Robert Walter Richard Ernst von Görschen

Robert Walter Richard Ernst von Görschen (born March 27, 1864 in 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, ...

, died January 4, 1936 in Aachen) was a member of the Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

n Upper Governing Council and government Vice-President.

Career

After his graduation in autumn 1884 in Kleve

Kleve

Kleve , is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century onwards, Kleve was capital of a county and later a duchy...

, Robert von Görschen studied law and Political Sciences in Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

, Marburg

Marburg

Marburg is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany, on the River Lahn. It is the main town of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district and its population, as of March 2010, was 79,911.- Founding and early history :...

, Heidelberg

Heidelberg

-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...

and 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...

. Here he passed his first examination in law on 13 May 1888. From 9 June 1888, Robert von Görschen served as a trainee barrister

Barrister

A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...

in the District Court of Eschweiler

Eschweiler

Eschweiler is a municipality in the district of Aachen in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany on the river Inde, near the German-Belgian-Dutch frontier, and about 15 km east of Aachen and 50 km west of Cologne.- History :...

, and was sworn in on 22 June 1888. He completed his internship in Eschweiler at the Country Court in Aachen.

On 9 September 1890, he began his career as a junior barrister with the Government of Aachen. Three years after his second examination in law he was appointed as assessor of the government in Aachen, working later with the Government in Kassel

Kassel

Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...

, with the district office in Stormarn

Stormarn

Stormarn is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Segeberg and Ostholstein, the city of Lübeck, the district of Lauenburg, and the city-state of Hamburg.-History:...

and probably still with the district office in Wandsbek

Wandsbek

Wandsbek is the second-largest of seven boroughs that make up the city of Hamburg, Germany. The name of the district is derived from the river Wandse which passes here. The quarter Wandsbek, which is the former independent city, is urban and, with the quarters Eilbek and Marienthal part of the...

, before (on 4 November 1895) going back to the government in Kassel. Finally, on 1 August 1902 he was promoted as a governmental councillor. A month later, he worked first as acting and, from 23 February 1903 as a definitive district administrator in Altenkirchen

Altenkirchen

Altenkirchen is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, capital of the district of Altenkirchen. It is located approx. 40 km east of Bonn and 40 km north of Koblenz. Altenkirchen is the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde Altenkirchen.-References:...

. On 10 October, 1912, he was finally appointed as a chief councillor of government of Cologne

Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...

. At the last stop of his career, he was promoted, on 1 June 1919, to vice president of government of Aachen.

In 1923, he was, together with the President of Aachen, William Rombach (1884-1973), and the Police President Fritz von Korff (1891-1987) captured, due to passive resistance against the supreme authority at that time by Frenchmen and Belgians in the occupied Rhenish Republic

Rhenish Republic

The Rhenish Republic was proclaimed at Aachen in October 1923 during the Occupation of the Ruhr by troops from France and Belgium between January 1923 and 1925...

. On 23 January 1923, they were released, but with the stipulation that they should not enter certain areas. The “Inter-Allied Rhineland Commission” initially deported them into the unoccupied area around Wuppertal

Wuppertal

Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in and around the Wupper river valley, and is situated east of the city of Düsseldorf and south of the Ruhr area. With a population of approximately 350,000, it is the largest city in the Bergisches Land...

-Elberfeld

Elberfeld

Elberfeld is a municipal subdivision of the German city of Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929.-History:The first official mentioning of the geographic area on the banks of today's Wupper River as "elverfelde" was in a document of 1161...

and were placed, several days later in Königswinter

Königswinter

Königswinter is a town and summer resort in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, opposite to Bonn, at the foot of the Siebengebirge.- Main sights :...

and Altenkirchen

Altenkirchen

/Westerwald

Westerwald

The Westerwald is a low mountain range on the right bank of the River Rhine in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a part of the Rhine Massif...

. After constantly travelling back and forth, Aachen President Rombach and his vice president von Görschen finally ended up, in February 1923 in the town hall of Wuppertal

Wuppertal

-Barmen

Barmen

Barmen is a former industrial metropolis of the region of Bergisches Land, Germany, which in 1929 with four other towns was merged with the city of Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia. Barmen was the birth-place of Friedrich Engels and together with the neighbouring town of Elberfeld founded the...

a branch office of the Government of Aachen and both could now resume their governmental duties. After intensive discussions with the occupying authority, after the end of the struggle under the occupation of the Ruhr

Occupation of the Ruhr

The Occupation of the Ruhr between 1923 and 1925, by troops from France and Belgium, was a response to the failure of the German Weimar Republic under Chancellor Cuno to pay reparations in the aftermath of World War I.-Background:...

, the banishment was withdrawn a year later and von Görschen was, on 12 March1924 (together with Wolfgang Rombach) again returned to Aachen. Here, Robert von Görschen, now exhausted and frustrated, applied for retirement. This claim was initiated on 1 July 1924.

