Eulenburg affair

thumb|[[Philipp, Prince of Eulenburg (1905)]]

The Eulenburg affair (also called the Harden–Eulenburg affair) was a public controversy surrounding a series of courts-martial and five civil trials regarding accusations of homosexual conduct, and accompanying libel trials, among prominent members of German Emperor Wilhelm II's cabinet and entourage during 1907–1909.

The issue centred on journalist Maximilian Harden's accusations of homosexual conduct between the Kaiser's close friend Philipp, Prince of Eulenburg, and General Kuno von Moltke. Accusations and counter-accusations quickly multiplied, and the phrase "Liebenberg Round Table" came to be used for the homosexual circle around the Kaiser.

The Eulenburg affair has been held up as one example of anti-homosexuality sentiment being used as a means to attain certain political goals.

The affair received wide publicity and is often considered the biggest domestic scandal of Imperial Germany. It has been described as "the biggest homosexual scandal ever." It led to one of the first major public discussions of homosexuality in Germany, comparable to the trial of Oscar Wilde in England. Historians have linked the aftermath of the affair to the changes in German foreign policy that heightened its military aggression and ultimately contributed to World War I.

Causes

thumb|upright|[[Philipp, Prince of Eulenburg (1906)]]

thumb|upright|[[Maximilian Harden]]

The scandal was used by opponents of Germany's foreign policies. Wilhelm II dismissed "Iron" Chancellor Otto von Bismarck and his system of treaties and agreements in 1890, replacing Bismarck's clear rule with a muddle and his foreign policies with a confrontational, expansionist . The anti-imperialist Eulenburg became the most prominent member of Wilhelm II's entourage, having been promoted from a member of the diplomatic corps to an ambassador. Like many others, Bismarck noticed that the nature of the relationship between Wilhelm II and Eulenburg could "not be confided to paper" and felt, alongside those others, that even these activities in the private sphere were not to be exposed to the public. The two dominant factions in the early 20th century were the faction headed by Friedrich von Holstein, the powerful director of the Political Department at the Auswärtiges Amt, and the Bülow–Eulenburg clique, headed by Bernhard von Bülow and his close friend Eulenburg, which was rapidly eclipsing the Holstein faction. Holstein had known Eulenburg since June 1886 and had once been his ally when the two had plotted against Bismarck in 1889–1890, but starting around 1894, Eulenburg and Holstein had begun to come into conflict with each other. The close friendship between Eulenburg and the Kaiser meant that Holstein tended to lose his disputes with Eulenburg. As a trump card to destroy his rival Eulenburg, Holstein had contacted Maximilian Harden to inform him that Eulenburg was a homosexual.

Harden, imperialist head of the periodical , felt similarly about the direction of German foreign policy, and in 1902 personally threatened to expose Eulenburg unless he retired from his ambassadorship in Vienna; Eulenburg did so, withdrawing from public life until 1906. Harden reaffirmed his threat after Germany at the Algeciras Conference of 1906 recognized Morocco as being within the French sphere of influence, in what was for Germany a major foreign policy fiasco, and Eulenburg responded by moving to Switzerland. After Eulenburg declined to fight the duel, Holstein decided to destroy Eulenburg by exposing his homosexuality. At the time, Germany had a very conservative culture where the existence of female sexuality was never spoken of in public, and Elbe's testimony was noteworthy for the first time where the subject of female sexuality was addressed in Germany. Moltke's lawyers counterattacked using the subject of Elbe's sexuality, arguing that any woman who spoke openly of her sexuality was a deranged "hysterical nymphomaniac" who could not be trusted. Bollhardt described attending champagne-filled parties at Lynar's villa at which he saw both Hohenau and Moltke. Hirschfeld, a prominent German sexologist who was himself homosexual, had observed the trial and testified that Moltke most certainly had a feminine side and was homosexual even if he had never committed sodomy. On October 29, the court found Moltke homosexual and Harden innocent of libel. Despite Eulenburg's own approval of , his clique was a stabilizing factor. By removing Eulenburg, Harden enabled his own highly aggressive foreign policy to take root in the . By 1914, Harden had moved sufficiently to the right that he welcomed the German invasion of Belgium. During the war, Harden was an annexationist who wrote numerous articles demanding that Germany win the war, annex most of Europe, Africa, and Asia, and become the world's greatest power. However, after the defeat of Germany he became a pacifist. Eulenburg himself was irrelevant by then.

The Eulenburg affair has been held up as one example of anti-homosexuality sentiment being used as a means to attain certain political goals.

The affair also led people in other countries to perceive homosexuality as especially prevalent in Germany. New euphemisms for homosexuality came into use, such as ('the German vice') or (in French), or (Italian).

Eulenburg affair

Causes

See also

Footnotes