Published on 12 September 2016
Possibly no other name of an industrial company became so entrenched in the vocabulary of Czech and Czechoslovak workers as Českomoravská-Kolben-Daněk (ČKD). The expression to go to “kolbenka” became synonymous with getting up for work in the morning.
This native of Hradec Králové was a lawyer and chiefly a politician and the voice of the ethnic German minority in the Czech Lands for almost five decades. This active descendant of the aristocratic von Auens family had a quite interesting life: he was a member of the Imperial Council (legislative body of Austria-Hungary) in the pre-war period; he fought in World War I; he was a leading representative of the German majority in the borderland areas in the newly established Czechoslovak state, and later became a member of its National Assembly; and he was a commentator and possibly a rather passive observer of the crisis in Czech-German relations in the second half of the 1930s. Towards the end of his political career, he was an exiled representative of the compatriot organization of Sudetenland Germans, the Sudetendeutsche Landsmannschaft. In 1918/19, he played a key role in modern Czech and Czechoslovak history as the main representative and provincial governor of the separatist province of Deutschböhmen.
The future Sudeten politician was a descendant of an old aristocratic family with roots in the British islands, which emigrated to continental Europe for religious reasons in the Elizabethan era. The family name was later Germanized, and the Longmans stood in the ranks of Imperial Knights. The family's decendant, Rudolf, was born to Joseph von Auen Lodgman and his wife, nee Alter von Waltrecht, in Hradec Králové. After graduating from the Faculty of Law in 1919, he married Anna Marie Filipková, with whom he had three children. He spent the major part of his active life in politics. It could be said he was an active politician from his youth, with clearly formed and consistent political views. As a young politician, he became a representative of the Union of German Districts. Throughout his life, Lodgman was a supporter of the political idea of Pan-Germanic unity and the right of nations to self-determination. He entered the world of high politics in 1911, when he was elected a member of the Imperial Council for the constituency of Ústí nad Labem (later one of the most important cities in Deutschböhmen).
Lodgman’s prewar post as member of the Imperial Council was short, but all the more interesting. Generally, it could be said that right from the start the young politician was one of the loudest and most active lawmakers, voted for mostly in the German areas of the Czech lands. His experience and the skills he acquired during his law studies, both during his time in the Austrian parliament and later in the Czechoslovak National Assembly, were of great use to him in his parliamentary duties. The available records show that among the areas he paid great attention to during his time in parliament were mainly the issues of Czech-German settlement and language, and marginally also minority schooling. In his parliamentary post, Lodgman was a major supporter of the division of the linguistically heterogeneous Czech lands into compact language units. It could be said that already, at the time immediately preceding the war, the idea of the creation of autonomous German areas was being born in the heads of the German members of parliament, like that of the later created province Deutschböhmen and other regions of the Republic of German Austria. It's worth noting that during the complex negotiations on the aforementioned topics in the Imperial Council, Lodgman showed a great degree of pragmatism and willingness to negotiate with various sides, the which characteristics were appreciated by his partners - whether from among Czech politicians or representatives of German parties. We can say that for practically his entire political career in the following two decades, Lodgman was considered a moderate politician, refusing any form of radicalism.
Between 1915 and 1917, Lodgman fought at the Italian front as a volunteer. After this episode, he returned to politics as a leading figure among German members of the Parliament in the Czech lands, and the negotiator who played an important role for the German side in the post-war development of this territory. The dying monarchy tried to save itself through friendly reforms (towards its individual nations), by which it actually accelerated its downfall. In reaction to the Three Kings Day Declaration, the German politicians for the Czech lands started to work hard to oppose the creation of the independent country of Deutschböhmen. Alongside the Chairman of the Association of German members of Parliament in Bohemia, Raphael Pacher, Lodgman was among the most important negotiators. Wider geopolitical developments during the autumn and winter of the last year of the war gained incredible pace, and the situation in the German parts of the Sudetenland was marked by the same rapid changes. Rudolf Lodgman was catapulted by this situation to the peak of his career, followed by his fall during this precipitous period.
The attempt of the imperial government to federalize the empire had a decisive effect on the future development of the dying monarchy and its successor states newly arriving on the scene. Reactions were not long in coming. On 21 October, the German members of the Imperial Court declared themselves the Interim Assembly of German Austria (Deutschösterreich). Nothing could any longer prevent the collapse of the monarchy. The new successor state of German Austria1 was claiming the border areas of the Czech lands, populated by the Germany minority. The creation of the Czechoslovak Republic on 28 October 1918 further accelerated the process of the constitution of German provinces in the newly emerging state, which declared affiliation to the Republic of German Austria. Besides Deutschböhmen there were three other provinces, mostly in the borderland areas of the new republic – Sudetenland, Böhmerwaldgau and Deutschsüdmähren. On the sidelines, let’s mention that of the four mentioned provinces, Deutschböhmen lasted the longest and had the best organizational structure – thanks to Lodgman’s efforts. Among other things, this resulted in the frantic activity of its government during the time of the Conference in Saint-Germain, which was when the whole brief, tragic and utterly unsuccessful episode was long over.