Additional activities

In addition to his professional career as a high administrative officer, Robert von Görschen was also instrumental in a number of other areas in Aachen, mostly in management positions in various active associations and institutions. These were as follows:

22 November 1919: member of the Club Casino of Aachen
1920: member of the ‘’recreation society Aachen’’
16 February 1898: Knight of Honor of the Order of St. John, the German branch of the Knights Hospitaller
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
- 1906: Foreman of the “Rhine Cooperative” of the Knights Hospitaller
  Knights Hospitaller
  The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
  
  and Convention member
- 24 June 1908: Knight of Justice of Saint John
- From 1924: also a master at the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Foundation Bonn, today “Johanniter-Hospital” Bonn
26 June 1920: to 14 October 1934 Chairman of “Luisen-Hospital” in Aachen
9 May 1924: to 4 January 1925: Chairman of the Supervisory Board
Supervisory board
A supervisory board or supervisory committee, often called board of directors, is a group of individuals chosen by the stockholders of a company to promote their interests through the governance of the company and to hire and supervise the executive directors and CEO.Corporate governance varies...

Aachener und Münchener Fire Insurance Company (predecessor organisation of the AachenMünchener Versicherungs AG, today AMB Generali
AMB Generali
Generali Deutschland, until 2008: AMB Generali Holding AG is a German holding company consisting of about 20 insurance companies. It is the second largest insurance company in Germany after Allianz. It is headquartered in Cologne. Companies AMB Generali owns include AachenMünchener, CosmosDirekt,...

) and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of AM numerous related companies.
1927 to 1934: Chairman of the Museum Association of Aachen
1932 to 1933: President of the Rotary Clubs of Aachen
1935: appointed councillor of the city of Aachen

Awards

For his merits in the passive resistance, he was presented, on 22 May 1925, with an honorary citizen certificate.
"On the occasion of the return of his seventieth birthday and in grateful appreciation of his great contributions to the design and development of the university" von Görschen was, on 27 March 1934, created an honorary senator of the RWTH Aachen.
He was also honoured on 28 March 1934 by the police president in Aachen, by having a street named after him.

Family

Robert von Görschen originated from the old German and Thuringia

Thuringia

The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....

noble family Von Görschen

Von Görschen

The name von Görschen is an old German name of nobility originating from the 12th century. The family name derives from its original headquarters: the place Goresin or even from an older "oppida goresin" near Lützen, which was already appointed by Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg in the year 998,...

of Protestant-style. He was the son of Robert Oskar Julius von Görschen

Robert Oskar Julius von Görschen

Robert Oskar Julius von Görschen was one of the Aachen region’s most successful business lawyers, and an initiator of many social and cultural institutions....

(1829−1914) and Elise Brüggemann (1833−1917). Von Görschen was married to Emy Rosalie Marie Honigmann (1871−1944) and they had one son and one daughter. The son Hans-Wolf von Görschen (1894−1944) was an honorary senator of the University of Greifswald, banker and businessman in Cologne

Cologne

and Rotterdam

Rotterdam

Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...

and a resistance fighter in the “Kreisau Circle

Kreisau Circle

The Kreisau Circle was the name the Nazi Gestapo gave to a group of German dissidents centered on the Kreisau estate of Helmuth James Graf von Moltke. The Kreisauer Kreis is celebrated as one of the instances of German opposition to the Nazi regime...

”, so he was arrested in December 1944 and in April 1945 was executed by the Gestapo

Gestapo

The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...

Personal and literary sources

Archive documents RWTH Aachen
RWTH Aachen
RWTH Aachen University is a research university located in Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany with roughly 33,000 students enrolled in 101 study programs....
Arens/Jansen: short vita about von Görschen; Nr. 878. page. 227, 1964
Annette Fusenig: „Wie man ein Weltfest des Pferdesports erfindet – Das Aachener Spring- und Fahrturnier von 1924 bis 1939“ (How to invent a world champion of equestrian sports – the show jumping
Show jumping
Show jumping, also known as "stadium jumping," "open jumping," or "jumpers," is a member of a family of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes commonly are seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics...

and carriage Driving
Carriage driving
Carriage Driving is a form of horse driving in harness in which larger two or four wheeled carriages, often restored antiques, are pulled by a single horse, a pair, tandem or a four-in-hand team. Pleasure competitions are judged on the turnout, neatness or suitability of the horse or horses and the...

competition in Aachen from 1924 until 1939), Dissertation 2004
Alfred von Reumont: „100 Jahre Erholungsgesellschaft Aachen“ (100 years recreation society Aachen); Festschrift 1939, Aachen, page 90
Albert Huyskens: „Die Aachener Kulturvereine wissenschaftlicher Richtung“, (he Aachen Cultural Societies on Science); Yearbook of RWTH Aachen, 1950, page 170, 196
Arens/Jansen: „Geschichte des Clubs Aachener Casino“ (History of the Club Aachen Casino); Nr. 486, page 170 and 878, page 227; 2nd Edition 1964
Bernhard Poll: “History of Aachen”, page 288, 318; 1965, Aachen
Horst Romeyk: “Die leitenden staatlichen und kommunalen Verwaltungsbeamten der Rheinprovinz 1816-1945“, (The state and communal executive officers in the Rhine Province
Rhine Province
The Rhine Province , also known as Rhenish Prussia or synonymous to the Rhineland , was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822-1946. It was created from the provinces of the Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg...

1816-1945), Düsseldorf 1994, page 472
Klaus Habetha. „Wissenschaft zwischen technischer und gesellschaftlicher Herausforderung“ (science between technical and social challenge), Aachen, 1995, page 667
„Memorial of the Aachen and Munich fire insurance“; Aachen, 1925, page 65, 70;
Grünnagel. “In memoriam Robert von Görschen” - speech by the obsequies 1936; City Archive Aachen LG 510

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