Knowra Maximilian Harden Maximilian Harden Maximilian Harden (1861–1927) was a German journalist, theater critic, and editor of the political weekly Die Zukunft. His attacks on powerful figures helped expose scandals at the imperial court, especially the Harden–Eulenburg affair.
Philipp zu Eulenburg : A German diplomat and close friend of Kaiser Wilhelm II who became central to a public scandal over alleged homosexuality. Harden’s articles accused Eulenburg’s circle of weakening the Kaiser’s government.
Harden–Eulenburg affair : A German political scandal from 1906 to 1909 involving allegations of homosexuality against Philipp zu Eulenburg and others near Kaiser Wilhelm II. It was the defining controversy generated by Harden’s campaign in Die Zukunft.
Political journalism : Journalism that reports on and interprets government, elections, public policy, and political power. Harden’s magazine made political criticism its central form of public intervention.
Paragraph 175 : A provision of the German Criminal Code, enacted in 1871, that criminalized sexual acts between men until its repeal in 1994. The law made accusations of homosexuality legally and politically dangerous in Harden’s era.
Kaiser Wilhelm II : The last German emperor and king of Prussia, ruling from 1888 until his abdication in 1918. Harden portrayed the emperor’s personal circle as a source of political instability.
Moltkecase : A 1907 Berlin court case in which General Kuno von Moltke sued journalist Maximilian Harden for libel over allegations about his private life. The trial brought Harden’s accusations into open court and intensified the affair.
Die Zukunft (magazine) : A German weekly founded in 1892 by Maximilian Harden, known for political essays, literary criticism, and attacks on public figures. Its essays gave Harden a regular platform outside the major daily newspapers.
Homosexuality in the German Empire : The social, legal, and political conditions shaping same-sex desire in Germany from 1871 to 1918. The scandal drew its force from the gap between private conduct and criminal law.
Benedict Friedlaender : A German sexologist and activist who argued for the social acceptance of male homosexuality. Friedlaender publicly challenged Harden’s role in turning sexuality into a political weapon.
Die Zukunft : A German political and literary weekly founded and edited by Maximilian Harden from 1892 to 1922. Harden used this magazine to publish the articles that triggered the Eulenburg scandal.
Show all 20