Herman von Mallinckrodt
Encyclopedia
Hermann von Mallinckrodt (5 February 1821, Minden
– 26 May 1874) was a German
parliamentarian from the Province of Westphalia
.
His father, Detmar von Mallinckrodt, was vice-governor at Minden (1818–23) and also at Aachen (1823–29); and was an Evangelical, his highly accomplished and pious mother (née Berhardine von Hartmann) was a Catholic
, and the children followed her creed. Hermann von Mallinckrodt attended the gymnasium at Aachen
and studied law at Berlin
and Bonn
. He became auscultator in the district court of Paderborn
in 1841, referendar at Münster
and Erfurt
in 1844, and government assessor in 1849. As such he worked at Minden, Erfurt, Stralsund
and Frankfurt (Oder)
. At Erfurt he was also for a time commissary to the first burgomaster, and in recognition of his services he received the freedom of the city. In 1859 he was appointed assistant in the Ministry of the Interior, and in 1860 was appointed government councillor at Düsseldorf
. In 1867 he was sent to Merseburg
against his will, and was pensioned off at his own request in 1872.
As early as 1852 the Westphalian constituency of Beckum-Ahaus had elected him to the Prussian House of Representatives, and he took part in the founding of the "Catholic Fraction" for the defense of the rights and liberties of the church, which since 1859 has been called the Centre. When the House of Representatives was dissolved in 1863, owing to the debate on the military law, Mallinckrodt lost his mandate. In 1867, however, he was elected to the Constituent Diet of the North German Confederation
, and in 1868 returned to the Prussian Lower House.
In the North German Diet he was the leading member of the federal constitutional union. In 1837 he made a speech condemning the war against Austria
(1866) and the annexation of Hanover
and Hesse
, and attacked the idea of substituting a single (federal) government for the confederation of states. From 1870 until his death he stood at the head of the new Centre Party
, in both the Reichstag
and the Prussian Landtag, that party gaining strength during the Kulturkampf
. He shared this leadership with the brothers August Reichensperger
and Peter Reichensperger
, and, after 1872, also with Ludwig Windthorst
.
Mallinckrodt was an unrivalled parliamentarian. "Never", to repeat the words of a colleague, "was so much force and dignity, energy and learning, strength of character and prudence, piety and vigour, united in one person as in Hermann von Mallinckrodt." Distinguished and dignified in appearance, as tactful as he was winning in society, clear in his thoughts, honourable in his dealings, of spotless life, and moreover a strong and highly cultivated mind, a mature and grave, though good-natured and friendly, character, and an orator who carried his audience with him by his force, lucidity, and fire—with all this he could not but be eminent in every sphere upon which he entered. Whatever he believed to be right, that he advocated with all his power; and he won the esteem of even his most determined opponents. Even Herr Falk
, the Minister of Worship, with whom he had often enough been in conflict, called him "the most honourable member of the Centre Party, a man who had only lived and fought for his convictions." And the president of the Prussian Diet, von Bennigsen, also a vigorous antagonist, said: "In spite of his resolute party attitude, he succeeded in gaining and retaining not only the confidence of his political friends, but also the high regard of his political opponents."
While he was always an energetic orator, willingly listened to, he rose to the height of his eloquence in the Kulturkampf. Mallinckrodt took the leading part in the defence of the Catholic Church, to which he was highly devoted. Windthorst's sparkling wit and Reichensperger
's Ciceronian swing he had not. His speeches, on the other hand, are distinguished by a full command of the subject, lucidity of form, and strictly logical argument. Reichensperger said of him that in a parliamentary experience of forty years he had never known a parliamentarian as serious and conscientious in the preparation of his speeches as Mallinckrodt. The keen force of his words was lauded by his opponents. He spoke for the last time on 19 May 1874, and concluded with the poetical words: Per crucem ad lucem ("Through the cross to light"). Death carried him away only a few days after. During all the years of his parliamentary career hardly a bill of leading importance had been debated without his taking a distinguished part in the debate.
Mallinckrodt's first wife, Elizabeth (née von Bernhard), bore him seven children, of whom two died young; his second wife, her half-sister had but three months of married life with him, and when his children had grown up, she became religious.
He died in Berlin
.
Minden
Minden is a town of about 83,000 inhabitants in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The town extends along both sides of the river Weser. It is the capital of the Kreis of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of Detmold. Minden is the historic political centre of the...
– 26 May 1874) was a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
parliamentarian from the Province of Westphalia
Province of Westphalia
The Province of Westphalia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946.-History:Napoleon Bonaparte founded the Kingdom of Westphalia, which was a client state of the First French Empire from 1807 to 1813...
.
His father, Detmar von Mallinckrodt, was vice-governor at Minden (1818–23) and also at Aachen (1823–29); and was an Evangelical, his highly accomplished and pious mother (née Berhardine von Hartmann) was a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
, and the children followed her creed. Hermann von Mallinckrodt attended the gymnasium at Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
and studied law at Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
. He became auscultator in the district court of Paderborn
Paderborn
Paderborn is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader, which originates in more than 200 springs near Paderborn Cathedral, where St. Liborius is buried.-History:...
in 1841, referendar at Münster
Münster
Münster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...
and Erfurt
Erfurt
Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...
in 1844, and government assessor in 1849. As such he worked at Minden, Erfurt, Stralsund
Stralsund
- Main sights :* The Brick Gothic historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.* The heart of the old town is the Old Market Square , with the Gothic Town Hall . Behind the town hall stands the imposing Nikolaikirche , built in 1270-1360...
and Frankfurt (Oder)
Frankfurt (Oder)
Frankfurt is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, located on the Oder River, on the German-Polish border directly opposite the town of Słubice which was a part of Frankfurt until 1945. At the end of the 1980s it reached a population peak with more than 87,000 inhabitants...
