Lieutenant General Kuno Augustus Friedrich Karl Detlev Graf von Moltke (13 December 1847 – 19 March 1923), adjutant to Kaiser Wilhelm II and military commander of Berlin, was a principal in the homosexualscandal known as the Harden-Eulenburg Affair (1907) that rocked the Kaiser's entourage. Moltke was forced to leave the military service.
Biography
In 1896 Moltke, a 'confirmed bachelor' in his early 50s, married Nathalie von Hayden ('Lilly'), a woman more than twenty years his junior.[1] The couple soon became estranged, with Moltke's physician later alleging that Lilly had physically attacked Moltke several times.[2] The couple were eventually divorced in 1902 (the formal divorce proceedings took several years to conclude).[1]
Accusations and counter-accusations quickly multiplied. Later that year, Moltke sued Harden for libel. His ex-wife Lilly (who had since remarried and was now called Lilly von Elbe) voluntarily testified against him.[1]Magnus Hirschfeld, a physician and sexologist who supported the legalization of homosexuality in Germany, testified that he believed Moltke to be homosexual.[1] The court "sensationally" acquitted Harden, concluding that he had been telling the truth about Moltke's sexuality.[3] However, the verdict was voided due to faulty procedure.[3]
In 1908, Harden was retried, and this time he was found guilty of libel against Moltke.
German press reaction
After the first trial, the German press were sympathetic to Moltke. Newspapers condemned the tactics of the defense and expressing condolence with Count von Moltke, who was declared to have presented a dignified figure in court. Berliner Tageblatt condemned Harden for his salacious articles, and argued that they amounted to the unnecessary hunting down of an old soldier.[4]
Later life
Moltke played little further part in public life after the Harden-Eulenberg affair.[5] He died in Breslau in 1923.[6]
^ abcdDomeier, Norman. (2015). Eulenburg Affair A Cultural History of Politics in the German Empire. Boydell & Brewer. pp. 95–113, 297. ISBN9781782044581. OCLC957277664.
^ abDynes, Wayne R. 1934- éd. Donaldson, Stephen, éd. (1992). History of homosexuality in Europe and America. Garland. p. 344. ISBN0815305508. OCLC757692776.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^"HERR HARDEN ACQUITTED. PRESIDENT'S JUDGMENT. THE SCENE COURT". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 7 October 1907.
^"Death of Count Moltke". The West Australian. 26 April 1923. p. 7.
^"German Court Scandal. Count Cuno von Moltke Dead". Chronicle (Adelaide, South Australia). 21 March 1923. p. 35.
^"Großherzogliche Orden", Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (in German), Karlsruhe, 1902, p. 191{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^"Großherzogliche Orden", Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (in German), Karlsruhe, 1910, p. 192{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^"Königliche Orden", Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (in German), Stuttgart: Landesamt, 1907, p. 55
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