Eduard von Liebert (16 April 1850 - 14 November 1934) was a German general, colonial official and one of the most prominent representatives of the German far-right throughout the first three decades of the 20th century. Liebert, who served as Governor of German East Africa between 1896 and 1901, when he was forced to resign due to having caused unrest among the natives by introducing a controversial head tax and promoting forced labour, had enormous influence among the German colonial old guard and was one of the most fervent opponents of the reformist coloial policy pursued since 1905, especially under State Secretaries for the Colonies Bernhard Dernburg and Wilhelm Solf.
As a defender of radical racial segregation laws in the African colonies and a proponent of anti-socialist Sammlungspolitik, Liebert started a career in politics after his retirement in 1904 and became board member and honorary chairman of numerous reactionary and ultranationalist organisations, for example the Imperial Association against Social Democracy, the Pan-German League and the League of German Women. After several years in the Reichstag and the Prussian House of Representatives for the Free Conservative Party, Liebert became a full-time member of the German Fatherland Party in the early 20s, eventually being appointed honorary chairman.
History[]
Early Life[]
Eduard von Liebert was born as Eduard Wilhelm Hans Liebert, the son of Prussian military officer Friedrich Wilhelm Liebert, in the city of Rendsburg, which still belonged to Denmark at the time. The family had their roots in Silesia. He was educated in the Prussian Cadet Corps and joined the Prussian Army in 1866, participating in the Austro-Prussian War as a Fähnrich of the Third Posen Infantry Regiment Nr. 58. He fought in several battles, including the Battle of Königgrätz, and was promoted lieutenant.
In 1869, Liebert became adjutant of the II. Bataillion and fought in the Franco-Prussian War a few months later. He participated in several battles in Alsace and around Paris.
Military Career[]
After the war, Liebert served as adjutant of the 20th Infantry Brigade in Posen and attended the Prussian War Academy in Berlin. There, he was trained to became an educator for younger recruits. In 1876, he began teaching at the War Academy in Hanover and worked for the X. Army Corps, serving in several Infantry Regiments.
In 1878, Liebert was one of the founders of the Hanoverian Geographical Society, which aimed to promote colonial interests in the Prussian Province of Hanover.
After working for the German General Staff and as a teacher at the Metz War Academy for a while, Liebert became part of the Prussian Obermilitärstudienkommission, a commission responsible for creating the curriculi of German war schools and academies in the early 1880s. For the next decade, he worked at different stations throughout Germany, for example Hamburg, Berlin and Neiße, mainly being responsible for army organization. He was eventually promoted major and began teaching at the War Academy in Berlin, one of the most prestigious of its kind in the world.
Colonial Service[]
In 1889, Liebert was sent to the newly established colony of German East Africa, where he headed the legation to the Sultan of Zanzibar and was responsible for representing Reichskommissar Carl Peters on official events.
In the 1890s, Liebert returned to Germany and became Chief of Staff of the X. Corps in Hanover. In this position, he was sent to Beijing in China to kowtow to Li Hongzhang, Chinese Viceroy and one of China's most important diplomats and generals, dubbed "the yellow Bismarck."
In 1896, Liebert was appointed Governor of German East Africa and returned to Daressalam. Therefore, he had to leave the Prussian Army and joined the African Schutztruppe. Promoted Major general, he also had the responsibility to represent Lothar von Trotha, commander of the colonial forces in German East Africa, for the duration of the latter's vacation. In 1900, Liebert was raised to nobility by Kaiser Wilhelm II and was henceforth known as "von Liebert".
However, von Liebert's rule in Africa could not be considered really stable. By increasing the colonial taxes, he caused unrest among the native population, which eventually laid the groundwork for the Maji Maji Rebellion a few years later. Fearing that the situation could escalate and become uncontrollable, von Liebert was dismissed and called back to Germany. He shortly served as Lieutenant general in the 6th Division in Brandenburg and retired in April 1903.
Political Career[]
In 1904, von Liebert was, together with leading politicians of the DkP, DRP and NLP, a founding member and later even chairman of the Reichsverband gegen die Sozialdemokratie ("Imperial League against Social Democracy"), an anti-social democratic and deeply militaristic organization. Additionally, he joined the pan-German Alldeutscher Verband and the German Colonial Society. He also became a founding member of the conservative Deutscher Frauenbund (German Women's League) in 1909. From 1907 to 1914, he was elected deputy of the DRP in the Reichstag.
WIP