Paul Wittich (politician)
Encyclopedia
Paul Wittich was a German social democratic
politician in Slovakia
(then part of Hungary
and later Czechoslovakia
). He was a prominent labour leader in Pressburg (today known as Bratislava). During a few days around New Years Eve 1919 he led a workers militia that vyed for control of the city. After the integration of Pressburg into Czechoslovakia, he sat in the national parliament.
. Wittich was the editor of the weekly newspaper Westungarische Volkstimme (a regional organ of the Social Democratic Party of Hungary) between July 1905 and May 1914, and then again from September 1914 to 1918.
In 1907 Wittich was imprisoned after having called for reform of the electoral system.
in Vienna
, to discuss the future of Pressburg.
On December 15, 1918, Wittich was one of the key speakers at a mass meeting of ethnic Germans, held in connection with the launching of the German Volksrat of Pressburg (a national platform of the German population of the city). On December 19, 1918, Wittich was elected to the presidium of the Volksrat, representing the Workers Council. On the same day, the Volksrat Presidium adopted a unanimous resolution, appealing to the population of Pressburg not to resist the imminent Czechoslovak occupation of the city. Wittich was reported to have opposed this position, seeing it as to defeatist, but nevertheless signed it. Wittich also travelled to Prague
to negotiate the terms of the Czechoslovak occupation.
Around Christmas Eve 1918, chaos engulfed Pressburg. Wittich was approached by the vice-mayor Richard Kánya and some police officers, asking him to take charge of security in the city. On December 30, 1918 Wittich assumed the title of People's Commissar, supported by the Workers Council and the Volksrat. An Arbeitergarde ('Workers Guard') was formed under his command, with a few hundred men.
Around New Year's Eve Wittich's Arbeitergarde clashed with Red Guards over the control of the city. Whilst the social democratic press sought to present Wittich as the saviour of the town, the rival Christian Social press tried to portray the Arbeitergarde as a band of looters.
officers, led by the Italian Colonel Barreca, at the Pressburg railway station
. Wittich demanded that Barreca respect civil liberties. An agreement was reached that Czechoslovak troops, Arbeitergarde and police would control the city jointly. On January 2, 1919, after Pressburg had been seized by Czechoslovak troops, Wittich (in his function as People's Commissar) and the acting mayor Kánya issued a joint appeal. The appeal, in German and Hungarian, was distributed throughout the city. It called on the citizenry to remain calm, that the population of the city had protested occupation and that the status of the city would be solved through diplomacy.
On January 4, 1919 Wittich resigned as People's Commissar at a Pressburg town council meeting.
' agent and preparing an armed putsch. Wittich was released. On February 23, 1919, he addressed a mass meeting of unemployed people in Pressburg.
, martial law was introduced in Slovakia. Wittich was amongst the social democratic leaders arrested, accused of being a Bolshevik agent. He was detained at the Ilava prison. He was released on May 15, 1919.
, founded in Czechoslovakia in 1919. He was elected to the Czechoslovak National Assembly in the 1920 election. He became the chairman of the parliamentary group of the Hungarian-German Social Democratic Party.
The Marxist grouping eventually merged with the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
. The social democratic minority re-organized the party. Wittich did however break with the party in late 1920.
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
politician in Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
(then part of Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and later Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
). He was a prominent labour leader in Pressburg (today known as Bratislava). During a few days around New Years Eve 1919 he led a workers militia that vyed for control of the city. After the integration of Pressburg into Czechoslovakia, he sat in the national parliament.
Volkstimme editor
Wittich emerged as the main leader of the social democratic movement in Pressburg following the departure of Heinrich Kalmár to BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. Wittich was the editor of the weekly newspaper Westungarische Volkstimme (a regional organ of the Social Democratic Party of Hungary) between July 1905 and May 1914, and then again from September 1914 to 1918.
In 1907 Wittich was imprisoned after having called for reform of the electoral system.
Town Council member
In November 1914 Wittich was elected to the Pressburg town council, being the first social democrat to be able to win a seat in that body. His constituency was the Theresienstadt ward, an urban working class and multi-cultural district with a large Jewish population. Wittich's campaign had three main themes; the introduction of a progressive income and property tax, autonomy from central and county government control and electoral reform (seeking to scrap the system that automatically accorded seats to the 'virilists').Militia leader
At the end of the First World War, Wittich emerged as a key political leader in the city. In the first week of November 1918, the German-Hungarian Workers Council was formed, with Wittich as its leader. Soon thereafter, Wittich represented the Pressburg National Council and Pressburg at a meeting with the Hungarian National Council in Budapest. On November 9, 1918 Wittich was part of a delegation that met with the Czechoslovak envoy Vlastimil TusarVlastimil Tusar
Vlastimil Tusar was a Czech journalist and political figure. He served as prime minister of Czechoslovakia from 1919 to 1920....