From the moment of the creation of the German-Austrian country of Deutschböhmen, coinciding with the proclamation of the state on whose territory it was located and in which it would in no way be included, it was clear that Lodgman was the perfect candidate to lead it. He was aware of this, and it must be said that he was certain of his abilities and experience. This is how he recollected these events in the document sent in April 1938 to Hitler himself: “In 1918 (under these difficult circumstances), I myself took over the office of provincial governor, as there was no-one more suitable on the selection of whom the political forces could agree. [...] Even in the Czechoslovak parliament, the party did not have a clear idea of who to agree upon...” However, his moment did not come immediately after the proclamation of this province, but shortly afterwards, on 5 November, when he was elected as governor of the province to replace his predecessor, Pacher who had held the office for just a few days and who then became the prime minister of German Austria. As new provincial governor, he became the head of this country’s government with his seat in Liberec. In addition to Longman, the members of the government presidium included the rather conservative social democrat Josef Seliger and the agrarian Wilhelm Maixner, who represented the bourgeoisie. The composition of the province’s Landtag reflected the results of the last Austrian election to the Imperial Council. The responsibilities of the presidium were mostly the crucial agenda of supplies and also the press, finances and issues of security. In addition, a further 12 departments were created, responsible for other areas.
Generally speaking, the whole “adventure” of the short period of the break-away regions was doomed right from the start. Lodgman’s government had to face a number of acute problems. In the first place, it was the problem of supplying the population. It needn’t be said that towards the end of the war the situation regarding supplies was dire. The province was geographically separated from the state of which it considered itself a part (i.e., German Austria) and it was economically linked with Czechoslovakia, against which it fought. It was a great paradox that on one hand, the leaders of the Sudetenland separatist provinces reviled Czechoslovakia, and during negotiations with its representatives, demanded to be treated as representatives of a sovereign foreign state; and on the other hand, they knew very well they must compromise somewhat on their pride because they could not do without the economic assistance of Czechoslovakia. Any economic independence (or any form of help from the countries of the German Empire, in particular from Saxony), was a mere illusion. “The situation in almost all of the industrial part of Deutschböhmen became unbearable concerning supplies" Lodgman recalled, and he stated that [...] the Czechoslovak government has sufficient supplies from the agricultural areas of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia, [...] the black market with its unrestrained prices is flourishing, and many people are profiting from the situation”.The situation really was unbearable. “Food supplies to Deutschböhmen were confiscated at the borders by the Czechoslovak authorities and taken to the Czech territory. [...] To survive under these circumstances, the German worker had to give all his property to smugglers", Lodgman continued, “while in Prague it was possible to buy bread to your heart’s content, but not so in Deutschböhmen…”
The Liberec episode was doomed to fail for several reasons. Besides the aforementioned economic factor, security also played an important role. The disputes between Czechs and Germans were frequent and the government also had to deal with frequent looting. The Volkswehr paramilitary organization was merely a laughable attempt to secure stability in the region. Understandably, Czechs were not much in favour of German domination, but it must be said that the whole Deutschböhmen project met with suspicion from ethnic Germans. Lodgman recalled: “[...] This is what the Czechs say. In fact, you will not find one German in Deutschböhmen that would accept association with the Czechoslovak state in any form. “ And he continued: “Wherever you look in Deutschböhmen, you will not find a single German industrialist that would think otherwise... Despite the Czechs saying the opposite. They claim that most citizens of Deutschböhmen want to join Czechoslovakia. [...] The truth was soon discovered by the referendum in Deutschböhmen...” These sentences actually point at the fundamental problem of disunity among the representatives of German industry in Deutschböhmen. Although no-one could accuse them of excessive sympathy towards Czechoslovakia, they were aware, realistically, that the separation of the area of the Sudetenland from inland Czechoslovakia was unrealistic and damaging to its own interests.
All these factors played a key role in the relatively easy taking of Deutschböhmen by Czechoslovak military forces. Lodgman himself had to emigrate in November, first to Zittau in Saxony and later to Switzerland. He was a tenacious politician who did not give up his visions even in exile. The conference in Saint-Germain-en-Laye dealing with the post-war division of Europe, and in particular with German Austria (which Lodgman represented as the head of the Deutschböhmen province), offered a welcome opportunity to use his diplomatic and political skills. In defending the right of Germans of the Sudetenland to self-determination, he tried to influence the conference participants and indirectly also the administration of American president Woodrow Wilson, a great advocate of this right. All attempts of the Germans from the Sudetenland were in vain. The victors who defeated the Central Powers decided unanimously to support the territorial integrity of Czechoslovakia. On the basis on the resolution of the conference, the Austrian Republic abolished the provincial government of Deutschböhmen. Subsequently, on 24 September, the members of the Austrian National Assembly, including Lodgman, had to leave their colleagues, with strong emotions, as their mandates (together with the province of Deutschböhmen) were declared defunct.