. At Erfurt he was also for a time commissary to the first burgomaster, and in recognition of his services he received the freedom of the city. In 1859 he was appointed assistant in the Ministry of the Interior, and in 1860 was appointed government councillor at Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
. In 1867 he was sent to Merseburg
Merseburg
Merseburg is a town in the south of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the river Saale, approx. 14 km south of Halle . It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese founded by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg....
against his will, and was pensioned off at his own request in 1872.
As early as 1852 the Westphalian constituency of Beckum-Ahaus had elected him to the Prussian House of Representatives, and he took part in the founding of the "Catholic Fraction" for the defense of the rights and liberties of the church, which since 1859 has been called the Centre. When the House of Representatives was dissolved in 1863, owing to the debate on the military law, Mallinckrodt lost his mandate. In 1867, however, he was elected to the Constituent Diet of the North German Confederation
North German Confederation
The North German Confederation 1866–71, was a federation of 22 independent states of northern Germany. It was formed by a constitution accepted by the member states in 1867 and controlled military and foreign policy. It included the new Reichstag, a parliament elected by universal manhood...
, and in 1868 returned to the Prussian Lower House.
In the North German Diet he was the leading member of the federal constitutional union. In 1837 he made a speech condemning the war against Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
(1866) and the annexation of Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
and Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
, and attacked the idea of substituting a single (federal) government for the confederation of states. From 1870 until his death he stood at the head of the new Centre Party
Centre Party (Germany)
The German Centre Party was a Catholic political party in Germany during the Kaiserreich and the Weimar Republic. Formed in 1870, it battled the Kulturkampf which the Prussian government launched to reduce the power of the Catholic Church...
, in both the Reichstag
Reichstag (German Empire)
The Reichstag was the parliament of the North German Confederation , and of the German Reich ....
and the Prussian Landtag, that party gaining strength during the Kulturkampf
Kulturkampf
The German term refers to German policies in relation to secularity and the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, enacted from 1871 to 1878 by the Prime Minister of Prussia, Otto von Bismarck. The Kulturkampf did not extend to the other German states such as Bavaria...
. He shared this leadership with the brothers August Reichensperger
August Reichensperger
August Reichensperger was a German politician from the city of Koblenz.Reichensperger studied law and entered government service, becoming counsellor to the court of appeal at Cologne in 1849...
and Peter Reichensperger
Peter Reichensperger
Peter Reichensperger was a German jurist and parliamentarian.-Life:He studied at Bonn and Heidelberg, and was successively counsellor at Coblenz , of the court of appeal at Cologne , and of the supreme court of Berlin until its dissolution...
, and, after 1872, also with Ludwig Windthorst
Ludwig Windthorst
Ludwig Windthorst , was a German politician.-Biography:Windthorst was born at Kaldenhof, a country house near Osnabrück in the Kingdom of Hanover. He was raised by a Roman Catholic family, which for some generations had held important posts in the Hanoverian civil service...
.
Mallinckrodt was an unrivalled parliamentarian. "Never", to repeat the words of a colleague, "was so much force and dignity, energy and learning, strength of character and prudence, piety and vigour, united in one person as in Hermann von Mallinckrodt." Distinguished and dignified in appearance, as tactful as he was winning in society, clear in his thoughts, honourable in his dealings, of spotless life, and moreover a strong and highly cultivated mind, a mature and grave, though good-natured and friendly, character, and an orator who carried his audience with him by his force, lucidity, and fire—with all this he could not but be eminent in every sphere upon which he entered. Whatever he believed to be right, that he advocated with all his power; and he won the esteem of even his most determined opponents. Even Herr Falk
Paul Ludwig Falk
Paul Ludwig Adalbert Falk was a German politician.Falk was born at Metschkau , Silesia. In 1847 he entered the Prussian state service, and in 1853 became public prosecutor at Lyck . In 1858 he was elected a deputy, joining the Old Liberal party...
, the Minister of Worship, with whom he had often enough been in conflict, called him "the most honourable member of the Centre Party, a man who had only lived and fought for his convictions." And the president of the Prussian Diet, von Bennigsen, also a vigorous antagonist, said: "In spite of his resolute party attitude, he succeeded in gaining and retaining not only the confidence of his political friends, but also the high regard of his political opponents."
While he was always an energetic orator, willingly listened to, he rose to the height of his eloquence in the Kulturkampf. Mallinckrodt took the leading part in the defence of the Catholic Church, to which he was highly devoted. Windthorst's sparkling wit and Reichensperger
August Reichensperger
August Reichensperger was a German politician from the city of Koblenz.Reichensperger studied law and entered government service, becoming counsellor to the court of appeal at Cologne in 1849...
's Ciceronian swing he had not. His speeches, on the other hand, are distinguished by a full command of the subject, lucidity of form, and strictly logical argument. Reichensperger said of him that in a parliamentary experience of forty years he had never known a parliamentarian as serious and conscientious in the preparation of his speeches as Mallinckrodt. The keen force of his words was lauded by his opponents. He spoke for the last time on 19 May 1874, and concluded with the poetical words: Per crucem ad lucem ("Through the cross to light"). Death carried him away only a few days after. During all the years of his parliamentary career hardly a bill of leading importance had been debated without his taking a distinguished part in the debate.
Mallinckrodt's first wife, Elizabeth (née von Bernhard), bore him seven children, of whom two died young; his second wife, her half-sister had but three months of married life with him, and when his children had grown up, she became religious.
He died in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.