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, to discuss the future of Pressburg.
On December 15, 1918, Wittich was one of the key speakers at a mass meeting of ethnic Germans, held in connection with the launching of the German Volksrat of Pressburg (a national platform of the German population of the city). On December 19, 1918, Wittich was elected to the presidium of the Volksrat, representing the Workers Council. On the same day, the Volksrat Presidium adopted a unanimous resolution, appealing to the population of Pressburg not to resist the imminent Czechoslovak occupation of the city. Wittich was reported to have opposed this position, seeing it as to defeatist, but nevertheless signed it. Wittich also travelled to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
to negotiate the terms of the Czechoslovak occupation.
Around Christmas Eve 1918, chaos engulfed Pressburg. Wittich was approached by the vice-mayor Richard Kánya and some police officers, asking him to take charge of security in the city. On December 30, 1918 Wittich assumed the title of People's Commissar, supported by the Workers Council and the Volksrat. An Arbeitergarde ('Workers Guard') was formed under his command, with a few hundred men.
Around New Year's Eve Wittich's Arbeitergarde clashed with Red Guards over the control of the city. Whilst the social democratic press sought to present Wittich as the saviour of the town, the rival Christian Social press tried to portray the Arbeitergarde as a band of looters.
Czechoslovak occupation
On January 1, 1919 Wittich led the Pressburg delegation at a negotiation with EntenteAllies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
officers, led by the Italian Colonel Barreca, at the Pressburg railway station
Bratislava hlavná stanica
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. Wittich demanded that Barreca respect civil liberties. An agreement was reached that Czechoslovak troops, Arbeitergarde and police would control the city jointly. On January 2, 1919, after Pressburg had been seized by Czechoslovak troops, Wittich (in his function as People's Commissar) and the acting mayor Kánya issued a joint appeal. The appeal, in German and Hungarian, was distributed throughout the city. It called on the citizenry to remain calm, that the population of the city had protested occupation and that the status of the city would be solved through diplomacy.
On January 4, 1919 Wittich resigned as People's Commissar at a Pressburg town council meeting.
February Strike
In the following February Strike of 1919, Wittich played a leading role, as the main leader of the German-Hungarian labour movement in the city. Initially, condemned the policies of the Czechoslovak government as 'imperialist' and 'militarist'. Soon thereafter, he came to project the strike as solely related to economic issues, and appealed to the Slovak social democrats to join the strike. He led the workers's delegation in negotiations with the Czechoslovak government February 9–10, 1919. Wittich was later arrested by the Pressburg police, accused of being an 'BolshevikBolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
' agent and preparing an armed putsch. Wittich was released. On February 23, 1919, he addressed a mass meeting of unemployed people in Pressburg.
Political prisoner
On March 25, 1919, following the proclamation of the Hungarian Soviet RepublicHungarian Soviet Republic
The Hungarian Soviet Republic or Soviet Republic of Hungary was a short-lived Communist state established in Hungary in the aftermath of World War I....
, martial law was introduced in Slovakia. Wittich was amongst the social democratic leaders arrested, accused of being a Bolshevik agent. He was detained at the Ilava prison. He was released on May 15, 1919.
Parliamentarian
Wittich became a leading figure in the Hungarian-German Social Democratic PartyHungarian-German Social Democratic Party
The Hungarian-German Social Democratic Party was a social democratic political party in Slovakia . It was founded in 1919 by social democrats from ethnic minority communities. The party had a German and a Hungarian section...
, founded in Czechoslovakia in 1919. He was elected to the Czechoslovak National Assembly in the 1920 election. He became the chairman of the parliamentary group of the Hungarian-German Social Democratic Party.
Cracks in the party
The socialist movement in Bratislava was radicalized, as Hungarian revolutionaries settled in Czechoslovakia in large numbers. A party meeting was held on July 11 and 18, 1920. The meeting approved a proposal by F. Pfifferling to adhere to the Communist International. Wittich, who had denounced the Hungarian Soviet Republic at the meeting, was deposed from his leadership position in the party. This was Wittich's first mayor political setback. A party congress was convened on September 24, 1920, Wittich was expelled for not having supported the Communist International.The Marxist grouping eventually merged with the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, in Czech and in Slovak: Komunistická strana Československa was a Communist and Marxist-Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992....
. The social democratic minority re-organized the party. Wittich did however break with the party in late 1920.