Hermann Wagener

Biography

Wagenar was the son of a country priest from Neuruppin. After studies and graduation in Salzwedel in 1835 he studied legal science in Berlin. He was interested in the judicial philosophy of Friedrich Julius Stahl and the economic theories of Karl Ludwig von Haller regarding political legitimacy.

He followed the usual legal career, becoming a law clerk in 1838 at the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt (Oder) under vice president Ludwig von Gerlach and worked from 1844-1847 as an attorney at the Prussian land-improvement bureau and later at the consistory at the province of Saxony. In 1847 he became an appellate court attorney representing the consistory in Madeburg where he was assigned to prosecute liberal clergyman Leberecht Uhlich.

He left government service in 1848 and established himself as a lawyer at the High court, and at the request of Gerlach founded the organ of the Prussian conservative party, the New Prussian Newspaper to Save the Monarchy. He served as its chief editor until 1854. Theodor Fontane, who worked with him at the time, said in his memoirs Wagenar was a "sort of side-sun to Bismarck." Through his close-working with Otto von Bismarck, Wagenar became one of the best-known and controversial conservative pundits. In 1848 he founded the "Society for King and Fatherland."

In 1854 he retired from editing the newspaper (called the Kreuzzeitung because it featured a large iron cross) and invested his severance in a scheme in Neustettin (now Szczecinek) and worked as a criminal lawyer in Berlin. In 1856 he resigned his position as Justizrat and settled in Farther Pomerania to run for office. He became a clever and quick-witted speaker of the Prussian House of Representatives (Preußisches Abgeordnetenhaus) and provided great service to his party from 1867 in the North-German and from 1871 in the German Reichstag. His views often came with scientific justification, compiled in his 1859 "State and Society Dictionary."

In 1861 he participated in the founding of a Prussian Volksverein, a conservative society that was active until 1872. On March 29, 1866 he was appointed by Bismarck as an advisor to the department of State against the wishes of King Wilhlem I. Bismarck also consulted Wagener on social issues (Fontane reported he tried to instill upon Bismarck "fight against the hated bourgeoisie through social democracy," meaning he encouraged Bismarck's talks with Ferdinand Lassalle). In the first German parliament he supported Bismarck in his speeches about the German constitution and the Kulturkampf. His efforts to establish a social conservative party in 1872 failed.

In 1873 he became the first Council in the state department, but the Emperor refused to admit him personally. There had been bad rumors about Wagener's involvement in the Pommersche Centralbahn, a railway company. In a speech by Eduard Lasker on February 7, 1873, Lasker exposed the railways financial mismanagement, and it soon went bankrupt. Wagner was forced to resign in the scandal and was also fined in court 40,000 Taler for illegal profiteering. This cost Wagener his entire fortune. In 1878 he founded the interdenominational "Social Conservative Association."

Wagener published numerous writings, especially on social issues. His most important work was the 1862 Political and Social Lexicon. He wrote the 1876 platform of the German Conservative Party. He was also the spiritual father of labor insurance. Although a Catholic, he sought to curb the political influence of the Catholic Church. For this he advocated the creation of a "social pope" or "social emperor."

Writings