Czechoslovakia treated the participants of the Sudetenland rebellion rather benevolently, and allowed them full rehabilitation and a return to public life. Lodgman was a professional politician practically his entire life. Moreover, he enjoyed great respect among the Germans of the Sudetenland, stemming from his brief tenure in the office of provincial governor of Deutschböhmen. His contacts, his pragmatism and his past allowed him to enter politics in the new Czechoslovak state. He was elected a member of parliament for the constituency of Louny. His subsequent work in this role was also highly interesting, filled with further struggle for the rights of the Germans in the borderland areas of Czechoslovakia and his participation in a number of lawsuits. His career as a member of parliament for the new German National Party, during which he became a dogged supporter of negativism towards any cooperation with the Czechoslovak state, was ended by the elections of 1925. Lodgman justified his failure, saying: "on 15 November [1925] the voters in the constituency of Louny decided that my further work had no point. [...] It has turned out that the people of the Sudetenland are not determined or unified on the issues of sincere conviction and courage… Undignified kowtowing [to the Czechoslovak state] and political dealings play an increasing role.” The German bourgeois parties that Lodgman represented in the election suffered a huge defeat. From then on, Lodgman’s influence on Sudeten-German politics declined. He became definitively a politician of the past. As one of the major reasons can be seen the refusal of Germans of his negativism towards Czechoslovakia. The era of new German political forces started. These put the emphasis on the need for a certain form of constructive cooperation with Czechoslovakia, which Lodgman referred to as activism (in the pejorative sense). Among these was the Konrad Heinlein’s German National Socialist Workers' Party (Deutsche natioanalsocialistische Arbeiterpartei, DNSAP). Let us look closely at the interesting changes in Lodgman's attitude to this Sudeten-German representative.
According to historical sources, Rudolf Lodgman von Auen was not too keen on the generation-younger Sudeten-German leader. There were several reasons. Besides the understandable envy of Henlein’s growing influence among the Germans of the Sudetenland, his emphasis on some kind of exceptionality of the “Sudeten-German tribe” as a special form of “Germanhood” undoubtedly played its role, too. In this matter, Lodgman was consistent. For his entire career, he was a supporter of Pan-Germanism – the closest possible political unification of Central European Germans. Further, there was the aforementioned activism, i.e., the unacceptable (for Lodgman) cooperation with Masaryk's republic, which was typical of the DNSAP and, after the outlawing of the party in 1933, of its successor, the SHF. Lodgman specifically attacked Henlein for his kowtowing to Czechoslovakia and his betrayal of “Pan-Germanic” interests in the quoted letter to Hitler of 10. 4. 1938. He refers to the SHF leadership as "...young men, who were unlucky enough to experience the World War only as children and who had to do without the strong hand of a father. [...] Their main principle has been that the end justifies the means, and that in politics the means are merely about defeating the enemy by deception and deceit" says Lodgman, and he continues: "this is why it must be said that their declared loyalty [to the Czechoslovak state, author’s note] must make nationally-conscious men blush.”Lodgman further offers a sharp criticism of Henlein in connection with his speech addressed to Sudeten Germans in Česká Lípa in the spring of 1934, when the leader of the SHF was allegedly guilty of a departure from Pan-Germanic ideals and also of treason against the German national socialist movement. It bears mentioning that Czechoslovak political circles still considered supporting Lodgman and his DNP immediately before the events of 1938, as a counterbalance to Henlein’s radical party. This did not happen, as shortly Lodgman's attitude to Henlein changed. Two weeks after the mentioned letter to Hitler came another speech by Konrad Henlein to the Germans in Karlovy Vary. Here, the Sudeten-German leader made his rhetoric against the Czechoslovak state more radical, which earned him Lodgman’s support. Shortly afterwards, on 3 May 1938, Lodgman sent Henlein a letter of congratulations on his 40th birthday, in which (rather hypocritically, considering his previous critique of Henlein’s party) he pays a compliment: “…it must be greatly satisfying for you that the whole of the Sudeten-German movement stands behind you. [...]. Sudeten-German opportunism is just a memory.0} In your speech of 24 April given in Karlovy Vary, at last, one chapter of Sudeten-German politics was closed, which started in 1926 with the empty word “activism‘.“