf (culture struggle) in Prussia. This was a conflict between the government, led by Otto von Bismarck, and the Catholic Church. They disagreed about who should control education and church appointments.

This experience led Hertling to help start the Görres Society in 1876. This group was for Catholic scientists and scholars in Germany. He was its president until he died in 1919. In 1882, he became a full professor at the University of Munich. He also wrote books about famous thinkers like Aristotle and Albertus Magnus.

Hertling was also a leader in starting Catholic student groups. He joined a Catholic student fraternity in Munich in 1862. Later, he joined another one in Bonn. In 1863, he gave a speech at a Catholic meeting in Frankfurt. He talked about how religion, science, and friendship were important for Catholic students. This speech helped create the Würzburg Federation, a group of Catholic student associations that still exists today.

From 1893 to 1911, Hertling was the president of the German Society for Christian Art.

Family Life

Georg von Hertling was married to Anna Freiin von Biegeleben. She came from an important family of government officials. They had one son and five daughters, though one daughter passed away young. Hertling was related to famous writers like Bettina von Arnim and Clemens Brentano. The actress Gila von Weitershausen is his great-granddaughter.

Political Career in Bavaria

From 1875 to 1890, and again from 1896 to 1912, Hertling was a member of the German Reichstag. This was like the German parliament. He represented the Catholic Centre Party. At first, he focused on social issues. Later, he worked mostly on foreign policy and money matters.

From 1909 to 1912, he led the Centre Party's group in the Reichstag. He tried to bring German Catholics closer to the mostly Protestant and Prussian-led German state. In 1891, Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria made him a life member of the House of Councillors. This was the upper house of Bavaria's state parliament.

Bavarian Minister President

On February 9, 1912, Prince Regent Luitpold appointed Hertling to a very important role. He became the chairman of the Bavarian Ministry of State and the Bavarian foreign minister. This meant he was the minister president, or head of government, for Bavaria. The new king, King Ludwig III, also made him a count.

This appointment was a big deal. It was the first time a leader from the majority party in the state parliament became the head of government. This showed that Bavaria was starting to become more democratic, with the government being more accountable to the parliament. Hertling had strong support in parliament and formed his own government.

Social problems were a big concern at the time. In 1913, Bavaria's government tried to create plans to help people who were unemployed. However, these plans failed in the upper house of parliament. This led to protests across Bavaria in early 1914.

Bavaria During World War I

When Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was killed in Sarajevo in June 1914, it started a crisis. But at a meeting of Bavarian ministers on July 15, the situation in the Balkans was not discussed. The minister president of Württemberg suggested a meeting of the Bundesrat (a council of German states) to agree on a common plan. But Munich, where Hertling was, said no.

During World War I, Hertling supported the policies of the German Chancellor, Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg. Some people, like Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg, wanted Germany to take over new lands if they won the war. In March 1915, he asked the Bavarian King Ludwig III to demand that Emperor Wilhelm II fire Bethmann Hollweg. He thought Bethmann Hollweg was too weak and stood in the way of a "German peace" that included taking new territories. But King Ludwig III, who also wanted Bavaria to grow after a victory, didn't do it because Hertling stopped the idea.

Food shortages during the war caused tension between farmers and city dwellers. This led to arguments between political parties in the Bavarian parliament. In December 1916, some ministers resigned, but Hertling remained minister president. The social situation in Bavaria became worse and worse.

On August 31, 1916, the Supreme Army Command announced the Hindenburg Programme. This plan, created by generals Erich Ludendorff and Paul von Hindenburg, aimed to greatly increase Germany's economic output for the war. This plan gave a lot more power to the central government and less power to the individual German states.

After Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg resigned in July 1917, Hertling was asked to become the new Chancellor. He first said no. He was 74 years old and not in good health. But after Bethmann's replacement, Georg Michaelis, failed, Hertling finally took on the roles of Reich Chancellor and Minister President of Prussia on November 1, 1917. He was the first politician from a party to hold these combined jobs. In Bavaria, he was replaced by Otto von Dandl.

German Chancellor and Prussian Minister President

As Chancellor, Georg von Hertling was part of the right wing of the Centre Party. This group did not want ministers to be responsible to the parliament. They believed ministers should answer to the emperor. They also worried that giving more power to parliament would weaken the federal states and strengthen the Social Democratic Party (SPD).

However, Hertling's government still marked a step towards parliament having more power. The new chancellor had to agree on his government's plans with the main parties in the Reichstag. The SPD was the largest party, and the Centre Party was the second largest. This helped the Centre Party get used to working with the SPD and other liberal parties.

Hertling included two experienced parliamentarians in his government. Friedrich von Payer from the Progressive People's Party became vice chancellor. Robert Friedberg from the National Liberal Party became deputy Prussian prime minister. These men helped connect the government with the political parties. The Social Democrats were not part of the government directly, but Payer helped them communicate with the government.

During Hertling's time as Chancellor, some important steps were taken to make the government more democratic. For example, they planned to change how elections worked to make them fairer. However, the SPD was not happy because the military still had a lot of power, and reforms were slow. By late September 1918, the SPD no longer trusted Hertling. They only wanted to join the government if policies changed. The governments of Bavaria and Baden also felt Hertling was not the right person to lead peace talks.

End of Chancellorship

As the military situation worsened, the political parties, including Hertling's Centre Party, called for peace talks with the Allies. They wanted a peace that didn't involve taking new territories. They also wanted the government to be more accountable to the Reichstag through a constitutional change. Hertling wanted to resist these demands.

However, on September 26, 1918, officials in the military's General Staff told Paul von Hintze, the foreign minister, that the military situation was hopeless. They did this without involving Chancellor Hertling. Hintze then came up with a plan for big changes from the top. When the Supreme Army Command also demanded a broader government on September 28, Hertling had no choice. This demand was likely made to put the blame for the defeat on the democratic parties.

Hertling's time as Chancellor ended on September 29 at the army's headquarters in Spa, Belgium. He was replaced on October 3 by Prince Maximilian of Baden. Prince Maximilian was the preferred choice of Hertling's vice chancellor, Payer.

Georg von Hertling passed away three months later in Ruhpolding, Bavaria, where he was buried.

Awards and Honors

Georg von Hertling received many awards and decorations during his life, recognizing his service and achievements. These honors came from various German states and other countries.

• From Bavaria:
  • Knight of the Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown (1898)
  • Grand Cross of the Royal Merit Order of Saint Michael (1912)
  • Knight of the Royal Order of Saint Hubert
  • King Ludwig Cross
• From Baden: Grand Cross of the Order of Berthold the First, with Golden Collar
• From Brunswick: Grand Cross of the Order of Henry the Lion
• From Hesse: Grand Cross of the Merit Order of Philip the Magnanimous, with Crown
• From Lippe: War Merit Cross
• From Prussia:
  • Knight of the Order of the Red Eagle, 1st Class
  • Knight of the Royal Order of the Crown, 2nd Class with Star
  • Iron Cross (1914), 2nd Class on White Band with Black Edge (a military award)
• From Hohenzollern: Cross of Honour of the Princely House Order of Hohenzollern, 1st Class
• From Saxony: Grand Cross of the Albert Order, with Golden Star
• From Württemberg: Grand Cross of the Order of the Württemberg Crown
• From Austria-Hungary:
  • Grand Cross of the Austrian Imperial Order of Leopold (1913), with Diamonds (1914)
  • Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen (1917)
• From the Holy See (Vatican):
  • Grand Cross of the Order of Pope Pius IX
  • Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great
• From Finland: Grand Cross of the Order of the Cross of Liberty

See also

In Spanish: Georg von Hertling para niños